coffeenut

Just got back from a long family weekend where every single thing centered around drinking. And I noticed a couple of things.....

People who drink a lot, sometimes don't look healthy. Many of them have swollen facial features.

Kids sure take the brunt of well meaning drunks.

I can do ANYTHING I want, Sober!

How about you? What have you noticed in sobriety?

C23

Awesome post.

I noticed that I don't have that Marlon Brando in the Godfather swollen face anymore.

I noticed that my "friends" don't really invite me to events anymore.

I perform better at work not hungover.

Drunk people talk about stupid stuff.

Drunk people tell the same stories over and over.

Drunk people are obnoxious.

Society is OWNED by alcohol companies.

I love to sing and listen to music again.

I care about how I dress for work more.

I feel better, look better, have better skin, am not dehydrated, eat more, read more, have a better marriage and a better relationship with my kids. (I guess everything is better sober)

I can go on for a while, but I will stop here. GREAT POST!!!!

jill21

wooooh eeeee! i was one of those swollen faced drunks pretty bad...lol! being sober, i've noticed how badly drinking shreds my self confidence. i've noticed how annoying drunk people are (and shudder to think that if i fight an average drunk person annoying, i must be a living nightmare in that state!).

coffeenut

Just remembered. Drunks usually want you to drink with them. They don't care if you are trying to stay sober...usually they says something like, "it's just a taste!" or "it's not very much.....you can do that much."

Antone

1) One thing I've noticed is I used to drink to be more outgoing in social situations, but I've noticed that I'm more sociable when I'm SOBER. I believe it's because my mind is sharper and I'm more aware. I'm also not leaning on the crutch of drinking to help me along (which frequently didn't even happen) and I know I've gotta do it myself, and so I do.

2) Drunks bore me.

3) I do healthier things (exercise, eat better, get more done, meditate) that I wouldn't have done if I had even 1 drink in me.

4) Drinkers accept drinking as a normal activity and don't realize the reality of the escape.

5) Skinny guys with pot bellies look kind of gross.

6) Sobriety is a response to a higher calling that many drinkers do not recognize.

Latte

My kids love to hang out with me and my weight is getting under control and that makes me feel better about myself.

Oh and all my real friends have noticed that my kindness is real. When I was drinking/using I couldn't talk about love and tolerance because I didn't feel it for myself. I can only share the things I have.

Bamboozle

Improved bowel movements.

baldjim

guys i agreed with everything you have said ,the bit about not getting invited any more hit a chord

every one drunk talks total crap ,and that hanging all over you slobbering stinking of stale beer with eyes that are trying to focus on your face ,saying i really love you yuk

no wonder women found me resistable , please tell me i was never like that i'm cringing thinking of all the people i have done that too

Tazman53

Great thread.

I have watched my brother in law slipping into the depths of alcoholism, my sister in law's heart is breaking, she has asked me to talk to him, I kind of do indirectly letting him know just how much better I feel and how much better my life is today since I quit drinking. He is starting to show signs of early wetbrain, he is really slipping, all I can really do is pray for the man to see the light. I see in him where I would have been if I had kept on drinking. He is near a point of no return as far as his brain goes.

lauraandersen4

I like this thread. Kind of makes me feel like an obnoxious jacka$$, but it makes a lot of good points

Hevyn

Taz, not sure what wetbrain is? Whatever it is, I probably had it.

The swollen face thing - I thought it was just my imagination & blamed it on aging. I have some pictures of me where I don't even resemble myself - features all distorted.

It is so pathetic attempting to have a conversation with sloshed people. I was one of them, now I have no time for it. They rarely remember what you've talked about the next day. At a wedding reception recently I had a "deep & meaningful" conversation with a friend about his tanking marriage - spent 2 hours with him, trying to help. Next day he had almost no memory of the talk, even denied he had much of a problem & said, "Oh, it must've been the booze talking." What a waste of time & energy.

Coffeenut, thanks for this thread - I'm sure I'll think of other stuff later. Congratulations to you for making it through the weekend without caving.

Tazman53

Hevyn wet brain is basically when an alcohic has drank so much for so long that they have damaged thier brain, my kids & wife were telling me he never makes any sense with most of his converations any more even though he is not fall down drunk. They tell me he really becoming unaware of the world around him, he seems to be in his own world. They also tell me physically he is really looking worse then he ever has. It really upsets my wife seeing him this way. She tells me "Martin, I just do not get it, I know Bill when he is drunk, this is not Bill drunk, the man he is today is not Bill."

least

I no longer worry about having to drive somewhere when I've been drinking. Don't risk a DUI or worse anymore.

baldjim

down side and its only a small one .... is coz you dont drink jim you dont mind driving do you


i gave up drinking to get away from drunks not to be a taxi driver and drive loads of drunks around late at night

and dont they just take some getting out the car when you finally get them home

Horselover

I actually like being a designated driver. You never know how many innocent lives you may have saved by not letting the "drunks" drive.

I am more confident and daring to try new things.

I am able to enjoy real moments instead of living for the cocktail hour.

I am not paranoid around my son because my breath smells like alcohol.

I notice a huge improvement in who I am and with my relationships.

baldjim

good points

but why cant they not drink or get a taxi

Horselover

Because you are handy. LOL! I have gotten it from a girlfriend, but she is the type to have 1 drink and give me her keys. I admire that. I haven't driven any "really" hammered types.

smynthia

The biggest thing I have noticed in my sobriety is the everyday fear that I was so used to living in. Fear people would find out, fear alcohol was on my breath, fear that my bloodshot and teary eyes would give me away.

I also don't have the everyday mind games of me trying to figure out how I was going to moderate my drinking the next time.

TheLadyb

Since this was my first weekend sober, I am new but what i noticed is.

I was not incredibly sick this weekend, to the point of not getting out of bed

I made delicious meals, and ate with my family

I was not hiding bottles and then trying to retrive them and find a place to get rid of them

I organized a closet

I went to the beach and enjoyed the day.

I watched an entire movie without passing out and never seeing the end.

I look pretty damn good today at work, instead of waking up and throwing anything on.

I got my hair and nails done, instead of saying I was getting them done and never doing it.

I planned my menu to eat nutrious meals today

I didn't spend too much time wallowing in self pity this week

Just writing this reminds me of how much i actually got done.

baldjim

my gf is pretty much the same ,her friends seem to like it as when i pick her up i can get them home safe

inthe uk drinking is the norm and we used to ring each other up bragging drinking 30 pints and not being able to go to work ,fancy a quick one in the pub seeing as we have the day off sort of thing ,that is the norm

thank you for all your thoughts ,although i dont want to drink i'm less than thrilled with the life i have got left after the drinking and drinking buddies are gone