Will it get better?
Yes! It gets so much better. However, it does not happen all at once. Things got better for me and then I started feeling really depressed again about 3 months in. I took away the drink but my thinking was still warped. I went to a big book step study meeting and began working the steps. I feel SO much better. But, life has ups and downs. Even so my worst day sober is better than my best day drunk!
How did you guys make it stick.
I'm a proponent of AA. I got a sponsor. I did what she told me to do. I started attending step meetings. I got (and still do) on my knees in the morning and Thanked God for my sobriety, asked him to redirect my thinking and to keep me away from alcohol. I started working the steps...and life just sort of laid out a path for me to follow...I was kind of "pulled along" the path of sober, sane and useful living.
What do I do in the early days? What am I to expect?
I won't lie to you. It is hard. The dilemma we face is that we have to walk away from what we know (the drama and chaos that comes with active alcoholism) and venture into the unknown and it is uncomfortable! In the beginning I really felt lost...WTF am I doing?! I still feel that way sometimes. But day by day I learn more and more and I have some clarity now that I did not have before.
You can do this! I really felt like I was a hopeless alcoholic who would die from this disease. If I can do it anyone can!
Welcome!