aswego

When counting how many days sober, where are you counting from? The first day you don't drink, or the first day you don't wake up with a hangover (technically the 2nd day you don't drink)?

yeahgr8

The first day you don't drink:-)

flutter

My day one was the first day I didn't drink (I drank on December 17th, 2008, haven't drank since.. my day 1 was Dec 18th, 2008).

aswego

alright. cool. nice to know i don't have to wait until tomorrow for my first day. :crazy

NoelleR

My day one is a bit different than most; it's not the last day I drank, or the first day I didn't drink. My day one was the day I made the decision to not drink again; to quit for good 'n all, and that was about 5/6 days after my last drinking day.

NoelleR

CarolD

Glad to see a new member heading
into a sober future....Congratulations!
....You are on Day 1

Welcome to SR and to our Alcoholism Forum...

Wolfchild

Welcome to our Sober Recovery community!

aswego

Interesting. I actually don't plan on keeping my date 'sacred,' although I understand people that do. My plan is to basically keep track of the landmarks (1 week, 1 mo, 3 mo, 6 mo), up to one year, then be done with it. Done with dates and continue to be done with drinking. I don't want to hold drinking, or abstinence for that matter, on some elevated perch. I just want to be done with it.

That said: day 2.

chrisinaustin

I wouldn't put any more effort into forgetting it than I would into remembering it (or holding it sacred.) It just is.

aswego

Agreed.

HonestlyNony

Aswego, thank you. I'm to new to know how to quote folks (I imagine I'll be here often enough to learn though) but what you said about not holding a date sacred, I agree but felt completely alone in feeling that way. I, too, made yesterday my first undrinky day (last drink(s) was Monday night) but I don't feel proud of this day one or two. I feel this is where I should be and I want each day I don't drink to make up for a day I did.

So in 20 years, I can start counting sober days greater than drunk ones and have something to be proud of. Right now I'm ashamed of the time I wasted drinking and don't want to "celebrate" each day I don't. I probably took this in a different direction than what you intended but I wanted to share my thoughts on it anyway.

Welcome back to the land of the living, enjoy your journey. ;-)

CarolD

HonestlyNony......Welcome to our recovery community


Congratulations and thanks for joining us

aswego

Nice. Best wishes to you.

aswego

day 3.

kind of going to ramble here, but just wanted to get something "on paper."

just for clarity: i drank ~6-8 strong beers a night, about 5-6 nights a week, for about 6-7 years.

was really tired mid-afternoon and took a quasi-nap for an hour. sucks because i have a lot of studying to do, the pressure is on in a big way, but can't seem to focus. it's necessary though because getting sober is truly the priority. without sobriety, the goal that i'm studying for, the goal i've worked for many years to attain, will never be realized - i can sense it.

on a positive note, i'm getting sort of these brief glimpses of positive emotion. hard to explain, but it's a quick feeling of peace. it doesn't last very long, but it is reminiscent of the way i used to feel before i felt like crap all the time from alcohol. i smell things in the air i may have been not noticed even 3 days ago.

one thing i wanted to point out, not just for anyone else reading, but for myself. if i'm going to be successful this time, i need to be aware of this:

i don't have a desire to drink right now. but the crazy thing is that once you start feeling a bit better, once the gleen of sobriety peaks its head, you begin to forget how much you hated the life of alcoholism. the negatives of your "former" life sort of become academic, and you tend to forget the visceral disgust you felt while drinking. 3 days in and i'm already sort fo forgetting how ****** it is to wake up hung over. how ****** it is worrying if people can tell you got hammered last night. how ****** it felt to turn down social plans because i'd rather just get home and throw back some beers and zone off.

I DON'T WANT TO FORGET HOW MUCH I HATED LIVING THAT LIFE.

so i just want to permanently remind myself in this thread, that I HATED LIVING THAT LIFE. several months of sobriety may pass. i may feel great. i may feel SO great that i forget what it's like to feel so UNGREAT. that beer may no longer look so ominous. it may look even like a good thing to crack open - strange as that may be. but i just want to pre-emptively remind myself, having only been 3 days from that feeling rather than 3 months:

IT SUCKS! DON'T START DRINKING AGAIN!

i'm done rambling now. oh wow: 12:02am. this diatribe led me two minutes into DAY 4.

thanks for listening!

Cathy31

Keep it in 'the day' whatever that date is for you! And keep reminding yourself of where you came from it helps! My day 1 was the first full day I didn't drink.
Cathy31
x

aswego

day 7.

feeling really good. i think exercising has been KEY for me in early sobriety.

the tiredness wore off after day 4, but my sleep schedule is still a little jacked.

justjo

Well, Im just waiting for a day I dont need to drink. So I guess 24 hrs of not drinking or 48hrs is my guess.

aswego

day 10.

i'm about to go on a run. two weeks ago i'd be preparing for a beer run.

WasteOFtime

Thats great!!

I just count the day that I am in, when I wake up it starts over. Counting days did help me for the first few months and that was a huge key for me, it gave me a goal to seek..

Paulos

The start and stroke of midnight when it's the day I have not absorbed any alcohol :].