Islandboy32

24 days down... And the last two or three I haven't even thought about drinking. it's kind of messing with my head.. It seems deceptively easy at this point. If anything I feel liberated. Crazy these mental stages you go through when you stop...

backbeat

I had that too. And then suddenly in the span of about an hour I was in the danger zone. Now I go to meetings, for me it helps because if I get lonely the first place I go is the bar. So I'm just saying, for me, that is my safety net.

Congratulations on 24 days! That's amazing!

Dee74

I'd be glad it's been pretty uncomplicated

but yeah - I could rationalise anything really.
I used to feel really good and then use that as an excuse for thinking maybe I wasn't that bad...

but I was

Try not to measure yourself against others...it's your journey
Keep going forward, Islandboy

D

Islandboy32

That's exactly what's been floating around my head "maybe I'm not that bad". I know that's b.s.. 24 days ago I was suicidal in the nut house and detoxing from a cocaine & jack Daniels binge.. And that doesn't happen to people who "aren't that bad".

trikuza

im on day 20 and its been pretty easy for me too. I hope I dont get tempted into going to halloween parties when the time comes..

Jeni26

I went 7 weeks at first and it was pretty straightforward compared to what I read from others posts. Then I had a bad day at work, and my brain seized. I had bought a bottle of vodka and drunk it before I'd even rationalised it in my brain. Scary.
I am determined never to get complacent again. That urge to drink is patient but deadly. Stay away from unhelpful thoughts that whisper it will be ok to drink again. They lie.....

Good luck on your journey x

Islandboy32

Yeah that's one thing I've avoided so far is putting my self in social situations where temptation might occur.. That will be the true test though.. Being in a drinking environment and not drinking..

Dee74

I'm *really* glad to hear you're thinking that...don't forget that... that will keep you grounded Islandboy

way to go

D

trikuza

yeah, i once went 4 months without drinking. And at the 4 month mark I was thinking to myself "I clearly have control over my alcohol consumption, ive proved it to myself." So i slowly got back into drinking and every week I got more and more out of control. And here I am lol

justhadenough

I had 6 weeks, felt great, loved not drinking and then wham-out of nowhere,bad day,horrendous cravings and I drank for 7 weeks. I'll be expecting it this time-please be careful-it hits when we least expect it

convictedchef

Every time I think its going easy, I start to figure I've got it licked. Or wasn't that bad to begin with. So I go out and remind myself how bad I really am.

An oldtimer used to talk a lot about the pink cloud. It was his name for this time in early sobriety when life is getting better every day, you don't feel sick and you start having money in your wallet when you wake up and maybe even your loved ones don't hate you, because you're a lot better behaved.

Compared to what we were enduring a few weeks prior, life seems easy.

It ain't. Soon enough the stresses of 'sober' life will arrive. That's when we need the people and program that all too often we began neglecting when that first 30 day chip was too easy to get.

Dee74

Welcome to SR convictedchef

D

convictedchef

Thanks. I need to be here. I wonder how I've never found this place before. I've always needed a recovery space that was available when I got off work at 12:30 or 1am. When the bar is open (and I'm already there) but AA meetings are over.

YVRguy

I agree convictedchef , the improvements and changes in the early weeks will hit a wall. I get them at 30-60-90 days and well haven't been past 90 days in a long time if ever.

I have a crew of old timers in my life and they are the people I will go to when the novelty of sobriety wears off and I face the reality of living life on life's terms. I am on better footing but the journey has hardly begun.

Bgh2002

I know what you mean Islandboy, it does seem easy. My mom asked me today "is it really as easy as your making it out to be or are you pretending?" I think its just after all the abuse we have put ourselves through, the constant madness, a little bit of sanity feels really great and makes it easy, like convictedchef said. Still needs to be watched though.

Islandboy32

Why should they hit a wall? And why? I'm going to be optimistic about this.. When I got out of the hospital I faced the most stressfull time of my life.. ALL I wanted to do was drink the stress away but I will powered through it. If I got through that with out drinking I can get through anything with out drinking.

Natom

Hey Island,

I remember thinking that at various stages in my recovery. But like others have said it is not hard to go from a serene happy stage to the danger zone pretty quickly. It's just about not becoming complacent. As you move further along in your recovery your mind seems to balance out. Well at least mine has to some degree....lol

freshstart57

Islandboy, it sounds to me like you really do have this thing figured out. Do you really and truly accept that you can't drink, you must not drink, and you won't drink? It can take some pretty heavy sober thinking to get to that place in your mind and that place in your life.

There will be those times, as you've been told, when the stresses of sober life will loom pretty large, but those stresses are easier to deal with when you are sober and can bring your full faculties to bear.

You can get sober if you believe in yourself and have the confidence in yourself to do what you need to do for yourself. There are folks who do exactly this and you can be one of them. Onward!

Phils69

I stopped in March and I have not had a craving since like month one. Now I very seldom think about it and when I do it's just a fleeting thought with no cravings. I just got it in my head it's a non factor in my life. I can't tell you how much I wish I had done this years ago. How much more I could have done with my life. Now I look forward to doing the things I always wanted to do but was too lazy because of drinking all the time. Good riddance I say.

MalkavianEmily

I've had times when it's been easy, and times when it's been a lot less so. And it's not been all one way. Overall, it's got easier as time has gone on. But on a day to day basis... no, it hasn't.
For me, the first time I got to about 28 days, I was feeling pretty good. Not thinking too much about drinking, and when I got the urge, I'd pick up the phone and talk to someone.
And then at about 35 days, it wasn't so easy. I can't give a good reason why, but it got harder. So much so that on about day 40 I found myself buying a bottle of vodka I never went in for. [I'd gone in for a carton of milk, and nearly managed to just get that.]
So yes... enjoy it being easy. But don't let it make you think that you can drink like ordinary folks... That's an easy way to slip.