This is a de-identified, risk-screened, and language-polished account of personal experience; the original author's identity, region, or identifiable details are not retained in the text.
The hardest part is not knowing when the next episode will happen
He had been drinking for twelve years, consuming one and a half jin of baijiu plus two liang of jingjiu daily for two years. My three-year-old daughter could push him over—he walked lurching forward, staggering, unable to walk steadily at all. Cerebellar central nervous system weakness, memory decline, fear of the dark, sleeping with the lights on, cervical spondylosis, lumbar disc herniation, and nearly ankylosing spondylitis. He had broken his leg before, though it was someone else who pushed him, but I know that without drinking, it wouldn't have come to that.
Someone once told me that drinking doesn't affect family harmony—at worst, you drink too much and sleep, no fuss, no trouble. At the time, I thought so too. But in reality, no matter how good-tempered your family members are, they can't help but argue with you, and he still thought we were picking fights. Looking back now, I was wrong.
On the first day of quitting, he saw little figures and Peppa Pig
On his first day of quitting alcohol, he had hallucinations. He told me he saw images like little figures, Peppa Pig, and little zombies. He tossed and turned all night, waking up four times, coughing up black phlegm. The next day, he suddenly became unsteady when walking—lurching forward as he walked, so he just sat down on the ground, rested for a good while, and barely managed to walk home, a distance of only five hundred meters.
Those days he was very weak. I accompanied him when going out, did laundry, cooked, and took care of the kids, while he fought against his alcohol addiction. I prepared some snacks, made softer meals, with more meat, milk, eggs, and porridge in the morning, and noodles with fruit for dinner. I had him drink more lemon water with sugar—people who drink are never not deficient in sugar. I also found that eating more Hami melon worked wonders, though I don't know if it was psychological, but he could indeed eat a bit more.
He saw himself in the mirror and cried
After three days, in the evening while soaking his feet before bed, I used ginger and Sichuan pepper to dispel cold, soaking for twenty minutes. It was also from that point that he could eat again, his hemorrhoids stopped hurting when he had a bowel movement, he could go up and down stairs by himself, and do squats in the bedroom. At first, he couldn't—five at most left him exhausted, but now he can do fifty in a set. Exercise started with just walking—walk as long as you can, and when you can't walk anymore, sit down on the ground and look at your own weak and useless self. Gradually, as he could walk more, he started doing slow squats, just a few a day. It wasn't that he didn't want to do more—he really was fragile and couldn't muster the strength.
It was also a stroke of fate. He had tried to quit before, but ended up drinking even more heavily. One day, he saw in the mirror that his face was pale, without any color. He got scared—afraid of losing his family—though he would lose them eventually, it was definitely not now. When he got home, I saw him crying, and he wouldn't let anyone touch him. I was angry. My daughter ran over and said to him, "Daddy, Mommy is crying. Can you stop drinking?"
The normal drinking range is no more than two liang
He now tells me that the normal drinking range is just tasting—tasting different wines, different flavors, mouthfeel, and aftertaste. No more than two liang, no more than two glasses of red wine, no more than twice a week. Any more than that and there's a risk of alcoholism—not even considering external factors, his own body couldn't handle it. If he doesn't drink, he gets hand tremors, chest tightness, headaches, and distending pain—a whole series of physical health problems.
After all, we're not literary giants of ancient times. They loved wine, but what they left behind were timeless masterpieces. What do we leave behind? Tears from family members, and our daughter's words, "Daddy, stop drinking."
This week, he quit drinking. But I know this is only the beginning.
More real stories of quitting drinking | Family support guide
Severe withdrawal reactions may occur in the early stages of quitting alcohol, requiring family companionship and professional support.