4thekidz

Good Morning.

The end of today will mean 40 days of sobriety and put me in uncharted territory in my adult life. Last year I literally cracked open a fifth of vodka as I watched the minute hand cross past the exact 40 day mark, figuring my body was recovered and now I can drink "normally." What a mistake.

I would love to hear how the 40+ day crowd navigated this next phase. From some reading I hear that this day is a big relapse day.

Staying strong....

Bikeguy

Don't let day 40 be any different than day 39 or day 41, I know sometimes I made milestone days out to be a bigger deal than they needed to be and as soon as I did that those days became more difficult. Stay the course you have been on, great job!

doggonecarl

I don't know if there is any significance with forty days. For me, in those early days, I always feared relapse. Sobriety was, literally, an hour to hour thing for me until about the two-month mark. I think at that time I realized I wasn't a "normal" drinker and never would be. So why try to fool myself about drinking normally. If I was going to relapse, it was going to be a full scale return to the insanity that was my life before I quit and I couldn't allow that to happen. I wasn't going to drink, no matter what.

So maybe that's how I got past 40 days.

newwings

4thekidz, you've come so far. You've got your past experience to fall back on, 40 days is HUGE. Last time you counted down and threw it away. I know exactly what you mean about staring at the clock and knowing you were going to drink. I did that last time, too, on day 33. This time, I'm counting UP, not DOWN. 36 days for me now, and I can't begin to tell how what a relief it was to pass that 33 day mark, sober. It's also, for me too, uncharted territory - the longest time I've been sober since my 7 year old daughter was born.

You'll feel amazing once that mental milestone is passed. Good luck, you can do it!

EmeraldRose

I've never heard day 40 was any different than any other. I would think the first week is hardest and easiest to relapse. Moving ahead gets easier and easier. Unless you let something in your life that hasn't been dealt with creep up on you. Deal with life as its thrown at you. And don't ever drink about it!
Congratulations.

bcboy

Welcome 4thekidz!

Milestone days can be scary for sure when heading into uncharted sober time. I know when my 30 days came up it had been the longest without a drink in over a decade and I also felt shaky.

Use your last experience with crossing the 40 day mark and how bad it was when you did drink after all that work to get to 40.

Play the song right to the end and you will see that nothing good will ever come of you or any of us ever picking up the drink again.

You are about to realize how strong you are passing this 40 day mark.

Keep strong.

4thekidz

You are all fantastic in your reassurances......thank you!!!

Dee74

I never had a problem with day 40 cos I rarely got there...my mental hurdles were always day 3 day 4....

I hope you've found day 40 need not be different to any other day 40thekidz

D

Anna

You're doing great!

What I found was that each small action I took, had a ripple effect in my life. Just keep moving forward and you'll be fine.

SSIL75

This is so true! focus on building your new life.

indakut

Congrats on the 40 days

In order to stay sober, I had to think of all the ways I blew it the last time. One of which was the negative thoughts that I would allow my mind to have! I get excited for days that end in 5 or 0 (ex. 40 or 45). Keep pressing on