ZPQX

Hi,

Today is my 3rd day sober after many years of heavy drinking. Yet it feels like it was MUCH longer ago since I quit. I can't really remember the drinking phase clearly.

Does this sound familiar? And why is this? My theory is that if you drink heavily all the time, you don't really remember much so it seems like not much went on.

doggonecarl

For me, the first three days, staying sober was one minute at a time, so I understood why it felt like forever. Time literally dragged.

Memory and recovery is a strange thing. I wouldn't be surprised that in a couple weeks you forget why you quit. Watch out for that.

Fly N Buy

Glad you're here soberly posting!
Welcome

The fog slowly lifts - at first, you're body is simply saying - Hey, WTH! I feel better......
Soon, you mind and soul will be onboard as well.

Keep coming back,
Kind Regards
FlyN

LBrain

It took months before my mind started to improve. And at a year, I don't feel I'm 100% but getting better every day.

ScottFromWI

I agree with all of the above. My mind was working overtime in all areas the first couple weeks. It makes sense really - if you are drunk all the time your mind is basically sedated. Once you take away the sedatives, it's going to take some time for things to balance out. I had "foggy" brain for a while after that too - I was clumsy, forgot simple stuff, etc. Sometimes i'd just stop in my tracks or mid sentence and my mind would simply "lock up" for a few seconds for lack of a better term. Fortunately all that went away after a while.

Janis

Yes, I've been sober 8 days and it feels longer, however, I have to beware of that because I'm a relapser and the reason I relapse is I "forget" the drinking phase and the pain that caused me to get sober.

Good job and I hope that your journey leads you to continued sobriety. I was feeling horrible and detoxing at day 3 so you're in a better place than I was.

GracieLou

I could not remember what feeling drunk felt like because the middle part was gone. I felt more drunk after I stopped drinking then during.

What I mean by that is I drank so much and so often that I never felt drunk. It was like I went from drink one to black out. That buzz feeling in the middle did not happen anymore for me.

When I stopped drinking it almost reminded me of how I used to feel years ago. Dropping things, clumsy, could not remember what I was going to say or why I walked into a room. I was tripping over my emotions and my feelings. Time seemed to stand still and then boom it was a week later. Sort of reminding me of a night of drinking. I got to the bar, had a drink and boom it was last call. I would forget all the stuff in the middle.

Rollercoaster for sure. At least it slows down and it even stops sometimes so you can get off and get your bearings before the next ride.

The good thing is that it gets better. I remember everyday now and have no trouble recalling last week or last month

Soberpotamus

As I got sober, my sense of the passing of time... enlarged. Odd thing Memory does improve, cognitive processes, emotions... all of it. Hang in there.