I just realised I haven’t looked on HabitBull for aaages (HabitBull is my not-drinking app) and after just checking it, it says: Today Iām on Day 44 (not a drop) and on Day 360 (not counting airplane drinks āļø) of being a non-drinkerš
Lockdown 2020
This quarantine makes it a lot easier for me to not drink, to be honest. There are zilch triggers for me as Iāve never been a home drinker. My problem was going out and then drinkā¦ like there was no tomorrow!! Which there unfortunately always was. Well, unfortunately in the sense of there being consequences of my over-drinking. Not in the sense of still being alive, that was good obvs. Although if you define alive, me on a hangover day wouldnāt spring to mind; I was as good as dead. On a proper hangover day I wouldnāt manage to get out of bed for at least a day (behold dragging myself to the toilet to puke – Yep yuk, sorry) and be depressed like fuck for a week. And all this because of not possessing that natural Ā“stop buttonĀ“ that other people seem to have.
NĆ©ver question the decision
Anyway, I am VERY happy with my decision to stop drinking alcohol and wouldnāt want to change a thing. I just still need to take that one last step to 100% sobrietyā¦ No more drinks in airports and on airplanes either. Because right now I still allow myself this and hereās why: I have been trying to moderate my drinking for the last 25 years. Without success. I have had dry spells of a few months here and there, yet I always started drinking again. Probably because Iām a binger and not a daily drinker; after a few months of not drinking I would think: āOhhhh Iām not that bad, I gĆ³t this!ā which I obvs didnāt. And then the whole thing started againā¦ One hangover led to many more, right up to the point that I was so sick of them that I quit drinking. Again.
Exception
So, in the end I decided to give this a try: giving myself one out to still drink. Only in airports/airplanes I may drink. Am I not in an airport or on an airplane? Then I may not drink. Very clear rule and so far this seems to work! I havenĀ“t had a sip of alcohol outside an airport/airplane for 360 days!!!
It must be something psychological: as long as I know that itās not ānever againā I find not drinking in my day-to-day life very manageable. As a matter of fact, I have found it quite easy to stay Ā“anywhere-except-airport/airplane soberĀ“ for this long and I decided to allow myself this one out until Iām comfortable enough to give this up too. Or perhaps I will be so accustomed to not drinking at some point that I donĀ“t even wĆ”nt airplane drinks anymore, who knows (dream scenario this)…
I would love to hear from you where you are on your path and whether you are trying to accomplish full sobriety. Or perhaps you are thinking about moderation? Or are you a happy drinker? Are you a sober person? Or a binge drinker? There are so many variations in the levels of drinking, itĀ“s quite interesting really… Some say that if you are consciously thinking about your drinking, you are already in some sorts of Ā“thingĀ“ with alcohol – what do you think about that statement?
ThereĀ“s a comment section below –> Any questions or comments feel free to leave them thereā¦ Looking forward to hearing from you!