Vet turned law school student 1 month sober

[neo1906]

I began drinking heavily in 2006 when I got back from a really tough and traumatic year in Iraq. I started sewing the seeds of alcoholism without even knowing it. I would drink everyday after work, but it was SO accepted because nearly all of us that came back were drinking heavily and battling PTSD. I continued drinking off and on until I went to Ranger School in 2007, I went to Afghanistan in 2009 and I was due to get out of the military upon return. This is when things went downhill. I came home to a wife and kids I didn't really know, and a new life that didn't involve guns and violence. I went to college prior to the military so I applied to law school. During the past 2.5 years I have nearly drank myself right out of a life. I lost my family (got it back recently), got arrested for DWI (got it dismissed on a "technicality") and have been a wreck socially.

I would drink EVERYDAY, all day. I had a few shots in the morning, then I would bring a flask with me and take sips throughout the day. I would come home and and drink and be just functional enough to do the six to ten hours of homework a night law school requires. Somehow I made it through my first year, still don't know how. Well, this May I got an internship with a Judge doing legal research for him and I was (am) so addicted I would bring my flask or used bottle full of booze into the courthouse and sneak to the bathroom to drink. I almost got caught and I decided enough is enough. I quit "cold turkey" one month ago (June 11th). With the help of my doctor who I have had since a baby and he prescribed Campral, and I have not had a single drop of alcohol. I have also told myself that this is NOT temporary. I will never have a drink again ever, and I will never be able to be a social drinker. As you all know it is hard. But the benefits outweigh everything. I am already feeling better, and I want more than anything for my kids and my wife never to be able to say "my dad was a drunk". Thanks for listening to my story.

[CraigA]

Good intro, my hats off to you, styain a one day at a time mind set. You are doing the right thing, alcohol does nothing but steal your dreams, family, and life away. Keep posting here and you will find a lot of support welcome!!!! God Bless you!!!!

[Lost3000]

Hi, first - let me thank you for your service. Twice. That's gotta me tough, I can hardly even imagine.

I'm in the legal field, I'm a paralegal. Since getting sober, I run into a lot of my colleagues at AA mtgs, and it's really nice I have to say. They all know how tough law school is and they all know how tough it is to work a legal job.

I hope you really get out there and start attending various mtgs. It took me some time to find these guys, but they are everywhere. Share when you can and you'll be amazed at how many in the group are just like you. I spent a lot of time early on picking others apart, thinking no way could they understand where I was coming from.

As a side note, I work with a few vets fairly fresh from Iraq. They made it thru school somehow and now are in the legal field. So I know you can do it too.

Just wanted to say hi and good luck. I'm routing for you.

[Dee74]

welcome to SR neo
great to have you here

D

[Jester1025]

Congratulations on your 1-month of sobriety!!!

[Jillx]

Welcome! I'm new here also and just graduated with a paralegal degree...going back to college was what caused me to go back on my most recent problem drug - adderall. Good luck to you and keep up the great work!

[sugarbear1]

Welcome to SR!

Thank you for your service.

Do you have a plan to follow or a program?

[AucklandAddict]

Simply awesome brother. Keep it up.

[DoinThis]

[Pondlady]

Welcome! Thank you for sharing your special story - keep posting.

[Anna]

I'm glad you're sober and working on getting your life back on track. Good for you!

[least]

Welcome to the family!

[GiGi13]

Welcome to SR and I humbly thank you for serving and protecting all of us and this country! Im glad to hear you were able to reconcile with your family and are working things out not just with them, but within yourself! I was very much like you.. the daily drinker.. taking sips or shots as soon as my eyes opened.. sometimes if i woke too early.. round 4 or 5 am.. i would take a few sips just to get back to sleep.. wake and repeat... and, i also used to carry a flask around and "sneak" to the bathroom or elsewhere and take a few nips through the day to just "get by and ward off the shakes". Its an awful way to live.. letting a "substance" have so much control over you! Today is 4 weeks for me and on thursday will officially be a full month! Congrats on your time sober and stick with it!!! Always remember... YOU are stronger than IT is.

Many blessings to you.
Stay strong, stay sober..keep the faith!

[onlythetruth]

Congrats on your month of sobriety! I must say, I'm jealous. I'm a lawyer; I drank all the way through law school and the first ten years of my legal career (okay, 9; I couldn't work the last year of my drinking). I still don't know how I did it, but you...you don't have to ask yourself that question past your first year!

[Notmyrealname]

You are doing the right thing by getting cleaned up now. Law school is hard enough without being titanically hung over for your early-morning legal writing class. Plus, it's on a curve. You are directly competing with others for money, basically. Don't handicap yourself with alcoholic symptoms.

(A little non-alcohol-related advice: If there are any classes available at your school that are not graded to a curve, e.g., we had "seminars" that were basically automatic As for writing a research paper during the semester, you'll want to load your schedule with those whenever possible. Also, find at least one--hopefully more than one--mentor on the faculty; you're likely to need letters of recommendation at some point, and they can give you helpful advice on your career as well as go to bat for you in the faculty lounge with other professors in a pinch.)

Good luck

(oh btw I am a law school grad, too, in case that wasn't apparent from me giving advice on being a law student)

[jobei]

Welcome! Sounds like you've got a great doctor in your corner... huge advantage! I've been reading several different threads today and the common theme is this: IT does get easier with time! I'm 4 months sober now and not sure if it will stay easy but it's definately easier than in was in the first month! God bless and welcome!

[neo1906]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. It has been tough, but I just try not to think about alcohol. It's weird because just a few months ago I was also planning out where my next drink would come from. One thing that has helped tremendously is that I have changed my habits during the day. I noticed that my drinking was linked to activities (like watching tv or studying) where I would normally have a drink beside me. Breaking that habit has been tough. By far the toughest thing this month has been going through the social functions in (birthday's, vacations, etc.) without a drink. I used to feel like I had to have one. Now after a month I feel like I don't actually need it. I hope we all can do this together. I know I am maniacally determined to stay sober for the rest of my life.

[jobei]

Sounds like a good plan man! Keep SR close when you feel down... people will be here to support you!

[zorah]

first of all, thank you for your service. i'm sorry for the trauma you've experienced. but i'm also glad you found SR which is kind of like an army for alcoholics. the most important thing to me, as a newly sober person, is to reach out to others, something i don't want to do as i am a loner by nature. but i've learned that the challenge is less when we stick together than when we fight alone--a lesson you know better than most. as long as i keep connecting to others here or in a recovery program--i will stand strong. and even if i slip or fall, other hands will lift me back up. so... if i really want to be free of this thing and i do, i have no choice but to connect to others. i hope you use us to support you or cheer you on.

welcome to SR!

Zorah

[wpainterw]

neo1906: Good for you! Wish I had got on that track years and years ago! One other thing. Law school may be tough but the practice of law is even tougher, particularly these days when business is bad. Drinking is an occupational disease of lawyers and can spell disaster. Best way to survive is to learn how not to drink. And then try to get into some branch of the law you actually enjoy and think you can do some good for folks, so as to make up for the long hours, tension, anxiety, etc. Just don't drink. Good luck.

W.