Relasped from trying to drink "normal"
Do your best
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 67,047
Originally Posted by Dee74 
The way I got over my past was a lot of service work - doing good things with my life today helps me put my past in perspective y'know?
All this is pretty normal for day 3 tho. It'll get better
D
All this is pretty normal for day 3 tho. It'll get better
D
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 852
I tried being a normal drinker and it failed and turned into all day, everyday drinking...right where I left off. You could get sober again, lie to yourself again "I bet I could have a few" and continue to repeat the pattern. You could also stay sober and never look back. You said you were feeling great again until the relapse, so you can easily regain that feeling and so much more if you stay sober.
I wish you the best of luck.
I wish you the best of luck.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ohio
Posts: 77
Well I got a little over 48 hours of sobriety in and amazingly I actually feel good. Anxiety has quit and I'm enjoying Christmas Eve sober with my wife which is a first. I haven't been sober on Christmas Eve in 20 years!! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and thanks for all the replies. I'm going to bookmark this thread so I can look at it when/if I ever get the urge to drink!
Freethinker
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 32
Safe and sober Christmas to you Harley, and all.
The last time I went out was December 17th, 2013, my exact 11 month sobriety date, thinking I could drink for a "couple days", which turned into 3 months and another stint in rehab.
The time before that was while I was living overseas, right before New Years 2007, with about 4+ years sober. Again, just wanted to try normal, social drinking. That time, I stayed out for 5 years. I would say I drank "socially" "normally" during that time about 1% of the time.
Normal people don't think drinking normally 1% of the time is acceptable for periods of years.
Considering there is some pretty harrowing family history having to do with the holidays, perhaps it is no mistake that both of these relapses happened in December. Best to be cautious, and enjoy the season for what it really is intended for, renewal, peace, and goodwill.
This year, gratefully sober, and reflecting on these two experiments with "normality". May I never attempt that again.
The last time I went out was December 17th, 2013, my exact 11 month sobriety date, thinking I could drink for a "couple days", which turned into 3 months and another stint in rehab.
The time before that was while I was living overseas, right before New Years 2007, with about 4+ years sober. Again, just wanted to try normal, social drinking. That time, I stayed out for 5 years. I would say I drank "socially" "normally" during that time about 1% of the time.
Normal people don't think drinking normally 1% of the time is acceptable for periods of years.
Considering there is some pretty harrowing family history having to do with the holidays, perhaps it is no mistake that both of these relapses happened in December. Best to be cautious, and enjoy the season for what it really is intended for, renewal, peace, and goodwill.
This year, gratefully sober, and reflecting on these two experiments with "normality". May I never attempt that again.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 296
This insane controlled drinking idea is deadly. I have seen countless people die from that insane thought. You have to look at it and think about it in a different way. Complete abstinence. You can not control your drinking, so why drink? This is the baffling feature of alcoholics. Its not that bad they tell themselves, then go on another bender, waking up remorseful, swearing never to do it again. Within a week or a month they are at it again, waking up hung over, swearing they will never do it again.
Put that story on repeat, you got an alcoholic in their cups.
Put that story on repeat, you got an alcoholic in their cups.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ohio
Posts: 77
So far so good I made it through Christmas Day and a house full of family and friends without one single drop of alcohol. The hardest part was turning down the alcohol, a few people here kept wanting me to run down and get a case of beer but I just kept telling them not tonight...I really didn't know what else to say to them.. I didn't want to tell family and friends the real reason why I'm not drinking.
Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: fort worth tx
Posts: 1,373
Harley shame and guilt are the least of your worries. I tend to post replys that get to the point. Yes you lost most of the year. So be it. But if you continue drinking you're going to loose that bike you enjoy. And chances are over time, you'll loose your wife. And if you if never resolve to quit then you'll loose your life to alcoholism. Its a painful way to check out. Heres the good news. Quit drinking now and you will avoid the pain and misery of this disease. Don't worry or fret about 3 days of drinking. Just resolve not to keep doing it. 3 months was great. And your going to get that back. One day at a time.
30yrdrunk
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 89
I told all my family and friends that I had stopped drinking and why. It helped me stay committed to being sober. It becomes very real when you open up and explain why you have stopped.
I started drinking at an early age. Always trying to be the life of the party. Nearly all the negative things that have happened to me can be attributed to alcohol.
I started drinking at an early age. Always trying to be the life of the party. Nearly all the negative things that have happened to me can be attributed to alcohol.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: illinois
Posts: 907
i agree with tomsteve re) i know i can drink any time. as i did that! -and it wasnt working well.
my recovery is bases in what i perceive as a fact-everything is better without for me. i really paid attention this last time i dried out. once i came to this conclusion, all thoughts of me "missing out" went away. any fleeting craving i have is just a matter of old habits piping up (usually during times of stress).
i watch folks drink with open eyes. they actually arent receiving any magic from the bottle. just a tweak in chemistry that they will pay for later. i dont need it. i dont want it. total liberation from something i wrestled with for years... so grateful.
my recovery is bases in what i perceive as a fact-everything is better without for me. i really paid attention this last time i dried out. once i came to this conclusion, all thoughts of me "missing out" went away. any fleeting craving i have is just a matter of old habits piping up (usually during times of stress).
i watch folks drink with open eyes. they actually arent receiving any magic from the bottle. just a tweak in chemistry that they will pay for later. i dont need it. i dont want it. total liberation from something i wrestled with for years... so grateful.
Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 14,911
My body can't handle the benders any longer, I swear the withdraws keep getting worse every time.
You're right, the withdrawal and recovery process will keep getting worse and worse.
And the pleasurable period when you first start drinking gets shorter and shorter.
At the end of my drinking career I found that the warm glow from drinking might last a couple of hours. What followed was a period of increasingly heavy drinking trying to keep the "glow" going, followed by 3 days of maintenance drinking trying to avoid withdrawal, while trying to gradually taper off.
So from a physical standpoint, if I were to have a beer tonight, it would take 4 days to physically recover from that decision.
Throw in the guilt and shame that would result from that decision to drink, and I'm looking at weeks to feel better about myself.
You're right, the withdrawal and recovery process will keep getting worse and worse.
And the pleasurable period when you first start drinking gets shorter and shorter.
At the end of my drinking career I found that the warm glow from drinking might last a couple of hours. What followed was a period of increasingly heavy drinking trying to keep the "glow" going, followed by 3 days of maintenance drinking trying to avoid withdrawal, while trying to gradually taper off.
So from a physical standpoint, if I were to have a beer tonight, it would take 4 days to physically recover from that decision.
Throw in the guilt and shame that would result from that decision to drink, and I'm looking at weeks to feel better about myself.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
