soberjim

Hi All...Joined in October. Have not posted a great deal lately, but have been reading posts.

I have had some success and some failures since October. However I am getting very tired of the struggle. My rational voice/mind knows alcohol has got to go, however I have that 'other' voice. There are many posts on SR dealing with this topic and I have found these very informative.

When I first joined I thought I would just stop for a while and then just reduce the amount I drink after a period of abstenance. It doesn't seem to be working.

I believe that it is time to make peace with accepting the fact that I cannot drink. The internal struggle is too exhausting.

I am looking forward to the next several weeks. I want to feel better physically and mentally.

SR has been a great source of support for me in this journey. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, ideas, and experiences.

Jim.

unentschieden

Hey SoberJim,

You sound like you're in the exact same situation as me. Ive posted about it, probably ad nauseum, but I tried to give up alcohol for a set period of time and was agonized by the whole thing...when to drink again filled my thoughts.

Giving it up for good is much simpler. I no longer have the constant internal debate. Note that I didn't say easier.

When I quit smoking many years ago I realized that I could focus on my physical health and started excising.

Now that i quit alcohol im starting to focus on my spiritual beliefs...something i havent thought about since high school.

I don't go to AA, I don't have a therapist. Today I'm 49 days sober with the help of SR, the secular connections forums here on SR, the suggested reading given to me by Terminally Unique, and my own beliefs in self-determination.

IndaMiricale

Congrats to both of you.
Look forward to hearing from you the next several weeks on how your doing.

What ever kind of program you can find that makes it work is awesome.

Good love, Inda

Dee74

It took me a while to get to that realisation too Jim...I made a lot of bargains and had a lot of strategies to keep alcohol in my life and they just didn't work, and they exhausted me.

Deciding to go for it, and leave alcohol behind, was one of the best decisions of my life

D

Dee74

It took me a while to get to that realisation too Jim...I made a lot of bargains and had a lot of strategies to keep alcohol in my life and they just didn't work, and they exhausted me.

Deciding to go for it, and leave alcohol behind, was one of the best decisions of my life

I'm really glad to see you're making it too

D

jocata

I can relate too Jim. Tried to cut back many times, but the harder I tried, the more I drank. Just wasn't worth the fight anymore.

God bless.

doggonecarl

I think you will find this a turning point. I know it was for me. In the course of working my recovery there came the realization that I was not a normal drinker, I would never be a normal drinker and therefore could never drink. Ever.

That slammed a great, big, door in the face of that previously unyielding voice that was telling me to drink.

MycoolFitz

It's a dog fight but I think the only fight worth fighting. I think for me sobriety is not just about sanity but humanity. My best to you.

Fenris

I was always pretty good at finding excuses to drink (until I got to the point where I didn't even need an excuse any more), so leaving myself some wiggle room in my sobriety, a "maybe one day...", was setting myself up for failure every time. The realization you're talking about Jim is the one that simplified everything for me and made long-lasting sobriety a possibility. Glad you got there.

Anna

Like you, I was exhausted at the end of my drinking days.

I had spent so much energy on trying to moderate my drinking, and then dealing with the aftermath, which was drinking too much. It was such a relief to just stop.

Threshold

Hey, I remember you! glad you're back. Sounds like you are making progress. Sounds like a new voice inside you is learning to speak up.