Rainbowgirl128

Since I started drinking at the beginning of college, I have never gone more than a week or so without it. I just decided to quit and am doing fine, but I am trying to figure out the ways in which life gets so much better in sobriety. Obviously I feel better without hangovers and not regretting things that happen when I am drunk. But I am also feeling emotions that I usually can avoid by drinking. For example, I am trying to distance myself from certain people in my new sober life. The first example is my best friend. I am distancing from him because I know he is an alcoholic and I think we enable each other. Whenever we hang out it usually involves drinking. Also, I've stopped pursuing my SO because I am trying to find someone who appreciates me more. Finally, my other (non-alcoholic) best friend moved a couple weeks ago. So I am grappling with a lot of loss in my life right now. I have read on here that people's lives improved after they put the bottle down.

Could anyone share subtle or major ways their lives got better after they sobered up? That would really inspire me to stay sober during this time. Thanks.

least

My life got better when I got sober just from getting my self-respect back. I am also winning back the respect of my kids. I am getting healthier and not spending money (on wine) that I can't afford to spend. I no longer worry about driving drunk and getting a DUI or killing someone while driving drunk. I take better care of my dogs, giving them a good walk or two and meals on time, and the diabetic one gets his shots on time now too. I no longer feel like death warmed over when I wake up.

I too had a problem, still do, with my emotions. I was drinking to drown them out, to bury them, cause I did'nt like how I was feeling. Now that I'm sober I rely a lot on my counselor to talk out my feelings and learn to deal with them in a healthy way.

But dealing with my emotions is the only hard part of being sober, and it's not unbearable dealing with them, just takes time to learn better ways of handling them.

I hope you can stay sober and realize the many benefits of sobriety. Come here often and vent your feelings if they get hard to handle. We are always here, cause we are from all over the world. I'm glad you found us!

:ghug3

nandm

May I suggest a great place for finding inspiration? Try reading the members stories in the "Stories of Recovery" forum. I still go back and read through it time to time as it helps me remember and appreciate the miracle of recovery. You can even look up a particular members story, if they have posted one, by doing a search. Take care.