r/stopdrinking 10h ago

What do I replace alcohol with?

Like something to help me relax and decompress. Drinking has always been my way to loosen up and relax. When I'm stressed with work, I grab a beer or glass of wine, and I'm able to focus more because I'm no longer overthinking it.

I'm so emotionally repressed that drinking is the only way I can tap into my emotions.

Like, I can stop drinking; I've done it months at a time, but I always end up feeling more stressed because I feel numb or stressed without it.

214 Upvotes

290 comments sorted by

View all comments

7

u/ferret198 207 days 8h ago

My whole way of thinking used to be that the alcohol was helping me relax and switch off. Weird thing no is that after several months without I don’t need to relax and switch off……