Ditched booze last week and its helped a little

[Tony]

I'll be honest here...

I think I was going down a dodgy path with drinking. It got to the point where I was having 3 or 4 glasses of wine and a couple of beers every night. I was even doing weird stuff like sneeking drink into the house so my wife would not see. This went on for about 4 weeks and then I got to the point where I thought this has to stop.

I've always been a bit of a drinker, nothing massive, but I did like a drink. Drinking started to become a bit of a crutch for me. The thing is its a vicious circle and drinking and depression seem to go hand in hand. I thought the drinking might be making my depression worse so I have now stopped. Don't know how long I will stop for, maybe a couple of weeks, maybe forever. I have been doing a lot of soul searching recently and I've realised that my dark cloud has always been accompanied by drink. I figure that if I give drinking maybe my depression might get better.

Today I have been 5 days without a drink and I have felt really good. I have felt positive and thought I'd found the answer to my problems.

Truth is I'm a long way from finding a total solution. Dont know why by despite the fact I've been sober for nearly a week I'm starting to feel a bit down today. Maybe the euphoria of giving up booze has started to subside and I still have a long way to go? I dont know. Its early days but I did feel really great for a few days so I'm going to keep going with my new booze free lifestyle. I am also going to the gym a lot more and that's helping too.

One thing is for sure, the drinking was not helping and by giving it up I feel I am making positive contribution to getting better. The next thing I need to tackle is my internet addiction. I can literally waste days mind numbingly surfing the net and constantly checking emails. I guess the internet is another way I try to escape all the things that i need to do. Why do I feel the need to avoid things? When I have piles of work in front of me instead of trying to tackle each thing one by one I just stare at it and feel paralyzed? Whats all that about? I cant deal with stress and getting everyday tasks done. I wish I could just focus and do it. Its really frustrating  _-+

Oh well, onwards and upwards! Come on world, lets ave it!!

[Buttercup]

Glad that you're feeling a bit better for not drinking. It's really positive that you realised things were getting a bit out of hand. 

[Sweetpea]

Good for you giving up drinking and going to the gym more. I hope things improve for you. S x x x x

[Pip]

A few years ago I stopped drinking as we went on a healthy living / going to the gym lifestyle.  It really made me feel so much better as I would only drink on rare occasions.  Subsequently now I find I can't drink a great deal so it did me a favour even though I stopped drinking for non depression reasons.

[Tony]

Thanks for the replys guys. I should feel great now that I have taken a positive step but I feel really low today. Not sure why. My moods today are really up and down. For the last week I have been so positive and for some reason today I feel like rock bottom again. Its almost like I've sucked the pleasure and happiness about giving up drinking and its back to reality.

[Sweetpea]

Feel for you. Its so hard when we have down days. S x x x x

[sad sack]

when I find myself getting a bit low, I get off the drink straight away... it never helps (IMO)

try to keep going to the gym, it really helps with health and your mood... it won't take long before you notice positive changes... even without the gym, if you just cut out all the drink, you will be doing your body the world of good...

 $%$

[Tony]

Still feeling low today. I naively thought that by doing something positive, ie giving up the booze, that my depression would start to ease.

I'm going to see my GP on Monday. Not sure what I'm going to say and I have know idea how its going to go. I dont want to go on tablets, I would prefer some type of talk therapy.

I was talking to my wife about it the other day and she is being supportive. She just said go to the docs and if you have to go on meds then so be it. My wife told me about her friend who has just given birth and was having a tough time. The doc said she post natal depression and straight away she got anti depressants. That kind of surprised me? I have been battling with my thoughts for literally months maybe years about whether to go on meds or not and she decides in matter of days!?! I know pnd is different to what I'm suffering with but interesting to see how people vary when it comes to making decisions. I have also noticed how women that i know don't wait and think about stuff, if they need help they just go out a get it. I have been suffering with depression for years and done it pretty much on my own, I probably should have seeked help years ago.

So I'll go Monday and see what he has to say.

[Sweetpea]

Maybe write some notes on how you are feeling. This way you will not forget what you need to say. When I got really bad I have to admit I would of taken anything if it made me feel better. I do take medication for my depression and have been told I will probably have to take it for life. As each time I stop the depression comes back. Hope it goes well with your appointment on Monday. S x x x x

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