500 days of sober
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,632
500 days of sober
Hi all -
Tomorrow marks my 500th day sober.
After trying for years and years, I am still in disbelief that I made it this far, and grateful that I kept trying and it finally took.
I believe the difference for me leading up to this success was a shift from viewing failure as shameful, to recognizing failure as deficit in my skills of living sober - and skills are learnable by asking myself 'what could I do differently next time. I'd like to recap the 3 part act of the journey so far in case it helps someone with their journey. SR has been my only recovery tool.
1 - 6 months
The first 6 months were pretty rough for me - I was constantly tired, and although clarity started to return, my brain was quite foggy. The physical rebound, and a new motivation to get things done were the first to bounce back though - and it was much better than while I was drinking. I decided to start caring for myself - and mostly took it easy & focused on self discovery and building awareness of my own needs. Vitamins helped.
6 - 12 months
The next 6 months I returned to school, and this increased my stress levels greatly, tested both my energy and mental processing. I felt great quite effective in my daily tasks again, and was getting feedback that I demonstrate a high level of self awareness, but not yet emotionally or interpersonally. By the end of the year, I realized a new insight: that alcohol wasn't about alcohol - it was just a vehicle for me to manage my emotions - and I have a lot of emotions.
12 months - now
Arriving at the year mark, I finally understood that recovery is different than sobriety. Recovery is all about learning the life skills that I skipped out on developing in my 20s. So now I'm focusing on emotional growth - both managing and expressing my emotions, how I communication, and how I connect with people. I've started a relationship with someone for the first time in 5 years.
Going forward
I feel like the past 500 days have been the best of my life, and this is a journey that is only just starting and it will continue to get better and more fulfilling.
A big thanks to SR for being an invaluable community that has been an invaluable companion on this journey. You guys are awesome!
Tomorrow marks my 500th day sober.
After trying for years and years, I am still in disbelief that I made it this far, and grateful that I kept trying and it finally took.
I believe the difference for me leading up to this success was a shift from viewing failure as shameful, to recognizing failure as deficit in my skills of living sober - and skills are learnable by asking myself 'what could I do differently next time. I'd like to recap the 3 part act of the journey so far in case it helps someone with their journey. SR has been my only recovery tool.
1 - 6 months
The first 6 months were pretty rough for me - I was constantly tired, and although clarity started to return, my brain was quite foggy. The physical rebound, and a new motivation to get things done were the first to bounce back though - and it was much better than while I was drinking. I decided to start caring for myself - and mostly took it easy & focused on self discovery and building awareness of my own needs. Vitamins helped.
6 - 12 months
The next 6 months I returned to school, and this increased my stress levels greatly, tested both my energy and mental processing. I felt great quite effective in my daily tasks again, and was getting feedback that I demonstrate a high level of self awareness, but not yet emotionally or interpersonally. By the end of the year, I realized a new insight: that alcohol wasn't about alcohol - it was just a vehicle for me to manage my emotions - and I have a lot of emotions.
12 months - now
Arriving at the year mark, I finally understood that recovery is different than sobriety. Recovery is all about learning the life skills that I skipped out on developing in my 20s. So now I'm focusing on emotional growth - both managing and expressing my emotions, how I communication, and how I connect with people. I've started a relationship with someone for the first time in 5 years.
Going forward
I feel like the past 500 days have been the best of my life, and this is a journey that is only just starting and it will continue to get better and more fulfilling.
A big thanks to SR for being an invaluable community that has been an invaluable companion on this journey. You guys are awesome!
That bell or bike person
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: london
Posts: 4,978
Hi S.E ,
Congratulations on the milestone arrived at . A good place to look around and take stock see whats working and what could do with changing .
Certainly for me after the year past things settled down . It's very comfortable and also dealing with those issues and growing is very personally empowering .
Sometimes i think the life skills i've learned have put me in a better place for dealing with stuff than some of my friends who haven't had to work a recovery.
I hope you keep on dealing with it all and keep sober ,
Bestwishes
m
Congratulations on the milestone arrived at . A good place to look around and take stock see whats working and what could do with changing .
Certainly for me after the year past things settled down . It's very comfortable and also dealing with those issues and growing is very personally empowering .
Sometimes i think the life skills i've learned have put me in a better place for dealing with stuff than some of my friends who haven't had to work a recovery.
I hope you keep on dealing with it all and keep sober ,
Bestwishes
m
Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Gatineau, QC, CA
Posts: 5,100
Amazing! Proud of you for this major milestone!
Thanks for sharing your journey, this man is at the beginning but look forward to walking the recovery steps!
Day 3 for me, foggy as the pits of hell. LOL!
Thanks for sharing your journey, this man is at the beginning but look forward to walking the recovery steps!
Day 3 for me, foggy as the pits of hell. LOL!
☀️⛳️
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,506
Originally Posted by SereneEdition 
Hi all -
Tomorrow marks my 500th day sober.
After trying for years and years, I am still in disbelief that I made it this far, and grateful that I kept trying and it finally took.
I believe the difference for me leading up to this success was a shift from viewing failure as shameful, to recognizing failure as deficit in my skills of living sober - and skills are learnable by asking myself 'what could I do differently next time. I'd like to recap the 3 part act of the journey so far in case it helps someone with their journey. SR has been my only recovery tool.
1 - 6 months
The first 6 months were pretty rough for me - I was constantly tired, and although clarity started to return, my brain was quite foggy. The physical rebound, and a new motivation to get things done were the first to bounce back though - and it was much better than while I was drinking. I decided to start caring for myself - and mostly took it easy & focused on self discovery and building awareness of my own needs. Vitamins helped.
6 - 12 months
The next 6 months I returned to school, and this increased my stress levels greatly, tested both my energy and mental processing. I felt great quite effective in my daily tasks again, and was getting feedback that I demonstrate a high level of self awareness, but not yet emotionally or interpersonally. By the end of the year, I realized a new insight: that alcohol wasn't about alcohol - it was just a vehicle for me to manage my emotions - and I have a lot of emotions.
12 months - now
Arriving at the year mark, I finally understood that recovery is different than sobriety. Recovery is all about learning the life skills that I skipped out on developing in my 20s. So now I'm focusing on emotional growth - both managing and expressing my emotions, how I communication, and how I connect with people. I've started a relationship with someone for the first time in 5 years.
Going forward
I feel like the past 500 days have been the best of my life, and this is a journey that is only just starting and it will continue to get better and more fulfilling.
A big thanks to SR for being an invaluable community that has been an invaluable companion on this journey. You guys are awesome!
Tomorrow marks my 500th day sober.
After trying for years and years, I am still in disbelief that I made it this far, and grateful that I kept trying and it finally took.
I believe the difference for me leading up to this success was a shift from viewing failure as shameful, to recognizing failure as deficit in my skills of living sober - and skills are learnable by asking myself 'what could I do differently next time. I'd like to recap the 3 part act of the journey so far in case it helps someone with their journey. SR has been my only recovery tool.
1 - 6 months
The first 6 months were pretty rough for me - I was constantly tired, and although clarity started to return, my brain was quite foggy. The physical rebound, and a new motivation to get things done were the first to bounce back though - and it was much better than while I was drinking. I decided to start caring for myself - and mostly took it easy & focused on self discovery and building awareness of my own needs. Vitamins helped.
6 - 12 months
The next 6 months I returned to school, and this increased my stress levels greatly, tested both my energy and mental processing. I felt great quite effective in my daily tasks again, and was getting feedback that I demonstrate a high level of self awareness, but not yet emotionally or interpersonally. By the end of the year, I realized a new insight: that alcohol wasn't about alcohol - it was just a vehicle for me to manage my emotions - and I have a lot of emotions.
12 months - now
Arriving at the year mark, I finally understood that recovery is different than sobriety. Recovery is all about learning the life skills that I skipped out on developing in my 20s. So now I'm focusing on emotional growth - both managing and expressing my emotions, how I communication, and how I connect with people. I've started a relationship with someone for the first time in 5 years.
Going forward
I feel like the past 500 days have been the best of my life, and this is a journey that is only just starting and it will continue to get better and more fulfilling.
A big thanks to SR for being an invaluable community that has been an invaluable companion on this journey. You guys are awesome!
Absolutely fabulous, reading your timelines also helps people like me to know what I can expect down the line, the first 6 months certainly was just like mine.
Congratulations.
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