Eddie2010

Thanks for being here SR. It helps to know so many others have the same problem and knowing that I'm not just a loser. I told myself Friday that enough was enough. It isn't bad enough that I need to be hospitalized, but it's bad and I'm tired of losing days of my life to blackouts and missing out on life.

It's comforting and helpful to read the comments, stories and suggestions. Looks like I'll be reading SR a lot more and I just need to keep reminding myself "Never have that first drink!". My main problem was I'd make it two weeks and start believing I was fine and could start being a social drinker again. Wrong.

Any tips for when you're feeling confident? I try to remember the bad moments when feeling tempted, but it's uncanny how I can forget those when I should remember them the most. I haven't been to AA, but I have found a group to hang out with who have quit.

Thanks.

vegibean

Yeah, once we feel better, we get that "well, I'm okay now, let's go get a drink!" and then you're right back to that crappy hell again.

I can only say that the one thing that seems to help the most is when it's gotten so bad, that knowing if you pick up again is going to be deadly and/or disastrous. When the pain is more than the pleasure.

Please share with us too, if you need help, you'll get lot's of support here. Welcome to SR Eddie.

LexieCat

I suggest you give AA a try. Just remembering the last drink, or what can happen if we pick up, doesn't work for a lot of people. You get some time, things feel really good, you get confident you can handle it. Or you are overcome with an attack of amnesia.

Moderation didn't work for me, and I tried it for four and a half years. I've now spent the same amount of time sober, and believe me, sober is easier.

MIRecovery

Your issue is one of the reasons AA works for me. On a regular basis someone walks in that has had the $hit kicked out of them by alcohol and drugs. One look at them and I am reminded that it is not getting any better out there. I am reminded that I never want to go back regardless of the lies my addiction tells me

Xune

What works for me;

' If I drink alcohol, it will destroy my life and slowly kill me.'

I fully accept, understand and believe it.

I think about that fact everyday. Posting on SR helps that realization stay in the forefront.

My addiction tries to convince me otherwise, after I acknowledge the addictive thought...I dismiss it as nonsense and carry on with my sobriety.

Alcohol is no longer an option for me.

hypochondriac

Welcome to SR Eddie

That road to acceptance is a long one, well it is for me. I may not have picked up in this attempt at sobriety but the want/need/inclination has been there. I am treating sobriety as some kind of experiment. I have been drunk for over a decade, now it's sobrieties turn (sp?). I'm just seeing what happens if I don't drink. If I am really happy or want to celebrate or if things are really bad I just won't drink. No matter how bad things get I just won't drink. Many things have helped me stick with it along the way, including AVRT and AA, but most of all just SR, and knowing that I don't have to drink

Glad you're here x

LindaLou

Hi Eddie,

When I feel like I can have "just one" I stop and think "One won't hurt, what have I got to lose?"

What do you have to lose? Friends? Family? Job? Home? Freedom? Your life?

What can you gain from a drink (which for me leads to 10 or more...)? A buzz? A good time? And the next day? Hungover? Feeling like crap? Maybe jail time?

This is what I try to look at. A drink is just not worth the pain.

silly

Moderation lies to you. It tells you that you "need" one more to be safe against withdrawal. Or safe against that persistent need. Safe against the questioning of your friends and family. It will never give you those things. Never. "One is one too many and one more is never enough"

paul99

I haven't heard of moderation working for anyone...unless they weren't alcoholic in the first place. Confidence for me started to come when I dealt with the causes and conditions that compelled me to pick up in the first place, that I could see that alcohol was just a symptom of something deeper and didn't need the buzz anymore.

I have confidence that I have a wonderful life with alcohol no longer being on the menu.

soberclover

Moderation didn't work for me either despite my eight years of trying! I can't drink. My body won't process it any more. My doctor told me I was lucky I didn't die as a result of my latest episode. I want to live to see my son turn in to the wonderful person I see him becoming. I'm glad that you are finding support.

2granddaughters

I know what you mean by "confident" (I call it cocky) and it isn't good.

You know that AA is where you belong but you are willing to try "second place" with a pseudo group. Don't sell yourself short !
You know the tip I have .....

All the best.

Bob R

Eddie2010

Yes, it seems like my body can no longer process it either, let alone let me know when to stop.

Anna

I think I was lucky because I never did feel confident. I was so ashamed of who I had become and had so much work to do to repair my relationship with my family, that I didn't have a single day when I had things figured out. By the time a year had gone by, I felt very comfortable with recovery, but I was not tempted to try it out again.

I hope you find something that will work for you.

Dee74

Welcome to SR Eddie

Posting here regularly helped keep it 'real' for me - I found it a lot harder to convince myself I 'wasn't that bad' when I was here reading others stories or posting about my own.

The truth is I was that bad and I needed to accept that - for good.

D