Hi, I'm glad you're here! I think sometimes we get caught up in the counting of days and forget that even though we may have relapsed the time we did spend sober is still a valuable learning experience. I relapsed many times before I was actually ready to be sober. I experimented with trying controlled drinking, counting drinks, etc. in the end none of those things worked for me. If I had not relapsed I would not have learned that I am completely incapable of having just one drink because I learned that my brain is not wired to tell me when I've had enough. One drink by itself made me sick, two drinks and I forgot about feeling sick, but by that time I was no longer thinking for myself. Even a drop of alcohol now would send the message to my brain that the party is on.
What did you learn from your relapse?
What will you do differently this time?
At first it was all I could do just to promise myself that just for today (or even the next hour) I would not drink. Then the next day I did the same thing. Pretty soon I had a few weeks, then a month, then half a year and now a year.
I had to change the people I hung out with, the places I went, and avoid things that triggered me to drink. And get a support system.
I am still a work in progress.