Alcohol as a trigger. Is sobriety the answer?

Its not essential but if its getting in your way its certainly desirable. For what its worth ive not touched a drop for six years and one (of several) reasons I stopped drinking altogether is that I couldnt seem to stop smoking as long as I was a drinker (and I started drinking more to justify having a smoke because I had stopped smoking when I was sober!) Basically I just didnt give a shit after a drink and because I really did give a shit when I was sober (the real me) the drinking had to go and the smoking automatically went with it (so effectively I stopped them both on the same day) I hope that helps in some small way at least

 

Yes its more or less the same. I was a happy drunk (the drinker had got its own way!) but definitely became taken over by the 'addictive voice' and it sounds like your similar. The 'drinker' didnt give a shit about the real me, my health, my finances, my kids, my job, nothing! So I killed the bastard before it killed me!!

 

I can totally relate to your story. The first time I relapsed was mostly because I was drunk. Although alcohol wasn't the sole reason for my relapse, it did cloud my judgement, and you are right, relapse is much more likely in this state.

For this reason I was thinking of giving up alcohol completely, but in the end I decided to limit it to one glass per day. Check http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/alcohol-lower-risk-guidelines-units.aspx. This has worked for me, after one drink I can say that I want to stop there. Plus, drinking moderately will make you live longer, even longer than people who are completely abstaining from alcohol (sorry Mark )

 

I never drank in my life, but from what I understand, drinking makes a person lose his sense of good decision making. And that's something you really don't want to lose when doing nofap

 

I have read that there are certain "cues" that trigger your desires for pornography. For example, if you have habitually PMO'd when there is country music on, that country music playing at any time can rekindle your temptations. Or if you PMO'd when you were feeling like a failure, then that is a danger zone for you and you should be extra careful. Some people might be drawn to pornography when they are happy & care-free. Whatever it is, if it is drinking, I'd give serious thought to abstaining from alcohol until you feel confident you can drink without additional, unwanted temptations going with it.

 

Jakob, you are very intuitive and have a knack for generating some great discussion rather quickly. Did you know you have 2 days on your counter already? Way to go, UK friend.
Keep the excuses for not drinking related to drinking. Your friends already know you drink and wake up with a hangover. Keep it at that. You are sick of waking up with a hangover and wasting away the next day. You want to be more productive. You can even suggest to your friends some things to do that do not involve drinking, and you may have some friends that are also sick of drinking and will jump at the opportunity. You may also find that your current friends want to continue the drinking and you may have to find some new friends to do things with when your current friends want to go drinking. You may also realize that you really enjoy spending quality time with yourself reading, going to movies, taking a walk, and your friends are nice to have, but not mandatory.

Personally, I have had no desire to grab a beer from the frig the last few weeks since I have been fap free. Prior to that, every day I drank at least one, sometimes more.

 

Hi, Congretulations to your brave decision. As an antialcoholic I can tell you that its hard sometimes, but it is because others try to persuade you, and not because you miss something. I think Im 3 years without alcohol and 2 years without masturbation, so it worked out for me, even though Im not quite sure wether there is a connection...

 

I dont know wether this is so impressive. I think the core of my antialcoholism is, that i am freaking scared of drugs manipulating my mind. I cant give up control. And the worst really are family members and family events "what? even on your fathers birthday you wont taka a glass of sparkling wine?"

 

Yes, true. But I can give you an advice: Make it very clear to everyone from the beginning that you dont want to drink alcohol anymore and why you are doing it. I dont know if its possible in your case, but if it were, it would be great. Because I made the mitake myself: I just stopped drinking without explaining my reasons to anyone. And in this case they wont stop trying to persuade you. And thats very annoying. Make up some philosophical explanation or something. But make sure that there arent any loopholes for "one glass or two". Because when you just say you want to be healthier there is nothing to be said absut small amunts. Instead say that you in general refuse the idea of drugs or other neurotoxins manipulating your free mind. If they want too fight it they need to know what they are fighting against. Because then, if your explanations were convincing, they may just let it be.

 

You answered your own question but to help you in this case, yes. Alcohol lowers our inhibitions, therefore leading us to make decisions we normally wouldn't make