Four Months
This is my first post in this community. Today, I have four months of abstinence, and it has been six months since the last time I got drunk (I had one glass of wine at Thanksgiving, and have had nothing since.)
It was surprisingly easy to stop, even after binge drinking for roughly fifteen years. Aside from friends, I didn't tell many people about my secret drinking problem, but I was asked to do something outside my regular duties at work. I couldn't physically do it because I was hungover, and everyone on my team finally knew. I quit out of humiliation. However, I feel better physically, everything in life has gotten easier, and I've even lost some (not much) weight.
One of the only downside is that I have a lot of free time and absolutely nothing to do. I don't have any hobbies or special artistic talents to try to re-cultivate. I don't play any instruments, and I only have two non-drinking friends (former drinking buddies that also quit), one of whom gave me a four-month AA chip as a gift. We're on different schedules and have different days off. I don't know what to do with my gobs and gobs of free time.
The other downside is that I've become aware that I'm stuck in a menial job (the kind of job you can do hungover), and have been for years. Since my effort went into getting drunk during my off time, I did as little as possible. Now, I have no influence, few skills, and indifferent references. I have to find a better job somewhere else, but I feel like I'm at the same level as someone that just graduated from high school. I'm stable, but it's low-level stability. I was a functional drunkard, but just barely. Still, I'm so glad I finally quit. I feel so much better now.
If any of you have stories about how you dealt with the boredom or side-effects of a drinking career that eclipsed your 8-to-5, I'd love to hear them. I know I'm not alone in my struggle, but I don't know many other people who are experiencing the same problems.