Tink1402

Hi everyone,
As you can see, I am new here.
I found this site by chance. I am sitting here on my slate trying to keep my mind off the fact that it has just gone 9pm and I am still sober! YAY
I cannot remember the last evening I stayed sober :-(
I have been drinking in the evenings for a long long time.
Most night I am so drunk I cannot remember going up to bed.
Not tonight though! Enough is Enough!
:-)

mecanix

Welcome Tink ,

I said enough is enough 3rd sept 2011 .



Bestwishes, m

Isaiah

Welcome Tink!

Good to hear you're getting through the night without the old habit.

Have plans to give full sobriety a shot? If you've had enough all together then you've got this big, worldwide community here at your back. Happy to have you with us.

-Iz

Hevyn

Welcome to SR Tink! You found a great place for support & encouragement. We know you can do this!

It'll feel strange at first, but each day will get easier and better. I drank all my life and regret the wasted time I spent being numb and foggy. We don't need it in our lives - it does nothing but damage us. Glad you are here.

tootsl1

Tink you have found the right place to begin your journey!

Dee74

thats terrific going Tink - congratulations - and welcome!

D

least

to the site! I'm glad you joined us.

heath480

Welcome to SR Tink.

Eleni58

Welcome Tink! May God bless you and give you the strength to resist drinking.

ImperfectlyMe

Welcome think

Tink1402

Hi Everyone and a big thanks for taking the time to welcome me and send me support.
Well, I made it through the night, I remember going to bed and I woke up without a hangover!
Today I have resisted the urge to buy bottle for tonight so here goes my second evening of being sober :-)

xpander76

You go Tink!
Xxxxx

Eleni58

Keep up the good work!

Sasha4

Tink did you feel fabulous this morning when you woke up and thought 'yes I did it!'

I used to feel like that in the first few months.
Almost like I wanted to bounce on my bed from excitement that I had gone to sleep without a drink.

It was like I could not wait to start my day.
No hangover, no dragging myself out of bed, no thirst, no smudged make up.

I am still doing it 532 days later.
If someone told me a few years ago I would be going to bed sober every night and not drinking during the day of weekends, I would not have believed them 100%.
No way. Not me.

Yet here I am with 532 days that includes 1 wedding, 3 holidays (2 all inclusives) lots of work functions, a couple of 40th birthdays too. All done, attended to, taken part, enjoyed without a drink.

For me it really is true that 'there are many times I have regretted drinking. I have never once regretted not drinking'

Coming here everyday was the key to my success.

I wish you the best
xx

Tink1402

Hi Sasha,
Thanks for your message.
It's great to here your positive thoughts and feelings on staying sober.

I wish I could say I was as positive as you but I am not going to lie about it.

Don't get me wrong, I am loving the lack of hangover and yes, the lack of last nights make-up smudged across my face is great too! But I am feeling completely shattered in the morning still even though I have slept (kind of well).

I am finding it difficult to drop off to sleep as I am worrying about everything. I am having very vivid and upsetting dreams and emotionally I am feeling very low and remorseful for the things I have said and done in the past due to being under the influence of alcohol.

Is it normal to feel like this and can anyone tell me how long it goes on for?

How long does it take for alcohol to get out of your system completely?

I stayed sober again last night so I am giving myself a pat on the back for it but I am wondering how I will feel come the weekend? I also need some ideas and strategies for a few weeks time when I will be going on holiday and then celebrating my birthday.

Sorry for the ramble and for sounding like a moaning mini! I know this is not going to be easy to begin with. I'm fed up of giving up and giving in as soon as the going gets tough! See, now I'm not feeling low, I'm feeling angry. Angry at myself for allowing alcohol to take over my life. How did I not see this happening?

Thanks for reading, any advice gratefully received

:-)

Sasha4

Tink at the start I did know what to think about me and drinking.
All I knew was that drinking made me unhappy and the people I loved unhappy.

Whether I was a full blown alcoholic or not, it did not matter. Drinking just made me unhappy and that was enough to stop.

I think everyone suffers with the sleep issue and the dreams.
I still have the dreams, but less and less as time goes on.

Now I sleep better than I ever have done.
I think years and years of passing out drunk in bed, left me needing good quality sleep.

I also use a one a night sleep tablet available over the counter in UK pharmacies if I am really struggling to sleep. They are not for long term regular use but the y have helped me.

The sleep bit will come in time I promise.
I think we have to learn new ways of falling asleep when we have relied on drink for so long.

For me I had to take it one day at a time.
If someone asked me 'it's my 40th birthday next week will you come and drink' I could only answer with 'I will see'.

I never looked too far ahead and if I did - holidays, new babies, birthdays, christmas I would say to myself 'I will decide nearer the time and if I want to drink then I will drink. But for today I am not going to drink'

I use that style of thinking if I am having a problem or feeling down in the dumps and say to myself 'If the problem is still there tomorrow, I can drink if I want to. But today I am staying sober'.

Honestly, by the time the next day came, the problem had got less or if it even existed anymore.

I have not wanted to spoil my days sober by drinking for a wedding.

Its quite an eye opener doing parties and celebrations sober.

I actually realise these occasions are dull unless you drink.

I see most people were not blackout drinkers like I was. They have a couple then stop. I could never do that.

The people that do drink a lot and often try to pressure you into drinking, are boring, loud and repetitive.

And after they have had a few they don't really notice that you are not drinking as they are so far gone.

xx

Sasha4

The events from the past and your actions, I understand.

I am haunted by some of the things I did. I cannot forget them.

But I am comforted to know that as long as I don't pick up that first drink, then I cannot get drunk, and I will never have to be ashamed or cringe at my behaviour again.
Nobody can laugh, talk behind my back, make jokes at my expense as there was nothing to witness from me. They can talk about someone else.

I think I got to the stage where I was angry that everything was celebrated or enjoyed with booze involved. Why did I and others have to pour great amounts of booze down my neck, not remember anything and every time I thought of the party I wanted to hide as I was so ashamed.

I do think alcohol is a great con. I used it for more confidence. It made me unable to interact at events as I had too much.

I took alcohol to help me sleep and it made me wake at 3am whilst having a huge anxiety.

I do thing we built up what we did more in our minds than other people remember.
I used to think I was being laughed at all the time cos of my antics. I really was paranoid. It was not like that at all. It was all in my head.

Alcohol is a depressant and I think it made me feel very low.
It should be all out of your system physically by 24 hours. Mentally it may take longer.

But is it not a nice feeling knowing that as long as you don"t take that first drink, you will never have to feel let down by your behaviour again?

Just keep going, one day at a time.
Let the days stack up.
Be kind to yourself.
Keep busy.

If I can do it Tink, you can do it too.

I wish you the best

xx

Tink1402

Thanks Sasha,
Great advice and insight to how I feel right now.
I feel better now than I did first thing this morning and I'm actually looking forward to another evening of being sober :-)
Well done to you for getting to 533 days :-)
Keep on going :-)
All the best,
Tink
X

Eleni58

I am on day 5 of sobriety and I have yet to "bounce out of bed full of energy". On the contrary, I am still tired and lazy and have insomnia. Last night I didn't get to sleep until after 5:00 a.m. despite taking 2 sleeping pills and drinking a glass of milk. I know I am still in the healing process and sleeping well and having energy will eventually come. I don't know when it will come, but I'm not too worried about it. Everything takes time and I must have patience.

Tink1402

Thanks Eleni and well done for getting to day 5 :-)
I understand now that I cannot expect things to happen when I want them to, just like most things in life, it is out of my control.
The only thing I can do now is say no to any temptations and take each day as it comes :-)
Take care,
Tink
X