I was an all day drinker.
Here's what I did:
- Spent time writing down why I wanted to be sober and listed all the things that alcohol has done to me. Actually the list of things that alcohol did was easier for me. Lol. The reasons to be sober was short because I just wanted to be happy and live life.
- promised not to drink for 24hrs. That's all I was willing to do. Made a post here stating that fact on 4/20. Haven't looked back since.
- Read and researched online all about alcoholism. Saw exactly where I've been and where I was going became obvious. Scared me more and made resolve for sobriety stronger.
- read and researched about every program, technique, and tricks I could to help me through withdrawals. I added as many tools to my tool box as I could.
- told my fiancé that I had a serious problem. I was hiding booze and drinking as soon as I woke up and didn't stop till bed time. Needless to say, she already knew. But not to the extent I had detailed (which still did not paint the full picture)
- set an appointment with a counselor they day I made my promise and stuck with it. I really had to make myself go the day of the appointment. Super glad I did.
- attended an AA meeting.
- attended chat meetings here in SR every Tue and Fri night for a while. Now I hit one of them.
- read here. Posted here. A lot. Any time I had urges or was struggling. I do not have urges that much any more, but I still post frequently and read a lot.
- payed attention to what I ate and drank a lot of water. I found eating 5 smaller meals to level out my glucose levels was a HUGE help. No more junk food. Way more fruits and veggies. Took my vitamins daily.
- started journaling based on my shrinks advise. I write what ever enters my mind every morning. I have to fill 3 pages. I lay it all on the line then destroy them so nobody will ever see it.
- another simple action was removing all alcohol and empties.
- I did not go out to eat at a restaurant for the first two weeks. Only places that did not serve alcohol.
I'm sure there's more. But the key for me was constant daily changes or adding new tools to my tool box. Every day was something different. Was more than trying not to drink and being obsessed by that. Instead I became obsessed with understanding the disease and the ways to break free.