{"id":118272,"date":"2019-09-15T22:59:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T04:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/?p=118272"},"modified":"2023-12-06T17:53:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T00:53:50","slug":"how-to-stop-drinking-alcohol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bemorewithless.com\/how-to-stop-drinking-alcohol\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Decided to Stop Drinking and How I Did It"},"content":{"rendered":"

You probably didn\u2019t expect an article about how to stop drinking alcohol when you signed up for articles about simplicity but stay with me.<\/p>\n

Simplicity and sobriety have more in common than you think (and I’m not here to convince you to stop drinking). Even if sobriety is not for you or you don\u2019t intend to stop drinking or you don’t drink at all, I think you\u2019ll find value here.<\/p>\n

\"stop<\/p>\n

My relationship with alcohol<\/h2>\n

I’ve questioned my drinking, I’ve managed my drinking. I’ve enjoyed my drinking and I’ve hated my drinking. Clearly, alcohol took up a lot of space in my mind and my life \u2014 says the woman who enjoys freeing up space in her mind and her life.<\/p>\n

Long story short …<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started drinking when I was a teenager and didn\u2019t stop until earlier this year. I (mostly) managed alcohol well except for a few times a year, often when traveling or getting together with friends or family when I didn\u2019t. I enjoyed drinking and occasionally I abused alcohol but I wasn\u2019t addicted to it. I could easily quit drinking for a month or more at a time. The older I got the harder drinking became. Just a little bit affected my sleeping and made me feel crappy the next day. I noticed it affected my moods more too.<\/p>\n

Here are 7 other things I noticed when I stopped drinking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The longer version …<\/h2>\n

Thinking about quitting was hard for me. Quitting wasn\u2019t. That isn\u2019t to diminish how hard it might be for anyone else. If you want to stop drinking but quitting seems hard or even impossible, remember that drinking probably feels hard sometimes too. We can do hard things (more recommendations on how below).<\/p>\n

When I decided to take a break from drinking on January 20, 2019, I didn\u2019t know that weekend I’d had my last glass of wine, my last hangover and that I would end a decades long journey of managing alcohol.<\/p>\n

I wrote about my concerns about alcohol in 2011<\/a> and came to the conclusion that I wasn\u2019t addicted\/didn\u2019t have a problem\/wasn\u2019t an alcoholic. If I could go back and send a message to the me who wrote those words and thought those thoughts, I would have asked her, \u201cIs that a good enough reason to keep drinking?\u201d and \u201cIs alcohol contributing to the full, healthy, intentional life you say you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

For someone as concerned with health and wellbeing as I am, I\u2019m surprised I didn\u2019t stop when I read this article<\/a> about a study that shows there are no safe levels of alcohol. It\u2019s literally a poison. Anyone who\u2019s experienced a hangover understands this. You feel poisoned because you are. I wanted to hold on to those stories about how one glass of wine a day is good for you (and other stories I told myself about alcohol), but honestly, how often did I ever have just one glass?<\/p>\n

Quitting was easy but thinking about it was not<\/h2>\n

In my experience, the fear of stopping was much harder than actually stopping. The times I considered quitting, I shut it down because I couldn\u2019t imagine my future without alcohol. What would vacations look like, or dinner with friends and family? What about holidays or other special occasions that I had always enthusiastically celebrated with champagne?<\/p>\n

I was even worried that if I quit drinking it would change the dynamic of my marriage. When we went out to dinner, we enjoyed wine. When we got together with friends and family we liked to drink. When we traveled to see friends or went to the beach, we looked forward to the alcohol infused celebrating and enjoying. When I quit, I didn\u2019t expect my husband to quit or ask him to quit. He didn\u2019t quit, but he hardly drinks at all anymore. I\u2019ve asked him why and he says it\u2019s not fun to drink alone and he feels better not drinking. The truth is even though we usually had fun drinking together, we are much more connected now that we aren\u2019t drinking.<\/p>\n

I didn’t really care what people would think<\/h2>\n

This is a benefit of making changes later in life. Most of the time when I think people are thinking deeply about me they aren’t so I’ve stopped letting what others may or may not think impact personal decisions I make about my life. Chances are, your relationship with alcohol is very personal. Mine was.<\/p>\n

\"stop<\/p>\n

There are some things that are only your business. Why you choose not to drink falls into this category. However, it\u2019s normal for people to think that when you aren\u2019t drinking alcohol, you have to tell everyone why. When you decline a drink, they may wonder, and often ask out loud one or more of the following questions \u2026<\/p>\n