August252015

Similar experience here - I have often said that I don't remember much of the first five or so weeks I was sober because I had been so sick. I was just coming back to life. It was baby steps for EVERYTHING - some days, I had to count a successful day as 1 make the bed 2 eat something 3 take a shower. I was DONE drinking, and everything else took time.

The bottom line is it will get better- for me, far beyond my dreams in every way, particularly because I have a REAL and full life- if you stay sober.

I think of the weeks and months I spent healing - I am at 413 days today and am healthy, though still have fatigue and anxiety as my two main "problems" at times- as small amounts of time considering the lifetime of sobriety ahead.

You can do it. Self-care is really important so listen to yourself, do good things for your body, mind and spirit and seek out good drs for anything you might need. AA is my way, so a program is also something I would recommend to help with every aspect of your recovery.

CreativeThinker

Love this thread! I'm on day 46 and it's hard to say if I "feel better" than I did at 30 days. Mainly because I have a lot of emotional issues going on with AH. For sure, I've had more triggers in the last week than I had in the first 30 days.

Sleep has improved quite a bit after 30 days. Falling asleep once the lights are out isn't as much of a challenge as it was a few weeks ago and instead of waking up every 2 hrs, I'm sleeping through the night. My dreams are becoming deeper than they were when I was drinking...although nowhere close to as lucid as they used to be (before I began drinking heavily).

Prior to getting sober, I'd lost 40lbs. I thought it would be easy to drop the remaining 15 lbs after I stopped drinking...NOT! Due to satisfying my sugar cravings, I've only lost 2.7 lbs. Not a big deal, as long as I'm sober...not going to worry about the weight.

Brain is still foggy, but anxiety is so much better.

Thoughts of having a drink have subsided quite a bit. The only time I feel close to relapsing now is during a trigger. Luckily, I've gotten pretty good at pulling myself off the edge by using my recovery tools. Still, I'm always looking out for AV.

Bottom line...I cherish every single day now and I LOVE waking up in the morning. Hope has returned and I feel so much stronger than I did almost 7 weeks ago. While I may have some stress factors to deal with right now, that's life. I'd much rather deal with stressful situations sober than with a drink in my hand.

Thank you SR!!!

AlericB

To paraphrase Groucho Marx, getting one month older isn't great but it's better than the alternative - an alternative which may very well happen if we don't stop drinking.

I'm just over three weeks now and finally beginning to realise that I can never drink safely again. Morning drinking in particular was a warning sign that even I could not ignore.

Reading other people's experiences has given me hope that I can be free of the obsessive thinking​ about drinking that I've developed. Hopefully the fledgling acceptance about quitting completely that I'm beginning to feel and the desire to quit the endless fight to control drinking will see me through - with the great support you get from here of course!

Careforyou

I am 41 days now and I can report the brain will continue to recover. You will have a sense of well-being, a little more peace, and a propensity to move too fast. The sun will come up every day too, and every new day is just that. Slow down and let yourself heal, both mentally & physically. It’s a learned behavior. Stay involved in your program, AA, Celebrate Recovery, or other recovery program. Being accountable to people is essential and relying on a power higher than yourself very essential. I’m in the middle of a book called Living Sober and I love the advice of people before me and how they live day to day and look at every day as a new day and new hope. I’ve noticed that we alcoholics have many common character traits, our brains seem to be wired a little differently than people who drink and are not alcoholics. Read in your Big Book too

ThomPom

Congrats, LH, really good!

I think one important aspect is to not expect some specific form of change, but give room for change whatever that is and accept whats happening with you. It might be to early to start steering, at 30 days, but it might be a must at 60 days to avoid getting dry drunk.

I used to train my AVRT and was journaling about my feelings and whats happening to me to, starting around 3 weeks after going sober. That gave me some sort of grip step by step on my beavhiour and emotions.

All the Best!

CreativeThinker

30 to 60 days in I was still foggy, sleep was beginning to improve and waking up without a hangover was still a welcome novelty. I was in therapy and digging into tough memories from my childhood with the therapist so I was still feeling pretty raw. Obsessing about drinking was still a daily thing and I worried about relapsing due to past attempts at recovery failed at around the same time frame. Working out and walking regularly was helping me a lot and if I skipped a day, my mood would suffer. It wasn't until after 90 days that I gave up "the fight" and things got a lot easier.

Hang in there...it really DOES get so much easier!

CT