Stopped drinking 1 year ago, having trouble going out with friends

I'm the same. No booze for a year but some mornings the anxiety is inexplicable. It must have been underlying for years? Drinking solved that issue with me & it took years for me to realise I was hooked.

I actually sometimes dread occasions when I have to socialise, but my advice is to force yourself to go. I've bought no alcoholic larger, had coke in a flute so people presume I'm drinking shorts with a mixer, not because I'm ashamed of being an alky 😃 But simply because I can't be bothered to explain. 

I aslo love the bonus of not feeling like cat sick in the following few days, but on the downside, life can be tedious without an escape..... Well, that's my take on this. 👍

It's very hard being young and not drinking but believe me,if you think you have a problem now,fast toward 20 years and if you continued drinking you would really have a problem.

Most of us here are in our 40's 50's or older and a lot of us seem to be left st causes.

Please please don't take up drinking again,whatever it takes

Forgot to say, I go to a group every 2 weeks through the local 'one recovery ' outfit. It's like going to the pub anyway, a good craic, young people mainly , all professionals. Not just alkies either, we have a cross section from Herion to legal highs, makes the people interesting😃😃👍

Ever since my first drink I was not in control of my drinking. However at your age if I had a binge I would then not drink a week or so. As time went on the binges got closer together,

Believe me, you go out with friends drinking and let your hair down and your true self show, if you get in a bad way like I did/do then friends tend to dwindle anyway. I've had so called friends say to me oh just have one what's the big deal. But then they hate dealing with me when I've had too many, too much to deal with. Heavy to carry home to say the least.

It's only a true friend that won't judge or tell you what to do or not to do and will truly be there for you no matter what.

X

Cool. 

I started social drinking at 15/16. Just the usual with my mates at our local maybe once a week, TBH, I never enjoyed being drunk here in England, far too dangerous out there. Anyway, I went to Tenerife at 19 for a holiday, still never really drank so it wasn't a problem at all. My friend and I decided to stay over there, it was more than fun. About 8 years later I was still in Tenerife, survived the rave scene😜 But started to realise I had been drinking everyday from morning till night for nearly a year or so, so decided to have a break. I went 3 days without a beer, absolutely no problems at all, my work was my social life so I didn't feel uncomfortable there. 

Gradually over the next year I escalated to vodka, that was my downfall, constant blackouts, falling out with friends etc & the absolute necessity to drink in the morning to block out the 'fear' or anxiety. I wasn't lucky enough to see what was happening. I left tenerife & instead of going home I went to live in Mallorca, by this point I couldn't function without a drink so I didn't make many friends & was soon in and out of different gaffs due to rent arrears etc. I'm now about 30 ( at this point) come back to the uk & slow the booze down, but still suffer from withdrawal if I don't have a beer. 

Very soon I'm back on vodka as I can't go to my local with friends due to panic attacks. Of coarse I lost my job, license ( twice) & the last straw was being found

 in my parents back garden with an empty bottle, I was yellow & didn't even realise....I came round in a london private detox centre. 

& here  I am, on a Saturday night tapping the screen on my iPad..it's all 'roc n roll' these days, lol.....😜😜 oh, I'm 41 with a mental age of 18.

i do still avoid going out, especially if it's pre arranged, but tomorrow, my work colleague will be in Witherspoons, so I'll probably pop in for a coke, all very informal ' I was just passing ' etc, so it's easy just to leave.

Thats about it really, I'd say just try and continue normally, but don't isolate yourself, that's the worse thing to do😃

How do you think your friends would react of you told them you'd quit the booze, but still want to spend time with them because you enjoy their company? Or is being in a place where there is booze just too tempting? I totally get that.