Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums - we could increase the list ad infinitum.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48883873)

No sex, no masturbation, no porn, no alcohol, no weed,no love.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48883752)

Go to an AA meeting and listen for the similarities. Find a guy you think you can tolerate and ask him to get coffee with you. He will gladly say yes - it will be weird how excited he is to talk to you and try to help. If you don’t like that meeting go to different one. There is a solution.

I’m in an AA meeting right now, not flame. What you’re describing is what we call the jumping off point. You can’t imagine continuing to live life with alcohol and you can’t imagine a life without it. But there is an amazing life for you if you’re will to try and get some help.

I made threads like this on XO for almost a decade until I finally got sober. A lot of poasters have and did get sober. We know the fear and anxiety all too well. I used to brush my teeth and think, “maybe today will be the day I don’t drink” and it never was until I accepted some help. There is a way out.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48883881)

If you could only see how terribly cliched what you’re going through really is, it might give you hope that the cliches about recovery are true too. I’m not trying to minimize the pain or hopelessness you feel, I’m saying that millions of people have felt EXACTLY like that and found a solution.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886327)

you need to take some affirmative action toward stopping though. i never thought i could live without it, but once i entered a detox program and was clean for 2-3 weeks my cravings more or less went away.

fwiw, the rehab didn't do shit for me, but having some structure for a while was nice. i didn't get anything out of the meetings and thought the people were pathetic losers. the meetings were remote bc it was during the lockdowns in 2021. there was one meeting where this bitch attended via facetime drunk AS FUCK walking around her parents' front yard. nobody called her on it either.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48883978)

The meetings were full of people who had been clean 12-20 months and decided they could “have a few drinks” but relapsed and spiraled. That was the one valuable thing I got from the meetings - you must quit for good. It’s tempting to think “hey I have it under control. I can have a couple”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886259)

It sounds dumb but the only way I was able to quit was to force myself to stop buying it.

I was able to mooch here and there but after like six months I never even thought about it and moved on

Now like ten years later I'll have a drink to three a year and that's it

Rarely ever want more

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48883989)

do you think doing it alone makes it worse. drinking alone is 180 ime. i only get a few hours a week where there aren’t other people around. but i understand how it might get bad

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886267)

i'm drinking 3 liters of wine a day with a mix of beer (i go through box wine now) and i feel sleepy every few hours. i know its getting to car crash level bad

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886280)

drinking alone really is 180, and i can see how it's good if you have guardrails like passive social pressure or hard time commitments you aren't ready to fuck up. covid and a few professional things hit me like a truck and removed the latter, unfortunately.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886320)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886226)

I've lost about 5 pounds though. I was drinking at least 5 beers (no light beers) a night, so I'm cutting out close to 1000 calories a day. (I only drink beer, I don't really like wine or liquor)

Sobriety is not fun at all. I'm trying to not seek an outlet for the pain of life and just work on processing it as opposed to avoiding it, but the weather is nice and I just want to go drink beer in the sun.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886885)

I'm not completely 'sober' or whatever. But I honestly don't care to drink 98% of the time now, and when I do, I drink 1 beer or maybe split a bottle of nice wine with my wife once a week, or every other.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886948)

If you could drink 2-3 beers and get that warm familiar feeling, it wouldn't be a big deal. But now it takes you 5+ beers and you wake up feeling like shit the older you get.

It's best to just not drink beer unless you're out at the lake or river with your kids, out golfing, whatever. Basically, only drink when you're out and doing something active, as opposed to just plopping down on the couch, being passive.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886956)

https://imgur.com/a/xUdK9pi - drink water, friend.

It is so easy to not drink after I had my tongue sewed to the bottom of my soft palate for 2 months. But surely, there is an easier way for you. Up to you.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5716732&forum_id=2#48886945)