'I drank alcohol every day, one trick helped me cut down without quitting' - One man speaks out about how his wife's early death made him think twice about his alcohol intake.
After returning to Perth six years later, how much we were drinking became a shock simply from a cost point of view. In Belize, we had been buying good liquor inexpensively, but now it was costing around $400-500 a month.
In February 2018, I stopped drinking for six months. I was managing to stay sober but, as I approached my 57th birthday, I became apprehensive. I was celebrating by going to visit a friend in Holland, with whom I would usually drink large amounts. During my visit to Holland, I had two small whiskeys and I enjoyed them. I would probably have been able to drink more, but there were other people there moderating what I was doing.
Sometimes I even skip my monthly drink. If I am attending a social occasion, I will usually offer to be the designated driver, because I find otherwise people tend to question why I am not drinking.