It's funny how it's easy to identify how terrible you feel either during and or after drinking, but rarely leading up to buying and just before deciding to have

It's funny how it's easy to identify how terrible you feel either during and or after drinking, but rarely leading up to buying and just before deciding to have the drink. I've tried various tricks to help myself get off alcohol, but recently i've really instilled in myself the notion of 'this is not a solution to my problem'. My problem is namely a quick out of anxiety. After a long day at work, the tension in my mind is always relieved by alcohol, but it always exacerbated the anxiety the following day. This is compounded by the shame of not having control over myself, therefore lying blah blah. It's such a stupid cycle and it's embarrassing not to 'know thy self' enough to just flick the switch. Anyhow, the method that worked for me: - Giving myself a head start by seeing no friends (zero friends) for about a 2 months who are drinking - Gym/exercise everyday (no rest days, only a day of treadmill or a brisk walk) - Lowering my caffeine intake (lower anxiety) - Having full, but healthy meals (for a period, i'd replace the drinking with another anti-anxiety medication... binge eating! But this is fueled by the same pattern, therefore remembering that 'this is not a solution to my problem' really helps) - Practice social times with no drinking ( so for this, I went out into pubs by myself and grab a diet coke, which turned into lemonade, which turned into lemon water since even the large amount of sugar is not a solution to my problem' and just e x i s t e d in those placing, trying to calm myself. About 4 sessions of that over a few months help me to feel comfortable next time I was out with my drinking friends) One thing i'd add is that I found it really important to properly arrange my hierarchy of wants. This means that I put stopping alcohol above retaining relationships. In practice, this did meant that when groups of friends would go out for a night that would only revolve around drinking.... see ya! I'd just not go. It is easier than to spend the entire night fighting that urge to drinking and being a grouch around ppl feeling bubbly from the bubbles. That means many of my relationships took a hit, but I think if not drinking is a part of how I want to live and the barrier to enter that life means having to lose many friends... it seems like an heavy, but necessary price to pay. Think back to like, the ancestral days of humans being butt naked and barefoot. If alcohol is destroying you, do what you need to survive. Get out of that environment. Leave your town and get away from all of your triggers, even temporarily if it's causing that much of a problem. Survive! Good luck