Lionhearted1

I always thought if I just put the bottle down everything would be amazing how wrong I was, everytime i stopped I started feeling worse than when drinking.

I now realise that I had to change the way I think and act more than anything else. Thanks to all the amazing people on here who never judge, iam finally understanding what has been said time and time again..

Thanks

Delilah1

Sounds like good thinking to me Lion!!!

Thepatman

I second that!

pipparina

So true. After we stop drinking, we need to change how we deal with life.

EternalQ

Keep going. Each step takes you to a new level in your insight and understanding.
You will be able to see things that you can't see from where you are now, if you just keep going.

MIRecovery

Until the alcohol fog began to lift I did not realize that alcohol had altered my thinking. To me this is the scariest part of alcoholism. I thought I was thinking right, would swear I was thinking right, believed I was thinking right but I was thinking wrong!

I know that at 3.5 years sober this process is still occuring. My brain needs to reorder itself. My old beliefs and paterns changed. To a large degree I became a new person. While this change was painful at times it was absolutely necessary for long term sobriety

Xune

Well said!

After one stops drinking, a revolution is in order!

Pondlady

How true Lion. I stopped drinking in June and was discouraged when I would read posts talking about waiting till you were 6 - 12 months sober. As I approach the six month mark, I'm really beginning to understand the underlying changes that are necessary for long term contentment and sobriety.

SR has been a rock for me, I learn so much from other's experiences.

2granddaughters

LH1: In AA's 12 Steps alcohol is only mentioned in the first half of Step 1 and not again.

You are discovering why.

All the best.

Bob R

PaperDolls

I just shared something similar in a meeting recently.

I had the misconception that if I got sober, I would become happy. Fact is, I need to learn how to stay sober even when I'm not happy. It's ridiculous for me to think that I will 'live happily ever after' because I'm sober. Life happens. I need to learn how to deal with it like a grownup. I'm still learning. It's pretty cool really.

IndaMiricale

Indeed ...

I highly recommend reading "There's more to quitting drinking , then quitting drinking". By Dr. Paul O..

Its a great read and what a sense of humor.

If you want to get a feel of his story for free. Its the The Doctor,Alcoholic, Addict in the stories of the 3rd Edition of the Big Book. Or in the 4th edition Acceptance is the Answer.

Auvers

Lionhearted, I am beginning to think that alcohol abuse kept me from some developmental stages along the road to maturity, the old arrested development. So, dropping back into life fully sober decades later, seems like the developmental progress just has to pick back up where it left off. Hoping that it is like putting a 20 year old in grade school and the learning curve is fast. What I am saying is that if you are like me, started drinking to have fun, drinking to be accepted and feel cool, drinking to find the words to socialize, drinking to blunt negative emotions, drinking to fill the void ----- we'll, you just have to learn how to do all that another way.

Anna

Yes, you are absolutely right!

I was 'lucky' in a sense because when I finally stopped drinking, my life was in such a mess there was no question in my mind that I needed to change everything. What I didn't know, was how challenging that would be.

Kevah

I was so delusional before I quit drinking. I really truly believed things were a certain way, when in fact, they were not. For example, everyone out to control me and hating me. It just wasn't the case. Now that I really can see clearly, it has become time to catch those thoughts. For me, it works to talk with my sponsor. I know not everyone is in AA and that's fine with me. But honestly, having someone to talk to anytime of the day or night about my racing thoughts or my cravings, my fears and confusion....it helps me tremendously. She has been where I am. I can learn from her experience and walk through this mess. I quoted you, MIR, because it really is scary to look back and see the way I saw things. I really don't know that woman I was before. I now look back at who I was in my dark despair, and kinda feel like I am on the outside looking in, because I really don't understand her. Does that make sense?

FamilyMan2153

Yeah LH, I am still waiting for rainbows and butterflies but I will take a happy head and a grateful heart.

MIRecovery

I do not know about anyone else but it sure makes sense to me. I do not know how else to say it but, "I was crazier than $hit"