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I stopped drinking three months ago – it’s not as simple as the internet makes it look

At a glance, sobriety looks pretty on social media – and relatively simple to achieve. A quick search for sober motivation will send you off on a stream of brightly coloured listicles that advise making plans that don’t involve alcohol, spending time with friends who support your choices, trying new things (like mocktails!) and going for a walk to combat alcohol cravings. The posts are often accompanied by a white-toothed influencer who is standing on a mountain in a bikini. The internet paints a picture of sobriety that has been smoothed around the edges, with an occasional snag of vulnerability...

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Featured

 How I Stopped Drowning in Drink

What's the secret to getting sober and repairing the other broken parts of an alcoholic's life? It starts with setting your own terms, writes Paul Carr. I know that I must sound like that obnoxious self-help guy who promises to share the secrets of his perfect life for just a hundred dollars and the soul of your firstborn child. The difference is, I don't have any magical secrets, and I don't want your hundred dollars. In fact, I actively discourage you from taking this as gospel. If you decide to quit drinking, you should do it on your own terms and for your own reasons. Still, if you're curious how I did it, here are my steps.

 Learning How to Quit Drinking Was the Biggest Gift I’ve Ever Given Myself

Four years and 10 months ago, I learned how to quit drinking. It wasn’t a Dry January or Sober October experiment, though I’d done those in the past. It was a full-on epiphany: This substance is no longer serving me. Looking back, I never could have understood how drastically the words “I don’t drink” would transform my life. I didn't realize how badly I needed to set myself free from the merry-go-round of wine dinners, after-work cocktails, brain fog, alcohol-induced anxiety, skin conditions, and that sense that I “needed something” to function in social situations.

Articles of Interest

A Milestone: Six Years Ago I Quit Drinking Alcohol – What I’ve Learned and How It Can Help You

My social circle became smaller once I announced I’d quit cold turkey. I quickly realized many people I considered friends were using me to promote themselves, their brand, or their bike shop and weren’t concerned with my health and well-being. This was a dark time. When someone would offer me a drink, I’d get mocked and be told, “I wasn’t fun anymore,” while they’d brag that they could “drink all night and feel great the next day. ” I receded into my mind and pushed away from this social scene. It was a real struggle. One that, in hindsight, I wished I had gotten professional help to help guide me through.

Alcoholism disrupted my scientific career. This is how I got sober

I was looking back in my diary, trying to find clues to why I was struggling with severe insomnia. I had just begun to take new antidepression medications, and something wasn't right. I'd experienced insomnia before, and now I saw the common thread. In both cases, my psychiatrist had started me on new medications and had recommended that I temporarily stop drinking alcohol. Suddenly it hit me: The insomnia was a symptom of alcohol withdrawal. I was a functioning alcoholic. It was the wake-up call I needed, and I've been sober ever since. But now I worry that others, facing the stresses and sadness of the pandemic, may be starting down a similar path. Here's my cautionary tale.

Gisele Bündchen Explains Why She Quit Drinking Alcohol More Than 2 Years Ago

Gisele Bündchen quietly stopped drinking more than two years ago, and now she’s being vocal about how much it improved her life, speaking to People about when and why she gave up alcohol.

Here’s What Happens When You Stop Drinking

What happens when you stop drinking alcohol? Pretty much everything you’d expect—and also plenty that you might not. First, there’s the obvious: better sleep, less anxiety, and a clearer head. Then, there are the benefits you probably haven’t considered. Like: glowier skin, hotter sex, and deeper relationships—just to name a few.

How to quit drinking

If you struggle to control your drinking, you may wonder if it’s time to quit. Getting sober is a courageous step that can improve your life. But to quit in the safest way possible, you’ll want to consult a doctor first. Everyone’s physiology is unique, and dropping alcohol cold turkey can be life-threatening.

I quit alcohol to save my life. But I miss the person I was when I drank

I gave up drinking when my pancreas exploded. In early 2014, after celebrating a job loss with a two-week bender, I spent a sunny Sunday with a knifing pain in my gut, vomiting so hard that I ripped my gastrointestinal tract. My mom gave me a ride to the emergency room, and I spent a week in the hospital. A doctor told me that if I kept drinking, I would die. And I had to think about it for a second. If you’re not blacked out, is life worth remembering? Would I rather live in sober mediocrity for four more decades or be a kickass rock star for four more months?

I spent 22 years as a problem drinker. Here are 10 things I’ve learned since I quit

Having turned my back on the partying, hangovers and self-destruction, I’ve slowly worked out what was behind them – and how to replace them with something better

I used to drink as an escape. To quit, I thought of sobriety as an adventure

At first it was uncomfortable and foreign, like asking for directions overseas. But now I feel at home when socialising sober

So you decided to stop drinking? I did - and these are my year’s lessons

Abstaining from alcohol is increasingly being destigmatized as more of us consider a booze-free holiday.

Trying to cut back on alcohol? Here’s what works

There are so many options for cutting back or quitting alcohol it’s hard to know what will be most effective.

What happens to your liver when you quit alcohol

Fortunately, there is good news. In people with fatty liver, after only two to three weeks of giving up alcohol, the liver can heal and looks and functions as good as new. In people with liver inflammation or mild scarring, even within seven days of giving up alcohol, there are noticeable reductions in liver fat, inflammation and scarring. Stopping alcohol use for several months lets the liver heal and return to normal. In heavy drinkers with more severe scarring or liver failure, giving up alcohol for several years reduces their chance of worsening liver failure and death. However, people who drink heavily can be physically dependent on alcohol and stopping suddenly can cause alcohol withdrawal.

Resources

14 Ways to Quit Drinking and Live a Healthier Life

Do you feel like your drinking may have gotten out of control? Have you been thinking that it might be time to quit drinking? Maybe you’re tired of feeling hungover. Perhaps you want to have more energy. Or maybe your loved ones are worried about you and you’re ready to choose a new path in life. Whatever your motivation, there’s hope and help available if you’re struggling with an alcohol use disorder. Understanding how to quit drinking alcohol is the first step on your journey. H

5 signs it’s time to quit or cut back on drinking

I’m a licensed therapist who specializes in helping people change their drinking habits, and I took my last drink more than eight years ago. But I’ll let you in on a secret: I don’t care if you call yourself an alcoholic or not. I don’t care if you believe you meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder.

8 Books to Help You Drink Less, or Quit Altogether

We asked addiction experts and people in recovery to share the titles they found most useful.