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[RagnarokIV]

20126 I am going sober. Drinking my last 2 bottles of wine right now.

I got rid of smoking 8 years ago. I can do this again.

I owe it to my children and wife.

I know that nobody here knows me but I had a problem years ago and it resurfaced following a physical injury that's ruined my fitness life.

All year I've talked shit about going sober but then the weekend rolled around.

The only way I will do this is by venting here and having a place to do dear diary updates.

For any other GAFers going sober in 2026, let's keep in touch and support each other. What habits, substitute drinks etc. we'll be using.

I'll be dropping my kayfabe for a while until I get this dealt with.

If you've struggled or want to change this year - I'm here to talk, DM/Steam/PS/Xbox whatever. And I'm sure others are.

 

[jshackles]

Awesome to hear man. I used to struggle with alcohol addiction but gave all that up almost 30 years ago when my daughter was born. It's a tough road ahead, but you can do it. I'm also here to talk if anyone is struggling.

 

[rm082e]

Straight Edge since 2014 here. I support everyone trying to get sober and healthy. You can do it.

 

[Punished Miku]

I know that nobody here knows me but I had a problem years ago and it resurfaced following a physical injury that's ruined my fitness life

I only know you from here but I definitely noticed something was different when you changed to that thing you call an avatar. Definitely a red flag in retrospect.

Step 1, change that avatar.

Step 2, start treating promises to yourself as sacred. If that means you start small, fine. When you say you are going to go for a walk instead of take a drink today, honor the promise to yourself. The willpower to hold yourself accountable has to be trained like a muscle. It is currently weak but can be strengthened with training. Breaking a promise is like skipping leg day. Start with goals for 1 day and renew the process again in the morning.

Best of luck man.

 

[The Fartist]

Only 18100 more years to go, you got this.

 

[bender]

 

[LegendOfKage]

I'd strongly consider joining a local Alcoholics Anonymous group. You're right that support is a good thing, but being able to get that support from people you have scheduled meetings with would probably be a good idea. And good for you taking the initiative to do this for your family and for yourself.

 

[HAYA8U5A]

 

[bitbydeath]

Good luck!
Have you removed all alcohol from your house?

 

[ClanOfNone]

If you've quit smoking than you can definitely quit drinking.

I promised myself I would quit smoking when I hit a year of sobriety. I got sober in 2012, but the cigarettes have proved more….. problematic.

I wish you success, alcohol is a horrible bitch goddess, I do not miss it in the slightest.

 

[DeceptiveAlarm]

Just celebrated 12 years clean on the 4th. Old school clean not this shit where the kids say their clean but smoke "medical" pot all day. Best thing i ever did. Wasn't easy at first. I went to a narcotics anonymous meeting daily. Changed my friends my whole life. My life is amazing today. Good luck! Take it one day at a time and you got this. Go to a AA meeting like someone said above.

 

[John Marston]

As a former professional drunk all I can tell you is just do it for you.
Now is the best time to be selfish.
Your loved ones will automatically reap the benefits.

The best thing about quitting booze is you almost immediately feel the benefits.
Your wallet will also thank you.
You will taste food better, your mind is no longer clouded but emotions might be harder to handle since you no longer numb yourself.

You're a good person here on GAF and you can do this.

Remember all of us silly clowns are here cheering for you

JM

 

[Durien]

You got this man. Find a reason (your family) and a distraction (usually exercise or running helps with this). You got this!

 

[Jaybe]

Great call. I'm just over 3 years sober. It took a few attempts, so keep working toward your goal. It really makes for a better you.

I found reddit stopdrinking subreddit helpful at the time, as well as some Alcohol Explained videos, and this one below. Basically any amount of alcohol isn't healthy and it's ultimately a toxin you make your body deal with. The quality of your sleep will improve immensely.

 

[Sand Dan Glokta]

Hey. RagnarokIV congrats on your endeavor. You can always DM me whenever you're feeling weak and think you might loose control. Good luck.

EDIT: The profile pic is a no go lol. Please change.

 

[zelaxi]

Wishing you the best of luck. For 2025 I made the move just to remove alcohol from my house, as for me, if its there immediately I'm drinking it, and never have the willpower to do just one. I struggled a bit, did end up with a few bottles but for the most part it was a fantastic change.

This year my goal is to completely cut it out. Will be hard for those special/social gatherings where you are expected to drink and I know coworkers/boss will both tease me and push me to drink.

Stay strong, we got this!

 

[Lionel Richie]

I'm doing Dry January here and it will probably be hard because I drink quite a lot lol so we're in this together bro, be sure to update this thread or hit me with DMs or shit like that because we GOT THIS!

 

[Billbofet]

Good call OP. I am with you on this, and also would like to go dry.
Lots of good advice and experience to lean on in this thread already.

 

[DragoonKain]

Best of luck. I'm not a drinker, never have been, so this has never been a thing for me. But I have a friend who gets hammered by himself every night. Has over a year now. Every time I talk to him or get a voice text for him he's slurring his words. He just crushes beer after beer, he doesn't drink hard liquor. He's put on a ton of weight. I've known him since I was 5 and he's always been normal build. He's put on like 70 pounds in the past 1-2 years. I and his family get on him about it, and his response is always "I'm working on it" which is code for saying "I want to change the subject so I'm going to give a non reply." I don't know enough about his drinking habits to know if he's a full blown alcoholic. He does carry a job and only drinks after he gets home at night, but he does it EVERY night. And getting hammered alone on beer nightly isn't normal.

So anyway, he's never been one who has any willpower or drive to make any changes in his life, so I mentioned it a couple things to him and I know better than to waste my time continuing, he'll never change. Maybe his family will have better luck. But I am concerned about his well being, I'm worried next time I see him he's gonna weigh like 250 lbs. He moved years ago so I hadn't seen him in person in years and I saw him in person for the first time in 5 years or so this year and it was jarring how much weight he put on, he looked like a completely different person.

I know some people who've stopped drinking and almost all of them are happier without alcohol. And others I don't know personally have come out and said the same. How much healthier they feel without it. So those who do quit, best to you.

 

[John Marston]

I'd strongly consider joining a local Alcoholics Anonymous group.

AA leans strongly on how you're a useless piece of shit without Jesus.
If religion and sharing with a group might help you then I say go for it.

Personally my rehab was focused on cognitive behavior and my eyes were opened on day 2.
Just connecting with counselors who knew what I was going through and finding out I wasn't alone doing this destructive behavior on myself was enough to kick my ass into sobriety.
I was also on the verge of cirrhosis so that helped

Anyway I'm not one to care about Milestones or celebrating sober anniversaries with a cake but to each their own.

Please share any updates in here, you are not alone.