Maudcat

Hey, Brenda, it took about 15 months of sobriety before i stopped thinking so hard about it. I went to AA for about a year, then stopped going for reasons of my own. No one thing happened. I just came to feel that my post-drinking, new normal was now just my normal. I stopped pouring soft cider and lemonade into wine glasses because it made the drinks "special" and just used plain old glasses. I stopped telling people I didn't drink unless clearly offered an alcoholic beverage, or it was a physician, and I stopped counting days sober on my ipad. I will never take my sobriety for granted, but it feels now as if I have always been this way. Weird, but in a good way.

sugarbear1

Rehab told us this, too! Specifically in regard to PAWS.

Gottalife

Physical recovery is often pretty fast in my experience. I have seen people go through the most awful dts and be fighting fit in a week. Just needed some rest and good regular food. They feel so good they go off drinking again.

This is a three pronged illness, physical being only one part. Physical recovery can be quick, but the mental and spiritual aspects are also important if we are to stay well.

In a few days in the hospital I had transformed from a shivering malnourished wreck to some one who felt physically OK. But my mental and spiritual state was well off beam, and this soon made itself felt in the physical sense. My inability to fit in the world, my instinctual fears, my fears about the past and being found out all began to undermine my physical state. Sleepless nights, tossing and turning, stomach churning, days feeling sick with guilt and remorse, fears of facing unesolved issues, my stomach was in knots a lot of the time.

To get and stay well physically required a lot more than good nutrition and exercise. I needed treatment of mind and spirit also.

Loekken

Which is actually amazingly fast, everything considered.

Pieces fall into place quickly when sobriety kicks in.

steve-in-kville

I think this is where I messed up in the past and relapsed. Thank you for the post!

Jack465

Well I drank for 5 years and I still don't feel better even after 8 months sober, so be prepared for anything.

Maudcat

I really think it depends on the individual, kind of like people have different pain thresholds. Some people can have dental work done without local anesthesia (brrrrr), while others (most others) can't. Physically, I rebounded quickly. Mentally, not so much. As I posted earlier, cravings lasted for a few months, and I really didn't feel comfortable in my own skin until well past a year of sobriety. I had been dependent on alcohol for about 5 years before acknowledging that I had a problem . AA helped in the early days, mostly for the community of caring people that I met there. It also helped for me to learn as much as I could about alcohol use disorder and dependency because I have always felt that the more I know, the better prepared I am. Hang in there, everyone!