Hey time,
You sure sound a lot like me when I quit. I qualified for a 1week stay at my local VA hospital and planned it very much like you have. All I had to do was drop in any Tuesday - Thursday and check in as my VA Doc already did the approval and referrel. The day before I was going to go in my central A/C outside compressr blew and it was 100 degree weather. So we moved out to my small metal building which is insulated and finished and air conditioned. A week later we were moved back into the house with the pups and I finally was able to go. I smoked one of my last three smokes, and I had a large shot of scotch in my coffee and headed in.
You are going to read a lot of posts from folks who are terrified of anybody knowing and that is one of the reasons so many fail in my opinion. As threshold said so well our priority needs to be our continued survival and getting off the seemingly endless cycle of being sick and tired and drinking to feel better but getting sicker and more tired instead.
Let me tell you that when you have a lot of sober time, when you tell someone you are a recovered or recovering alcoholic, they not only do not care, they are eager to get to another more interesting subject. Peple are so into themselves that we aren't even on their radar screen.
Let me remind you that gossips and busybodys don't like happy stories. Imagine how juicy a story of happiness is. Or about the triumph of another? No way right?
It may just be that a lot of alcoholics are so used to being ashamed of their life drinking that they can't wrap their minds around the fact that not only does everyone close to them already know, but with the current health and fitness push in our country that most would help in any way they could.
Any hegativesvare short lived compared to the rest of your life. Use everything and everybody at your disposal. Remember that many of the folks you may have to tell might have recovered themselves in the past.
Unless you become one of those reformed alcoholics that bother normal drinkers and people who are not ready or willing to quit. No one could scare me into stopping, or even get me to discuss it when I was drinking. It is a very personal decision. But once made it is a whole lot easier with support face to face for me which included counseling, docs, AA, my friends and family.
What are they going to do? Eat me? Take away my name?
Perhaps like me you will be sober more than a year later because you don't want to have to not only go through the detox and withdrawal pains, but don't want to have to schedule around it again either.
You'll do well I think. Keep us posted!
