Sorry to take a few days to respond... I get pretty busy at work.

A little background... I was a heavy, everyday drinker. I drank for years and by the end was drinking 12 -- 16 shots per day. (That's an estimate based on the number of bottles I went through. At that point I was slugging it out of the bottle, not measuring or counting drinks.)

So I hit the point where I couldn't live with myself anymore. My entire life revolved around drinking -- getting more, drinking to blackout, the hangovers, hiding the bottles, and so on and so on. I could not imagine making it through a single day without drinking. That was beyond me.

But somehow I made it through a single day and night. I still can't believe it! Then I made it through another and another. And I realized that I truly was quitting for good.

So here's some of the things that helped me:

-- Single-minded focus on not drinking. That was my priority. Everything else and every other person and thing in my life came second. My decision to stop was and is not negotiable.

-- Lots of water and sports drinks. I drank so much alcohol that I equated thirst with craving a drink. Drinking water helped me reduce cravings. I also made sure that I ate when I was hungry -- that also reduces cravings.

-- Walks. I live near woods and I would take my dog for an hour or so hike everyday, usually around the "cocktail hour." Physical activity can really help and when I was walking I had some "me time." I was pretty irritable and needed time by myself

--Bookstore browsing. Can't drink in a bookstore! I would go there and browse the books on alcoholism and addiction

-- Sleep and not sleep. The first few weeks I was exhausted and needed a lot more sleep (my guess is to help my body heal from all the poison I dumped into it.) After a few months insomnia kicked in and I had to deal with that as well

-- A chant/mantra. "I cannot drink, I will not drink, I do not drink."

-- Timing cravings. Sometimes a craving would hit so hard it felt like being smacked on side of the head by a 2x4. I would time those with a watch and the act of timing them helps shorten them. The steady buzz type craving I just dealt with. They reduced in strength over the the first few weeks.

-- Allowing myself to feel what I felt without judgment. At the beginning I went from being angry to joyous to anxious to irritable to elated. Sometimes I was all these things all at once. Sometimes my brain was a total fog -- this happened often in the first few months. I just let it be and rolled with it.

-- the book "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking" by Allen Carr. It helped me.

-- this group. I posted a lot when I first quit and connected with some people who I have stayed in contact with outside of DS

The first months were hard. Quitting was probably the hardest thing I have ever done and next to having kids, is by far my biggest accomplishment. It also brought me immense joy that I will always carry with me.

Hope this helps... I know you can do it!

Thanks ExJerseyGirl2. A lot of what you suggest would work for me. Disclaimer, my dog is dying and I have been using that as an excuse to keep drinking. Not good for him nor me.

Surprisingly, I run. I have been thinking that maybe I can go for a run, when I feel the urge to drink. Although, so far that hasn't happened.

I do drink a lot. It is not a big deal for me to polish off two bottles of wine a night. I live in Europe BTW. Good, inexpensive wine is readily available.

OK, today is a new day, right? I will try to get through this day without alcohol. It is 5.30AM here. I will be hanging out with my dog and will try, no matter the outcome, to stay sober.

Thank you so much!

So how did your day go, LouLou?

And sorry to hear about your dog... that is so difficult.