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Old 12-08-2020, 02:24 PM
  # 15 (permalink)  
Lautca
Sober since October 24, 1997
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Otero County, New Mexico
Posts: 108
Hi EasternRow! Well, gosh! Let me pose a few purely academic questions. Do YOU think you are out of the woods yet? Are you asking just in case some day you feel a "slip" about to happen and you want to know how to handle it? Are about to slip now?

All those who answered have darned good insight. Everybody is different is probably the main answer, and the best thing to keep in mind is what LateBloominCait said about just "one drink away from disaster".

I was a professional drunk for 25 years. I tried quitting many times and failed miserably until I decided to get the things out of the way that that were making me drink. I have mentioned these things before. Ibuprofen was no longer a prescription medication and became an over the counter item for pain instead of taking a few drinks. Use ibuprofen carefully, and never use acetaminophen aka paracetamol if you are drinking since it may cause irreversible liver failure in a few days. When I couldn't sleep I used Benadryl, but don't use it with alcohol! Counseling used to demand that only sober people could be counseled, but then that changed with good results.

After I took the initiative and grew up some more, I just quit without any big hassle, no slips, and I never looked back. That was a little over 23 years ago. There have been a few times when things from my past re-appeared, but never ONCE have I ever felt a slip coming on. Everyone is different.

Alcoholics have to take the responsibility upon themselves for getting the things out of their way that are keeping them from getting sober. They have to take an active interest in themselves, and if that spark is not there, they will never get sober. We can help you light that spark, but you have to find out what is going on inside of you. How is your health? Do you have aches and pains? Do you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Is your boss ragging on you at work? Slips can come from outside of you, too. The Titanic was not sunk by an iceberg, it was sunk by its captain who did not steer away from the iceberg in time.
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