10 why i stopped drinking alcohol

I really like the fact I never wake up with a hangover. I feel much, much better since quitting alcohol and so will continue the tea and odd soft drink for the time being.

About the LifeHacker Guy. In my youth I was a competitive Triathlete and long-distance runner placing top 10 in most triathlon races I completed. Since suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I moved into web development, after a couple of years I then moved onto developing a number of online businesses. I've recently taken a sabbatical and I'm now looking to make big changes in my life, hopefully this may resonate with you - join me in my journey!

Great article Adam. When I visited you in Malaysia recently I was pleased to know that you had quit drinking as funnily enough…so had I around the same time! It made absolutely no difference to our nights out…equally as enjoyable. I also hope that alcohol is now a closed chapter in my life as I have had just as much fun without it. Your email address will not be published.

Written by Adam Wright , BSc. Updated on June 1, I have never struggled with alcohol in my life. Actually I have never been a great drinker.

Not going out to bars and sipping on fancy cocktails is one of the easiest ways to save money. Instead of using alcohol as a hobby, I started to play tennis, learned sailing, and started up a side hustle. Quitting alcohol sadly means losing a few friends. Having actual friends and real hobbies is much more rewarding.

Alcohol seems to take away the pain of life momentarily, but it comes back to bite you tenfold the next day. Alcohol is like a health and wellness credit card. Not needing alcohol to numb or feel comfortable in scary situations is such a relief. My mind is clear and calm, and that brings me immense pleasure and joy.

Instead of running straight for the wine at networking events, I just sip on water and make casual conversation. I also try to make sure that I ask interesting questions.

People become much more fascinating sober. My kids are witnessing firsthand that their mother does not need alcohol, so neither do they. What I am advocating for is more responsible representations of alcohol in advertising, movies, and film. Being exposed to such blatant subconscious programming at a young age gave me the belief that alcohol would add something to my life that I felt it was missing.

And while I know that I used alcohol as medication to treat my unhealed childhood trauma, I know that teaching kids why people use drugs and alcohol would be more effective.

If someone told me during my teenage years that people abuse drugs and alcohol to cover up the pain they are in, that could have changed everything for me. Looking back, this greatly disturbs me. I needed help. What I really needed was to heal my trauma much sooner. It took many, many years to find the right help to heal. If you are consuming more than two glasses of alcohol on more than two subsequent nights per week, then you most likely have a problem.

Drugs and alcohol are ways for us to cope with pain. The best advice I can offer you is to seek help for the underlying issue and heal the reason why you need to drink. I wish you all the best and know that you are more interesting, powerful, and fun sober. She helps you drop the subconscious programs, trauma, and emotions that prevent you from being who you truly are and creating an amazing life. To learn more about emotional well-being, healing trauma, and using nutrition to transform your physical and mental health, please visit her website here to access her free meditations and ebooks.

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Click to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking. Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. To sum up: Mentally I feel better, less anxious. I still feel tired and lack energy. Despite my own struggles, I would love to see others succeed and live good lives.

Early days of sobriety…. Started out social, slowly turned into a mess. Best wishes to anyone reading this article and comments. I am three days sober. I was in denial that I was a alcoholic but I am. I drank everyday for 10 years until I got a buzz or worse drunk. I have almost ruined my marriage with alcohol,.

I am feeling better already. I am trusting God will see me though. I want to be free of this. It was exhausting planning my next drink! Thank you for the post. Today is the day that I officially declared a war on alcohol. I quit drinking, found mental clarity and took the LSAT. Since then I was admitted into law and now sit in the top of my class. My grades are so impressive I was offered a full ride after the dreaded 1st year of Law School. Awesome job with your sobriety, best of luck to you!

Every day I would go to bed thinking about how I would get more alcohol the next day, wake up thinking about it. I lost everything I loved… Everything! Thank you so much for sharing your story! Glad you are finding the benefits, and wishing you the best on your sobriety journey! This is a great site thanks. To a life of sobriety! Even when I drink I get stressed.

Thank you for sharing your story! If you need or want help on your sober journey we can help you! Everything written in this article is absolutely true.

Alcohol has almost killed me on a number of occasions in my life. At this point I have been sober for 36 hours. Face and skin looks better. I am more productive at work. An it seems like me eye lashes are growing thicker I am a man. I was drinking about 2 beers everyday which I think gave me a beer belly.

God was with me as I only ended up with a bruise. God is great. Please wish me luck on my sobriety. This was a great read to remind me why I stopped drinking. Nearly one year sober here and my life truly is much better now without alcohol. I started to drink when my father passed away to escape from tears and sadness. Alcohol was push me down and down. Im in school now i want to graduate i want to return myself and be productive again. I read all of your comments guys, all of you inspired me.

Keep up and lets live and make our dreams come true. Blessings and best wishes to you, as well! We are glad this article and community resonated with you! I drink a bottle maybe even more everyday. Iits wonderful when your drinking. You find all kinds of excuses to justify it. My sleep is horrible, I feel like hell in the morning and I know my looks are definitely different. I want to feel great. May I also mention that it has caused all kinds of problems in my life from texting people and saying things I would never say when sober.

With nearly 20 years of abuse, drugs and alcohol no longer have the desired effect on me. I admitted myself into a detox centre, and will be soon attending Rehab. I feel alive! Ive been drinking everyday for over the past 2 yrs heavily. I need and want to quit. Im just worried about withdrawal. I have gone almost three days in the past. My mom is a RN shes worried ill get d ts. She scares me but i need to stop this altogether.

Im soo sick of it literally. I want to feel better im tired of thinking about drinking all the time. I just need people like me to talk to maybe help me along through this.

Hi Rachel… Just a suggestion….. I am prescribed Gabapentin, which helps with withdrawals , and it also helps cravings and social anxiety incredibly! You can talk to your Doctor about this. But I also go to meetings, I have a sponsor, I have a sober support network, and I stay away from bars, or any other places that I used to drink at. Thank you for sharing your perspective and present experiences on your road to success, Jenny. Best wishes, we are here for you. Just read all of the comments and the article.

I made the decision to stop two days ago. It is causing problems with my family and I have a new grand daughter. I want to be better for all of them. I also have been feeling overwhelming anxiety and panic.

I wondered if it was in fact the wine, 2 botttles a day over the years that is really the culprit. I worry about withdrawl but so far so good. Had some celebratory drinks due to the good news.

The more I abstain from alcohol the better I am in Law School. Congratulations on your commitment to bettering yourself and focusing on schooling! Nothing close to the anxiety I felt after days of binge drinking though.

Congrats to everyone!! Congratulations Kris. This is day 1 for me. I recognize that I need to stop drinking. It has become an every night occurrence and it triggers anxiety, depression and other acting out behaviors.

I will be better off without alcohol. I hope that you have been effective in your own recovery. Kudos and thanks to the clearly compassionate author. Gratitude too to all the commenters. I will come back and share my story later but for now wanted simply to register my appreciation to all. I called into work on Friday and knew I had to make a change. Had my first drink at 14 years old.

That said, knowledge and support is power over this poison — and your Article was so very helpful, especially as the Holidays approach. I still get up of bed overnight, i still cannot go back to sleep for 1 or 2 hours, the daily life is very depressing, dealing with the issues i have to face at work and at home is very difficult.

It will get better, Pavel. Take it one day at a time, and there is nothing wrong with working toward a healthier you. Best wishes, have a wonderful week. My wife and I both have gotten clean of it and really appreciate our choice together to do this.

I feel great and encourage anyone and everyone to give sobriety a chance! I made it through day three. It helps to not feel alone. I feel pretty tired now and think tonight will be better. I have some health issues and some recent blood tests showed high liver enzymes. This scared me pretty bad as well as other not so favorable blood results. Glad I found this site. Almost forgot to mention… Quit cigarettes too.

On day 5 now. Double challenge but also double the quitting benefits. Thanks everyone. That is awesome T! Glad you are already feeling the benefits and wish you nothing but continued success and positivity!

I quit drinking after one guy I went out to dinner with got me so drunk that he took advantage of me. I was devastated and this happened before and I always blamed alcohol or people but it was time to quit pointing finger and man tf up! I quit completely. I recently went out to the nightclub and was having fun just on juice, I had never tried this before but I was so surprised of the positive effects it had on me.

I love to go out sober now because I look sexier, I go home on time, and I sleep very good. And yes I was one of them! That is an awesome revelation about sobriety! I had the same situation happen to me. I swore I would never drink ever again. This approach still has a negative effect as I am always working out, trying to eat healthy but not reaching my full potential physically and in my business. I honestly can say that for the past 6 years that I have called in sick to work, missed an important event, deadline or lost a fitness challenge, it was all because of alcohol.

I am a functioning alcoholic. Somewhat successful who is trying to make up for the abuse alcohol gives to my body by eating healthier and exercising, even when hungover. I am going to do it. I really want to be in top shape and also use up all that time for better things. I am 39, divorced, no kids and this addiction has ruled my life for the past 7 years! You can do it Crissy! If you need help we are here for you. We wish you all the best on your journey!

I have been sober for 34 days…. Day 1 was the day after I fell down my basement steps drunk. I ended up in the ICU with many broken ribs, both of my lungs were punctured, had a fractured vertebrae and a laceration on my spleen. It was a wake up call for me. I drank everyday for the past two years. Drinking until I passed out. I am lucky to be alive. Quit before you make a mistake like I did.

One day at a time. Good luck on your journey. You are worth it. Thank you so much for sharing Lynn! Yes, one day at a time, and before you know it the days have added up! I know I have a problem but would never admit it or say I was weak! My friend said some really important words to me you have never been a weak person since I met you but beer is your Kryptonite and that only weakens you but you have never been a weak person.

That means so much to me considering so many people do not get it and are trying to actually sabotage my choice for detox. Thanks for true, nice and inspiration knowledge and aware for better life by quit alchohal. I felt my face skin glow and i used to spend time to reading books and other positive activities of life after quitting alchohal.

My life changed now and i feel better life. Thank you for sharing the benefits you have experienced after stopping alcohol! We wish you nothing but the best as you continue your sober journey! Very good supportive info. I drank wine?..

My thinkn quit my drinkn to support him thinkn to quit.. I also hv an alcoholic sister in Family.. I am feeling better.. I think I need to continue this nondrinking. I have mentioned to husband he needs to have his blood work done and start from there. But I believe he knows and he has said he needs to cut down. So I can see me not drinking is going to help his issues in the long run.

This has been a helpful read. Wishing you both nothing but the best! Im not addicted to alcohol but I like to go out on Friday or Saturday night with friends and get tipsy at the night club or local hang out.

Then I drink to much and hate feeling like crap the next day. I was an athlete for about 15 years before I even had a drink and felt super great with unlimited energy. Alcohol can depriciate that. I work out days a week and have seen and felt what alcohol can do by depreciation in my work outs. God bless and say no to booze. Stay strong. Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with alcohol, Mike.

We agree that there are major benefits to quitting drinking. We wish you the best on your sober journey! It never is. Thanks for all the great posts. Going to get there. Jonathan, you are strong enough to do this! Hi everyone.

I had been drinking heavily for a few years, a bottle of wine every night was easy. Why did I drink? Because I liked it. I knew it was not good for me but I did enjoy it. So what made me want to stop? Just the thought of what would my liver be like in 5 years time.

Plus, I hate the thought of my wife spending her later years on her own if I died early. My energy levels have gone through the roof and can now easily complete an extra 15 mins with my exercise routine. I have found alcohol free beer to be a great alternative, it has just enough taste to takeaway the desire for wine.

Good luck to everyone, stay strong. Thank you for sharing your personal experiences and great job making it through the first week! That is definitely a huge step in the right direction! Wishing you all the best for yourself and your wife as you continue your sober journey!

Great article! I love drinking…but, I hate the way I feel afterwards. I am tired of hurting my body and feeling crappy all the time.

So I have decided to quit. I know it will be tough but, I want to feel better.. Thanks for the article and reactions. I do feel all the benefits that most people enjoy. Reading or writing something like this helps. Your mind will not forget that in a few weeks but it gets better every day and it is so worth it. All the best to all of you doing or wanting to do the same thing. Thank you for sharing your experiences with quitting alcohol and smoking.

We are glad to hear about your 38 days of sobriety — you are doing great! Feel free to provide us updates on your progress, we wish you all the best! Thanks for the thoughtful article with so much great info!! I came here for validation that quitting was the right thing for me and found it! Just knowing others feel the same as I do helps immensely! Thank you for your contribution to people wanting to stop drinking.

I started at 15, stopped at 49, so anyone can do it if I can! Glad the article resonated with you! It is likely the crying easier is just a reaction to being sober when viewing sad items, as you are now emotionally sober too and can experience all the emotions. We wish you nothing but continued success on your sober journey! I recently had an ultra sound of the pelvis and abdomen and my GP also told me that my liver looked rough. So…I poured the 2.

I liked wine and a beer, but was eating many many packets of crisps with this and could easily drink a bottle of wine. And this over many years..

When I think of the chemicals, fat and nasty things I poured into my body ad soaked my brain and blood stream with this muck. But it was especially bad when I lost my two beloved dogs within the space of two months and just found life very hard. I suppose that alcohol was a crutch. I like the taste of alcohol, going out and treating myself to a bottle of Shiraz orMerlot but it rally affected my sleep and my heart would b pounding away all night till about 4. I would sleep. Get up groggy and never eve be fully awake.

When I got the liver result, I thought — this is a wake up call as I thought — it is now or never. I on;;t want to die or ruin my body and happiness. Anyhows, I have been dry for a fortnight and feel a lot less tired, have more energy and a getting more things done. I have started nutri bullets and have no desire for crisps as I am not drinking alcohol.

I have started eating healthily and feel like a new me. IN fact, my best friend said that even my voice has changed and I sound more alert and alive. I realise now that there is a life without wine and ale and cuider ad that I d not need these things to e happy or escape lifes ups anddowns. Awesome job on starting your sober journey off strong! We wish you nothing but continued success and happiness! Thank you all for your wonderful expiriences.

Jah help me. We wish you all the best as you continue on your journey! Alcohol started as a fun thing to do with friends over the weekends for most of my 20s, but then life threw a couple of blows at me with family issues, work and a relationship in my early 30s and I escaped my problems by drinking more..

I am 34 now.. Despite me understanding that alcohol is the main reason for mental disorders like anxiety, depression etc I still find it hard to accept it.. My 3rd day.. Glad this article resonated with you! We wish you all the best as you continue your sober journey and if you ever find it too hard or want help on your journey we will always be here for you.

I noticed more drinking causes more eating and now my waistline is showing it. I work out regularly always have and generally eat healthy foods. I am planning to cut down from 2 glasses of wine to one or none. I am not buying any larger clothing. I am getting older and I know my body cannot handle this much alcohol anymore. You can do it! Whatever your reason for making this choice, we believe in you and hope you are finding great benefits in your newfound sobriety!

Thanks for the insight. Even when I made some progress and managed to cut back on alcohol, sooner or later, I found that alcohol just sneaked up on me and without realizing it, I would be drinking alcohol every night. Trying to cut back on alcohol was harder than I thought it would be. By comparison, quitting alcohol is easy! This is the problem with alcohol, no matter how hard I tried or how much I thought about it, cutting back on alcohol used up just about all my will power, and left me feeling drained and stressed.

But hang on, I thought drinking was to make me feel better, but actually alcohol made me feel bad. Whenever I felt drained of energy was when I was most likely to drink too much alcohol. So if this is counter intuitive, you would be correct, because to fight against the urge to drink using will power alone means that at some stage you will be defeated.

A small chink in your defenses or a small moment of weakness, and before you know it, alcohol will come sneaking back into your life. Just like it never went away. The problem with alcohol is that it takes gradual control over our lives.

I know for me that I wasted a large proportion of my life planning my life around drinking alcohol. When I could have that first drink, whether I could stay up late at night and have another drink, or even worse, whether I could be in trouble the next day if I had too much alcohol the night before.

Over a long period of time, the body tends to develop a tolerance towards alcohol so that you find that you need more and more alcohol to achieve the same desired feeling of relaxation. This is not good. This means that inevitably we find that we are constantly drinking too much alcohol, just for the same effect. Have you been drinking alcohol for a long time? Do you think drinking is a bad habit for you? Bad habits seem to be easy to develop but much harder to change, so if I had my time again, I would choose to avoid alcohol.

I drank alcohol for over 25 years, and only when I tried to cut back did I realize how hard it is to change a bad habit. And the problem with alcohol is that it is an expert at changing your intentions and stealing your time, which means it is an expert at changing your habits. But drinking alcohol every night is not a good habit. And be wary of those cravings for more alcohol. Why do alcohol cravings always happen around 5pm each day?

Believe it or not, there is a scientific reason that alcohol cravings occur around the end of each day. And the problem with alcohol is caused by what you had to drink the day before. Alcohol takes around 24 hours to eradicate from the body, and even though the alcohol itself is metabolised fairly quickly in the body, it is the by-products of the alcohol that stay in the liver and cause all sorts of problems.

One of those problems is the slight feeling of unease and maybe even slight shaking that we feel at the end of each day. These feelings tend to make us want to drink alcohol, and when we do so, the feelings of unease are replaced with the high that we get from drinking.

So our brain is tricked into thinking that alcohol makes us feel better, when actually it was the alcohol cravings that made us feel bad in the first place.