CriticalMass

Day 73. This is the longest I have been since I was 18 years old. I am now 23. The second longest was 27 days earlier this year. I've learned a few things in this time that I would like to share. These may not be applicable to everyone. Take from them what you will:

1. Cravings won't immediately go away, but they will ease up
2. You will still have difficult times
3. Anxiety, depression, and stressful life situations don't go away when you quit drinking, but you are no longer using a problem to solve a problem.
4. You may not lose weight, but you will look BETTER, healthier, more vibrant
5. You will never wake up in the morning wishing you had given into the temptations of the night before.
6. Sobriety is work; good things take effort
7. You get out of sober living what you put into it
8. Arguing over if alcoholism is a disease or what program is the most effective is, in the most part, pointless. People need to find what works best for themselves and embrace it. What helps someone is what's best for them.
9. Having a plan and having support is imperative.
10. You'll find yourself with abundance of free time; use it to find a new way to enjoy your life.
11. A sob story is no excuse for a failed recovery
12. The power of motivation is unequaled


Take care of yourselves guys. I could add many more; I just really felt the need to update on my progress. Please feel free to add your own. I'd love to see this grow.

Also, in lieu of #9 (support), I could use some affirming words. The holidays have been bringing temptations back into my life. Thoughts such as, "If you've been this long, surely you never really had a problem" have surfaced. I know they are not true, and I won't let them trip me up again, but I could use some words of encouragement.

Though I do not post frequently, I read often. I'm grateful to have SR as a support system, and I wish you all the best.

Well wishes & Happy Holidays!

CM

Dee74

Congrats on your progress CM

D

SlickRick07

Glad to see other young people on here. I am 24 and am 2 weeks in. Keep it up.

mecanix

The way my thinking goes here , if drinking wasn't a problem then i don't need to rush into the decision now about going back , why not take a month or two to think about it before i decide about drinking, time to consider it . My emotional response was always interesting when i said this to myself . Alcohol will always be there we don't need to be in a desperate rush to go back, if we are then i think that is a symptom of a problem ..

Quite often the next day or week came round after deciding to put off the instant decision and on reflection, i was really glad i'd not been tempted to cave on a cusp decision and give myself time to be considered, as always my considered opinion has been , drinking is no good for me .

Bestwishes, m

GracieLou

Congratulations on 73 days! That is awesome.


If you feel you need to say anything back, tell them you are in remission.

It is true. I am not cured, I am in remission. If I have one drink I will be right back were I was.

I know it is hard for others to understand, especially for those that can drink and not have the same cravings or obsession that I have. I have come to a point that is does not matter if they understand. There are people in my life that do and that what makes the difference for me.

When I share, as you have, I tend to do it with the people that understand me. That may sound selfish but it does me no good going around and around with someone that does not and I don't think it does them much good either.

I think they, like me, have to come to a point that they may never understand. They just need to accept it.

Lorax1981

Good stuff! I like the one about never wishing you gave in to the temptation. It might seem nice the night of the party but I have never since getting sober woken up and said "man I wish I had a nasty hangover":-)
-Ted