Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

351–360 of 600 posts

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#351

Post by morley »

camtarn wrote: post #310
SkyPuncher wrote: post #59

I've cut back by switching to non-alcohol beer. I've found that I enjoy the taste of beer, but I don't enjoy how shitty alcohol makes me feel. NA beer tends to solve that for me. Lots of good options coming out. * Just the Hazy by Sam Adams is top tier. * Athletic brewing is solely NA beer - lots of different varieties. * Heineken 0.0 is great * O'Douls amber is surprisingly passable as well I suspect the options wil…

If you're in the UK, Beavertown brewery does an amazing 'Lazer Crush' alcohol-free IPA that's the best I've tasted. I'm often driving when I'm out with friends, so I've sampled a lot of alcohol-free beers over the years.

I'm surprised how widespread nonalcoholic beers have become. I was back in the Czech Republic a couple of years ago -- maybe the last place I expected to sell N/A, given they have the highest beer consumption per capita -- but Staropramen, and probably some other local breweries, have N/A labels.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#352

Post by gordondavidf »

Two things that worked for me. (Not a doctor, not a psychologist, do your own research, etc etc.)

1) Dihydromyricetin - This is a supplement which helps your body digest alcohol that which can lead to less hangovers. For me specifically? It completely removed any craving I had for a drink within a week. Without hangovers the next day, I was left feeling just tired and crappy but without feeling horrible. This was a full game changer for me.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CX60CMA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...

2) After you actually stop drinking, there's another hurdle of dealing with the social setting where everyone else is drinking and you are not. Unfortunately most non-alcoholic options out at a bar are pretty limited -- selzer w/ lime, cranberry juice, just a soda. However, at home, a ton of options for mocktails are popping up. For me, these fully fix any remaining craving to sit down and enjoy a beverage. Would recommend Seedlip or Three Spirit

https://www.seedlipdrinks.com/

https://us.threespiritdrinks.com/

Definitely don't hate yourself when you fail. There's a huge industry interested in getting you to drink alcohol and its the only drug you have to explain why you're not using. It has an odd hold on us.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#353

Post by chunk_waffle »

guiambros wrote: post #10

What helped me eliminate almost entirely was understanding the impact it has on the body and the brain. More than " it's bad for your health ", it helped me understand why it's bad. Even the allegedly harmless " a glass of red wine a day is good for your health " (spoiler: no). There are many sources, but I recently saw this one from Dr. Andrew Huberman, which seemed more comprehensive than a lot of what I've read be…

I haven't even wanted to drink since watching that Huberman Lab Podcast. I used to drink a bottle of wine or a few beers nearly every weekend and have completely stopped.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#355

Post by throwaway1777 »

bradlys wrote: post #328
marginalia_nu wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ultimately, pleasures and hardships fade, what remains at the end is what we accomplished and what we regret. That is, the very memories I'm suggesting you use to evaluate your habits. You had a good time at a party once. Great. Are you really still enjoying that good time? Not likely. You climbed a mountain another time. You were tired and it was very difficult. Are you still exhausted months later? Not likely. But…

I remember injuries from exercising and other things involving exercise because they lasted months or forever . You’re acting as if exercise never has any drawbacks - like the other commenter said. It definitely does. Getting injured is part of it and is a routine issue for many people - you try to avoid it but it just happens. I’ve had issues with my patella tracking for years now. My fingers don’t act the same caus…

The whole thread makes me think of the young vs the old. Young people can’t fathom how injuries that were no big deal at 22 can take you out at 50. Same with drinking frankly, I used to be able to drink with no hangovers but that stopped years ago.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#357

Post by astura »

pseudostem wrote: post #85
wfrew wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% also recommend the Sinclair Method. It weirds me out that it's not more widely known and is not being prescribed by doctors. I had to stop taking naltrexone after ~6 months because it was giving me insomnia / I started noticing an irregular heartbeat during the night (don't think this was naltrexone related though). But the effects persisted for a long time. It was like a complete reset with respect to my respon…

Thank you. I don't know how to save comments, hence the spammy comment so that I can come back to it later.

Click on the comment time then click "favorite."

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#358

Post by stef25 »

marginalia_nu wrote: post #149

I've found it easy to stop a great deal of such behaviors by examining not what they promise to deliver, but what they actually brought. I.e. don't look forward, look backward when making decisions. Alcohol promises a great time. Alcohol delivers a hangover and regrets. Junk food promises a great time. Junk food delivers poor health and regrets. Going to the gym promises hardship and struggle. It delivers health. I'v…

My problem is I can drink a bottle of wine and it doesn't really delivery a hangover. I know it's bad for me in the long run but it's hard to resist if it helps me worry less without any negative effects that are immediately noticeable.

Working out doesn't really help in the sense that I can go run 10+ Km and feel great but that still doesn't stop the endless ruminations that drive me crazy.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#359

Post by bigbacaloa »

lakomen wrote: post #348

I'm not an alcoholic or even close to it. Why would I stop drinking alcohol? This is a you problem, why is this relevant to HN?

"I'm not an alcoholic or even close to it. Why would I stop drinking alcohol?"

Someone who can't see the incongruity of these two statements usually is an alcoholic.

Re: Ask HN: How did you stop drinking?

#360

Post by amalcon »

toyg wrote: post #267
khazhoux wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One beer? Actually, yes. If you are someone who only drinks one beer, then your low tolerance means even that single drink will leave you leaving crummy afterwards. Not a full-on "oh dear god please don't mention eggs around me" crummy, but just groggy, headache-y, and so on. This is me. I only ever drank maybe a glass of wine or one beer every couple of months, and finally realized it was easier just dropping down…

> your low tolerance means even that single drink will leave you leaving crummy afterwards. That's not true. As long as you compensate with a bit of water, and you drink quality spirits rather than shit, one or two drinks are absolutely fine even for the low-volume drinker. Source: am one. What makes a real difference is that, if you're super-fit and super-lean, your body will struggle harder to deal with alcohol, so…

Agreed mostly. Put other stuff -- mostly water, but some food -- in your stomach, and be aware of the volume and ABV of your one drink, and you can be fine.

Source: I occasionally drink, but it's rare enough that doctors' offices tell me to answer "No" to that question.

Post reply on HN