Thread: Has anyone else here gone non-alcohol?

I quit drinking alcoholic beverages back in 2010. Being a non-drinker predates my turning MGTOW.

First, this is not a "you must be a non-drinker or you're evil" post. I'm not saying that anyone else is somehow obligated to give up alcohol. I'm only saying that it's worked for me, and for some other people. I'm saying it's a viable option.

Alcohol was fucking over my life. I was in a job I hated, and wasn't anywhere near a kind of life that I actually wanted. I never had any problem with DUIs. If I went out to a club to see musical or comedy performances, I never consumed a drop. I could have been pulled over every day and they never would have gotten me on any drinking and driving. I never did that.

What I did do, was I would get off work and feel like shit about the life that I hated, so I would go to the grocery store and buy a bunch of German- or Dutch-imported beer. Then I would take it home and watch some show or movie and get plastered. I got real sick and tired of having to get through my work day at the hated job while hung over.

One day I was feeling like crap at work due to a hangover, and I just decided I wasn't doing that any more. I quit alcohol. I didn't need rehab, fortunately; I just quit. I went to a few AA meetings, and I talked with my therapist. It wasn't as hard as it is for some people because I wasn't as far down the path to addiction as some. Some people develop a physical dependence on alcohol. For that severe a case, you can't just quit. You need detox and rehab.

But anyway, at first I craved the beers, but it didn't take that long for cravings to go away. Then I noticed better control over my life. The thing that had really sucked was I realized I was out of control. I HAD to drink at the end of a work shift when I wasn't feeling so great. And on that really bad hungover day, I realized I would never reach any of my goals if I didn't quit doing this shit.

So I quit. It was over a decade ago. I have achieved my goal of learning to speak fluent French. I also broke into the tech industry, and now enjoy my job much more than the retail crap I was doing back then. I've also been re-learning to play the guitar.

One of my goals upon quitting alcohol was to spurt off my jizz into a woman's snatch. I did do that, but since turning MGTOW, I've dumped that from my list of goals.

Again, I'm not saying that everyone has to do this, only that it's an option. If you notice alcohol causing more problems in your life than it's worth, you're fully capable of throwing alcohol out of your life. If you want to. It's your choice.

Alcohol was interfering in my ability to build a good life, so throwing it's ass out was worth it for me.

Good going Tig. I can totally relate.
I for all practical purposes quit about 3 years ago.

8 years ago, I got divorce raped after 21 years of marriage. I was hitting the bourbon hard. I was also putting on weight at an alarming pace. I shot up to 300 pounds. After about 3 years of this self destructive path, I’d had enough. I had gastric bypass surgery and lost 100 pounds. Part of the deal with the surgery was laying off the booze. I tried ignoring that part. Well, it caught up with me. Part of what happens when you get that surgery is that booze pretty much dumps full power into your bloodstream instantly. And being 100 pounds lighter, that compounded the effects even more. I soon found myself going through a fifth of bourbon every couple days, and hardly feeling drunk. Worst part was, the hangovers corresponded to the amount I drank. So I quit. Cold Turkey. A couple days later, I was on my way back from breakfast and started feeling like shit. Light headed, dizzy, sweating, thirsty as hell. Next thing I knew, I woke up about 6 hours later in a lake of sweat, wondering what the hell happened. I got up and got going, thinking it just must’ve been something I ate, or an after effect from the surgery.

After doing some thinking and research, I figured it out. It was the D.T.’s. Finding that out scared the shit out of me. I haven’t touched a drop of booze since. I now might have a half glass of wine with Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, but that’s it.

Quitting was the second best thing I ever did. No more hangovers; no more money wasted at the liquor store (I didn’t realize how expensive it was till I quit). Just a better quality of life all the way around. Like you, I was pretty lucky in that I just quit and that was it. I don’t miss it, don’t crave it, don’t need it.

Every time I got in trouble was from intoxication. I confessed to myself that alcohol doesn't agree with me, it's a chemical concoction that makes me a good candidate for the loony bin or cell block 9, depending on how crazy one gets! Funny-car fuel is no longer for me!

"But officer, we were having so much fun!"

Not quitting alcohol altogether, but I've largely cut the binge drinking out. It only led to negative things - lost money, lost phones, ruined clothes, sprained ankles, dodgy decisions, dangerous scenarios, the list goes on. But now I mostly don't have those dangers.

I still drink a few beers each night, but not enough to be hung over the next day. Ideally I'd love to quit those few beers too, but I really love beer.

It's at a more manageable level for me than it was, so I see that as a half triumph. On the occasions I have gone for a whole month without a drop of booze, I've noticed how my world view changed massively for the better, as did my energy levels, and love for life. I wholeheartedly endorse quitting drinking. I think it's one of the most positive things a man can do.

Great post and great topic. Congrats Tig and Survivor! And all those who have quit or cut back in order to embrace a more independent life and a clearer mind.

I can also relate. I've been sober for 5 years. My story is similar to Tig's. It was a slow death; the bottom was soft. I was lucky in that regard.

After I quit, I became focused. My career took off and I started to get way better with money.

When I drank, I ended up with hairdressers, strippers, and artists. These women were attracted to the chaos that alcohol brought. Their alpha was the musician or the successful creative with social proof (large Instagram following, etc.). They also preferred the chaos of alcohol because that's how they are naturally. I did date some office workers but they tended to be more focused on family and white-collar hypergamy, and my lack of success in an office, my drinking, and my complete unwillingness to procreate didn't go over that well.

After I stopped drinking, most women went away naturally. Part of it was that some women didn't like that I wasn't drinking when I went out with them. They preferred me to be drunk and horny instead of focused on whether or not it'd be smart to keep them around. It's as if they know it is not smart to keep them around so they focus on being as hot as possible. Without the booze fog, I disliked basically all of them, or maybe it's fairer to say that I didn't see any reason to keep them around whether I liked them or not. What would I be getting out of this? All liability and no asset.

There ain't no ass in asset. <-- that one needs work but don't be surprised if I post a link to my new MGTOW merch shop.

So I think you're right that MGTOW and sobriety are fraternal.

I've written about my experiences on the nonmgtow subjects, OP. Yours are very similar to mine. Only difference is I never hated my job. Most of the time that is: OC there is an occasional day I do. As I see it, alcohol is the most potent phamacological substance known to mankind: it soothes, diminishes fear, is a painkiller and lowers boundaries. In the hospital I used to stitch up drunks without having to use anesthetics. IMO alcohol has 2 problems. First being a "hard drug." With which I mean: drinking is building up tolerance. You need a higher dose for the same effect in time. It's also a very gradual process to become addicted. First it's social drinking, then it's habitual, problematic, dependence and lastly addiction. In other words: you don't get withdrawal symptoms/ craving after having drunk your first beers in life. It's an insidious gradual decline. Seems to me you were in the dependence stage: you had craving after you stopped. I think I still was problematic: I never had craving after quitting. But, like me, you didn't seem to drink to feel normal (clear sign of addiction).
Second: alcohol is historically very deeply embedded in very much cultures. Like you I'm not advocating for prohibition. On the contrary, I am also in favor of legalizing all drugs. But that's another debate. What I do think is drinking is "too normalized" in, especially western countries. It's very readily available and there is IMO a too big acceptance in public. Just after I stopped my friends/ family/ acquaintances acted surprised: "really? Did you quit?? Why?" and "do you mind if I'm having 1?" They didn't pressure me to join them though but those reactions did make me realize how deeply rooted drinking is. I don't know an answer/ solution for that/ It's just an observation.

I'm glad you saw the light and pulled the handbrake, OP. Awesomely done! Seeing and acknowledging you have a problem, doing something about it, stick to that and sharing this. Thank you so much.

I once heard that, once you quit drinking, for the number of years that you had been drinking, if you are then sober for the same number of months, your mind comes out of a fog that you never knew you were in. That's the formula, anyway. You realize a clarity. This actually happened to me.

Originally Posted by Unboxxed

I once heard that, once you quit drinking, for the number of years that you had been drinking, if you are then sober for the same number of months, your mind comes out of a fog that you never knew you were in. That's the formula, anyway. You realize a clarity. This actually happened to me.

That was exactly it. With the clarity, I could see things that I didn't want to see, and had unconsciously hidden via the drinking. I had greater clarity to solve problems, but it then meant I had to face the demons I had been avoiding, and that was scary. But once I did face those demons, it's surprising how well they dissolve away and can no longer control you.

So it was really a two step process. First, just quit the drinking. Second, when finally sober, deal with all the shit that caused you to drink in the first place.

I can't say my life is totally perfect now, but it's much, much better than it was back then. I probably wouldn't be still alive if I hadn't quit.

Kudos to you, Tig. This is an important issue to touch on and thanks for creating the thread. My issue with alcohol is a little different. For the better part of 13 years my main issue was marijuana and I drank once in a while during that time. When I decided to stop smoking my drinking spiked. It got so bad I remember one presentation I did in college...I did my entire presentation holding a water bottle except it wasn't water in it but vodka and I would sip it every now and then to make it look like I'm drinking water to coat my throat but I was actually getting drunk in front of the class. Got applause though afterward.

Every bad habit I ever had has never had a hold over me that I couldn't function with it. I performed well in school, I was able to hold down all the jobs I ever had, and I was physically fit and into sports. Then I started feeling slight pain in the right upper quadrant of my abdomen which I knew to be liver swelling. That's when I knew despite my love for drinking I had to quit but I'm not going to lie it has been a struggle. I completely quit drinking spirits, only beer, and the longest I've gone without drinking in that time was 9 months. I recently went 5 months I believe. Going stretches without drinking and only drinking beer on my days off means I'm making progress. My RUQ pain is long gone. People often link alcoholism to some underline depression but for me it wasn't. I wasn't depressed at all...it just enhances the good feeling I was already having which is why I like to drink. But I'm working on it. I'm working on it. I only drink beer once a week now, if that, then stretches of sobriety every now and then.

I quit drinking cause it made me too happy. yes you read that right. Alcohol would make me so happy that I thought everyone was my friend. Remember the Styx's song "Too much time on my hands"? I got dozens of friends and the fun never ends as long as I'm buying! I look back at all the money I wasted and think damn man. I quit smoking too. Nothing good ever came from it. Now I am much happier. It's actually fun to sit back and watch all the drunks. You know the shit they do and say is going to be all regrets tomorrow.

I stopped drinking heavily in my early 20's. Not that I drank every day or was an alcoholic but when I did drink it tended to be to excess. Like a lot of things that I see people doing I just questioned the purpose of it and I wasn't enjoying it. I still like to have a drink every so often, lets put it this way a 6 pack of beer can last me a year.

There was one night way back when I was in a pub and just happened to not have a beer in front of me. Some old bloke comes up to me and asks "What's wrong, not drinkin'?" That was a real light bulb moment for me. So something has to be wrong for me not to be drinking? I realized I was nothing like the people around me and I was very happy about that.

I never drink, smoke or had any serious vicious in my life...except maybe laziness and sugar (now I can see that both go hand in hand)

Now with almost 40 years old I am harvesting the fruits. My health is better than ever. I was NOT so health at 20 or 30.

I still love eat sugar and sometimes junk food but I do fasting for detox from time to time, 3 days of fasting is optimal for get the benefits with minimum muscle mass loss.

Maybe I can say I am a monk without be joking about it.

Not that I have ever been an alcoholic, but I did have an issue with alcohol being at college. I didn’t notice it immediately because everyone was drinking every weekend, which seemed normal. Until the moment I noticed I wanted to get a drink and even craved it. Then I realized something was wrong, and I didn’t want to depend on anything.
Then I got some advice from fherehab.com on how to lead a healthier lifestyle and how to say no to alcohol. It gave me the first push and helped me to find my way out before it became too late. Glad I took this step back then because many of my college friends have alcohol issues now.

For about four years or so in my mid 20s I was drinking much more than I likely should have. Most of it was social but there were plenty of weekends that I got well lit at least one night "just because". Fortunately, I got into electronics school at age 26 and tapered off my indulgence quite a bit. I would still be back here most weekends and have several beers or close a bar down some early Sunday morning, but Sunday through Friday evening I was stone sober. Then I got a job 300 miles from here and that really got me to taper off though I did some social drinking now and then but being responsible to my job kept me in line. As I've gotten older even the social aspects just kind of drifted away. Now I'm to the point that I barely have a handful of beers in a year!

Back then I had some good times. Made a fool of myself on too many occasions. Probably blew it with a few girls I was trying to impress. I suspect I had some family and friends praying for me that it seems I made a dramatic turn in life so as not to destroy myself.

Oh, that electronics school? 4.0 GPA start to finish.

Nice work Tig! I quit drinking as well. I believe I wrote about it in my intro to MGTOW. So ill keep it short.
Booze was a huge part of my life, had to drink beer when I was upset, drank beer when I was happy. It was ruining my life... I never got anything completed, I would start projects, but never finish them.
With all of that being said, quitting drinking also helped me open my eyes to feeeemale manipulation. Boy oh boy... I was getting taken advantage of quite often... Now that I quit, I have turned a new direction in my life that I am very proud of! I am making strides these days! ( in regards to work, health, happiness ).
Also thought I would mention, any time I must interact with a feeeemale, sometimes I get the "wanna go grab a drink after this project?" Nope! I dont drink! very easy way to shut them down with out much explanation lol.

All of my grandfathers were drinking constantly, my parents also drinked most of their young age. But I never had habit of doing it . I am 25 year old and I don't ever remember drinking a sip of alcohol. We all have our issues and problems but we treat them differently. Some men like to drink, some like to fish. For 7 years I was busy with University studying software engineering, I was coding day and night. That kept me busy. Right now as I graduated I workout around 4-5 hours a day. Eat, workout, sleep . I don't have any social circle so its easy for me to keep off of drinking.
Second reason for me to not want to drink is because I had too many men around me that fucked up their life because of constant drinking. So I took the sober route.

I guess could have included this in my intro - but I was a raging alcoholic for a few decades - not the daily kind, but 2-3x a week drinking 12-20 beer, or 6-10 bottles of wine, maybe through in a 26 or 40 oz of whiskey occasionally. Cocaine was a fairly regular constant as well (2-3x a month).

Stopped the ridiculous regular binge drinking about 5 years ago...might have a few drinks a month now, if that. Occasionally (special occasions like a wedding etc) I will get a bit drunk, more to take the edge off as I hate those types of events, but even over the last year, I've backed off that as well.

Smoked marijuana every day for almost 20 years as well until about a month ago. While cutting back and essentially eliminating alcohol had many of the same positive effects as others have mentioned - the difference with cutting out the weed has been remarkable.

I didn't realize how addicted I was (the first few weeks were actually quite difficult, its fine now aside for a bit of insomnia). My mood is stabilized, my mind clear and I've lost considerable weight. I didn't have a beer belly - it was a weed belly from raiding the fridge/freezer every fucking night.

While I don't imagine I will abstain from booze/drugs for the rest of my life - it is no longer a focus or even an afterthought...I agree with the above statement that MGTOW and a generally sober lifestyle are indeed fraternal.

I never did any drugs except drink and smoke cigarettes and pot, back when pot was nowhere near as potent as it is today. I quit cigarettes in 1978 and quit the other two in 1993. The nice thing for me all along since then, is that I have always had no desire whatsoever to return to any of it. I don't think the thoughts of, "Gee, never? For the rest of my life?" and the weakening impact those kind of thoughts can have. No impact. Complete indifference. And I like it that way. That stuff is now just something I used to do, now blended in with other long-ago memories one has to think hard to resurrect. "Oh, yeah, I used to do that..."

I know why I started drinking and I know why I quit. Overall, I was self-medicating as a dysfunctional response to life and how I fit into it. It also served as social grease to allow me to have fun with other people, though mostly drinkers like myself. I decide to give up pot at the same time. I had always envied sober people and wanted to walk among them.

For those of you who have never touched alcohol, I say more power to ya. That wasn't my path, I guess. I had to learn my lessons the hard way.

For those of you who have quit alcohol, I also say more power to ya. While no two stories are identical, I can still say that I understand.

I like that I am fully present at all times. For the rest of my life, baby. Heck, yeah!

Alcohol, like sex, is something I indulge in once in a blue moon to remind myself how overrated and not worth the expense it is.

I never drunk daily. I used to get black out drunk every time I would go to a club. Not remembering half the night. Comming home with injuries. Losing clothes, wallets, phones. It was terrible.

I stopped a few years back. At first I didn't drink for a month and then I would have a drink or two and be disgusted by it and then skip a month of drinking. This went on for about two years. Now I rarely drink when out and never black out.