I stopped drinking (the first time) on February 16, 2010....in 2009 I had only gone without alcohol 9 days...not by choice, i was hospitalized...(I have a small anuerysm in my pointy little head, they ran every test in the world, i have great insurance)...in 2009, my liver enzymes were skyrocketed and my doctor told me i should not drink at all, so i drank heavily for another 6 months.
I made it from February through the rest of the winter, into spring and family Easter Dinner....it was a sunny Wednesday in early May....I was stopping for fruit at the grocery....I walked into the liquor store like it was long lost family and bought wine...3 large bottles of cabernet....and I decided I could "sip" a bit in the evenings....
it did not work out as I had planned, but I did make myself very sick...(a good thing). I remember going out to dinner in July that year on a friday night, had wine with dinner and 3 bottles the next day...I fell into a pattern of a very depressive weekend drunk about once a month...i started to write it on my calendar, it was the same pattern, almost to the day...it took me a while but I finally figured it out and now have been sober for about 2 years...(i don't count , it makes me crazy).
I refuse to fall into the traps i set for myself, but they are always there.