Originally Posted by Plenny

That's a good idea Melina.

"Before you go out tonight,

I'm writing this on day 1 after a 10 day binge that resulted in one slip up, one night, when I was nervous and navigating a situation I hadn't navigated sober. I thought I'd feel relaxed and in control and euphoric. I thought I'd find camaraderie through drinking with others. I thought I'd bounce back after one night and go back to my normal sober self.

The opposite happened. I became more nervous after a drink. So I had more. The euphoria never happened, and the control went out the window. The old demons of low self esteem and self-consciousness came creeping back. So I had more drinks. Then, I succeeded in deafening ALL of my voices. I didn't care how I acted and didn't feel anything. I didn't do anything damaging but I COULD have and I WOULDN'T have cared. I did behave like a person I'm not really proud of. And, if I had stayed sober I would have been very proud of myself because I do like myself sober.

I didn't recover from the one slip. I woke up shaking and drank all day the next day and behaved exactly the same way. Then the next day. And then the next seven days after that. Now I'm here and I think to myself that nothing I did was enhanced by drinking. It was only darker. And more chaotic. And if I hadn't done it I would be feeling proud of myself and my week, and I'd remember it.

So before you go out tonight, remember that nothing changes for the better when you're drinking. And there is room for nothing else in your life when you open that bottle or get that glass of wine. It's all a fantasy based on a chemical addiction and propaganda.

And if you keep breathing and keep getting through each moment, you'll make it through the night, sober."