nm1212

Hi,

I'd like to get some feedback from people who've gone 30 days or more of sobriety.

I literally come home from work, change out of my work clothes into a hoodie and shorts, and cocoon. I've gone out a couple of times to exercise, but other than I can't explain this desire to stay home, where it's "safe", and cocoon my way through the 1st 30 days.

After about 6 days I got my strength back, and in the past I'd be up in the morning or out in the afternoon walking/jogging, but this time I don't want to interface with the world in any way. I want this 30 days so bad. I think I'm just cutting out any triggers right now.

So, what say you? What was your 1st days like?

- nm

Dee74

My first month sober was pretty rough...

drinking had been my life...I was a little shellshocked I think...it was baby steps every day, one at a time for me....but I trusted the people here who said it would get easier if I kept at it....and it did

Gradually as I got stronger again, I moved from 'not drinking' to building a new sober life

D

CarolD

I did attend AA daily ...before work and more on weekends... I found a group of mostly singles...and began to form new sober friends.
We did all sorts of interesting things outside of meetings...and it was a blast...

I walked a lot. I rested at home too.enjoying my new life of no drama.

With my doctors OK I followed an eating plan + supplements I found in
"Under The Influence" by Milam and Ketcham
I do think that helped my mind and body to get back in balance rather quickly.
Check with your doctor about hypoglycemia and see if that would benefit you


glad you are moving forward...

Zebra1275

I don't see anything wrong with the cocoon approach for 30 days. I understand the need to take a time out, regroup and develop a game plan. During the 30 days I think it would be wise to do a lot of reading (the Big Book and others) and hang out on SR. On the weekend when you are not working, spend an hour and go to an AA meeting.

The danger with the cocoon approach is that alcoholism is often a disease of isolation so you need to watch out for that. 30 days is probably ok, 130 days is not. Part of the game plan you develop in your 30 day cocoon may be to pick a group to join (in addition to a recovery program like AA) like the YMCA, church, and start to develop a hobby or something.

Recovery involves taking action, so don't over due the cocoon thing.

Bikeguy

My first 30 days were hell to be completely honest. After the detox finally settled down, I slept a lot, ate a lot and fought cravings a lot. I had pretty constant headaches the first 30 days, anxiety attacks and was very sensitive to noise and bright lights. The good thing is that is now past me and I never have to go through it again. Do whatever it takes to get those first 30 days under your belt, it gets much easier the more you can distance yourself from the alcohol.

Anna

My first month was a struggle mentally, but I discovered that getting out and taking long walks after supper helped hugely. It was relaxing, it got me outside of my head, it was great exercise and I began to feel a smidge of peace.

Reset

First week wasn't so bad. The 2nd-8th weeks were tough. I definitely did the cocoon thing. Every night in bed by 9 with my laptop, books, magazines and tea. Didn't want to talk with anyone, didn't want to see anyone. I was here a lot though and that helped.

I always drank to deal with depression and the unexpected happened when I quit: the depression came roaring in like a monsoon. So the cocoon behavior was a reflection of that depression. Maybe that's worth looking into if you find yourself lingering in the cocoon.

Oh and remember what comes out of the cocoon eventually.

stugotz

My first 30 days was in County Jail awaiting trial. Wish I had Caseys jury.....

nm1212

Well, at least you got a chance to dry out.

alchy

My first 30 days, on day 33 right now, was kind of up and down. Got sick twice. Started working out from day 1 sober. My detox wasn't as bad as a lot of the people here even though I drank 10-12 drinks on a good day every day for several years. Had some emotional days but only really one bad one(day 4) where I was a weeping mess. Since I am kind of a home body anyway and drank at home mostly, not much changed. I still stayed home and didnt have to really avoid anything/anyone. Had my family drink in front of me twice at dinner get togethers where I would normally be quite drunk. But they all knew about my quitting and were supportive. They don't quite understand or they wouldn't have drank in front of me. But even though it was hard to see the booze going around in some ways it was easier to have things be the same, except that I'm not drinking. I don't want everyone going "oh no, we can't drink in front of poor alchy" and making a big fuss. It's kind of the way I look at it. I'm the one with the problem, not them. And if I have to get used to poeple drinking in front of me I'd rather it be close immediate family in a safe setting where I'd be safe to tell them if it did bother me.
I feel pretty good, but still have kind of a blah about me. I don't even know if that's who I just am, or if it's PAWS and it'll pass or what. I have happier days and worse days though. Lifting weights seems to help.

Anyway, that was my first month in a nutshell.
Congrats to all those sober, from day 1'ers to seasoned sober veterans.

onlythetruth

My first month felt like an out-of-body experience. I couldn't sleep; when I did I woke up drenched with sweat; I felt numb from lack of sleep; I didn't know what to do with myself. I don't remember the cravings being a huge problem though, as I quickly learned that food would take the edge off--and I didn't gain weight from substituting food calories for alcohol ones!

I worked out a lot back then, even before I quit drinking, and found that going to the gym was a great antidote for the weirdness of being suddenly sober after 25 years of drinking.

I've been sober a long time and so the memories are fading a little, but I still remember one thing very clearly: no matter how bad things were early on in sobriety, they were infinitely better than drinking. Toward the end, my drinking was a living hell. Early sobriety may have been challenging but compared with drinking it was a cakewalk.

OTT

Zube

3 Words:

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings.

AA meetings are the safest place on the planet for an alcoholic in early recovery.

I couldn't wrap my brain aroung too much else during that first month.

Zube

least

My first month was very up and down but still, I was feeling better each day.

anew

I got sober during the winter. I slept ALOT, went to AA meetings, did alot of reading-the big book and other recovery books, drank lots of herbal teas. Craved sweets like crazy, ate most anything that wasn't nailed down. But I remember being profoundly tired and not wanting to do much of anything. I also saw a substance abuse counselor weekly.

EmeraldRose

I spent alot of time alone and since I lost my job I took that time to just get back in touch with me as a human and not a drinking machine. Learned to just calm down and relax, take it day by day and think about what happened and where I needed to be.
I dove into rehab and took that commitment very seriously -and to AA but only once a week. So I had all day to reflect on ME, do things I had been neglecting and startkick a new life. And walked my dogs -alot!!

yeahgr8

It absolutely rocked, i walked into AA, got a sponsor and began on the step work...finally something real and tangible that i could do under the guidance of someone who had 25 years sobriety that would give me a new life...it was an amazing time!

Herod

It was not too bad. Saved some cash.Onward.

Herod

Yes. I did exactly that. Let's get serious about this.

esoxlucius

Slept a lot and went to bed early. Make an effort to eat well (which really helped). Exercised reasonably regularly. One of the most important things was not to be too hard on myself. If I was having a tough day and had urges then I'd cocoon up for the evening and just play video games or some other relatively pointless activity just to make it through without drinking. It was as if my baseline definition for a good day was not drinking, regardless of what else I did or didn't do as intended.