mwstylee

Can anyone else relate with this problem? I'm in a predicament where it's almost the holidays and I have 1 vacation day left. I've used them all to call in to work when I was too hungover and then thought "hey, this day shouldn't be wasted sobering up" so I would start drinking right after hanging up the phone.

I guess I don't feel horribly guilty because these are personal days for employees to use as they wish...I just chose to waste all my days getting wasted. Other normal people used them to relax, enjoy time with family, doing something fun, and so on.

I can't believe not a single day was used for reasons other than drinking. This is pathetic.

GregMan

It IS sad... You should be looking forward to a nice vacation. If your an alcoholic, the drinking will rob you more and more as time passes.

BullDog777

I'm self employed now, but when i was working in an office back in the day, i was always short on vacation time. i think it's something that we've all gone through to some extent.

I would use sick days, then vacation, then it got so bad that i was even taking leave without pay.

**sigh...the lengths i use to go to to destroy my life when i was still drinking was incredible.

thank God that's behind me now.

LaFemme

Yup, I used up a lot of time off with drinking. I worked for a company that was very generous so I never was in as bad a situation as you are. But I also would waste my planned holidays by drinking. I would schedule time off, make plans and then decide to drink instead. Ugh! So glad that's in the past.

Life is so much better sober, do you have a plan to stop?

loveon2legs

When my drinking was at it's highest I was self employed (amazing that I still have my business!!) so I didn't have vacation time....but lost countless money on not being able to function because of hangovers....and clients....It was a dark time.....
Are you in any time of recovery program?

midgetcop

Been there, done that. Luckily my currently employer has a generous amount of sick and personal days, but I've used up my fair share calling in totally hungover. Heck, one day I called in for a "mental health" day to spend with my significant other, and ended up drinking anyway.

It was even worse with my last employer, where we didn't get ANY sick or personal days. I can't even tell you how many of my paycheques were smaller than they should've been because of booked days off.

It feels so much better going to work and feeling "normal". I don't have to limp in feeling like a bag of dirt, and lie to my co-workers by telling them I simply "didn't sleep" well that night.

mwstylee

Thanks for the replies.

I'm on day #2 sober today. Withdrawal this time is being extra nasty to me, so I hope to not go through that again and I hope quitting is for good this time. Also, it will be a new year in less than 2 months so I'm looking forward to managing my off time in a more mature manner....not like a screwed up alkie.

omenapt

i tried to avoid takings days off as it would only prolong my drinking over the weekend and therefore prolong or worsen my hangover/withdrawal. YUCK.. things are little better after 36days, with some hope of sanity returning, but physically feel pretty roughed up!

mwstylee

I was the opposite. I tried to rationalize in my brain that taking a day off would let me sober up and start fresh the next day. Instead I just always used the days off to drink even more. When the next day came, I would feel too guilty and just go into work completely hungover.

newdayfortoday

I was just thinking about this today. Funny that you posted about it. I always felt it a waste to take a day off where I wasn't getting loaded the day before. I felt it was a treat to be able to drink as much as I wanted then be able to lay around sick and hungover the next day.

LotusBlossom

Heh. This year that I've spent being sober has been dealing with the health problems that I hid with alcohol all those years. As a result, I have 4 months left until I get more vacation time...and I'm all out of vacation. Poopy cacca. At least for now *fingers crossed* it seems like all the health problems have been figured out, maybe. .

ForeverDecember

That brings back memories

I hope you're on the path to sobriety at the moment. It's pretty disappointing once you start to realise all the warning signs in your life... all the signs your friends and family have been seeing for years. Like reading those "10 signs you're an alcoholic" and justifying the reason while you're ticking all 'yes'. "Well I prefer to drink alone". "All couples fight" "Everyone calls in a sickie from a hangover"... etc

savexourxship

When I was drinking.. I would typically burn 3 weeks of vacation time, 5 personal days, 5 family sick days, and any other time I had by April. Would also get a written warning by November for sick time abuse, usually 10-15 days per year, on top of all the other time off.

Anna

You don't have to go through the detoxing again, and that's good news.

And, as you said, look forward to 2012 and plan to use your vacation days for something special. Plan a trip for yourself that you can look forward to.

indakut

I should have at least 200 days saved up but because of my struggle with alcohol over the years, I only have 4.5. Since I have been sober, I have tried to save days but they keep disappearing because of personal or family illness. I am positive that things will turn around since I am sober and moving in the right direction.
Be encouraged

eJoshua

YES --

I got sober on 4/12/11 and I had used up all my vacation days for the year by then -- and I get 6 weeks, so you can do the math and find out how little I actually worked those first few months.

I'm looking forward to the new year where I can actually use my vacation for something useful.

eJoshua

However, I will add that I was out on disability from mid April until the beginning of June, so it's not like I have been working non stop since then.

Programmer27

haha i just burned up all of my PTO from a single bender about 16 days ago. It's funny how we do the same things.

mwstylee

Update: Just used my very last day yesterday (Monday). I lasted 2 days and a weekend + Monday bender happened. I can't believe how weak my will is. Went out for drinks with coworkers after work on Friday. They each had 1-2 beers and went home. I did the same. But the difference is I continued to drink much of a handle of vodka once I got home. Then out of nowhere, here I am, after a straight 72 hour bender.

Withdrawals get nastier after every attempt to quit. I know I need to re-evaluate the choices I make and find a way to quit drinking.

DarrenW

Thanks for your post. It is actually helping me stay off alcohol.