Quitting drinking for a few months,,, anyone tried?

[catalyst]

How about you drink and have a good time, but not so much that you blackout and have a brutal hangover... is this too logical?

[cjmewett]

Anyone who writes "setting limits is just too hard" and then talks about trying to set a limit of 12 beers is a [censored] idiot. To just about any sane person it seems plain that you're not going to make sensible decisions or respect the sober guidelines you've set for yourself once you've had two six-packs.

There have been probably two times when I decided that I was unhappy with the amount that I was drinking and that I should probably scale back. The first was after getting insanely drunk at an all-day pool party, hooking up with a married woman, humiliating myself in front of friends and acquaintances, and making a lot of people that I care about feel really uncomfortable. I decided to cut back for a while and even entertained the idea of giving up alcohol altogether, but eventually discarded that plan when I decided that I could just go back to drinking socially without putting myself in a similar situation again. I can't say that my behavior changed all that much, because being that drunk was already a very rare circumstance.

The second time wasn't really as a result of anything specific, just that I was getting awful hangovers and realizing that I didn't particularly like the guy that I was after ten or twelve beers. Some of this coincided with a breakup and the thought that while people who know me very well might know and like drunk Chris, new people that I'm trying to make an impression on probably don't find him nearly so pleasant. So I decided that unless I was planning in advance to go full-on, I'd hold myself to a four-beer limit. This means no going to happy hour and dispatching the rules, staying out until midnight and having a dozen drinks. I didn't try to keep myself from EVER getting drunk, I just wanted to ensure that I was only doing so when I had decided to ON PURPOSE instead of just getting carried away with my drinking. Four beers would be enough to feel it and have a good time, but not so much that I would be drunk or impaired to the point that I would likely discard my "plan of attack." This basically worked until I just stopped caring about moderation. I feel like it's a reasonable plan if you want to cut down on drunken episodes while not wanting to give up alcohol altogether.

[lippy]

Seems as though people have had the same ideas I have. I think it will be hard to not drink in a college setting, but I am going to try. Thus, I am making the decision not to consume alcohol until June 12th, 2007.

O/U on how long it takes me to fail?

[testaaja]

Well, the only times I've ever considered taking a break from drinking are when I got these deathlike hangovers. I love drinking. I used to black out every time I drank but it came to a point when it wasn't fun anymore, always being the [censored] idiot etc. Now I drink more of beer and less vodka & whiskey and everything goes smoother. If you can't cut down on your intake when drinking you got a problem.
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O/U on how long it takes me to fail?

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under 2 weeks.

[cjmewett]

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O/U on how long it takes me to fail?

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I think I'd be impressed if you made it to April 1.

[catalyst]

[ QUOTE ]
Seems as though people have had the same ideas I have. I think it will be hard to not drink in a college setting, but I am going to try. Thus, I am making the decision not to consume alcohol until June 12th, 2007.

O/U on how long it takes me to fail?

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I dunno man, this is college, and there is a good chance this is the best time of our lives. Do you have any control to stop drinking once you start? I think if you limit drinking to say two nights a week and limit yourself to a certain number of drinks, you can have a good time and not ruin the next day (this all rides on you being able to stop, though).

[luckyjimm]

I gave up drinking for 22 months when I was 25 years old. (I'm now 28). My drinking had for years been getting out of control. I drank large quantities - usually red wine - and very quickly. I would drink much more than those around me - easily a couple of bottles. So many times I ended up in trouble - at best, just a day-long hangover and vomiting so much I couldn't hold down water, but more irritatingly times I'd end up stranded a long way from home, stumbling round like Frankenstein's monster, spending the night rough more than once. It was like alcohol would take me away from the civilised company I was with and into its own dark world. I fell out with many peopel and lost a lot of friends. I took to drinking on my own, of course, as well.

The first month was very hard. I found myself back in touch with my emotions and memories, and with an unclouded view of my life and my behaviour. I never went to AA as much as they'd have liked me to, but still did a couple of meetings a week. I got a fantastic sponsor - an unshockable huge gay Kiwi whose depravities outdid anything I could offer, whose easy temperament and relaxed, happy, virtuous life, obtained through AA and sobriety, seemed a model that could lead me to salvation.

Socially it wasn't that hard. I made a new crowd of friends who'd never met me before I drank, and accepted me as I was. Old friends were pleased to "have me back". There were very few occasions where I felt it was socially awkward not to drink, and I was very used to dealing with people asking one too many questions. I just wasn't tempted; like being a vegetarian, abstemption became normal. I cycled everywhere, eat better, lost a lot of weight, got fit and lived well. Why would I want to go back?

I stopped going to AA after spending New Year's Eve in Italy and - without drinking - smoking a lot of dope and snorting coke. Suddenly I'd lost any desire to go to meetings. I picked up other vices - principally porn and strippers. Still, I managed not to drink for another 15 months without AA.

What really screwed things up was when I got into poker, first the live game played by my crowd of friends and then playing by myself online. Soon I was losing every penny I earned and a few grand of an inheritance. I found gambling in many ways took me to the same dark place alcohol did.

One day I had a deadline to meet for work, and was meant to stay late. But I had a MySpace message from a 26-year old girl from LA who looked like Betty Page and said "I'm coming to London tomorrow. We have nothing in common but I think you're cute. Is that enough?" Yes, I thought, yes, it was.

Stuff the work, I just couldn't not go. For some reason I decided to have a drink beforehand - my first in 22 months. I had a glass of red wine in my old haunt. How familiar yet how distant it was; it was difficult to drink. I got to the hotel lobby, met the girl, and went to the bar. I ordered a beer, asked her what she was having. "I'll just have a lemonade", she said. "I'm in recovery." Americans, I learnt, can indeed do irony.

I didn't get too drunk that night, but didn't get laid either. Interestingly, my alcohol problem never returned in its previous dimensions. I don't think I am cured; but my poker addiction has pushed my interest in alcohol to the side. My social life has changed, too, and I'm not going out as much as I was in college. So, I actually now drink a lot less than most of my friends. In the near two years since I've been back on the booze, I've had very few if any negative experiences. I don't think I've been sick - well, maybe once - and I haven't blacked out, or even fallen out with anyone. I'm perfectly capable of having just one drink. Alcohol has lost its hold on me, but only because I've replaced it with another addiction.

Cliff notes: Quit the booze, play more poker. You'll be fine.

[dibbs]

I did it for 2 months but it was a 1.5k prop bet so it made things a lot easier. I also have no problem staying home and watching movies or reading on thurs/fri/sat night which I know would drive most people insane. The day I could drink again though I went on a three day bender so it was gettin to me by the end.

I think the actual better way to go is still going out and drinking but just really chilling out. Just take longer with each drink and switch to water sometimes. I know it can be hard for some people to stop drinkin once you get goin but unless your social scene is all about keg stands and races it shouldnt be that hard just to relax and not go nuts.

Basically if your goal is not to [censored] up your grades and not feel like total ass hungover a few days a week, I think you can still achieve that without depriving yourself of something enjoyable.

It's definitely easier said than done though, depending on your friends and how much they drink.

Best of luck either way.

[CappyAA]

I'll tell you exactly how this will turn out. You'll be fine for a weekend or two, and then your friends will be doing something fun, and you'll figure 1 or 2 won't hurt as you join them for a few drinks. Just cut back on your drinking when you do go out, and you'll be fine. Switch to beer as it takes longer to drink and you won't get drunk as quickly.

I've quit drinking for 2 months on 2 separate occasions. Once was to drop weight, and I stayed good to that with only 1 slip up. The other was to save money when I was poor, and that didn't work very well at all.

[QuadLaser]

Quitting drinking during college is a big mistake. Wait until you are at least out of college before you worry about drinking-related issues. It will naturally slow down since your post-college friends won't wanna go out on a Monday night and get wrecked (as often).