bradley26

Hi everyone , i just wanted to ask others when you stopped counting the number of days sober that you had been. Today is day 88 for me and its the longest i've gone without a single drink in 8 years, but im getting a bit depressed with counting the days i just wanna forget about it, sometimes i think x amount of days so what. Any advice is really appreciated , i dont post much but when i do all you peeps have been great helping me, its a nice place to come for help as i dont have many friends and the few i do have are heavy drinkers. Thanks again.

Goat

Some people count days and some don't.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that it doesn't matter as long as it's not just the old Voice 'o Alcohol trying to get you to do away with something you use for recovery support.

doggonecarl

Why would counting depress you? Eighty-eight days is a wonderful accomplishment. Every sober day should be a blessing and you should be proud of every single one.

You can stop counting if it's hindering your recovery, though you'd have to explain to me how that could be the case. I would caution you though about what you are trying to forget. I am sure you'd like to forget the struggle and just start enjoying the fruits of sobriety. But in the process, don't forget why you are getting sober and don't forget the hard work that goes into recovery.

By the way, I count...the months. Too many days sober to keep track of. And I'm proud that I can say that. After 35 years drinking, I thought I'd never quit.

mecanix

I keep track of them as i like to see how far i've come , to me it's quite an achievement feeling glad every morning i wake up without a hangover and having made it through till the end of the day without it , considering where i came from ..

I know for some who drink again it can be demoralizing , it's why i try to talk in terms of learning to ride a bicycle , as we all had wobbles and tumbles at the begining . My SR journey started 10 years after the first time i realized i drank too much ( a looser drunk) and needed to quit it completely if i were to live a normal life , and i joined 3 months after i quit for the very last time (i hope) .

Bestwishes, M

yukonm

I think I stopped counting days after 90, then started counted months until my one year. After a year, my milestones came in every half year....ie 1-1/2 years. I've been sober now over 5 years. My anniversary is 8/21/07. When someone asks me how long I've been sober I say....over 5 years.

MidnightBlue

Hi, Bradley.

Great sobriety job with 88 days.

I think I stopped counting when I reached 90 days or one hundred (over six months now). So, you are not far from it)

IMHO it's important to keep yourself occupied and set some goal to focus on, something that's interesting and you are passionate about. Sobriety gives us a chance to re-open the world around, and that's great. And what is more, finally I started to shift from this "things happen to me" attitude to "I make things happen". So, I just have no time to count days.

Best wishes to you, keep it up.

rainyengland

Oh man - that used to drive me mad!

Funny this time as I'm not doing it anymore since stopped drinking - I'm kind of taking that as a good sign !

We're all different an whatever work is all good !

Tammy47

hi Bradley, well done on 88 days after 8 years. Be proud! Personally I don't count the days, it feels like overkill for me, that is. I'm about 2 months. Having given up in Feb, I will probably use that as my guide and now and then count up the months and hopefully years. Each to their own of course. While I make sobriety my priority, day counting for some odd reason, makes me wanna drink. Mad I know! Continued success

Maylie

I used to count the days but then I started to feel as if counting the days made the time go SO slow. I also have decided not to count the days because since I have decided I am NEVER using again, there is no reason to count everyday for the rest of my life. I have decided that I am never using and therefore everyday I work on my recovery, I stay sober, and I try to be the best person I can possibly be.

Whether you count days or not is a personal thing. The most important thing is that you work on your recovery every day and stay sober, beyond that is just personal preference.

Keep up the good work, you're doing great!

neferkamichael

Bradley, 88 days? You are FANTASTIC. Congratulations. 1022 days and counting.

Jean77

Everybody is different and you need to do what feels right to you.

My first AA meeting there was a woman celebrating her 26yrs clean. Pretty awesome but I doubt she counted each day. Days turn into months that turn into years (hopefully). Just be able to reflect on the days that had to be counted to get you where you are and where you don't want to go back to.
Congrats on 88days, Day 5 and counting. :-)