re: Anyone tried Reframe for cutting back or quitting alcohol?

AA

I’m a binge drinker, if I’m drinking I’m blacking out. It hasn’t affected work or anything and I typically can go 7-10 days between drinks. Tried AA but I couldn’t do it, probably the wrong group. It really felt like a bunch of people with severe mental disorders. Most would talk about random shite that had nothing to do with alcohol and then there is always the guy who talks about getting blackout at his son’s t-ball game and starts crying. I left those meetings ready to drink. But I haven’t found anything else that works.

I don't want this to be a MASSIVE AA derailment because that's typically what happens when it's brought up in these types of threads. I'm a AA fan if you will, but it's not for everyone and certainly not the only recovery method or program. Try and use whatever suits you the best. The end

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I hear ya, I used to go on beach vacations and drink probably 15-20 drinks a day for a week. Had a good time but then when I came home I’d try to keep that good time going. Then I’d end up binge drinking every day for months.

I’m with you on the trends, if I go a month without drinking I feel great, but as soon as I take one drink I start drinking every day. I’m either all or nothing, I’ve tried to break that in the past but it hasn’t worked for the last four years that I’ve been trying to cut back. I’ve realized I need to go alcohol free.

My wife still doesn’t get it, she’ll say “why don’t you just have one or two?” To me that sounds completely insane, if I have one I’m having 10. Can’t do that anymore.

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You are me.

I finally ended up in a place where i couldn't stop. And it was a depth I don't wish on anyone in the world.

I made it out by the Grace of God, but I just as easily could have destroyed my life more than I already had.

I sincerely wish you good luck in your endeavor. I just will say please know you don't want to go there. You're on the right track just like I was by admitting it and wanting to get out, but the disease will win at some point if you don't attack with every fiber of your being.

Almost 4 years sober now.

Quit. It doesn't get better. Only worse. You'll feel like you were born again

I use “I am Sober”. Great app. You can custom set your goals and it has motivations and milestones.

I used it first to quit drinking liquor and then to quit binge eating.

Having to hit that reset counter just sucks. But I’ve lost over 60 pounds and it’s honestly still a daily struggle. I have a hyper addictive personality and a childhood fostered evil relationship with food.

I tried to change my habits to develop a healthier lifestyle instead of just trying to stop my bad habits.

I replaced eating and drinking with meditation, exercise, and a healthy diet (meal planning and nutrition counting). And it’s been great.

But I know I have an addiction. I’ll go months without a relapse and then I’ll eat 5 different fast food meals and a few bags of chips in a single day in sort of a trance I just can’t shake myself out of. And go home with that painful feeling of shame and regret. Realizing I chose addiction that day over my wife and kids is a terrible feeling. And so I’ll eat a box of cookies and a gallon of ice cream hoping to stifle it away. That next morning never gets easier. Beaking an addiction is not easy, And it’s a struggle when you start. But you cannot break it without starting.

Keep it up. Never ever feel that one relapse means you should just give up.

We all have addictions. Don’t be ashamed to admit you have one and do your best to beat it. You can do it.

Good luck and God bless.

People that haven’t had enough pain and/or aren’t ready to quit don’t usually like AA. They’ll use whatever excuse their brain needs to protect their relationship with alcohol. It’s subconscious and they physically can’t realize they’re doing it. The chemicals of the brain will depend on the substance so much that the person will remove any threat. Family, recovery, medicine, anything. The justifications are endless.