42 days sober and now its getting hard...

[smyoung2902]

for the past three years or so i have had a pretty big problem with alcohol. i didnt necessarily drink often, but when i did drink i drank way too much. a couple nights a week i would go to house parties and drink enough to the point of blacking out. then when i turned 21 i started going to bars with my friends, and finally i started going by myself several times a week as well. about 3 months ago i got a public intoxication ticket and spent the night in jail. i quit for a week and the next weekend i went out with my friends and the same thing happened again. i promised to stay sober but two weeks after that, i went out with an old friend and got hit with my first dui. so three alcohol related arrests in three to four weeks.

since my dui, which was 42 days ago now, i have not had one drop of alcohol. the first two weeks were easy because i was still in shock/ashamed of my dui. after that i struggled a little, but i began seeing a counselor weekly and i guess that helped a little. i never really had much of a problem. well now i just broke up with my long-time girlfriend and so i live alone, bored all day, and i live far away from all of my "friends," so none of them will ever come pick me up or come hang out with me.

tonight has been the worst by far in the past six weeks. i am bored out of my skull, depressed, and not a single thing interests me. watch tv? no thats boring. video games? no thats boring. read? no thats boring. go on a walk? boring again. all i can think of is walking to the corner store and coming home with a 12 pack and just having fun. i call my family, but they are far away and cant do much but talk. i really need some friends or something right now. but its so hard without being able to drive anywhere

[PaulL]

Hey buddy,
I know where you're at and I can relate because I'm at that same 6 week point. There are physiological/chemical reasons why we feel like we do at this point. Do a search on PAWS Post acute withdrawal syndrome. It kicks in around this point in sobriety. In times past, it's the reason I started drinking again, to get the cheer back into my life.

I'm resolved though this time....no more drinking. Yes I'm experiencing the same boredom you speak of, with all the books I have to read, my 150 channel directTV, etc. Short attention span makes prayer difficult...etc etc.

I can relate. Hang in there, don't quit now!!! The walks you mentioned sound good!

Paul

[nyranger30]

Call the AA hotline and someone will pick you up to go to a meeting. You need to make friends in recovery.

[Ken777]

Hey--

Sorry you are going through what you are going through. I can tell you that it is worthwhile to white-knuckle it if you need to. The other advise you have been given is great-- you need to have a network of sober friends that will be there for you and one of the places to develop that network is through AA.

I can really related to what sounds like lonliness setting in. My wife and I are separating and it is difficult to be alone if you are not used to it. Isolation is one of the big causes of going back out, though. You really need to have a phone list or at least someone to call when you are tempted. I have been sober 3 1/2 years and can't say that I would be without supportive friends.

I am finding that this site is a little like having friends around you when you need them. I don't post much, but it is good to read about other's successes and struggles. E-mail, post, read... don't be alone.

Take care and God bless---

Ken

[benjiboy]

Stick with it dude....you say u didn't have much of a problem....well the ammount you drank has been enough to land u in trouble with the law 3 times....make you unhappy and taken away your libberty to drive....no problem? ...think again ....it's not just our health that is devestated by the booze....find some sober friends...make a concerted effort to straighten up...presumably u have a pending court case? ...if so it will shine in ur favour if you have found a group etc.
You don't have to not drink for the rest of ur life....your young....give yourself some time away from it though....have u got a job?
kind regards
benj

[LukkyChucky]

Hi, I don't have a lot of dui's like some others. I was able to keep mine in the single digits at only 9! lol They don't get any better. The fines go up and jail time begins to get major. Not to mention suspensions and revocation of liscense. Attorny's fees etc. etc. Your much better off bored than drunk and then in jail with more problems but you'd be even better off involved in aa. As in finding a home group locally. There are some other bored folks out there as well. You could help each other out. A lot of guys have gatherings at their homes. Cook outs. Sober parties etc. etc. Hang in there its more than worth it.

[sct]

Early recovery can be really hard-- I know it was for me because I had planned everything around using, and I started going stir-crazy after about three weeks. Check out the local website for your town/county. Most of them have activities and stuff that 'locals' don't always know about. Go to a local Y, and see about playing some pickup, check out a museum or gallery, library, parks etc. Put on a tourist hat and check out stuff you usually wouldn't- bearing in mind what you would have usually checked out in the past- led to those DUI's and being in recovery now.

And yes- you can be young and in recovery and still have fun. I'm 20-- and 5 months clean and sober, and I had been hitting the club scene hard since I was 15. Another thing to remember if you check out meetings and feel like you're the only young person there-- those folks in meetings went through exactly what you're going through too. They partied hard too-- and probably also have some excellent suggestions to alleviate boredom.

[Mallshopper]

Stick to the plan. It'll be OK in the end.

[windysan]

the title of this thread is misleading

LOL

[Stryker908]

Originally Posted by windysan

the title of this thread is misleading

LOL

WoW I've read 4 of your posts now and I just dont get it ::Rolling eyes::

Keep up the good work Bro.

Maybe try doing something physical to distract you, sports, gym going out with "sober" friends...

Hang in there..

[windysan]

What's not to get? I mean it's quite obvious.

[VengeanceofRain]

recovery is simple but not easy.

go work out. boring or not you will feel better about yoruself. tlak to some people about what you are going though. beat up the phone. read something motivational. write down a list of goals you want to achieve in 1,2,5 years and explain to yourslef how you are going to achieve them if you are stone face drunk all the time. all of that helps