30 days w/ no AA
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 147
30 days w/ no AA
So I am finally at 30 days alcohol free! Pretty dang cool. I honestly can't remember a time when I have accomplished this.
It did get me thinking. Maybe I'm not the alkie I think I am. I haven't had that much trouble doing 30 days. No AA, no support of any kind. I def did not have DTs, withdrawals, or anything like that. Maybe some urges and boredom but nothing too big.
I know that when I do drink problems can occur but not everytime I drank. I also think that I have matured a lot since my early 20's and even just recently feel like I am more mature/aware of how to deal with alcohol.
I DO know if I did drink again that I would most likely drink excessively and get up feeling like crap. So, really that would be the main thing from that next drink.
I guess I will try to keep going. Can I get 60? We shall see.
Thanks SR for listening and the support over the past few months.
It did get me thinking. Maybe I'm not the alkie I think I am. I haven't had that much trouble doing 30 days. No AA, no support of any kind. I def did not have DTs, withdrawals, or anything like that. Maybe some urges and boredom but nothing too big.
I know that when I do drink problems can occur but not everytime I drank. I also think that I have matured a lot since my early 20's and even just recently feel like I am more mature/aware of how to deal with alcohol.
I DO know if I did drink again that I would most likely drink excessively and get up feeling like crap. So, really that would be the main thing from that next drink.
I guess I will try to keep going. Can I get 60? We shall see.
Thanks SR for listening and the support over the past few months.
31/10/10
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 241
Hi Down,
well done on 30 days. Get another 30 down before thinking about drinking!
I have this voice telling me that maybe, just maybe, I'm not an alcoholic. But then again, if I was a normal, social drinker I wouldn't be here. I don't know, but I guess it's the same with you. Stick around here and keept winning. There's a power inside you that has brought you here because you want to be here!
vee
well done on 30 days. Get another 30 down before thinking about drinking!
I have this voice telling me that maybe, just maybe, I'm not an alcoholic. But then again, if I was a normal, social drinker I wouldn't be here. I don't know, but I guess it's the same with you. Stick around here and keept winning. There's a power inside you that has brought you here because you want to be here!
vee
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,378
Congratulations DWD.
AA's not mandatory LOL.
no support of any kind tho? I dunno about you but I credit SR a lot in my recovery.
Do be careful how you step - I can't tell you the times I've convinced myself I was 'ok' because I got some sober time up, or because I didn't have a bad withdrawal, or no cravings...I never asked myself if I was so 'ok' why was my first impulse always to slam a few beers?
If I've learned anything it's that this is not a problem that you can fix in 30, 60 or 90 days.
Don't underestimate the task, DWD.
D
AA's not mandatory LOL.
no support of any kind tho? I dunno about you but I credit SR a lot in my recovery.
Do be careful how you step - I can't tell you the times I've convinced myself I was 'ok' because I got some sober time up, or because I didn't have a bad withdrawal, or no cravings...I never asked myself if I was so 'ok' why was my first impulse always to slam a few beers?
If I've learned anything it's that this is not a problem that you can fix in 30, 60 or 90 days.
Don't underestimate the task, DWD.
D
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Upstate NY, in the Adirondacks
Posts: 232
Hi,
I am at 5 months, and use an online site for my program. I go to AA once in a while. Guess what? I am still an alcoholic. Wow. It feels really good to say that. Not shaming. Relief. Now I don't have to play that game with myself anymore, am I, or am I not, don't have to drink/not drink/drink/not drink. This sober life is SO much easier.
I wish for you to be honest with yourself as to why you came here, and decide - are you done??
Peace,
Nancy
I am at 5 months, and use an online site for my program. I go to AA once in a while. Guess what? I am still an alcoholic. Wow. It feels really good to say that. Not shaming. Relief. Now I don't have to play that game with myself anymore, am I, or am I not, don't have to drink/not drink/drink/not drink. This sober life is SO much easier.
I wish for you to be honest with yourself as to why you came here, and decide - are you done??
Peace,
Nancy
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: NY
Posts: 63
Congratulations on 30 days sober, that's awesome! I'm on day 17 and going about it the same way. I have leaned on SR a Lot but no AA or other program. I already know I'm an alcoholic, because of the fact that I cannot stop at a couple drinks, darnit that's where I'm powerless. 
Sure, occassionally I'll try to "prove" to myself that I can do it but it's all a game I'm playing. I sure don't want to stop at 1 or 2 drinks because once I start I just want to get the buzz or get drunk, that's my goal basically. I feel like crap the next morning and I constantly worry about what I'm doing to my body. I hate thinking about alcohol all the time, and that right there tells me I have a problem. Great job on 30 days, go for another 30, and hopefully in the meantime you will discover that a sober life really is better. 
Sure, occassionally I'll try to "prove" to myself that I can do it but it's all a game I'm playing. I sure don't want to stop at 1 or 2 drinks because once I start I just want to get the buzz or get drunk, that's my goal basically. I feel like crap the next morning and I constantly worry about what I'm doing to my body. I hate thinking about alcohol all the time, and that right there tells me I have a problem. Great job on 30 days, go for another 30, and hopefully in the meantime you will discover that a sober life really is better. Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 22
Originally Posted by DownWDisease 
It did get me thinking. Maybe I'm not the alkie I think I am. I haven't had that much trouble doing 30 days. No AA, no support of any kind. I def did not have DTs, withdrawals, or anything like that.
Anyway if you are the same way when drinking then you are better off not doing it ever again because it only gets worse and worse until you are drinking 15-20 drinks to get the same effect, which I have no idea why anyone would do that to themselves but that's why we are all here.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: New England
Posts: 5,285
Congrats on 30 days...feels great doesn't it?
When I was in high school they had someone speak to us about alcohol addiction...they said the test was 6 no the...think you can manage that? 6 months ago I wasn't sure I could but now I have.
And yes I haven't used AA or another formal program....what I have done is worked with a Life Coach...which involves making a lot of real changes in my life and how I deal with life...and I have SR which is a constant source of inspiration and sharing.
So yes you can get to 6 months on your own...but I still think you need to work on your life...of course I've never met anyone alcoholic or not who couldn't benefit from some work
When I was in high school they had someone speak to us about alcohol addiction...they said the test was 6 no the...think you can manage that? 6 months ago I wasn't sure I could but now I have.
And yes I haven't used AA or another formal program....what I have done is worked with a Life Coach...which involves making a lot of real changes in my life and how I deal with life...and I have SR which is a constant source of inspiration and sharing.
So yes you can get to 6 months on your own...but I still think you need to work on your life...of course I've never met anyone alcoholic or not who couldn't benefit from some work
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Tampa
Posts: 178
30 is awesome, but since for alcoholics it's all or none, you should see your 60 days in 30 more.
It's easy to get to the next day, week, etc. for me. I know what's on the other side of sobriety... drinking that doesn't end until I'm ready to go to bed, or ready to pass out for the night. Same thing.
Being ready to be a slave to a liquid isn't for me. I wouldn't even allow myself to be a slave to the lady I love. Why an inanimate object like a liquid? :/
I'm an alcoholic because I can't drink like other people. When I did, I didn't want to stop at 3, 4 - 8... and needed to know there was always alcohol around in case I wanted more. That's the reality of it, straight out.
It's easy to get to the next day, week, etc. for me. I know what's on the other side of sobriety... drinking that doesn't end until I'm ready to go to bed, or ready to pass out for the night. Same thing.
Being ready to be a slave to a liquid isn't for me. I wouldn't even allow myself to be a slave to the lady I love. Why an inanimate object like a liquid? :/
I'm an alcoholic because I can't drink like other people. When I did, I didn't want to stop at 3, 4 - 8... and needed to know there was always alcohol around in case I wanted more. That's the reality of it, straight out.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 1,591
Down, I see a bit of similarity between us when you reflect on this time that's gone by and wonder what's in store - and also on the part about no AA or structured approach.
You've probably already thought of this, but it sounds a little risky when you say "Maybe I'm not the alcoholic I thought I was." Maybe that is an expression of your general amazement at making it this far, in which case I can relate; I had no idea I could have done it. Who knows how far back in the past I could have been capable of doing this... But for some people, when they say that phrase you used, there is a value underneath that amounts to giving alcohol another shot and then it gets worse, and they found that out down the road; so be mindful of that.
It may be that you don't need to use AA, but you could have a change of heart in time. I haven't gone to AA since I quit, but I think about it sometimes. Some people find that they need to go further and make more progress, even once they are into years and not months. A year whisked by without using AA for me, but it may happen in the future. I think there is a pride in wanting to get things done by myself, and some people might call that Wanting Sobriety On My Terms or something like that. Even so, it doesn't take away from the work I do accomplish with myself. Maybe that can apply to you too as you go along.
For now, bask in the non-drunk present in one-day instalments.
You've probably already thought of this, but it sounds a little risky when you say "Maybe I'm not the alcoholic I thought I was." Maybe that is an expression of your general amazement at making it this far, in which case I can relate; I had no idea I could have done it. Who knows how far back in the past I could have been capable of doing this... But for some people, when they say that phrase you used, there is a value underneath that amounts to giving alcohol another shot and then it gets worse, and they found that out down the road; so be mindful of that.
It may be that you don't need to use AA, but you could have a change of heart in time. I haven't gone to AA since I quit, but I think about it sometimes. Some people find that they need to go further and make more progress, even once they are into years and not months. A year whisked by without using AA for me, but it may happen in the future. I think there is a pride in wanting to get things done by myself, and some people might call that Wanting Sobriety On My Terms or something like that. Even so, it doesn't take away from the work I do accomplish with myself. Maybe that can apply to you too as you go along.
For now, bask in the non-drunk present in one-day instalments.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: San Diego
Posts: 4,451
Congrats DWD—we're on the same timeline, I just hit 30 today too!
I've had the same thought: Hey if I can do this, maybe I'm fine! I've come to fear that thought. I've seen so many posts here from folks who had a month, six months, in some cases many years of sobriety, and decided they could enjoy a drink or two like other folks. It seems like they all tell the same story: they spiraled right back down, sometimes even lower than before, and sometimes for a stretch of months or years. And those are just the ones who made it back to tell the tale...
Maybe that wouldn't happen to me, I dunno. But there's only one way to find out for sure, and the risk is just too high for me.
Looking forward to seeing you here again in another 30 days!
I've had the same thought: Hey if I can do this, maybe I'm fine! I've come to fear that thought. I've seen so many posts here from folks who had a month, six months, in some cases many years of sobriety, and decided they could enjoy a drink or two like other folks. It seems like they all tell the same story: they spiraled right back down, sometimes even lower than before, and sometimes for a stretch of months or years. And those are just the ones who made it back to tell the tale...
Maybe that wouldn't happen to me, I dunno. But there's only one way to find out for sure, and the risk is just too high for me.
Looking forward to seeing you here again in another 30 days!
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