Glendora8

There are times when I can have 2 or 3 drinks socially. This has not been the case in about a year. I have had a very stressful year and am under a lot of pressure right now. I can go about 10 days avoiding alcohol and events that include drinking (for me). Then I get loaded. I need to completely quit, obviously. I have gone to meetings in the past but find them depressing. I need to be strong enough to stay completely away from booze!!

least

Welcome to the family. I had the help of an addiction counselor the first few years of my recovery. I also come here to SR every day to read and post.

I hope the support here can help you get sober for good.

Anna

Welcome!

Take a look around here and you will see there are many paths to recovery.

Glendora8

I think that the support here will help. I see a therapist now who helps me, she try's to encourage me to go to meetings. I think that I am just being stubborn and lazy. I am very lonely. It would be good to meet sober folks. I also have a hard time trusting people

least

Try going to a few meetings. You may be pleasantly surprised by the welcome you'll get.

Dee74

Welcome Glendora
Alcoholism is progressive so it's great you're deciding to tackle this now rather than later

You'll find a lot of support here

D

lovetolisten

I am right there with you, Glendora. Since I joined SR (December), I stopped drinking and going to bars during the week, which is great progress for me. But Friday nights just get me. I tell myself I will be able to control it and only have a couple - sometimes that is successful. But too many times it turns into blackout drunk, still being drunk at 7 a.m. the next morning and a 24 hour+ hangover. I have told myself for 15 YEARS that if given another chance, I'll control it. And sometimes it works, which is the worst kind of reinforcement. I talked myself out of being an alcoholic for years because I could go days at a time without drinking and didn't drink to excess every time. But the fact that I can't quit when I say I will; don't keep the boundaries I give myself just hours before I start drinking, think about drinking all the time, and drink so much that I can't function the next day - it's alcoholism. It is not lost on me that this is a progressive disease. It used to be for every 9 "controlled" days of drinking (2-3 and no bad behavior or hangover), there would be one bender. I'd say now it is about 1 in 2. Intellectually, I know where this is going. I've had enough chances to "prove" I could control my drinking. I can't. And thus, I can't drink.

Glendora8

It will good to have this all behind me. I know now that drinking just not an option for me. If been numbing my pain with booze since I was 15, now I'm 50. I can't take this anymore. I just want some piece. I have some recent really good luck and I can't even appreciate this because in the back of my mind is the booze,.

Pressmetilihurt

I signed up for a program. Outpatient. It's really cool. If you have insurance you can do it. I never thought taking off work was worth it until my friend died. He drank himself to death. A program can't twist your arm but they can motivate you, help you detox, stabilize you physically and emotionally. Try it.

Soberwolf

Welcome Glendora here are some useful SR links really nice to meet you

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ful-links.html

FreeOwl

Needing never did me much good at all.

When it came to sobriety, wanting brought me success.

Where are you on the needing-wanting spectrum?

Delilah1

Welcome Glendora,

You will find lots of support on SR! Coming up with a solid plan will help. There are lots of great resources both online and face to face.

I am using SR and Women for Sobriety. Also, I am really working on mindfulness, I still haven't come close to mastering it, but I am using it every day.

❤️Delilah

Glendora8

I want to stop drinking!!!!

biminiblue

Good.

That means you don't pick up a drink today when you are anxious, angry, bored, lonely, hungry, tired, frustrated, scared, happy, celebrating, someone asks you to, it's Monday, it's 5:00, I had a bad day/good day or any of the other excuses you (and I) used in the past.

Today, put some clean sheets on the bed and go to bed sober. Let's talk again tomorrow and see how you feel.

Glendora8

Awesome!!

PurpleKnight

You can do this Glendora!!

I couldn't rely on myself though to be strong, or have enough willpower, or good intentions, instead what got me through was relying on the support around me, addiction can be convincing in isolation, so when the chips were down having something outside of myself to keep me focused on the task at hand made all the difference!!

BixBees505

GREAT thread. Glendora, so glad you are here.

Glendora8

Yes it's too easy for me to let me guard down and to give myself "permission" to drink. A part of me sees it as a reward. I know I need the support of other to keep it real!

Soberwolf

We'll keep it real with you & were with you all the way

Roadr440

Hey Gendora8, Welcome to SR.

The only way I have found to stop the craziness was to take Action, the key for me was not to expect miracles I had to get out there and actually do some stuff in recovery in order to start feeling better about myself.

Sobriety gives back your life.. It may be a different life than you have now, but I guarantee it will be a better one.

Stick around, keep reading and posting...