animalnurse9

I know that this is shallow... But... It really has made me ugly. Wrinkles, sallow skin, acne, black circles under my eyes, face is puffy and my tummy is fat :-\ andgod knows what my insides look like. Does any of this reverse when u have been sober for a while?

newman23

I've found the physical aspect does improve. At my heaviest, I was 228 lbs, which is when I was drinking every day. I also had dark circles under the eyes. My face was bloated, pale with shades of red. I looked like death. With sobriety, diet, exercise, getting some sun, getting some sleep every night, I am down to 192lbs, face looks normal and no longer bloated, dark circles are gone, getting toward my fitness goals, etc.

Dee74

I was never an oil painting but I look pretty good compared to some of my peers my age.

I think you'll be ok animalnurse

D

Chilledice

At 30 days sober I noticed a HUGE difference :-) You are young , stick to sobriety and you will see the benefits! It Does get better. Day 2 for me after a relapse, we CAN do this :-)

Chilledice

Oh and eat plenty of fruit and veg and drink water and take nice long walks in the fresh air, it all helps

animalnurse9

I'm doin okay with the water. But just down two massive bowls of mac n cheese :-\ definitely eating my feelings. Newman congrats on the weight loss! I wana do the same!

Chilledice

Just make health and wellbeing your main goal and everything will fall into place

MasterSkywalker

i have been sober 60 days and the entire time I have felt like a fat, old worthless, loser... I don't know how these feelings go away...

Dee74

They take time...I had 40 years of hating myself to work through. That takes longer than a few weeks or even a few months

D

Nonsensical

60 days sober is a thing of beauty you've created all on its own.

Chin up! You are winning!

MidnightBlue

Hi, there.

Sorry you are struggling...

First, it is not shallow - it's more than natural for a woman to care about her looks. And good healthy looks reflect our good health and peace of mind - it's all interconnected.

Good news it's reversible - but the older we get the harder it's to reverse. So, don't waste another day or even hour - get your beauty back right now!

When my wine consumption hit it max rate before I quit, I developed ugly bags under my eye. After some sobriety time (don't remember for sure now) they were gone. Skin got back to normal.

Your beauty will be back - just give sobriety a chance.

Take care of yourself.

Best wishes to you.

instant

After three years of being sober I am in much better shape than when I was drinking. I am at least 12kg less, and overall much healthier. It takes time but it happens

Chilledice

This right here! It WILL come back!

Youngaddictionwarrior

Apparently now my eyes are bluer skin glowing, definitely lost weight, my only battle is the big keloid scars on my face where I fell over drunk but every time I look in the mirror I know I can cover them up & there a reminder not to drink xxx

animalnurse9

Skywalker, 60 days is amazing, be proud.i am so looking forward to the day when I have that! Thank you guys, I looked at myself clearly today for the first time in ages and was pretty gutted with what I saw and embarrassed too. People must know something is going on just for the way I look alone :-\ hope I can get some of the good stuff back xxx

AlcoholFree66

I sure feel and look a lot better than I did 2.75 months ago when I got sober. Plenty of exercise and eating well. I haven't lost much weight but my shape has changed (for the better!) and I feel much healthier and happier with my appearance.

Pipping

It's not shallow. My looks deteriorated rapidly when I started drinking every day and my weight that was never an issue suddenly took off and I became fat in an alarmingly short period of time. The good news is that once you stop things improve quite quickly and in a few weeks I noticed a big difference in my skin and lots of lines started to soften or disappear completely. The bloat took about a month and my hair improved in about 3 months ( it had been falling out). I look a lot better. I could lose a few kgs but need to stop eating so much chocolate and do some decent exercise but I don't really care. I don't know how old you are, I am 40 and I suspect if your younger things may improve a bit more quickly. God luck, I am rooting for you fellow kiwi!

PurpleKnight

It'll take time, but physical changes do happen!!

Meraviglioso

Thank you animalnurse for this thread! I have been wondering the same thing. I used to be so young, fresh and healthy looking. I even stayed that way through 10 years of heavy drinking in my 20's. Once I hit the 30 year mark things changed and the past 5 years I've noticed that I look worse and worse with each passing day. I cannot wait to start seeing the changes that everyone mentioned. I could lose about 5 kilos for sure and my skin.... ugh...... it is horrid. I hope to look brighter and better soon. And no, as others said, it is not shallow, it is a normal part of being human to want to look nice.

Pondlady

I tend to be like lots of people, not really looking at myself closely, as I rush about. One day, a few months after I stopped drinking, I took a long look at myself. I noticed my eyes were clearer, my face wasn't puffy, but best of all....my mind / memory felt clear and sharp.