How long does it take for our bodies to heal?
 

This weekend I will hit four weeks of sobriety, the longest I ever went without a relapse. Next week will be 30-days. I read of folks saying that the real healing doesn't happen until after a few months.

I'm not sure where I'm at with this. I do drink a lot more coffee than I did before, something I need to tame, or stop all together. My sleep patterns have improved 100%, but I need a solid 8 hours/night. I upped my game in exercise, set some goals, etc. Hope to do a full marathon next year... maybe more.

I've been slowly making positive changes to my diet, eating more raw/dried fruits and fresh veggies as well as nuts and some legumes. I'm reading about anything I can get my hands on. I've poisoned my body for 15+ years and do not want to replace one poison with another.

Am I being too impatient? Give it more time? I guess I tend to think of all the energy I had before this all got out of hand. And I'm not in my 20's anymore!

I think I am still healing. 5 years sober after many years drinking with a few sober years in between. Relax, give time time and heal well!

Bear in mind that it's not a switch that flips from unhealthy to healthy. Rather, your body is changing for the better gradually and incrementally. It sounds like you've undertaken a lot of healthy habits and already are reaping the benefits.

Maybe it takes 15+ years.

I drank heavily for 10 years. I'm at 70+ days now and just starting to feel some healing.! I was told 90 days things usually kick in high gear.

So to answer your question, yes you are being impatient (I was told the same)

Right, it's a slope, not a switch, but generally I'd say for me it was about a year before the last significant physical effects (mostly being tired all the time) faded. It's definitely a lot more than 4 weeks if you were drinking heavily for years before quitting. It usually takes us a long time, years, to become alcohol addicts, and it takes a long time, months anyways, to grow out of the after-effects of being addicts. PAWS can take 2 years to get through.

Yep, it's simply going to take time Steve, sounds like you are doing all the right things...and it will pay off. The change will be gradual, but look at all that has improved in just 4 weeks, right?

Thanks for the replies. I guess I had more of the "light switch" mentality when it came to this. I suppose I reached a plateau of sorts where nothing is really changing from one day to the next.

Don't call it impatient. You have an idea in mind of where you want to be, and that's a good thing.

With every one of my past attempts though, I wanted a quick fix and return to financial stability and a svelte figure overnight.. Progress was negligible and I would get frustrated and give up and turn to drinking again.

Now money is better, and I have some goals in mind to make it even better soon, but I have actually gained weight, which I am not very proud of. It's probably because after I quit drinking I started eating TONS of processed carbohydrates. So right now I'm trying to figure out how to keep enjoying food, but make some little tweaks to cut calories and be healthier.

And the caffeine.. Right there with ya, guzzling the coffee. For some reason, I've been drinking it like water, in fact, I think I'll go make myself a second cup right now. LoL. I have cut back to three cups a day!

I have decided not to push myself too hard to make any other drastic lifestyle changes until I feel secure in my sobriety... I can make little tweaks, but no major changes that might stress me and set me off... To be trite, I'm just taking it one day at a time for now. I feel great today, and have no desire to drink, but I have always relapsed before, so I can't be overconfident that it won't happen again. I 100% believe I CAN stay sober, but I can't guarantee that I will, you know what I mean? So that's the priority now, ahead of everything else, as much as I want to make some sort of quantum leap and become this enlightened healthy whole person like right now!


I have a question for others:
At what point did maintaining your sobriety go from being the main part of your life to being just one of many parts of your life?

How does this solidify itself?

I am interested in this as well. In my current situation, some days I feel safe putting things on "autopilot", other days I gotta really watch the instrument panel!

Balance is what I want more than anything. Focus where focus is needed, but never single-minded obsession. That's the fastest way for me to get burned out on anything and then rebel just to rebel. But I fear being too casual about something that is maybe the most important key to keeping everything else in balance.

I guess it depends on you, for me it was when the "fear" faded, the fear that my reptilian addict brain would leap out at me unsuspectingly and drive me to drink. When that anxiety was finally replaced by watchful confidence that allowed me to not worry that I might encounter an overpowering situation that I couldn't find a way to handle and get through. That was the last piece for me, that took about 18 months to get to.

"watchful confidence" I like that a lot

I read somewhere that it takes a month for every year of drinking. So in your case about 15 months. Alcohol is a nasty poison, gonna take time.

Wow. Never heard that before. Makes sense, though.

For which? For your body to heal or for the other part?

They say your liver can regenerate up to 75% and it can happen as quickly as a month in some cases. So I have a mostly new liver, in that case. I heard there were certain herbs you can take that boost liver function... Milk thistle??

Edit. Yup Googled it.. milk thistle seed, dandelion root, burdock root, gentian root, and parsley.

That is very disheartening. A month for every year of drinking. Scary.

I'm only in my third week and I feel 100 percent better. I am getting to know myself without the alcohol involved.

I feel fantastic. I hope I don't go backwards. I am 28 but drank heavily for 6 or so years.

It took me several months til I felt 'normal'. Give yourself more time. :)