Notimetoloose

In the last few years everyday I would say this has to stop, I am going to stop, how hard can it be, just stop! I tried moderating and I tried stopping.
I was on a continual cycle of quitting and drinking, a few days here and there, even a few months here and there...deep inside me I knew I was an alcoholic but the denial was hard to cut through and face it.
Acknowledging that I was an alcoholic was the game changer. No longer could I deceive myself that I could moderate or have just one!...I guess I started making real progress then.

Therorschach81

Severely drunk and depressed with a .45 in my mouth trying to think of a reason not to pull the trigger. I had a moment of clarity that told me to put the bottle down and re-think it.

gaffo

My friend quit drinking because his marriage was failing and I decided to quit because I lost best drinking partner. That was five years ago and we're both still on the wagon. Since then I also quit smoking weed. I never thought I would love my full sobriety but I do. Life is still hard but I feel like I have more control. Also, I felt like I was wasting my life and I don't feel that way anymore.

FBL

June 22, 2009. I was admitted to the ER with a severe panic attack. I thought I was dying. As I lay all alone in a brightly-lit room, with an IV stuck in me, I suddenly got very calm and decided that if I never wanted to be there again, I'd better stop drinking for good...so I did.

Flyfisher125

My moment like many others was a build up of "I can't do this anymore". After trying to detox by myself, "in secret", I started experiencing some very frightening withdrawal symptoms and utter exhaustion from insomnia. I broke, and called my family for help and admitted I had an alcohol problem. It hurt my pride in the moment but was also such a relief to get off my chest. I no longer could deal with my alcoholism on my own.

MelindaFlowers

June 27th, 2014.

It was an ordinary night. I had absolutely no plans of stopping. I drank 14 beers (normal amount for one night) and wondered why I didn't feel that drunk.

Went to bed at 2 AM.

I woke up the next day with the worst hangover I had ever had. I believe it was the worst hangover any human being has ever had in the history of the universe.

I had never been to the hospital for my drinking but when I woke up I wondered if that would be the day. I had woken up with terrible hangovers hundreds and hundreds of times. Day after day. Work day, weekend, holiday, vacation, at home, in hotels. I was a pro at hangovers but this one was different.

I remember opening my eyes and then closing them again. It was too painful to open them. My eyes hurt. My head hurt. My chest hurt.
My stomach was in a great deal of pain. Even my legs were sore.

I honestly felt like I was going to die.

There was one new symptom which was very worrying to me. I had these zapping back pains that would come and go every 30 minutes. I thought I was going into liver failure. I have been diagnosed a year before with liver inflammation. I drank another year after the diagnosis. My addiction was too strong for a doctor's warning to stop.

I stopped that day because I swore to myself that I would never have a hangover again.

I couldn't stand the hangovers anymore. Looking back, I was really going through alcohol withdrawal. My heart was beating rapidly, I was sweating, and my hands were trembling.

I knew that sobriety couldn't be any worse than the hell of hangovers.


It was a hangover that made me stop drinking.

Period.

Jack465

Realizing that I was throwing away everything good in my life including my health.

CLAS

"I woke up the next day with the worst hangover I had ever had. I believe it was the worst hangover any human being has ever had in the history of the universe."

Melinda I know that feeling! The hangovers were a big reason for me to quit too. Just had enough of them, starting my day in pain. A bright morning shouldn't include a nightmare.

zjw

i was battling panic attacks. at first i thoguht maybe it was the cigarettes (ya know shortness of breath and all) so i quit. when the panic attacks didnt stop i said screw it and started smoking again.

Then i read a bit about how drinking can cause panic attacks. I really had no desire to quit drinking. But figured i'd try that and see if it helped.

What i didnt realize was quiting wasnt going to be some simple process. it was hell for months on end. its really amazing i even stayed quit to be honest looking back. But the panic had subsided and I guess the panic was bad enogh that i'd gladly take the new found hell over the panic attacks.

In time it all got better and was totally worth it.