On a rarely personal note, 5yrs sober today, not a drop.
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@JulianOliver how far away that decision, to stay sober, from being the best one in last 5 years?
@alex27 tbh It's right up there. Everything got better. Mood, focus, memory, cognition / problem solving, endurance & fitness, sleep & dreamlife. More present for the important people in my life. I look forward to never drinking again!
@JulianOliver same here. I have a little shorter period, around 3+ years but it feels like best in 10 years stretch. So I can relate.
I wonder what could be done in order helping other people to realize that sooner.
@alex27 Beautiful to read! Often wonder the same, however bc of how I'm brained I'm told that my own method may not be useful for some. In fact when I tell fam & friends, they tend to laugh!
I made a decision to stop, so that was that. To fulfill, I needed to recognise:
1. To stop drinking alcohol you have to not pour alcohol into your mouth.
2. The burn of withdrawal is good, & each temptation an opportunity to practice, guiding the way to freedom from both.
3. That it's going to be amazing
@JulianOliver @alex27 On my side, to get sober, I got professional help. I also had to lie to my friends and pretend a medical condition that required I stopped.
As Julian says, everyone is different. But the social pressure to drink is so high in most places and culture, I'd say it's probably better to just be and not to talk about it, unless you're asked.
@JulianOliver @alex27 I'd say that the toughest part for me (and still is sometimes) is the social pressure. Always having to constantly justify yourself on why you don't drink. It's been more than 10 years now. So I built some thick skin. It's also getting easier in recent years as we start seeing a range of non-alcoholic options almost everywhere (that are not the usual US based sugar drinks).
Global alcohol consumption peaked a few years ago and is in steady decline. We're on the right path.
@julien @JulianOliver I really hope that this decline is something conscious rather than some other symptom.
I recall being asked by waiter rather I was sick. Like why the hell you gonna miss bottle of beer otherwise....
@alex27 @julien I've also had a 'sorry for your loss' like response, as though having just reported a death. Also some revealing nervousness, even irritation. More so, as someone that identifies as male in a country that inherited the UK's legacy of binge drinking, to not drink is to be somehow be a lesser man.
I have minimal social needs, live outside the city, and so do not feel the pressures too much. Were I to be back in Berlin throughout, my experience of quitting might be quite different.
