New Here
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 1
New Here
Hi everyone! I'm new here and just wanted to introduce myself. I've been browsing for a few weeks.
I am an alcoholic. I think I've known this for at least 10 years, but it has really hit me hard the past year or so. I'm a daily drinker and currently working on tapering to hopefully avoid severe withdrawal. My longest stretch of sobriety (other than during pregnancy) has been about 2 weeks and that was about 18 months ago.
I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. My family needs me. Thank God I still have them. I try to hide my drinking from them as much as I can but they are not stupid. I leave work and go straight to the bar for a quick few drinks then get home from work and drink as much as I can before my boyfriend gets home. I hide the empty cans in the recycling bin or at the bottom of the trash can. This has been my life. When my boyfriend and our son want to go do fun things I stay home so I can drink in peace. I'm missing out on precious memories with them. I feel like I have lost myself through all of this. There is no more happiness.
I'm just looking for support and any tips anyone can give me on how to kick the habit for good. All of my close friends and family drink so I know I need to distance myself from them at least in the beginning.
It's inspiring to read the posts from people who have conquered this demon and are thriving. Thank you all!
I am an alcoholic. I think I've known this for at least 10 years, but it has really hit me hard the past year or so. I'm a daily drinker and currently working on tapering to hopefully avoid severe withdrawal. My longest stretch of sobriety (other than during pregnancy) has been about 2 weeks and that was about 18 months ago.
I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. My family needs me. Thank God I still have them. I try to hide my drinking from them as much as I can but they are not stupid. I leave work and go straight to the bar for a quick few drinks then get home from work and drink as much as I can before my boyfriend gets home. I hide the empty cans in the recycling bin or at the bottom of the trash can. This has been my life. When my boyfriend and our son want to go do fun things I stay home so I can drink in peace. I'm missing out on precious memories with them. I feel like I have lost myself through all of this. There is no more happiness.
I'm just looking for support and any tips anyone can give me on how to kick the habit for good. All of my close friends and family drink so I know I need to distance myself from them at least in the beginning.
It's inspiring to read the posts from people who have conquered this demon and are thriving. Thank you all!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,859
Welcome to SR, Hope; so very glad that you found us.
There is an exponentially better way to live; I hope that the support, understanding and encouragement that you find here will help you achieve lasting sobriety and recovery.
Again, welcome, Hope.
There is an exponentially better way to live; I hope that the support, understanding and encouragement that you find here will help you achieve lasting sobriety and recovery.
Again, welcome, Hope.
Reach Out and Touch Faith
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: On a Sailboat
Posts: 3,871
Welcome to SR Hope. It's not uncommon for alcoholics to count other alcoholics as their close friends. The longer I was sober, the more naturally my good friends became those that didn't drink to excess. I didn't plan it out that way, its was just the people I began to run into at my job, my pastimes, and my musical friends weren't alcoholics. A current good friend of mine is in recovery but I didn't know at first because through his recovery program he no longer shows any sign of wanting, planning or expecting to drink. Instead he's concerned about getting a better dingy for his boat, a video game when he has time off, completing his chef certification and his new job. We both did this our own way yet still believe in "One Day at a Time."
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,859
Here are links to some not to miss SR threads, Hope:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...recovery-plans.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...very-plan.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...recovery-plans.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...very-plan.html
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,859
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,859
Two more you may want to look into:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-part-2-a.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...art-260-a.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-part-2-a.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...art-260-a.html
Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: North Georgia Mountains
Posts: 588
Welcome to the SR family. The support offered here has helped me tremendously and I hope it does the same for you. Believe me, it is tough to give up alcohol, but well worth the effort!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 315
Hi, Hope, and welcome to SR! My advice is, never give up. If you relapse, don't beat yourself up. It won't accomplish anything, and puts you in the wrong frame of mind.
I had many false starts (as did so many other people here). Every time, I adjusted something in my plan, and am now at almost five months sober, loving every moment of it.
SR might be all you need. If that doesn't work, add in AA, SMART, or some other support group, individual therapy, talking to a close friend, relative, spiritual advisor, etc. Or, maybe, like me, intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) would be helpful. Whatever it takes, do it! You're worth it!
Oh, and never hesitate to involve your doctor. I had great trepidation about talking to my doctor, but she was genuinely concerned and caring, and has helped me tremendously. I never regret being honest with her.
By the end of my drinking days, my wife and older children didn't trust me (nor should they have; I was a lying, bottle-hiding, manipulative drunk). With honesty and sobriety, those relationships are mending, and the lost time I had with them is being filled in with new memories. We just took our first family vacation in almost four years, something we couldn't have afforded while I was drinking away our savings. We all had a fantastic time, and it's a trip I'll always remember.
Life really does get better with sobriety. Please stick around and do whatever it takes to get sober and love life without alcohol. It really is possible with some effort. Peace to you and your family.
I had many false starts (as did so many other people here). Every time, I adjusted something in my plan, and am now at almost five months sober, loving every moment of it.
SR might be all you need. If that doesn't work, add in AA, SMART, or some other support group, individual therapy, talking to a close friend, relative, spiritual advisor, etc. Or, maybe, like me, intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) would be helpful. Whatever it takes, do it! You're worth it!
Oh, and never hesitate to involve your doctor. I had great trepidation about talking to my doctor, but she was genuinely concerned and caring, and has helped me tremendously. I never regret being honest with her.
By the end of my drinking days, my wife and older children didn't trust me (nor should they have; I was a lying, bottle-hiding, manipulative drunk). With honesty and sobriety, those relationships are mending, and the lost time I had with them is being filled in with new memories. We just took our first family vacation in almost four years, something we couldn't have afforded while I was drinking away our savings. We all had a fantastic time, and it's a trip I'll always remember.
Life really does get better with sobriety. Please stick around and do whatever it takes to get sober and love life without alcohol. It really is possible with some effort. Peace to you and your family.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: middle of nowhere
Posts: 2,849
Welcome to the family and glad you made it here 
There is tons of great info here and you will get a lot of support and understanding.
have faith it will get better, keep reading around and posting, you will never regret giving yourself a shot at sobriety!
There is tons of great info here and you will get a lot of support and understanding.
have faith it will get better, keep reading around and posting, you will never regret giving yourself a shot at sobriety!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 28,647
Welcome hope. My biggest tip? DO STUFF! Hell for leather, just do stuff. Anything and everything you can to stay sober and grow. Epsecially when it seems pointless or too hard. GO TO A MEETING- and not allow yourself not to with 'it is not for me' or 'they will force all that god crap down my throat'. It is something 9even if it is just for the time spent there) a way of staying sober, connecting and learning. Post at ST hundreds, thousands of times. When a craving hits? POST. When sadness creeps in, or any emotion- post. Joi some of the threads in newcomers- so you can get to know people. See a doc. about your health- being scared is an excuse. See a counsellor, a psychologist- to deal with everyday 'little' problems, like kids, money, whatever- as well as getting down to root causes for drinking in the first place.
Keep a journal. Read back through it. Not a weekly one- but ongoing, daily.
Write lists of stuff.
Read and research about recovery.
Join stuff- local clubs, go to the library.
No matter how silly the 'stuff' on your list is - do it.
Support to you.
Keep a journal. Read back through it. Not a weekly one- but ongoing, daily.
Write lists of stuff.
Read and research about recovery.
Join stuff- local clubs, go to the library.
No matter how silly the 'stuff' on your list is - do it.
Support to you.
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