I said I would update. Things were going good till yesterday. Just huge cravings…feeling tired as hell all the time, headaches, body aches and sweats. Not the best I’ve ever felt. But on to day 4 and I do feel a little better. Sleep sucks and I keep dreaming of accidentally drinking a beer and the nightmares are insane. Sleep is not my good friend right now. However…I am going to truck on. Get a good workout and a meal in me. I am going to a couple bars this weekend with some friends and i know I will stay strong. I am here to feel better and better my health. I got this and all of us do. IWNDWYT

Hard day for many people. Myself included as I used to walk around with an insanely strong traveller to “get through” Halloween with young kids. Now I see its like any other day. All the days are hard at the beginning and Halloween is no more special than any other day. What did I gain? Zero things. My kids are teens now and by not drinking that means I can pick them up from wherever they are, at any given point in time. That is freedom.

I am very excited to have reached this! Never have gone this long since I started drinking, so probably over 2 decades!

I have been sober curious for a while and really wanted to meet a sober guy so it could motivate me. Well, I met a sober guy who owns a bar, lol. It took a few months after meeting him to get serious and after a drunken night where I got mad for no reason because I made a drunken story up in my head, I finally decided there’s a lot more important things in life than alcohol!

I won't drink today whatever happens. Today is a festival (Diwali) and all my friends are drinking today. I am with them and my alcoholic mind is saying just one drink won't hurt me. But I don't want to go back to the old ways and I know I will go back to drinking non-stop again if I get just one drink. Holding on as of now. Your kind words will help me a lot.

Yesterday was my 45th birthday and I stopped drinking July 30th. I feel like I’m beginning to go into a depression era. I have no desire to get drunk for fun anymore. Well, because it stopped being fun. I don’t know how to socialize without getting fucked up. We are going to “friend’s” house tonight for trick or treating and I’d rather sit at home to avoid socializing. Obviously it isn’t healthy to isolate. Alcohol masked my social anxiety since I was a teen. I have no social skills outside of my job. I would call that masking as well. I’ve learned how to do and say the right things over the years in my career by watching others. I feel emotionally numb as well. I think my husband and I aren’t arguing anymore because he is cool with me not having a social life. Of course my social life was going out with friends and drinking too much. He still drinks,but his drinking is drinking beer in the evening. Enough to be seen as a functional alcoholic. I was a morning to night all weekend drinker and swigs of vodka before work drinker at the end. He would definitely say something negative if I went to AA. 😞

I am more able to see myself as a good person, after I had some beers. I grew up around very narcissistic people, and hiding my good sides was a matter of survival.

Hence I had to learn to hide them from myself.

There are things I did good, objectivly, that I never accept when sober, I just ignore them, and only after a beer or two, I am willing to take them into account.
Back in the days, that would make me angry and acting out.

Like a pressure cooker that you take the lid off.
Nowadays I am way more calm, but I still struggle to see myself as a good person, while in sober mode.

Shit sucks, really.

I drank yesterday. I won’t do it today. After three months of being serious about quitting, it feels possible.

Here I am day 1 again. The worst part about it is I felt it coming, I identified my trigger and did it anyway. Now here I am.

Hi. Looking for suggestions, tips, tricks, whatever to help me get started. I’m a 40F daily drinker. Have been since 21 probably. Some days is light (2 glasses of wine), but realistically it’s more often a mixed drink and a bottle.

Lately, I’ve been cutting back some … my numbers are okay but I’m overweight and my triglycerides are slightly elevated.

Here’s the thing: I wake up in the morning saying “I’ll just skip it tonight; one night will be good for me! I’ll start here”. And I feel good about it! By the time dinner rolls around, I find myself craving one. It’ll just be one. And it never is. How do you keep the resolve to not start TONIGHT when it’s been a habit for so long? When it’s such a part of your nightly relaxation routine, it becomes reflexive?

And another

James, thank you for sharing your story on Recovery Elevator Podcast. Very inspiring, keep up the good work!

Thankful Thursday is a weekly thread where we share and discuss our gratitude. Feeling grateful is a skill we can develop. This is an opportunity for us to practice.

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Hello everyone!

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday!

Happy Halloween!! Today I am thankful for the holiday :) it's one of the fun ones, but also one of the few times I actually see the people who live on my street. We sit outside in costume and hand out candy and make small talk. It's really nice! Younger me would go out and get drunk instead but there's something very rewarding and nice about just saying hi to the kids, giving out candy, I don't know. I'm looking forward to this evening and I'm thankful for it!

What are you thankful for?

IWNDWYT

Tom

Hi all,

I'm going to be taking Librium to detox starting on Monday. I won't be able to drive or work for 4-5 days. I would rather not have anyone at work know about my alcohol abuse. Any advice on what I could tell them I need a week off for?

32/M - I keep up with a lot these posts on this subreddit out of curiosity, but I don'f often see mention Allen Carr's "easy way" of stopping drinking book.

By the end of listening to this audiobook I haven't had a single urge to drink since. It removed all the preconceived notions I had of alcoholism (I was on 6 days a week, 2 bottles of wine a night).

Just curious - have people read this and it just hasn't landed (or they thought it was full of shit) or have people just not read it?

I passed the book recommendation on to my friend at the same level as me on the alcoholism scale and the same result - he hasn't touched a drop since.

What's your thoughts on this?

I don’t really care about drinking everyday I could be drinking once a week or even once a month but when I do. When it happens to go out after 6-7 pm I’m always drinking beer cause I love them and I will order 2 or 3 pints And then returning home I pick up another 2 or 3 pints. And I end up wasted alone listening to music If the music gets too good and I am below 5 pints in total and beer is finishing I will go out and get one more. My intention always is that I will stop at 2-3 beer that u drink socially. But once I smell it I know I’m on a ritual that I can’t stop. After 2–3 beers I’m in suck a perfect space that I don’t want it to stop so I go out for more. I don’t know how to stop and I’ve abstained from alcohol in the pay for a full year and recently I stoped for a month so that I can Stop my after drinking. But no matter what once i start I can’t stop. My limit is 5 pints for my petite frame are too much . I ago beyond that u will wake up with unbarable hangover . I still do but it’s easier

I haven't been sober for over 2 months since I was 14 and I'm closing in on 30. I've lied about my sober time before, and today I had the opportunity to drink with no one finding out, but the thought of looking at my flair in this sub and knowing it would be a lie kept me sober today. IWNDWYT

Hey everyone! I, like many others, struggled for many years. I could go a day or so but could never quit drinking. This year I went to a rehab, and today I’m 155 days clean! I say this to tell every one who is still struggling that you CAN do it! I failed dozens of times before I made it this long, but I learned of a new trigger or situation to avoid when I did relapse.

Don’t give up, you can do it!!

IWNDWYT

Tonight will be my first concert not drinking alcohol.. and my first alcohol-free Halloween too, for that matter. I have been a little apprehensive about this show since we bought the tickets, wondering if I would have much fun being sober. To be honest, I'm more excited to get dressed up in costume and enjoy the show more than I am worried about staying sober. I'm ready to party tonight with no booze!!! Well, I'm California sober as they say ;)

Happy Halloween! IWNDWYT

Hello sober friends, What would you like to receive as a gift from a friend who wants you to know they’re proud of your sobriety?

I was over whelmed with emotion yesterday knowing today is my first 1 year mark of sobriety. I’ve done the 1 Mo, 4 Mo, and even 6 Mo, only to slip up and go a huge bender. It’s taken me 6 years to get to this point, but knowing I have the strength to do allows me to focus on what matters the most, my family.

Over all I have this great sense of accomplishment knowing all the fear of relapse is more so behind me than before.

Trust me the urge is still there especially with the holidays here, but it’s more of a fleeting moment.

The one prideful thought I have is knowing I can be there for my family.

I only spent two and a half days there. The first day was awful with the withdrawals truly just terror along with the shaking. Even my head shook and walking was awkward. It was scary seeing how red and fucked my face was in the mirror.

But after a few rounds of benzodiazepines it was much much better. I still felt like shit at the end of that day, but also so thankful that the horrible anxiety was gone.

Second day I got one or two benzos, and that was fine. Still a little wobbly and shaky, but I could drink without the glass shaking too much.

Today my hands don’t shake much worse than like someone who has had a few cups of coffee too many. My eyes have a blank wetness still. I sweat extremely fast, and I might be imagining it, but there’s this smell that lingers on me.

Mentally I’m a bit woozy and distant, a bit off. Some of that might be the sleeping meds and benzos still in my system. The red face and hands are just about completely gone. I feel mildly sick and fatigued.

Still, I am 29 and did not develop a problem until 26, which didn’t get really bad until this year, so I’m more of a moderate case I guess.

How will my next days look? I’m halfway considering work tomorrow, but I have sick leave until Monday.

To all of those in the middle of drinking, just starting the sober journey, or those looking at a week, month, etc, YOU CAN DO IT.

Take it from the guy who went to 6 outpatient treatments, 1- 30 day in patient treatment and STILL relapsed.

In truth, like many others, something just clicked. Its hard to describe...

That being said, EVERY DAY is still a fight but I only think about THAT DAY. I go on a death spiral thinking about the, Holidays, airports, trips, days etc. I get great relief when I only think about, "Whats the next best thing to do..."

Playing the tape forward helps a ton....

AA didn't work for me...

I committed a year to taking Vivitrol and am going on my 4th shot....

I have a trauma therapist, a regulat therapist and see my pyschiatrist monthly...

I still fins empties in the weirdest spots!!

I came close many times but road the wave and the cravings to go away if I am patient...

PAWS is absolutely real a d sometimes I think I'm losing my mind...

Energy is off and on but I know my body/brain is healing....

Sometimes I cry....

I have not dieter but will start next week eating super clean and working out daily. For me it's just been too hard daily to deprive myself of sleeping in in the morning or eating whatever I want. They are like a blanket for maintaining my sobriety.

The mood swings are legendary....sometimes I just get off and come home to sleep....

This site has been amazing and outside of my God and family, is one of the major reasons that I am sober today. Even with 150 days I still come here SEVERAL times a day...

To everyone, especially the OGs that have inspired me to keep trucking on, THANK YOU!

Most of all thank GOD for He ia faithful and the post I lean on when I am the loneliest.

To all....IWNDWYT!!

I normally don’t work Fridays so Thursday usually kicks off the alcoholic indulgences. I don’t necessarily get wasted (my tolerance is too high for that at this point), but as soon as the stressful work week is over, that 5pm beer or glass of wine cannot hit my lips fast enough. Plus today is Halloween; just a week ago I was planning on trick or treating with my little kids with a Yeti mug full of wine, but I’m determined to go through tonight (and this weekend) completely sober. The thought is definitely gnawing at my mind but I have done it before and believe I can do it again. My kids deserve and require my full presence and attention. It’s just been so long since I’ve felt true joy or even contentment without alcohol. IWNDWYT, happy Halloween

😵‍💫 feeling rough ! How you feeling today and what day are you on ?

Long read.

Ive been trying to quit for almost 3 years. At the moment my (F34) raging alcoholic brother (M37) who happens to be my best friend ,is on a bender for the last month causing him to crash two cars, lost his job, loosing his family (wife with 2 small kids) and basically all his friends, is staying with us (me and husband).

10 days ago his wife called the police on him and drag him to the court in an attempt to get him in the psych yard. She lost the case. My brother is since staying with us. At first he wanted to go inpatient. He went for evaluation and got prescribed naltrexone while he is on a waiting list. Since then he is out of control drinking every day all day while we are out working. When we come back he is already drunk and continues to drink, he is a manic alcoholic so he can go days without passing out or even get sick. I know this is already problematic for me but to add to that he started to befriend people in my neighborhood (drinking buddies) that I was avoiding in an attempt to increase my chances on sobriety. Plus my father who is a recovering alcoholic comes to visit him and he is ,as much as I love him, a major trigger to me for other reasons.

The last days I find myself going back to my old ways. Drinking with my brother some nights, hanging out with old "friends" ,not being the person I want to be nor the wife I want to be for my husband (non drinker). I already know that this is dangerous for me and for my brother. We basically enable each other... But I really don't know what to do. I just found out that my brother was being S.A since a kid by a close family friend who is the one that my brother will still turned to if nobody else "is there" for him. I didn't had much time under my belt before so I cannot say for sure if I would be sober if things with my brother were different but for sure this is not helping. Does anyone have a similar experience? Forgive me for the rant. As I said before this is my safe place and I thought I could share.

I’ve always struggled with the “stopping” part of alcohol. I can go ok as long as I don’t drink (tho feel deprived) but can never ever stop at one. I’m not looking at medication “fixing me” (I understand alcohol has no benefits) but I’m wondering if medicating adhd might also help? I’ve been diagnosed but am scared of the side effects. Thank you

After a long wait, I'm finally heading to detox on monday morning. I'll be there for three weeks.
And after that, I'll go into a 10 week rehab program.

The support I got along the way from my family, my friends and my boss was really overwhelming.
They're rooting for me, and I won't let them down.

Currently I'm feeling a mix of anticipation and sheer panic. I don't know what awaits me there.

How as your experience with detox and rehab?

It's been years since I've been able to get past just a few days without a drink. IWNDWYT!

So I have been thinking about going to an AA meeting. I am on Day 9 and doing well on my own SO FAR. I have been lurking here, too. Yesterday I joined Reddit so I could participate.

I looked through the AA meeting guide and what did I find? The nearest meeting happens to be in the basement of the church I attend. I have been to various events in that very room. The entire building is holy ground, really.

Not sure how I feel about this.

There are other groups I could attend but this one is the closest and the time would be convenient.

Another thing is I am almost certain I know two people who belong to the group.

These last couple of weeks I’ve noticed my mind starting to drift off into “a drink would help” haze.

I have cptsd and sometimes my ability to function and thoroughly just be my self feels impossible.

Last week I had an incident at work where I had to call my supervisor to leave a client early because I had a panic attack.

My first thought after was all consuming, following the many throughout the years “be numb”.

Drinking makes me completely forget about pain. And I’m scared I’m entertaining that tiny positive for all the terrible negatives. The ability to walk to a shop, grab my favourite drink and just slip into nothing..

Could someone share their thoughts/constructive critiscm/consolation