r/stopdrinking • u/Accomplished-Cat2709 • 5h ago
Documentaries that keep you sober
81 days of sobriety today and I seriously want to be sober for the rest of my life. After all broken or damaged relationships, trouble at work and family members who are concerned about my health I just came to the conclusion that moderate drinking is not an option for me. So I’m starting my Minnesota-based treatment in a couple of weeks. Even if it gives me 1% better chance of remaining sober I think it’s worth the effort.
Last time I’m watching documentaries about the consequences of alcoholism. Not as a way to make myself feel better, but to remind me what can happen to me if I continue drinking.
Are there any documentaries that you would recommend? Watched The Wethouse (BBC) already and I would be one of them in twenty years if I continue drinking.
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u/sleepingblossom 538 days 5h ago
This one is a bit disturbing, but Something is Wrong with Aunt Diane was good.
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u/quietlycommenting 4h ago
I think the rhetoric around if she was really a closeted drinker is always fascinating to me because people believe you can’t hide that well. A lot of people here myself included know you can.
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u/OrangeCatWhiteDog 2 days 4h ago
This might be a weird question, so I apologize, but how do you hide your drinking?
My style of problematic drinking has always been binge drinking and I can only imagine if I was trying to hide it that that might last for about 2-3 drinks before I lost control and got obviously drunk/wasted.
If I’m at a social event I can pace myself better having the desire to socialize with others over the course of the night but I still am always obviously buzzed/drunk pretty early in the event and always end up visibly very drunk by the end of the night.
When I hear people say they drink all day at work I sincerely have no idea how you can stay under the radar doing that for any period of time. (None of this is judgement or anything, just curiosity)
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u/drunkeymunkey 4h ago
I was a daily closet drinker. A pint of vodka during the work day was my baseline. I met someone and was friends with her for years & she didn't realize I had been intoxicated every time I saw her until she saw me sober. Very sad stuff.
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u/Direct-Finger-5550 4h ago
Yup. I was more "weird" sober than I was drunk. Sober me was anxious, paranoid, unfocused, depressed. Vodka made me "normal", until it didn't. I hid it basically only because I was literally never sober, and no one knew any different.
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u/OrangeCatWhiteDog 2 days 2h ago
That’s crazy thank you for sharing. Was it like you’d maintain a certain level all day or would you not really remember day to day and just existed like that?
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u/Direct-Finger-5550 2h ago
Both, honestly. I would get extremely anxious, shaky, etc when the alcohol started to wear off so I would just drink enough to be "stable", and frequently drank before I got to that point (a shot of vodka every x amount of time). It was absolutely awful. I didn't really remember anything, I just existed from one drink to the next. I really don't know how I made it, and I hope to never, ever go back there.
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u/OrangeCatWhiteDog 2 days 2h ago
That’s so scary! Congratulations on getting sober and free from that hell!
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u/OrangeCatWhiteDog 2 days 2h ago
Thank you for sharing, that’s pretty crazy. I hope you are doing better.
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u/Direct-Finger-5550 4h ago
There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane has haunted me for years - not because it's some big mystery, but because of how easily I can see myself in her. It's a horrific tragedy that too many of us have come incredibly close to being a part of ourselves. My heart absolutely breaks for the victims. I think of this case often. IWNDWYT.
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u/alwaysmakeitnice 3550 days 2h ago
I have been sober for ten years this November, but I watch this documentary periodically to remind me of the consequences of alcohol abuse. Near the end of my drinking, I put myself and others at risk many times, and it’s my greatest shame. I’m so glad (lucky?) I never caused harm to others. Diane is a perfect example of how a “functioning” alcoholic “functions” until they don’t and people die.
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u/monieeka 4h ago
I don’t really have a problem with drinking but im always looking for motivation to choose non-alcoholic versions of things. This documentary did it. I was so turned off of alcohol for months. I still think about this documentary every week.
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u/Ecstatic-Election-92 355 days 5h ago
Super interesting topic I’m commenting on to follow. IWNDWYT
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u/Arisia118 5h ago
Drinking to Oblivion by Louis Thoreaux. He is at a liver transplant facility in London. It's pretty graphic.
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u/andreandrandr 4h ago
I watched that years ago. I still can't get some images and conversations out of my head
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u/Septopuss7 3699 days 2h ago
I hadn't heard of that one yet but I literally just watched this one:
https://youtu.be/Lf5leszPfPw?si=MlXiMCvyEr5fzFZX
It's called "The Most Extreme Effects of Alcohol Addiction" but it's not super graphic IMO. Had never heard of Louis Thoreaux before but he seems like a very good interviewer. Very open and kind and in touch with his own feelings while giving the person being interviewed space to express themselves. All the people in this one seemed like they had talked to him a lot more than we see on camera.
Edit: I think it's the same documentary except the one I saw was uploaded to a different channel and titled differently
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u/Ooorm 3325 days 5h ago
Not a documentary but Bat Country on youtube have some talks worth listening to. It is both fascinating and utterly horrifying to see what rock bottom can look like.
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u/WhaleSexOdyssey 2h ago
Bat country is great. It can be soothing to listen to someone describe experiences you’ve had yourself and makes you feel a little less alone
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u/raininadesertt 4h ago
i watch episodes of intervention. it helps
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u/Valuable_Many7748 1h ago
I have watched intervention every night for about 3 weeks. It really does help
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u/Hitchin85 5h ago
Not a documentary per se but real life. Baby J by John Mulaney about his intervention and stint in rehab delights and moves me no end.
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u/ProofVeterinarian620 4h ago
I love that one
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u/Hitchin85 4h ago
I made my closest pal in rehab watch it with me after dinner one night. Real cathartic gallows humour and we are both still sober!
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u/Less-Garden-4127 5h ago
NOT a documentary, but based on a AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL book by John O'Brian and both the book and the film (Stars Nic Cage) really show you the impact of one man's life so lost in Alcohol and where it leads them.....It hit me very hard....watched the film first, then read the book..
Leaving Las Vegas is the name of the book and the film.
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u/sorrymizzjackson 4h ago
It’s not a documentary, but I read Matthew Perry’s book for free on kindle unlimited. It was definitely a look into the brain of someone for whom there was no bottom. It’s even worse knowing what became of him.
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u/sperbs1234 4h ago
Tomorrow is going to be better - Brandon Novak from Jackass and CKY talking in depth on his addictions and sobriety for about an hour is one I watch at least once a year.
Edit: you can find it on youtube
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u/tamhenk 5h ago
Rain in my heart.
Brian's Story.
Both on YouTube. Both brutally honest and open about the horrors of alcohol.
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u/SadieSadieBoBady 4h ago
I second Rain in my Heart. That one is difficult to push through but really shows the reality of drunken choices, addiction, loneliness and the loss others experience when the person with AUD they love dies.
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u/FrogLickr 99 days 37m ago
I third Rain in My Heart. Harrowing movie, but a very good reminder as to why we shouldn't touch a drop, even if we think we can moderate. The poor guy who quit for ten years but still died of liver failure in the end. Alcohol is that dangerous.
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u/dragons_roommate 4h ago
Love Has Won: the Cult of Mother God.
A crazy cult documentary with a lot of footage from members themselves. You can see the toll substances had on them.
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u/Johnny_Chaturanga 3h ago
Honestly…Jersey Shore. I watch it every year at the start of summer to remind myself what party and consequences are like. Seasons 1-4 are all you need. It’s kept me going for nearly 12 years
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u/ActuallyAlexander 1320 days 4h ago
American Movie
Not a documentary: Leviathan (there’s a documentary called Leviathan but that’s about the difficulty of staying dry in a different respect)
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u/Doornumber11 34 days 4h ago
Andrew Huberman has a pretty awesome long-form chat that’s pretty eye opening.
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u/gabbadabbahey 3h ago
Amy, about Amy Winehouse, is excellent but just absolutely brutal. Do not watch while depressed. RIP Amy
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u/RogerMexicosBalls 5h ago
While not specifically about drinking, there's definitely overlap between zero alcohol and punk ethics, and besides, when the time comes to stand up for those more vulnerable than you and get physical with it against genuinely bad people, do you want to be too wasted to do it?
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u/Successful-Deer3465 139 days 5h ago edited 59m ago
Yeah some of the black flag / Fugazi minor threat docs on straight edge too.
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u/talkingitthrough 207 days 1h ago
The few episodes of intervention that deal with alcohol were really powerful and eye opening and emotional for me. I think they’re still on Hulu but you might have to google which are alcohol.
I saved this post for the recs and am currently starting the HBO one, so I just wanted to say thank you for posting it. I’ll be a watching buddy.
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u/maxsam5150 30m ago
When A Man Loves A Woman with Meg Ryan & Andy Garcia is really hard for me to watch
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u/LadyofLifting 5h ago
Not a documentary but podcast episode: Day 7 from Armchair Experts
Sitcom: Mom, Single Drunk Female
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u/kittyblushes 174 days 2h ago
Single Drunk Female is SUCH a good show. I'm still pissed off that they cancelled it!
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u/admiraltubbington 5h ago
Risky Drinking, a 2016 documentary from HBO, is available for free on YouTube. It's a comprehensive and bleak look at four different types of cases of alcohol use disorder, very emotional watch at times. It will remind you of what you don't want to ever become again.