Banquo

I think you need to be accepting of the fact you cannot drink normally. When you have that thought in your head it's easy to quit. I stopped last year but wasn't ready and soon started again.

This time I have come round to the fact that I can never "just have one or two", in many ways it's quite freeing. But I can never let my guard down as I have in the past. This time is easier to not have a first drink.

thisisme

I could have written your post. I saw the light at day 22 and have never slipped or looked back since. Aren't we fortunate!

TopFlight

When I became sober it was easy for me as well. I think more so because I was ready for it. I had been depressed some time before and was honestly looking for a answer that I thought a big change could provide. During that time I also made the decision to speak with a counselor and he mentioned that he thought I had alcoholic tendencies. Prior to that i had never considered myself an alcoholic, though looking back I definitely walked that line. Around that time, one day, I had an over-the-top night, drugs and alcohol, and woke up the next day and said, thats it, no more. I have been almost 6 months sober since that day.

The first couple months of my sobriety were almost a breeze, aside from social adjustments that were difficult at times. It wasn't until my 4th or 5th month that I started to really feel tested in my sobriety. Friends started trying to tempt me more, I faced certain social situations where the temptation was pretty strong, and I started getting depressed some days where I thought not drinking may have been my problem.

Just stay aware of your feelings and potential vulnerabilities. It's the times that I got too comfortable where certain situations triggered strong temptations.

siamamerican

Thanks for sharing your experiences and it seems I'm not too unique. The more I reflect, the more convinced that it was simply being a better person which in turn greatly diminished my stress levels. Feeling good about myself was the bridge that made quitting a non-issue. Probably most are in a bad place emotionally when attempting to quit. I got lucky and time will tell the rest of the story. Nice to see all of you fighting a good fight.

veryready

Siamamerican - Really happy you are doing so well. I quit drinking 14 years ago and it was also easy. Didn't have a drop for 7 years, then I thought I could start again. Wasn't so easy to get stopped the second time. Took me 7 more years to finally find this place. Keep up the good work, on and off the bike .

siamamerican

Thanks and good luck on the bucket list race in Durango!

LadyBlue0527

Hi siamamerican! Welcome!

I'd say you have a pretty good set of sober legs under you, just be careful not to be fooled. Sometimes people are just ready to quit and it sounds like you're in that category. It took me 4 times to get there and even still, I've had my moments here and there.

There are a lot of people struggling to fight the good fight and who are having a harder time with it so sometimes these kind of posts can be tough to read. This doesn't mean that anyone isn't happy for you, just that sometimes they're hard to read.

Many here know too how sure we can be about how happy we are to be sober and then something comes along that shakes us up.

I'm glad that you're doing so well. I think the fact that you were just ready to do it is probably what it is.