Kza

Day one again and it is like I am afraid of being sober in the evenings.

Dee74

I think a lot of us felt uncomfortable in the evenings kza.

Do you have things you can do - activities, hobbies, interests - I found keeping occupied was much better for me than sitting there grappling with my fears, my discomfort and my desire to drink.

Have you got any support besides SR? I think support is really important too.

I used to hate the night sober but it's just when the sun goes down for me now - you'll get there too

D

ru12

Yep, the evenings were when I did my drinking too. Try to distract yourself. If things get to tough just go to bed early. If you don't sleep that's ok too. If you pray do that too. Hang in there.

sugarbear1

chat room. I had to have it on just to survive, then to get motivated to do dishes & laundry for a while..

come join us!

reggiewayne

I quit this time because I was scarred of the panic attacks in the morning. If you ask me, sober evenings are much easier than hangover induced panic attacks in the morning.

You can do it! Stay with it...

KMC2008

The anxiety that night brings for me is too intense for words. I know what you mean. When the night falls my fear gets bigger and I'd run towards the bars. I hope that one day I can watch a sunset minus the anxiety and obsession.

Sapling

You can watch a sunset without the anxiety and the obsession one day. You have to work for it...Don't drink..One day at a time....Instead of running towards the bars at night...Run towards recovery...Read the Big Book for an hour....Read and post here for an hour or two. Go to a meeting...Pray and meditate. It takes some effort...We don't get struck sober...You know?....You put in the effort....You can live a new life. It's as simple...As that!

SomethingBetter

I know its hard to understand when you are used to drinking everynight, but i was there too, when I lay my head on my pillow at night it sometimes makes me smile, it truly is different now but it didnt happen overnight.

I was a slave to drinking, not only was i forced to drink by my addiction but i was fooled in thinking i had to.

Breaking free from booze is possible, and the night can be great without it.

Stick around here, there are some great people to support you through the tough times.

DisplacedGRITS

In the very beginning i had to shake up my entire routine. I didn't sit in my usual spot, i ate a little earlier or later, i posted and read here a lot, read books, went to meetings...lots and lots of meetings actually. They helped shaked my life up in a great way and since they kept me out during my prime drinking time that was a bonus. Getting into the habit of going to bed at a more reasonable hour instead of staying up until 3 or 4 AM helped a lot as well.

hypochondriac

I can definitely relate to this Kza. I live alone and that's where all my drinking was done. No one there to tell me not to, and it wasn't like I could avoid being there. I tried not going straight home after work to avoid drinking when I was trying to cut down but it didn't help and I'd just fit more booze into a shorter period of time.

Being absolutely firm in my decision to quit helped (AVRT helped alot) and being glued to SR. And cooking. I hate cooking but I'd spend half the night chopping up vegetables. Distraction really helps but it doesn't eliminate the need for a good recovery program though.

Keep posting on here in the evenings x

Sapling

It's all about CHANGE. The only thing I wasn't willing to change....No matter what.....Was my sobriety date. You made those changes Grits...I'm guessing you haven't drank since.

soberbrooke

I struggle with that also, now that I am living alone after 14 years of living with my ex-boyfriend and 2 kids. I just moved out last week, and I am now thinking "I was only an alcoholic because of him", "I might be able to drink now" etc.... The disease is really kicking in when I am sitting here alone. But now that I have found this wonderful site, I know I am not alone. I can help others by sharing what I have learned and help me to keep my mind off of drinking. When we work in a group, the goal of the group is what counts. Since we are all working for recovery, AA and this online forum is helping me to stay sober.
If I can do it, then everyone can do it. I use to drink every night at 4-5 pm and then do it again the next night. It was so out of hand. I started drinking when I was 14 and was introduced to AA at 17. I went on a 26 year relapse and have been in and out of AA for those 26 years.

This time, a light went off and I have finally gotten it just for today. I wake up, read my AA Prayers and my 12&12 Prayers and then go about my day. It is finally sinking in that I can no longer manage my life while drinking.

sketcher

I'm on day 9. on my first three days it seemed like I was bringing the work version of myself home for the last 5 hours of the night and I had to continue tolerating my day's frustrations. it got better and now I am someone different when I get home and I've got the energy to do some things I normally wouldn't do because I was previously too focused on my drink routine and then too drunk to be interested.