boris

Have been sober since the 21st july.

Most of that ive been counting sober days
Talking thinking about it etc.

I still want to stay sober but i no longer what to think of myself as an alcohoĺic as i feel like its an obsession. I wont take being sober for granted but i feel consumed by the feeling of staying sober.

Am i being daft?

Soberwolf

As long as you recognise it as a problem/obsession/issue/addiction

Do what feels right for you

your not daft

Caldus

Talking about your sobriety helps, but my experience as an alcoholic is that I needed to replace my drinking life with a new one entirely. I couldn't just stop drinking, talk about it, and then just somehow keep living life without ever taking a drink. I just couldn't do that. I turn into a dry drunk when I am not living a different life than the one I had before. I am over 2 years sober and I still think about that A word every day. It's just not something I will ever escape from. I am and always will be an alcoholic.

Soberpotamus

I tend to focus on "recovery" still, at 1.5 years in. But there are plenty of people who choose not to identify as an alcoholic, and go on to make life changes and develop good habits and hobbies that they focus on, and identify as a "healthy person." We are all going to tackle this drinking problem a bit differently. Do what works best for you.

SoberLeigh

I understand not wanting to feel consumed or controlled by recovery from alcoholism. But as Imconsider alcoholism as a disease, I have to think of it and give it the consideration I would any other disease. Diabetics check their blood sugar levels several times; they self-administer insulin; they watch their diet. Cancer patients in remision submit to regular blood tests to check for cancer markers, changes in white and red blood cells, submit to body scans, check for moles.

I think we alcoholics need to remain equally aware of our disease through self-analysis and self-assessment; it is said that relapses do not occur overnight and that we regress and move towards them. So we need to remain vigilant; keep our "program" current; listen for signs of AV activity. So I think it does involve keeping our alcoholism in the forefront of our mind while not submitting to the "obsessiveness" of early weeks and months of recovery.

RecklessEric

You're not being daft at all.
Some people believe they have a disease, others believe it's not a disease.
But I think if you are serious about staying sober, you should not brush your problem under the rug.

I don't do AA, but I sometimes attend a meeting just to help me focus on that side of me that can cause me serious trouble if I don't keep up my guard.
Like you, I don't constantly see myself as an alcoholic.
There are days when I don't give my problem much thought at all.

But when I'm logged on here or chatting in the chatroom, I am fully cognisant of what I'm doing and what I'm trying to avoid.

PhaseTwo

Personally I feel like admitting you're an alcoholic is important. Doesn't have to be out in the open but admitting it to yourself.

least

When I first got sober that was all I thought about - just being sober. Now that it's been almost five years I no longer think much about it.

Dee74

a little observation and perhaps a word of warning tho - I've seen many people say they don't want to focus on recovery anymore... and I see a large number of large number of them back here having started drinking again.

Personally I think recovery is a precious gift - I don't mind working on it a little to keep it...

but as long as you don't drink I think you can do whatever feels right in the thinking and talking about it respect, Boris - just be sure of your motivations

D

RumHound

Look at and think about it any way you find effective, Boris.

Just don't think up a way to start drinking again. Everything would be worse.

Best of luck to you.

anattaboy

There is a guy who comes to my AA group once a year to get an anniversary chip and Identify himself as an alcoholic. He has like 15 yrs. He does it his way. Me, I don't want to forget so I come here a lot.

Boleo

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...alcoholic.html

trachemys

Unfortunately I have a real good memory. Even from times I was drunk. Forgetting that I was a total ******* is quite impossible. All I can do is try to be better now. That requires being sober.

luvmygirls

I'm very new to recovery (Day 15 without a drink). Last time I tried to quit, I didn't put the work in and lived very much as a "dry drunk" until I relapsed after 9 months. I need to give AA some more thought, because there is a plan. I don't trust myself to stay sober forever without some kind of structure.

dwtbd

I don't like the A word either. I like to think that when I was addicted to alcohol , I was an alcoholic. Quitting started a different progression. When I first stopped I was a purposeful nondrinker, like really purposeful , purposely not drinking was pretty forefront in my mind .
And then with more sober time I started to see that being a non drinker was not only doable , but that day to day I was doing it not any less purposely but with less focused attention needed at 'doing' it. I plan to be a forever nondrinker and I can see that as normal way for me to be without the need for the purposefulness. I am never going to 'forget' that I want to be a nondrinker, but I can see me not having to 'think' about it, if that makes any sense

gaffo

In the first six months to a year I thought I was going to lose my freaking mind thinking about being sober all the time. I wasn't going to drink but I couldn't stop thinking about it, like an old girlfriend or something. Thankfully it went away and now it doesn't bug me anymore. As far as the "alcoholic" label goes, I wear it with pride because of what it means that I'm strong enough to get through today without a drink. Also, when I tell someone that I don't want a drink because I'm an alcoholic in recovery, they'd have to be pretty cold to keep bugging me to drink.

PurpleKnight

After a while I switched to "non drinker", but couldn't be complacent in my plan of recovery, no matter what we choose to call ourselves the temptations and cravings can still be very real.

The reality is Sobriety is a task that needs work and effort, carving out a new way of life and leaving behind the our old life is time consuming, but it's worth it!!

RumHound

dwtbd, let me ask about this. I want to make sure I have it reight.

So, you were an alcoholic in the past but you no longer are an alcoholic? You are now, instead, a forever nondrinker?

Are you AA?

IOAA2

I don’t care what it’s called, all I know is that I cannot drink in safety! It’s work to stay sober and most that don’t relapse and or never make it. I’ve used AA since before Al Gore invented the internet and it still works for people who work it.

BE WELL

dwtbd

I stopped/quit drinking , I ended my addiction to alcohol. I plan on never letting myself become addicted again, which for me is to be a nondrinker. The early days or weeks of quitting were difficult, frequent strong urges or cravings to start drinking again, but with my BP(an RR term, so not AA) in place I was able to realize that not giving into the AV was doable.
The point of post was to say that it was harder in the "early" days to remain resolved , to not give into the cravings or urges.
I see myself as a former alcoholic, because I no longer drink, and I plan to stay that way, forever.