stopping alcohol completely | self help books

[A Nervous Nigel]

So I used to drink quite a lot of alcohol and dabbled in other drugs over the years.. All of which have negative effects on our mental health. I have managed to reduce this to drinking at a weekend and the occasional joint. However, I just can't reach that last step of quiting completely.

I would love to stop but where I struggle is , if I'm offered a drink or joint by a friend I can't say no. I just end up saying ahh might as well. Its a bit of a social thing to me and I don't want to change friend just because they drink.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any self help books. I have done a search on the web, but to be honest there are a lot of them. I don't want one which includes religious things within them which I've seen.

If anyone knows of any good books I would really appreciate it if you could post the name of the book on here.

Thanks
Nigel =)

[Fishmanpa]

I'm sure others will chime in with books but for starters...

What if you told your friends that you were trying to quit all together and not to offer you anything? Seems if they're real friends they'd do that and also hold you accountable ;)

Positive thoughts

[ohwell123]

I had this problem aswell I completely cut beer out for 2 weeks I felt physically superb but I was bored out my brain woopppie do CSI is on again was the highlight of my day so guess what I did yeppp went out for a quiet one and ended up on crimewatch

[Sam123]

If your friends know you are trying to stop this they should not be offering you anything. In fact they should not be around you with alcohol or drugs. It seems you have a bad circle, not bad people but i mean you need to do things that don't involve alcohol. I;m not sure about the books but hopefully someone will have more info on that

ohwell123 you say about being bored. Do you have a hobbie? It may be worth spending time on yourself to see what it is that excites you, what do you enjoy doing or alternatively learning a new skill something you can focus your attentions on, something positive.

[ohwell123]

everyone i know finishes work and goes to the pub weekend comes meal and pub everythings pub pub pub

theres a new wetherspoons opened by me and youd actually think its a tourist attraction even though theres another spoons 2 miles down the road

i can cope Monday to Friday watching films relaxing etc but when the weekend comes and the suns shining i just think why not...

also sam123 is right when i stopped taking drugs there was huge groups of us every weekend week in week out all like best mates now those same people walk past me and struggle to say "hows things"

[Sam123]

Yes i know its harsh but sometimes you will find friends are only friends when it suits them, as soon as you do something different with your life they may not want to know.

I'm definitely not saying people can't enjoy a drink from time to time, but only you can know when it's excessive and having an affect on your health. Finding something enjoyable(besides drinking) that you can do during the times you would usually spend in the pub is the best method. That way you're doing something productive that you enjoy.
I know it's easier said than done.