Yes, I stopped in Autumn, 2016. I was an alcoholic in my late 40s, from a long line of alcoholics in a culture that is infamous for heavy drinking. I spend a lot more time alone now, but that’s okay- the whole reason I drank was to make socialising tolerable.

I will be honest, I used psilocybin to start me off on my sober life, and it worked. I wouldn’t say it’s for everyone who wants to stop, but it worked incredibly well for me. I lost the urge to drink completely and it has never come back.

Congratulations! Quitting drinking was one of the best things I’ve done for my life, too.

I just wanted to mention, for anyone else following this thread: I had help from naltrexone.

It may still be considered an “off-label application” for alcoholics, depending on where you live in the world. But it worked for me, after many previous attempts and relapses.

For anyone who’s interested in learning more, here’s a case study to get you started: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2565602/

Yes. 7 years. I stopped because I was a horrendous binge drinker. The first year was the most challenging but after about 18 months I was able to have a non alcoholic beer once in a while to take the edge off. I would say I get the urge maybe once or twice a year now but it’s more of a ‘Oooh, that would be nice’ but I know it’s a slippery slope back if I do have one.

Overall, much happier and I wish I’d stopped sooner but I can’t change the past.

Congrats mate! I quit in 2020 after over 20 years of steady drinking. I wish I could get that time back. Sometimes I miss the taste and how a drink or two allowed me to focus on one thing at a time but I don’t miss being hungover or wasting money on it.

Congrats! That’s a huge step.

Alcoholism kind of runs in my family. Frankly, alcohol caused enough problems in my life long before I ever had a single sip of it myself which turned me off from drinking for a very long time. I’ve occasionally drank as an adult, but recently a close family member went through some serious health problems because of alcohol and it was just the final straw for me. I don’t know exactly how long it’s been since I’ve had a drink, but it’s been a few months and I just don’t have any desire to change that right now.

I never had problems controlling my own drinking, but I don’t want to risk going down a bad path by turning it into a habit. Seeing the people I love get affected by this poison just makes me question why it’s such an acceptable substance to abuse in our society.

I’ve been sober since February 2018, after my dad passed away. My drinking had been increasing since my marriage ended a couple years before that, and I knew it was starting to get out of hand, but it took my dad’s death to give me the motivation I needed to stop. He was a lifelong drinker, and I realized that’s just not what I want for myself. Good luck to you on your journey, OP.

I stopped drinking a few years ago.

I never had an alcohol abuse problem and didn’t drink frequently, but I hated how my brain got super cloudy when I drank even one beer.

Even divining one beer made me sleep terribly and wake up super early, so the next day was terrible.

I eventually had an unrelated medical problem that I dealt with for years alcohol seemed to make the symptoms worse. So I slowly stopped drinking over time.

It was hard to stop 100% as I worked occasionally have a craving for it and have a beer or two. But at this point I have not had any alcohol at all for at least two years. But I stopped drinking for the most part like 4 years ago.

I honestly do not miss it at all.

Nov of 2019 for me. I am quite happy i was able to quit before COVID hit. I probably would’ve drained my account having to stay indoors 24/7. I didn’t even notice (neither did my partner) the signs that it was getting out of hand. I never noticed how bad my hands used to tremble when trying to steady a knife. At my peak it was close to every other day and I easily would’ve upped it had my recovery time not prevented it.
I was forced to quit due to my severe anxiety getting so out of hand that I had trouble leaving the house and my insides starting hurting immensely after having only one drink.
I do miss the taste quite often and just being able to go out and have a beer or so with friends. Unfortunately in the end I was never good at just having ‘one or two.’

I stopped drinking at home. And very happy about that. So far that works for me, because if I didn’t it would have been getting out of hand fast. Now I just drink outside the house and only in a social context. And because I’m not that social, my drinking is so far under control. :) But if I would see that I’d go out of my way to start drinking outside the home setting, I’d have to quit it all. You gotta do what you gotta do. It sucks not being like other people which can do things in moderation, but hey, they have other problems. Good for you btw. Pinpointing a problem and trying to better yourself. Kudos!

I stopped! I grew up around heavy drinkers and for most of my childhood and early adulthood, I just didn’t know anybody who wasn’t one. I don’t really feel like it was a conscious decision to start drinking as much as I did as a teen, it was just expected and part of everyday life. I had a lot of fun at points when I was young, but, the fun ratio had pretty much gone down to zero by my mid 20s and it was just something that felt exhausting and anxious. Around the pandemic I started to come to terms with some memories, and realized I didn’t want to be around it anymore, and more importantly, that I didn’t have to if I didn’t want to. There was no obligation. It was the right choice for me, and the pandemic/some unrelated health issues I developed made it easy for me to just bounce and not interact with those people or environments anymore. It has been a bit tough to try to find or meet new people (for lots of reasons, not just alcohol ) but I do know that the friendships I had which were only propped up by alcohol weren’t real friendships, and I’m glad it’s out of my life. I feel a lot more emotionally even, calm and just better about myself. I feel like drinking was just assumed from so early in my life, that I never got the chance to decide for myself about whether or not I wanted to drink. I’m really glad I got to finally think about it and make a real choice that’s actually mine.

My two year soberversary is coming up at the end of the month. I was a bartender for 15ish years, got cirrhosis and a liver transplant, now back in school for a career change.

I haven’t found a so er community in the fediverse yet, though I through sobriety as a topic when beehaw was soliciting new community ideas the other week. Hopefully something comes of it.

I personally am finding it hard to make sober friends. My old drinking friends, I believe, find it easier to avoid me then have my presence remind them of the fact that making alcohol a huge part of your identity can have seriously negative consequences.

I’ve tried recovery groups, but the groupthink and religious emphasis of most of them do not jive well with me.

So, it’s been a lonely experience for me. But the clarity and drive to accomplish things I’ve gained is amazing.

I stopped drinking 3.5ish years ago. I didn’t have a choice, drinking always made me super sick and vomit. In uni I thought it was normal to “puke and rally” everytime you drank. As I got older I wouldn’t even be able to get very drunk anymore, because I’d vomit before I could even get there.

The final nail in the coffin was I had a heavy night of drinking and was vomiting for a MONTH after. So I finally stopped. 6 months later I had a single shot and vomited for a week.

Since then every now and then I’ll try having 4 (literal) sips of wine, and I’ll have gastric distress every time.

The first year or so was very difficult because I missed social drinking and didn’t really know how to be social otherwise.

Now I’m just used to it. I don’t even miss it anymore. I’ll just chill with friends sober, or high. My friends don’t give me shit for it, and when randos do I’m just super rude and blunt and tell them “it makes me shit myself” and maintain aggressive eye contact until they go away awkwardly.

i was a social drinker, but had to stop when i went on psych meds. i’m off them now but i never started drinking again. it definitely is a little awkward in social situations, but also, i realized i just never really liked the taste of most drinks or how being drunk felt, honestly. i was just doing it bc i felt peer pressured to.

I stopped drinking but not by choice. I got a medical diagnosis that meant I go to the hospital if I drink and possibly get some intestines removed.

Sucks because I liked craft beer and didn’t even drink a lot. Maybe a beer after work and a few on weekends.

One good thing though is that at least my waistline is pretty great without all those extra calories. My liver is probably pretty happy too.

I stopped drinking almost 6 years ago because when I started drinking I drank way to much. Had no ability to moderate. And the hangovers were killing me.

I have achieved so much more in my life now that I dont drink. Got a degree, bought an apartment, had a kid…

These days I drink once a year (which occasion I choose changes) and I have a maximum of 2 beers and I find that I am able to manage that without going into binge drinking territory again. I also find that I dont really want to drink more than that.

I used to drink a lot to deal with loud social situations as an autistic person (especially bars, pubs and clubs) but these days Im very happy being a day time activity person and being in bed by 9pm. I feel like my community does not show young people enough ways to socialise and have fun without alcohol so it took me a long time to find that for myself.