A 21 year old "pretty girl"'s story
You won't be the first person to invent their own way to stay sober. Whatever works for you is great.
I agree completely with Carol. Giving something a single, brief chance is not giving it a fair shot. My recovery began from the inside and it's a continuing process.
I hope you find what you're looking for.
I agree completely with Carol. Giving something a single, brief chance is not giving it a fair shot. My recovery began from the inside and it's a continuing process.
I hope you find what you're looking for.
Last week was my final bender of this kind. And I know that if I ever pick up a drink again, I will no longer have the strength to stop. I will inevitably die. And even if I don't, I will probably commit suicide because I have so much potential in me, so many talents and I would hate to see them dissolve in my 24 cans of beer/daily.
So please....tell me how to keep strong and never drink again. I'm not someone who would attend the AA 'cause I just want to change my habits, not my religion if you know what I mean.
My family, my boyfriend, the two friends I have left and I beg you to tell me how to stay sober. Forever.
So please....tell me how to keep strong and never drink again. I'm not someone who would attend the AA 'cause I just want to change my habits, not my religion if you know what I mean.
My family, my boyfriend, the two friends I have left and I beg you to tell me how to stay sober. Forever.
Well, not really, all j/k aside. When i was suicidal, and drinking, and yet still trying to stop drinking, things were a mess. Same as you, same as others in the same mess. I read your post, and you seem to come across [to me, my take] as someone explaining that they are, perhaps, a little different than just another common drunk. I've felt like that, FWIW.
Very famous. And pretty too. Hmmm. Different, is what i hear from that, you know, and i'm not sure any of that makes any real difference in getting sober or getting drunk, for that matter, at the end of the day. We all have our story, you know? There's always two sides to any story, has been my experience.
There is a desperate voice in your post, and an honest seriousness as well. Those qualities can help you move forward with sobriety. Contemplating suicide both clarifies a mind and at the same moment puts it on the edge of the final abyss, has been my own experience. Suicide is such an unfulfilled solution, and not one that has any good outcome no matter the current problems being faced by whoever, wherever, whenever. Nothing there is good, you know.
The only way to stay sober forever is to not ever drink again, and that is not such a big deal, really. Alcoholics give up not because it is really hard to stay sober; they give up because their present sober life sux, and that rotten no-good sober grind life makes it really hard to stay sober, and so -- relapse is the preferred unfortunate solution to a crappy sober life too many alcoholics sadly and wrongly believe is the next way forward in their despair. Denial and ignorance are such common traits of alcoholism.
Living a truly lived and loved life requires giving more than we're taking, you know, and so i guess for me, I would start with working with others and giving back to them and sharing with them my experiences on life, both drunken and sober, just like you're already doing, you know. Working with others simply means having a common purpose together and being accountable for our own actions while supporting each other as peers in a fellowship of recovery. With that I would learn from them what I need to learn to live that good happy solid sober [spiritual] life, and then i would throw everything I had into putting it all into practice as early as I could, not wasting a single day looking back. Live in the moment. Be all you can be now. Today is enough.
I hope you can move past just getting sober, and actually get some good sober days behind you as you journey forth. Best wishes!
Robby
1 week sober today! woo!
I didn't make it to the AA meeting, it's just too far away from where I live and I don't drive...but mainly I had a panic attack just thinking about speaking in front of strangers about my "demons"
Then again I read some pretty useful AA material on the internet so that counts for something!
Had a bit of a depressive episode today though, I hope that's normal for early stages of recovery...Suddenly I felt really, really scared and sad because I realized I'll actually never ever be able to drink again and even if I do drink - it wouldn't be the way normal people do. The feeling was similar to the grief one experiences when losing a family member to be honest... It was literally as if I was losing someone I thought I'd have and love forever.
But I guess this is what I thought about alcohol - I thought I'd be able to love and handle it till death do us apart lol
Oh well, better for the alcohol to be, metaphorically, in a coffin... than me
I didn't make it to the AA meeting, it's just too far away from where I live and I don't drive...but mainly I had a panic attack just thinking about speaking in front of strangers about my "demons"
Then again I read some pretty useful AA material on the internet so that counts for something!
Had a bit of a depressive episode today though, I hope that's normal for early stages of recovery...Suddenly I felt really, really scared and sad because I realized I'll actually never ever be able to drink again and even if I do drink - it wouldn't be the way normal people do. The feeling was similar to the grief one experiences when losing a family member to be honest... It was literally as if I was losing someone I thought I'd have and love forever.
But I guess this is what I thought about alcohol - I thought I'd be able to love and handle it till death do us apart lol
Oh well, better for the alcohol to be, metaphorically, in a coffin... than me
Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: WI, USA
Posts: 32
I am not gonna lie...I do find some inspiration here at SR. It is a whole new community, a parallel universe in a way, that I was unaware of and damn do I wish I found it sooner...
It is like a little virtual miracle
I feel stronger now that I know such a community exists.
I think the fact that I relapsed so often was because I felt I was alone in my battle. Turns out there is a whole war out there and many people fight their own private battles in it.
Whenever I went into therapy, my therapists were obviously always "normal" non-alcoholics and despite all their medical knowledge, they lacked the first hand experience and I think this is what made it ineffective.
It is like a little virtual miracle
I feel stronger now that I know such a community exists.
I think the fact that I relapsed so often was because I felt I was alone in my battle. Turns out there is a whole war out there and many people fight their own private battles in it.
Whenever I went into therapy, my therapists were obviously always "normal" non-alcoholics and despite all their medical knowledge, they lacked the first hand experience and I think this is what made it ineffective.
Suddenly I felt really, really scared and sad because I realized I'll actually never ever be able to drink again and even if I do drink - it wouldn't be the way normal people do. The feeling was similar to the grief one experiences when losing a family member to be honest... It was literally as if I was losing someone I thought I'd have and love forever
Don't look in the future. Just don't drink today, ya know, you can do that, you've done it for seven days now.
One day at a time.
I went to AA in my early recovery and it gave me a lot of hope and insight and suggestions. I now depend on my weekly addiction counseling and this site. And I'm nearly 11 months now and happier than I've ever been. Congrats on your sober week. It will get better.
Hm, eventually I'd probably start going to meetings but for now I think this site and all the helpful material available on the internet is enough
I've been a member of this forum for ...2 days? And I already notice a shift in my perception of what a "drinking problem" is.
Usually I'd stay sober for a week/2 weeks, then think I was magically "cured", drink the first drink....and come back to reality 5 days later. Even when I actually managed to drink for one night only and not continue the binge (which was extremely rare), the next day I'd already have the shakes, the increased blood pressure, the rapid pulse, the panic attacks, etc.
Now that I've read tons of posts here and other material on the internet, I no longer think I'd ever be cured. And that's the good part because it will allow me to finally "flourish" and develop as an individual in the real world.
I realize I'm always gonna be an alcoholic, but I don't always have to be a drunk
And I found a quote to live by:"I didn't quit drinking forever, either. I just don't drink today. If it's today, I don't drink. Maybe I'll drink tomorrow, but if tomorrow comes, and I look at my watch, and it's today, I won't drink for that day...." Again on this forum.
I've been a member of this forum for ...2 days? And I already notice a shift in my perception of what a "drinking problem" is.
Usually I'd stay sober for a week/2 weeks, then think I was magically "cured", drink the first drink....and come back to reality 5 days later. Even when I actually managed to drink for one night only and not continue the binge (which was extremely rare), the next day I'd already have the shakes, the increased blood pressure, the rapid pulse, the panic attacks, etc.
Now that I've read tons of posts here and other material on the internet, I no longer think I'd ever be cured. And that's the good part because it will allow me to finally "flourish" and develop as an individual in the real world.
I realize I'm always gonna be an alcoholic, but I don't always have to be a drunk
And I found a quote to live by:"I didn't quit drinking forever, either. I just don't drink today. If it's today, I don't drink. Maybe I'll drink tomorrow, but if tomorrow comes, and I look at my watch, and it's today, I won't drink for that day...." Again on this forum.
Sounds like your making some real progress here! Good for you! It took me years before I finally got it figured out. We just have today and that all I need to worry about for now.
I hope you'll stick around and keep posting. There's some pretty amazing folks on SR.
Love,
Lenina
I hope you'll stick around and keep posting. There's some pretty amazing folks on SR.
Love,
Lenina
Just wanted to welcome you, whenartdeparts...
I finally had to accept that I'd never be a normal drinker either. Infact, if I'm honest about it, I really never wanted to have just one glass of wine while out for dinner. The idea sounds lovely, but that was never enough for me. I tried for years to meet alcohol in the middle somehow (like get half-drunk and be happy about it), but if there was one drink left in the bottle, I'd inevitably have it.
Taking it one day at a time has been crucial to my sobriety. And the great part is that if I take life that way, too, I'm a much happier person.
Glad you're here and congratulations on your week sober!
I finally had to accept that I'd never be a normal drinker either. Infact, if I'm honest about it, I really never wanted to have just one glass of wine while out for dinner. The idea sounds lovely, but that was never enough for me. I tried for years to meet alcohol in the middle somehow (like get half-drunk and be happy about it), but if there was one drink left in the bottle, I'd inevitably have it.
Taking it one day at a time has been crucial to my sobriety. And the great part is that if I take life that way, too, I'm a much happier person.
Glad you're here and congratulations on your week sober!
Hello, my name is irrelevant but I am a very famous alcoholic
I have been an alcoholic since the age of 14, but entered the more serious stages of this crippling disease around the age of 19.
I have dropped out of one university because of my alcohol problem and just barely managed to not drop out of the second university I attended, again due to my raging alcoholism.
I am now in my second year of Psychology at a university I won't mention 'cause again - it's completely irrelevant.
I was lucky enough to be born...how do you people say it....pretty. Yup, often when I seek medical attention during my DTs or when I have attended therapy due to my alcoholism, people have been surprised by my appearance. Society always assumes alcoholics come in all different *ugly* shapes and sizes. They always expect a monster. Probably because there is an assumption that attractive people, especially females, especially as young as I am, do not need alcohol to make themselves feel better...to function...
I personally started drinking because I was clinically shy. I felt like I had so much to say, so much to do, but my shyness was restricting me.. Vodka in relatively small amounts before school somehow unleashed the "charming", "persuasive" me. But then the amounts increased. As did my alcohol tolerance. I was still able to function as if I was sober, even when I was highly intoxicated.
Then I turned 18 and started my addiction to "night life". Combined with my "daylight drinking", I would go out and drink even more. Sometimes I would black out, sometimes I wouldn't. It was like playing roulette, really.
Then I discovered cocaine which of course increased my alcohol tolerance whenever I took it.
This triggered the appearance of panic attack on the scene. Which made me drink even more.
This story ended bad. In July 2008, I tried committing suicide (probably due to the depression that alcohol itself triggered). As you can see, I survived.
I entered therapy immediately afterwords and managed to stay sober and clean for around 90 days. I got addicted to prescription drugs at that point but this is a different story...I even took up smoking because I thought it suppressed my desire to drink.
Then I enrolled into university. Here starts the real alcoholism... I ditched vodka for beer and in the period of 9 months I can say I had exactly 5 sober days.
Then the panic attacks became viscous but I can honestly say even at this point I did not experience physical withdrawal, just psychological.
I entered therapy again and got slightly addicted to antidepressants.
Then I enrolled into University again. I ditched the antidepressants and started drinking again. Daily. For months. In the eyes of society, from the "pretty girl" I became the "scary bitch". I was crazy and outrageous when drunk and when I would wake up sober, I would drink again in order to forget how crazy and outrageous I was the night before...
Anyway, I somehow managed to stop drinking at one point. And remained sober for a while. Enough for me to think that I was "cured". So I gave myself a chance again.
But this time, the moment I would pick up a drink would turn into 5 days of absolute madness. Just 5 days, but the worst 5 days someone could imagine. Even when I was the daily drinking "scary bitch", my experiences were not as frightening as these 5 days benders.
This is when the DTs started. Regularly. After every bender.
Then I would stop for a week.
Regain confidence.
Pick up a drink
and fall into the rabbit hole again.
I reached the point where I would not even think about food or shelter. I'd just wander around, hang out with homeless people, sleep on benches. I couldn't bear the thought of somebody I know seeing me in this disposition so that's why I'd get lost. Yet again I couldn't stop drinking.
And every DT would be worse than the one before.
Last week was my final bender of this kind. And I know that if I ever pick up a drink again, I will no longer have the strength to stop. I will inevitably die. And even if I don't, I will probably commit suicide because I have so much potential in me, so many talents and I would hate to see them dissolve in my 24 cans of beer/daily.
So please....tell me how to keep strong and never drink again. I'm not someone who would attend the AA 'cause I just want to change my habits, not my religion if you know what I mean.
My family, my boyfriend, the two friends I have left and I beg you to tell me how to stay sober. Forever.
I have been an alcoholic since the age of 14, but entered the more serious stages of this crippling disease around the age of 19.
I have dropped out of one university because of my alcohol problem and just barely managed to not drop out of the second university I attended, again due to my raging alcoholism.
I am now in my second year of Psychology at a university I won't mention 'cause again - it's completely irrelevant.
I was lucky enough to be born...how do you people say it....pretty. Yup, often when I seek medical attention during my DTs or when I have attended therapy due to my alcoholism, people have been surprised by my appearance. Society always assumes alcoholics come in all different *ugly* shapes and sizes. They always expect a monster. Probably because there is an assumption that attractive people, especially females, especially as young as I am, do not need alcohol to make themselves feel better...to function...
I personally started drinking because I was clinically shy. I felt like I had so much to say, so much to do, but my shyness was restricting me.. Vodka in relatively small amounts before school somehow unleashed the "charming", "persuasive" me. But then the amounts increased. As did my alcohol tolerance. I was still able to function as if I was sober, even when I was highly intoxicated.
Then I turned 18 and started my addiction to "night life". Combined with my "daylight drinking", I would go out and drink even more. Sometimes I would black out, sometimes I wouldn't. It was like playing roulette, really.
Then I discovered cocaine which of course increased my alcohol tolerance whenever I took it.
This triggered the appearance of panic attack on the scene. Which made me drink even more.
This story ended bad. In July 2008, I tried committing suicide (probably due to the depression that alcohol itself triggered). As you can see, I survived.
I entered therapy immediately afterwords and managed to stay sober and clean for around 90 days. I got addicted to prescription drugs at that point but this is a different story...I even took up smoking because I thought it suppressed my desire to drink.
Then I enrolled into university. Here starts the real alcoholism... I ditched vodka for beer and in the period of 9 months I can say I had exactly 5 sober days.
Then the panic attacks became viscous but I can honestly say even at this point I did not experience physical withdrawal, just psychological.
I entered therapy again and got slightly addicted to antidepressants.
Then I enrolled into University again. I ditched the antidepressants and started drinking again. Daily. For months. In the eyes of society, from the "pretty girl" I became the "scary bitch". I was crazy and outrageous when drunk and when I would wake up sober, I would drink again in order to forget how crazy and outrageous I was the night before...
Anyway, I somehow managed to stop drinking at one point. And remained sober for a while. Enough for me to think that I was "cured". So I gave myself a chance again.
But this time, the moment I would pick up a drink would turn into 5 days of absolute madness. Just 5 days, but the worst 5 days someone could imagine. Even when I was the daily drinking "scary bitch", my experiences were not as frightening as these 5 days benders.
This is when the DTs started. Regularly. After every bender.
Then I would stop for a week.
Regain confidence.
Pick up a drink
and fall into the rabbit hole again.
I reached the point where I would not even think about food or shelter. I'd just wander around, hang out with homeless people, sleep on benches. I couldn't bear the thought of somebody I know seeing me in this disposition so that's why I'd get lost. Yet again I couldn't stop drinking.
And every DT would be worse than the one before.
Last week was my final bender of this kind. And I know that if I ever pick up a drink again, I will no longer have the strength to stop. I will inevitably die. And even if I don't, I will probably commit suicide because I have so much potential in me, so many talents and I would hate to see them dissolve in my 24 cans of beer/daily.
So please....tell me how to keep strong and never drink again. I'm not someone who would attend the AA 'cause I just want to change my habits, not my religion if you know what I mean.
My family, my boyfriend, the two friends I have left and I beg you to tell me how to stay sober. Forever.
1. I visit a psychiatrist.
2. I take SSRIs (these aren't addictive).
3. I go to two or three AA meetings per week.
4. I read about alcoholism, or watch shows that portray the reality of alcoholism. (For example, Intervention on A&E and Living Sober from AA).
5. I do something everyday for my sobriety. Whether it is big or small I need to keep being proactive in my recovery. (For example, posting here)
Everyone's program is different. I found one that works well for me and I am sure there is one out there that works well for you.
Enjoy knowing that you aren't the only person on the planet that struggles with this type of stuff. There are millions of us! And, we can help each other stay sober. In fact, you just helped me stay sober again, another day.
Bye for now.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: CA
Posts: 268
I don't know why the title of this thread annoys me, but it does. Also I don't know why you claiming to be pretty and famous annoys me, but it does.
I guess I don't understand what being pretty and famous have to do with alcoholism.
....from what I have learned so far on SR, what I am posting is MY problem. The fact that I am annoyed means there is something wrong with me. The fact that I am posting my annoyance means there is something wrong with me too. But there it is, I said it and now I will go figure out what is wrong with me.
I guess I don't understand what being pretty and famous have to do with alcoholism.
....from what I have learned so far on SR, what I am posting is MY problem. The fact that I am annoyed means there is something wrong with me. The fact that I am posting my annoyance means there is something wrong with me too. But there it is, I said it and now I will go figure out what is wrong with me.
yeah, I agree, it's completely your problem hahaha
and just so that nobody gets the wrong idea anymore - i'm not a national celebrity, i'm just famous in the circles i run in.......
and the MAIN purpose of the sentence "Hello, my name is irrelevant but I am a very famous alcoholic " was to be in opposition to the cliche "Hello, my name is... and I'm an anonymous alcoholic"....get it?
anyway, if you wanna think i'm a celebrity, there's no problem 'cause I'll probably be in a couple of years haha
you see, modesty is one of the things I lack. this is probably a leftover from my drunk arrogance....but it serves me well and even if it didn't - the fact I'm posting it on SR means it's MY problem. so I recommend nobody tries to address it
and just so that nobody gets the wrong idea anymore - i'm not a national celebrity, i'm just famous in the circles i run in.......
and the MAIN purpose of the sentence "Hello, my name is irrelevant but I am a very famous alcoholic " was to be in opposition to the cliche "Hello, my name is... and I'm an anonymous alcoholic"....get it?
anyway, if you wanna think i'm a celebrity, there's no problem 'cause I'll probably be in a couple of years haha
you see, modesty is one of the things I lack. this is probably a leftover from my drunk arrogance....but it serves me well and even if it didn't - the fact I'm posting it on SR means it's MY problem. so I recommend nobody tries to address it
Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,490
Hmmmm...... I have to admit, I am posting for 2 reasons:
1. To wish you the absolute best in your journey.
2. Because I am nosy and want to find out more.
There, I said it. Honesty being the best policy, no?!
Truly, seriously, I wish I knew at 21 what I know now, at 36. I am still 'young-ish' but I did not realise then what was a 'binge drinking' problem then (which started, probably at 17, but was 'kick-started' at 12 - ho-hum) was really, truly, alcoholism. I was 'escaping' from my life.
Only in the last 6 months has my alcoholism been brought to light (by me and my actions). That's fairly sad. And, yet, I have had what many people would consider a 'successful' life - good job/profession, family, house, car, the works, blah, blah. It's still not enough, though, as I have left spirituality behind and stopped growing this part of me a long time ago. I'm working on it, but I totally get you on the inspirational thing - that's why I come here every day, even though I don't post every day.
Anyway, enough of me. Hi to you and welcome.
1. To wish you the absolute best in your journey.
2. Because I am nosy and want to find out more.
There, I said it. Honesty being the best policy, no?!
Truly, seriously, I wish I knew at 21 what I know now, at 36. I am still 'young-ish' but I did not realise then what was a 'binge drinking' problem then (which started, probably at 17, but was 'kick-started' at 12 - ho-hum) was really, truly, alcoholism. I was 'escaping' from my life.
Only in the last 6 months has my alcoholism been brought to light (by me and my actions). That's fairly sad. And, yet, I have had what many people would consider a 'successful' life - good job/profession, family, house, car, the works, blah, blah. It's still not enough, though, as I have left spirituality behind and stopped growing this part of me a long time ago. I'm working on it, but I totally get you on the inspirational thing - that's why I come here every day, even though I don't post every day.
Anyway, enough of me. Hi to you and welcome.
Either read the book "Under the Influence" or from the stickies at the top of the forum http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...influence.html It sounds to me like you might benefit from a practical education about what alcohol does to your body over time.
Welcome to SR and I wish you all the best.
Welcome to SR and I wish you all the best.
Hmm well I thought you pointed it out precisely because those things don’t have anything to do with drinking. When I read that first post I didn’t see arrogance. I saw, “yeah, I’m all these things and it STILL happened to me.” Pretty or ugly, famous or not, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, male or female, young or old…it all doesn’t matter when it comes to alcoholism. I think it’s helpful to be reminded of that sometimes because it is just so easy for me to compare myself to stereotypes and convince myself that I can’t be an alcoholic because I don’t fit that stereotype.
"Society always assumes alcoholics come in all different *ugly* shapes and sizes. They always expect a monster."
Well, alcohol certainly made me an ugly monster...on the inside.
"Society always assumes alcoholics come in all different *ugly* shapes and sizes. They always expect a monster."
Well, alcohol certainly made me an ugly monster...on the inside.
Hi, feelingdown, I for one always suspected I was an alcoholic....even in the earliest stages of my "drinking problem" development.
Even when I was not binging like mad, it was clear to me that I simply enjoyed alcohol much more than most of the people I was surrounded with. Actually, the only people that seemed to enjoy this substance (and many others for that matter) as much as me were often pointed at and stigmatized by my "entourage".
In the beginning of my current relationship (e.g. 2 years ago), my boyfriend would often tell me stories about one of his best friends, who was and still is a full blown drunk. He would tell these stories as "anecdotes", as "embarrassing but funny stories"...but I never laughed. At first I was thinking "God, I hope I never reach this level of alcoholism", but then self-realization hit me and the only thing I could think was "I am exactly like him. "
I'm not sure what the point was of telling you this, but I guess I needed to write it lol
Even when I was not binging like mad, it was clear to me that I simply enjoyed alcohol much more than most of the people I was surrounded with. Actually, the only people that seemed to enjoy this substance (and many others for that matter) as much as me were often pointed at and stigmatized by my "entourage".
In the beginning of my current relationship (e.g. 2 years ago), my boyfriend would often tell me stories about one of his best friends, who was and still is a full blown drunk. He would tell these stories as "anecdotes", as "embarrassing but funny stories"...but I never laughed. At first I was thinking "God, I hope I never reach this level of alcoholism", but then self-realization hit me and the only thing I could think was "I am exactly like him. "
I'm not sure what the point was of telling you this, but I guess I needed to write it lol
Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Oxnard (The Nard), CA, USA.
Posts: 13,955
Hi Artdeparts.
If your interested in knowing a little something about what the latest findings say about alcoholism/addiction, here's a link http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...rch-links.html
from SoberRecovery's Secular Connections Forum.
I like to have current information about addiction not because I'm a geek in that way. I want to understand whats really going on in my brain, the location of addiction behaviors.
I glad your here
If your interested in knowing a little something about what the latest findings say about alcoholism/addiction, here's a link http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...rch-links.html
from SoberRecovery's Secular Connections Forum.
I like to have current information about addiction not because I'm a geek in that way. I want to understand whats really going on in my brain, the location of addiction behaviors.
I glad your here
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