Starflyer

I am on day 6 (the longest I’ve gone since the summer), and I think I am thru the worst of the physical withdrawals—except for the insomnia. Since the first of the year I found myself growing from a nightly drinker to taking a handful of shots in the morning as I get ready for school. Eventually, I was consuming enough over the day to miss a ton of my college courses. Everything came crashing when I was invited to a get together last Friday evening. To make a very long story short, I showed up at the get together drunk and looking like hell. My skin was beat red and blotchy, I was sweating down both sides of my face. We played board games and I made a ton of horrible, stupid mistakes (even knocking over all the pieces at one point). At one point my sister pulled me aside and asked if I was okay. I told her I was fine. She let it go, but I hardly think she believed me. By the time I got home at 4 am I was sobering up and ready to consume more. I’ll repeat that: 4 am and ready to consume more!

“This has got to stop” I said to myself.

And then I got mad. I got furious. I was so upset and frustrated with myself. How had I slipped into a guy that can’t even show up to a fun night of socializing and games without drinking? I used to have some control. If anything I would show up, hang out, and wait till I got home to start drinking (alcoholics are sneaky like that). So I decided to say enough. And that’s when a quote I once heard came to mind: They can get it out of your blood, but they can’t get it out of your brain.

On day 6 I know that every ounce of alcohol is out of my blood. But the cravings are still there. It’s a difficult process to retrain your behavior. I used to pass the time drinking, now what do I do? One thing I’ve realized is that just because you have cravings does not mean you are not making progress. It’s a matter of how you distract yourself. I’ve been binge watching TV shows and movies the past few days. Also, I use the time to clean my apartment and, I must admit, I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that everything is picked up, put away, cleaned, and in order. Alcohol turned me into a slob I never knew was in me. In the following months I hope to see my apartment stay clean, adopt a healthy school schedule, shed a few pounds through being more active, and keeping my outward appearance looking healthy.

“Better [to] pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.” – James Joyce, The Dead

Mikie9

cravings dwindle over time, but they are cravings. Ignore them. As far as how to spend your time, the world is open to you now, have fun with it You can now do anything you want too.

I can tell you what I do with my time, but it won't apply to you. The greatest benefit I have seen from going through the initial stages of quitting, is I can do ANYTHING!

Disclaimer: You can't do anything, jumping off a 20 story building is still gonna kill you, but you get the jist?

Legacy

I like to pass time by sleeping. I generally am in bed by 9PM and up by 5AM. It's 8 wonderful hours. I feel like my body is still healing so I owe it all the sleep I deprived it of.

Dee74

IT takes time but we can change. I drank for 20 years and all day everyday for 5 years...I turned my life around - you can too

OklaBH

It gets easier. The obsession (for me) dwindled pretty fast considering how long i was dependent. Keep fighting the good fight and remember , NO ONE ever regrets getting sober.