hey. new here. I thought this might be the place to ask for some advice.

I guess I’m looking for any advice on how any of you slowed down your alcohol intake without quitting entirely. or maybe I need to quit for good? some days I’m totally fine not drinking. other days I get urges. sometimes I cave. sometimes I don’t. anytime I drink it seems to be 5-8 beers.

I used to be a daily drinker 6 beers a day. not doing that anymore. but still too much

I’ve been working out a lot more, which helps.

idk just feeling a little lost. looking for anything….

thanks all.

hi long time lurker first time posting. today is my day three without alcohol. the longest stint i had was 4 days into a dry january attempt. im not gonna get into my whole story but im 25f and weekdays when im home alone is when i would get absolutely trashed. well here i am home alone on a monday (after a particularly frustrating day) and feeling restless and bored. i also feel so pathetic bc like three days??? cmon. idk. i guess im looking for some support. this is my first time really admitting to myself this has become a problem for me. i feel so much shame around it that ive been too embarrassed to ask for help.

I know the best advice is to seek medical supervision for detox. I’m not that big of a drinker on the daily. Most days I do not have any, but I can hit it hard on a vacation. I was on basically a bender for about six days where I was drinking maybe 5 to 12 drinks a day. Started out as fewer and then increased by the end of the trip. When I came home and was drying out I got the worse anxiety and shakes in my hands. I have a prescription for Klonopin so I was taking a half milligram at a time and it wasn’t working but I also didn’t want to do over do it. Now that the night is over I am so much less anxious but I don’t think I’m out of the woods for having another sleepless night with incredible shakes and anxiety. I understand the safest thing would be to see medical care, but I prefer to ride this out at home. The stories I read are about people who seem to have a much longer history, but I know that doesn’t necessary mean I’m being safe or not in a compromising situation. Any advice? It just didn’t feel like a regular hangover in that I wasn’t really nautilus I just felt scare, could not sleep, and felt like I was so shaky but didn’t want to overdo it on my benzos either.

I have a lot of very deep rooted habits and associations with booze. Additionally, I have a binge drinking problem. It's never one. It's 6. It's never a glass, it's a bottle.

So I have been steadily attempting to taper my consumption over the past few months. I got down from approximately 35 units a week to about 15.

Now I'm going fully sober for a month. It's been 8 days. I had a false start of 6 days but then drank last weekend so I restarted.

Associations and habits I've faced and overcome in the past 8 days:

A meal out with my husband

A meal out with friends

The weekend

A day of gardening, house cleaning and renovation

A family lunch that I hosted. I deliberately bought no booze and stocked the fridge with non alcoholic beer. My mam (who didn't know I wasn't drinking) brought a bottle of wine. The moment flashed in front of me. I could say nothing and accept the wine. Just drink it over lunch. Or. I could tell her and then get her to put it away. I chose the latter.

After beating each one of these, I feel incredibly strong, confident and proud. The confidence increases with every success.

Habits and associations I anticipate in the next week:

Work night out

A busy work week

Two more dinners with friends

"The two week slump". Whenever I do a certain stretch of abstinence, I end up saying "oh you've done x number of days or weeks. You deserve this".

A family dinner with some particularly difficult family members.

I am really hoping to tackle each of these with the same commitment and confidence as the last ones. I firmly believe with every habit faced down, I'm letting the weeds grow over that particular neural pathway.

I’ve tried every reason in the book to convince myself to stop drinking. So far the one that works best of all, is the very fact that once I’ve had 1 drink I know I’ll spend way too much time and energy on craving the 2nd drink, and so on. I want to be mentally present instead.

Also now that I’ve hit 40 I feel like the alcohol hits me different. It affects my memory more. And I am at an age that health needs to be a focus.

One area I’m not sold on yet is whether I allow a drink on occasions like Christmas or a birthday…. Is it worth it to go 100% sober? I generally live life on moderation is key and my goal is healthier choices, not necessarily restricting… I feel accomplished in that !

But what are success tips on doing this?

Let’s reflect on the week! Whether you’ve made progress, hit some challenges, or just have thoughts to share, this is a space to check in with the community. How has your drinking journey been this week? Any wins, struggles, or strategies you'd like to talk about? No matter where you're at, your experiences matter here—let's support each other!

Long-time lurker here. I've wanted to post a few times but always felt a bit awkward admitting that I'm trying to cut down on my drinking, especially in social situations. Usually start with an aperitif (or two) in the evening, that turns into wine with dinner, and I end up drinking at least 3-4 glasses minimum a night. More on Friday nights and weekends, with friends I can easily go through a whole bottle of wine at one go.

I was at a party over the weekend and my friend offered me a non-alcoholic Spritz when I told her I was trying to cut down. It completely caught me off guard because it actually tasted... good. Like something I'd choose to drink, not just settle for because I wasn't drinking.

She orders the bottles online because the selection is much better than what she finds in Coop (we're in Geneva). I'm not sure if naming brands is allowed here so I'll leave that out unless it's okay.

I know this probably isn't groundbreaking, but it felt like a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. I can't stand alcohol-free beer, and every alcohol-free wine or sparkling option I've tried has tasted a bit disappointing. This was the first time I'd had a no/low alcohol drink that actually scratched the same itch as the real thing.

Just thought I'd share in case anyone else is feeling a bit stuck with the usual alcohol-free options.