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Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

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Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#11

Post by treeface9000 »

buggythebug wrote: post #2

Some ideas: 1)Before you start drinking try to think about how you will feel after 2)Make a calendar and everyday you don't drink mark an X on the day - you won't want to break the streak 3)Drink way more seltzer water 4)Consider fasting - when I started fasting I had ZERO interest in eating or drinking garbage 5)Seek therapy

I'll vouch for the seltzer water. Turns out I'm just addicted to drinking carbonated beverages that aren't sweet... not necessarily the beer/alcohol. A lot of non-alcoholic beers are getting to be pretty decent too. If you want to stay cheap, even a bud zero is surprisingly tolerable and totally fills the cravings for both carbonation and that refreshing beer taste. Between seltzer water and non-alcoholic beers, I've massively decreased my alcohol consumption and feel pretty great. Would highly recommend for anyone looking to cut back

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#12

Post by twayt »

The only reason you continue to do it despite the inevitable price you have to pay is because it alters your mood positively in the short term.

You have two problems: 1. Desire for instant gratification 2. Lack of other things that alter your mood positively

You can work on both in parallel. Exercise solves both at the same time.

The last meta thing to keep you focused on longer term healthy routes of solving this problem is to realize that:

1. You’re weak minded if you keep giving into instant gratification and should strive to be a stronger person 2. You have a deficit of things that give you positive emotion which is decreasing your quality of life

There are a lot of good ideas in this thread on what could replace drinking for you but you need to seek what works for you.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#15

Post by tiny_sal »

I found pretty quickly in was enjoying the ritual of drinking, not the alcohol itself. Once I figured that out I would have a cold seltzer water after a day of work, or when hanging out with friends, and get the exact same ‘unwinding’ feeling.

Pretty soon after that I could have water with ice - turns out my body just wanted something cold at a certain time as a cue to relax.

Still going strong 6 years later!

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#17

Post by chomp »

A couple things:

1.) I realized that drinking was a symptom of bigger issues in my life, and I was self medicating. Resolving those issues wound up with me giving up my excessive drinking with almost no effort.

2.) When I do recreationally drink, I limit myself to evenings only, I give myself extra time to sleep it off, and I force myself to consume single tall drinks only.

3.) I maintain awareness that I tend to self medicate, and reflect on the problems in my life that I can control.

Cutting drinking out completely is likely going to require a person to hold you accountable, and swapping in a different hobby to divert your focus. I find that when I'm idle, I tend to wander in the kitchen.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#18

Post by epicureanideal »

Have you thought about substituting “mocktails”, cocktails with alcohol substitutes that taste sort of like alcohol but without any real alcohol?

Personally I think they taste even better, they look interesting just like a cocktail, and can be part of the same social ritual.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#19

Post by xs83 »

Everyone else here will hit you with the "ritual" and "learn to enjoy without" I am the same as you - and I will tell you what worked for me. I tend not to drink on weekdays, but when I do drink, I drink to get drunk. The holistic stuff didn't work for me, I love drinking, I enjoy the social aspect of it. I have terrible willpower and a very hedonistic attitude.

Naltrexone works for me

I take a tablet on Wednesday to Saturday before bed.

I don't get any side effects (YMMV) but what it DOES do is basically take away the majority of the buzz from drinking, I lose interest after 2 or 3 drinks

Those weekends I want to go out and get smashed with friends, I just don't take the tablets.

Talk to your doctor, its cheap, low level side effects if you do have them - but its the one thing that works for me, I now have a couple of social drinks on weekends and I never thought I would be that person

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