tooling

I don't always like being sober. .

I'd like to drink all night long and then have it be all gone and go to work the next day feeling like I have been sober for 110 days.

I'd like to drink all day Saturday and then at night be sober like I have been for 110 days and go to the gym.

I'd like to go to my friends house and watch football on Sunday and drink 8 or 10 beers then drive home like I have been sober for 110 days.

But this is a real as the tooth fairy. :

I have been working out and making great gains since i quit drinking. I love the resting sleep i get now, I wake up refreshed feeling. For me working out is my gift to myself for quitting.

Just leave the booze man. It's junk for real. It steals your life and replaces it with garbage health and problems in life with overall unhappiness.

TheEnd

I initially didn't want to quit like all alcoholics out there, but I was single-handedly destroying my beautiful life that I built drink by drink and I couldn't stand to spiral any further. So someone gave me an easy solution "Stop Drinking" and to go back to meetings, it sounded so profound at the time but it wasn't rocket science at all, so I took a hold of the suggestion and I ran with it and I haven't stopped running with it yet.

Surprisingly, my life has been pretty great since I quit drinking. I'm even amazed, if I could have looked into a crystal ball and had for seen the future I would have quit sooner.

I don't want to kid you into thinking everything has been this magical beautiful experience, there have been rough bouts where I would say that I can't do this anymore, why am I doing this, I don't want to do this, but I worked through those episodes and I still confront those episodes time to time, but believe me, it's worth it.

If not just for the simple fact that I'm not bringing chaos into my life, alcohol is a poison and it doesn't do a body good. The body doesn't need that crap and it frankly doesn't like it.

AmericanGirl

I don't regret quitting!

Learning to cope with life's normal bumps without alcohol, when I never have before as an adult (because I had been drinking since before "adulthood") is still a frequent challenge at 7 months, but it's working slowly and steadily and I know I am becoming a stronger person.

In the moment I have felt awkward as a non-drinker . . . but this feeling has passed quickly, and come morning, I am ALWAYS grateful that I am sober. I have never regretted this choice.

On top of that, I'm grateful for a millions small improvements that have occurred . . . added up, all together, these changes make me feel like a much healthier person!

johndelko408

My sentiments exactly. But then again to quote from the Big Book, "nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in Gods world by accident." (pg.417)

MsCooterBrown

I am way grateful to not be drinking any more. I was actually talking about this to a friend yesterday. She quit when I did..but only lasted a few weeks. She has more obstacles than I do..a husband that drinks (I don't think he is alky- more of a normie) but she doesn't want to eliminate alcohol from being in the house. I don't have it in my house..matter of fact..would love to ban it so that EVERYONE would get it in their head that alcohol is no longer an option..if we had it removed..there would be no struggle left. BUT ..that is why I am not in charge of the world. I do NOT miss bars. I have no problem driving past them and in the town I live on you have to drive by at least 1 to get home. I don't get angry at sloppy drunks. Just don't wanna share space with them any longer. I know that sounds arrogant..I think I am more of a co-dependent..I worry about people and what their outcomes may be. We have one guy (2nd in line to the town drunk) that no longer has a license he has had so many DUIs. BUT he staggers around walking bar to bar. He stops and has conversations with the light posts. He has lived here all his life..the cops turn their heads the other way until he does something stupid like falling off the curb. The DUI laws are strict as they should be..but they still stuff and cuff people for public intoxication. LONG STORY SHORT as I like to say...I just am done with that lifestyle. I didn't want to drink and drive (although I have stupidly done that a time or two) so I got into total isolation. I would buy whatever I wanted to satisfy my buzz factor..and park myself at home armed with my remote control. BUT fast forward..this is the bottom line I wanted to say...I would not give up my peace of mind and freedom that I have gained from removing alcohol from my life for all the tea in China!!!! That is the end of that story!

onlythetruth

No, I don't regret quitting; in fact I think it was the best decision I've ever made.

My life has improved immeasurably since I quit, and not just because the hangovers, guilt, cravings, jangling nerves, etc. are a thing of the past. The biggest reason is that being free of alcohol has allowed me to become the person I was meant to be. I remember when I was drinking, I'd put my makeup on in the morning without even looking at my own face, I was so ashamed. It isn't like that today. It's a cliche, I know, but I really CAN look myself in the mirror now.

As to happiness: I am much happier now than I was when I was drinking, but I am not always happy and I have had some very difficult times since I quit drinking. The difference is that since I quit, I am not bringing difficulties and unhappiness upon myself through drunken, idiotic behavior. The stuff I have to deal with now is normal life stuff that happens to people, and I've found that it is much easier to deal with that stuff with all of my faculties on board.

When I was drinking, it felt like I was navigating life with both hands tied behind my back, dragging an anvil after me!!

OTT

jamdls

I don't regret quitting but I do regret needing to quit. My psychiatrist (who is also an addiction specialist) still thinks that I should have "an occassional glass of wine" due to my social anxieties, she's never felt that I was an alcoholic, I only see her once or twice a year now so it's not like she's 'encouraging' me to drink she would just rather I drank a glass of wine instead of needing to take anxiety meds I think.

aasharon90

I,m only speculating, but
I have a gut feeling that
many would like to see me
drink. Even if it's a glass
of wine.


See, many of these people
have never seen me drink
and get drunk or out of
control.

Do I regret quitting?

I didnt have a choice 20
yrs ago when family did
an intervention on me,
sending me to rehab.

At that time, my mental
state was extremely
questionable when I tried
to check out of this world
because I was tired of
getting into trouble due
to my drinking.

I spent the first 2 weeks
as a requirement then was
told if i left i would surely
relapse.

At that point I made a
descision to stay the
entire 28 days so I wouldnt
be sent away to a halfway
house out of state away
from my little ones.

To date that was the best
descision I ever made because
it set me on the path of
recovery applying the tools
and knowledge of my alcoholism
to my everyday life.

So no regrets some 20 yrs.
sober later as I continue
to be amazed at the gifts
I continue to recieve in
recovery as long as I stay
sober and pass on my own
experiences, strenghts and
hopes to others of what
it was like before, during
and after alcohol.

And that's the way it
works for me.

Fandy

I do not regret quitting, but I do regret not realizing how much better my life would be without booze....i'm not talking cupcakes and fuzzies, i'm talking about so much less anxiety, depression, insomnia (the big one).

my life is far from perfect, but I can deal with it so much better, i feel almost normal, not dragging through the day, every day....thanks to whoever said your hands were tied behind your back dragging an anvil...you summed it up well for me.

I take a lot more appreciation for small things,(like waking up and not barfing) i feel i am much more patient and less inclined to make mountains out of molehills. I know i have added years to my life, improved my health and fattened up my wallet.

TheMaster

Good one...

It's true, too. In the past when I quit, I spent a good deal of time sitting around bored & not knowing what to do.

It does ease up, though.

Now I have to see if I can do it again.

ZZworldontheweb

I will go against the grain a little bit here and say that I do regret giving up alcohol in the way that Bilbo regretted giving up The Ring. He knew it was bad, that it was destroying him, and that he had to give it up. But the dull pain of having posessed it and then lost it stayed with him for the rest of his life.

DayTrader

Same for me. While I was REALLY happy I wasn't drinking anymore and didn't have to live with all the junk that came with it, like the 12&12 discusses on page 25.

"His whole philosophy of life, in which he so gloried, is threatened." and "Must he renounce all of this to save himself?"

I know Bill was referring to accepting the belief that there is/can be a HP but it's also a reference to what we're giving up when we give up the bottle. It's more than just the alcohol...we're giving up an entire lifestyle. No more getting wasted on my birthday, no more hitting the club and/or the after hours joints, no more drunken parties......etc. All that stuff is gone!

That hurt me for a while..... as much as I liked sobriety, I still kinda missed some of the good times. Truth is, every once and a while, I still miss 'em. Not that it's a common or dominating thought.....but it does come into my mind sometimes.

I dunno...... If I was able to party (drink and drug) like I used to but WITHOUT all the negative consequences..... hmmm

Reality IS though, that there are ALWAYS consequences. Much to my selfish dismay, I don't get to do what I want to do whenever I want it withOUT there being some repercussions. That said, given the pros and cons of real sobriety vs active addiction, it's a no-brainer. That doesn't mean, however, that EVERYthing about my past was bad.

I'm not one of those guys who'll ever say "My worst day sober is better than my best day drunk" - I'd be lying if I said it. I had some reeeally fun times partying...but I've had some really fun times sober too. Sure, I still miss the "good parts" of drinking but, when you add in that they MUST come with the corresponding repercussions, I'll take sobriety first every time.

I know it'll sound corny but I really have to say, this "relationship with a HP" is THE coolest thing ever. I got some bad news yesterday evening that, ordinarily would have sent me off into la-la-land for a day or more. No question, it was something I would have gotten drunk over. Instead, I said a quick prayer, asked the fear to be removed and.....within 5 or 10 minutes... I was back to my normal self. No regrets, no getting arrested, no hurting other people's feelings.... quick and simple. That's priceless and WELL worth the trade of any of those past "good times" IMO.

totfit

If I were happier drinking I would drink. If drinking were truly the easier softer way I would drink. The fact is that I am truly happier sober and it is the easy softer way.

Boleo

I used to regret quitting every day, every hour and every minute - right up to the second before I had a spiritual awakening. Since then, I often wonder what the big attraction of alcohol was even about?