Newcomers - it gets better. Really.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 1,387
Newcomers - it gets better. Really.
Hi,
I just posted this to a "becoming obscure" thread (they come and go pretty fast, you know?) and I liked what I said and thought it may be helpful for a newcomer or two. It is not exactly profound, but after I wrote it I thought, "I wish I would have known that I was going to be writing this ten months ago!" So here it is, for what it is worth:
I became sober on August 10, 2011. My work is very mentally challenging and my work performance was getting really bad before I stopped drinking. After I stopped drinking it got a little better (not being hungover, I guess), but I still wasn't performing even close to my expectations. Everything just seemed so hard. (Everything - chores, every day life stuff was monumentally a big deal!) Now that I am 10 months sober I have seen my mental capabilities get sharper and sharper....I never will be Einstein, but I am doing things at work that I know I could not have figured out if I was still drinking. I probably would have lost my job by now if I hadn't straightened things out. Actually very likely would have lost my job...it was getting really scary. Now I am really contributing and I am truly part of the team - I have pride in my work, and I can tell my co-workers appreciate what I do. I am no longer ashamed of my performance (or lack of) and I now look people straight in the eyes and talk to them like a normal human being. I just realized I am beginning to become authentic. Wow. Anyway, what I am trying to say through all this drivel is that it takes a lot of energy in the beginning to be sober, and to face all the mental and emotional stuff that pops into your head and awareness as you awaken from the fog. And you have to face it sober!!! Be easy on yourself. Do a little at a time. Your main goal of every day is to get through it without drinking, and show up for work and do your best on that day. Your self esteem and awareness and mental sharpness is right there with you....it always has been...it is just waiting a little while to come back to your consciousness. It will, I promise. Please hang in there. I wish you the very best. Take care.
I just posted this to a "becoming obscure" thread (they come and go pretty fast, you know?) and I liked what I said and thought it may be helpful for a newcomer or two. It is not exactly profound, but after I wrote it I thought, "I wish I would have known that I was going to be writing this ten months ago!" So here it is, for what it is worth:
I became sober on August 10, 2011. My work is very mentally challenging and my work performance was getting really bad before I stopped drinking. After I stopped drinking it got a little better (not being hungover, I guess), but I still wasn't performing even close to my expectations. Everything just seemed so hard. (Everything - chores, every day life stuff was monumentally a big deal!) Now that I am 10 months sober I have seen my mental capabilities get sharper and sharper....I never will be Einstein, but I am doing things at work that I know I could not have figured out if I was still drinking. I probably would have lost my job by now if I hadn't straightened things out. Actually very likely would have lost my job...it was getting really scary. Now I am really contributing and I am truly part of the team - I have pride in my work, and I can tell my co-workers appreciate what I do. I am no longer ashamed of my performance (or lack of) and I now look people straight in the eyes and talk to them like a normal human being. I just realized I am beginning to become authentic. Wow. Anyway, what I am trying to say through all this drivel is that it takes a lot of energy in the beginning to be sober, and to face all the mental and emotional stuff that pops into your head and awareness as you awaken from the fog. And you have to face it sober!!! Be easy on yourself. Do a little at a time. Your main goal of every day is to get through it without drinking, and show up for work and do your best on that day. Your self esteem and awareness and mental sharpness is right there with you....it always has been...it is just waiting a little while to come back to your consciousness. It will, I promise. Please hang in there. I wish you the very best. Take care.
Thanks!!
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,568
Thank you sissy - that was great & helpful to all of us.
You're so right - we make ordinary life unbearably hard when we drink. The thing I leaned on for years to help me get though hard times turned on me in the end. I was very numb & foggy for years, not sure how I faked it for so long. It's wonderful to be back among the living.
You're so right - we make ordinary life unbearably hard when we drink. The thing I leaned on for years to help me get though hard times turned on me in the end. I was very numb & foggy for years, not sure how I faked it for so long. It's wonderful to be back among the living.
Crazy Cat Lady
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 2,661
Excellent post, sissy! I am 73 days sober and as i stated in an earlier thread, i am finding joy in every day life where in my drinking life every day was full of sorrow and regret. When i drank, i drank because i was sad and i was sad because i drank. Now that i'm sober, i'm happy and being happy makes me want to stay sober. I think an important part of sobriety is to remember that our happiness comes from within. We don't need to celebrate our happiness by dulling our senses or warping our minds with drugs and alcohol. We should celebrate our joys with clear heads and clean souls. Just my humble opinion. ;-)
Congrats on ten months!! 
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