feralsobriety

Over the last ten days it has dawned on me that it is almost scary to think about being sober forever. It is almost a scarier thought that being drunk/high for the rest of my life. I know this isn't a normal feeling and I know it is the addiction talking and I hate it.

NewBeginning010

Dont worry about forever.... just think about today/now & everything will be fine. We all felt that way in the beginning... it gets better ;-)

Cheers ~ NB

Dee74

It can seem like a mammoth thing for sure...

I couldn't wrap my head around forever at the beginning...but I could accept staying sober for today - and then making sure I recommitted to that promise everyday...

after a while 'forever' stopped seeming so scary

stick with it feralsobriety

D

Threshold

if I define sobriety as "not doing fun stuff" forever seems scary, if I realize sobriety is "healthy life free to do much fun stuff." all of a sudden it's not so scary, it's pretty durn attractive!

Once I got an idea of what sobriety was really about things really did a turn around in how I approached my recovery.

it became a gift I give myself rather than a sentence I impose upon myself.

tomsteve

actually it is normal for quite a few people new to recovery. quite a few people( myself included) had the fear because we only knew how to live life and deal with problems one way: with alcohol. we had no clue how to live and had to learn and that was scarey.
when i was drinkin, i lived with one foot in tomorrow and one in yesterday and pissed all over today. i found that iffen i keep one foot in the here and the other in the now and keep my pants up, my one day at a times go pretty good.

it'll get easier for ya one day at a time.

MrsKing

In the beginning, it was a terrifying thought for me, too. I thought about how much I'd be missing out, about how alcohol added to my life and helped me to enjoy events... I thought about how I wouldn't be able to use it a crutch to pick me up when I was down, to de-stress me, to allow me to escape when life seemed to much to handle. It took a good while for me to realise that all that alcohol did for me was put me in a very bad place and I used it to mask the very things it was causing. I am now able to say "I won't drink ever again" and find myself liberated by this phrase, but that has taken some time and evaluation. Don't worry about 'forever' for now - just keep going, day by day, and eventually, once you continue to see the major benefits of being sober, it will no longer be scary to think of it as your only ever state of mind. Good luck and stay strong.

Ghostlight

I can totaly relate.
I remember when I was an active drunk coming down off a three day binge and being terrified to stop because I knew what awaited me: fear, anxiety and the horrors of withdrawal.

Wow, your post really brought back memories for me, and those pitiful frightful days.

Sober forever? I couldn't imagine being sober for one day.

There is a way out. Stop drinking. Please see your doctor and be brutaly honest, if need be.
Don't think about forever. Think about today, or the next hour or minute being sober.

Thanks for your post it really hit home for me.

Grateful Heart

That is the reason why we're not supposed to think in terms of forever. We're only spposed to take one day at a time :-) Grateful Heart.

Itchy

I think the alternative to not drinking forever is much scarier. Wrap your head around drinking forever and getting worse with each drink over time.

Muunray

I felt the same way. One of the biggest ideas I have learned from this site- well at least let it sink in this time- is that what good does drinking do for me, what does it make better? Nothing....and I still have to deal with everything, but with a deathly hangover feeling.

Dinah

Feral, I am right there with you right now and also agreeing with everyone else that it's normal. I keep thinking about all of the things I like to do while drinking. Poker, darts, trivia, etc... But I've also found recently (since I have an interlock right now and no choice) that I can sit at a bar, play poker, have a shirley temple and be okay. Hell, better than ok. Honestly I am almost scared of when the interlock comes off in a few months. I hope I am ready. I think if I/we keep posting in here, we will be. I am reading/seeing so many positive stories.

Snapper

ten days is something to be way proud of though. THAT seems impossible to me. So look at that. you're my hero right now.
and who the hell knows how long forever is anyway. lets be honest, forever could end tomorrow. just focus on today that's what i'm doing.
**** i'm not even focused on today, i'm just focused on right now.

Notmyrealname

It's scary for everyone, I think. It scared me enough that I didn't quit drinking for years despite knowing it was awful for me.

But if you kick aside the denial and consider all of the detrimental consequences of long-term alcohol abuse in the clear light of objectivity, what I find more scary is the idea of being a drunk until I'm dead. Or being a drunk until ten years from now. Or being a drunk for the next five years. Or the next one year.

Screw all that, I'm keeping that cork right where it is, firmly wedged in the neck of the bottle.

feralsobriety

Kicking the denial sounds like a good idea right about now.

Jester1025

Just take it one day at a time... You're doing great!

icanwin

I perfectly understand the feeling and I can relate to that 101%. What I have realised is that after 15 days without alcohol the battle seems EVERY day EASIER and EASIER :-)

I wish you good luck! But you don't need it cause you will make it. We will make it together!