sobersolstice

Some of you may recall my story, but long story short, I was born to be my parent's drinking partner. How do I know this? They told me when I was 16. Both of my parents are alcoholics and when I call them for support, they tell me I'm not an alcoholic and that I should have the willpower to control my drinking. Then I told them to tell me not to drink any time I call. It hasn't really been productive. They get angry and I go out and drink.

My parents coincidentally have the same birthday of March 1st, and I remember trying to quit on that day last year. Lasted a week. Today (2/29 leap year) is supposed to be March 1st. Whatever. It's not about the day, I guess it's more about just doing the thing and sticking to it. Last night, I went on an all day bender after my best friend got left church, and was drinking tequila before eating brunch. She has a solid grip on her drinking and had one drink and was done. I rarely overdo it when I'm with her, but had 4 drinks. The bad part was that I kept boozing after I got home. Now, I have a bunch of work to do, but it's 11:30 in the morning, and I'm in bed reading and posting on here.

I feel too lazy and nauseous to eat. I woke up with a feeling of poison coursing through my veins, and need to address this NOW. I need to create a plan and make it work. Discipline has always been an issue for me, and it's a double edged sword as alcohol kills my motivation. I sometimes feel so apathetic toward everything, that the fact I don't really care about much makes it too easy to fall off of the wagon. I'm 38, with parents that are in their 70's and broke. I bust my ass to help them pay rent and food. No GF, no kids, and a handful of friends that are 'too busy'. I don't even know where I'm going with this. Sorry.

least

Why not choose today to quit drinking? No time like the present.

You may have to stay away from your parents for a while if they are encouraging you to drink or telling you that you don't have a problem.

doggonecarl

Ditto

TODAY!

ScottFromWI

I think you answered your own question right there in BOLD. NOW is today...so why set future date for something that needs to be done today? You'll need to develop some discipline of your own, but for now how about hitting an AA/NA meeting? You'll find some structure there to help you get started. And if you have time to go on all-day-long benders, you have enough time to spend an hour at a meeting.

Carlotta

I agree with Least, Carl and Scott
We cannot bring back yesterday, and when you wake up tomorrow then it will be Today so Today is definitely the day to quit.
You just had what we call a moment of clarity. Act upon it now, don't let it slip away.

amyrose

I always pick the worst timing, but it's spontaneous. For example, I quit February 16th. I have not one, but two, wonderful bottles of champagne that I had every intention of drinking. And then I woke up on the 16th and was done. Bad timing, awesome decision to move on!!! The date doesn't matter is my point. Just start today. As an aside, I help with a pet rescue that does raffles at fundraisers - some champagne would make a great basket for the event so everyone wins.

Coldfusion

Yes, I chose a day to quit. When I asked my wife to help me get to the hospital, I knew I was done drinking for good. I had tried abstaining for a while with the goal of moderating later, but it never worked. So that day, I didn't know how I was going to stay quit but I knew I needed help and the first step was reaching out for help.

Soberwolf

Today

mns1

Choose today SS

sobersolstice

Yeah. I moved to CO from CA to avoid my parents. Mom's in bad shape, so I'll probably go back at some point to spend time with her before she leaves for good. I'd like to be sober and able to say no when I visit again. Interestingly, this hasn't been a problem. If I go out with friends and consciously decide not to drink, I don't.

In a strange way, I've had friends quit or cut back drinking because of my drinking. I guess that's proof positive that whatever they're seeing is enough to impact them in a way that makes them think. If only I had a sober version of myself watching me drink. When I am sober, bars and parties aren't triggers because I mainly drink at home, and I look around and think "I don't want to be that guy".

I was listening to a podcast yesterday, and someone equated how short and valuable our lives are as humans that we should perceive every minute as being worth a billion dollars.

I almost feel like I'm lying when I say I'm going to quit at this point, but considering I've wasted hundreds of thousands of minutes of this precious life, I'm not being fair to myself by doing the one thing that will change everything for the better.

Dee74

There really is no better time than today.

You were born to reach your potential and be anything you want to be
If drinking is destroying you why prolong the suffering?

It''s never impossible to quit, but the longer you put it off, the harder it gets to break out of the mould.

D

IvanMike

Now.

This disease kills people. Trust me, it's not going to ask anyone's opinion if it should or not and which day would be convenient.

The ball is in your court.

Needanewme

I recently stopped again after drinking everyday since thanksgiving.

I picked a sat to stop as there is a great aa group close by that meets at 7 am. I woke up and got my ass there.

I relapsed because I didn't make staying sober a priority (SLIP)

chrcarlson

I quit when I woke up from a drunk, no plan just panicked and had enough. I think others have set a date for themselves and kept it. I couldn't do it that way. When I got to my quit day be ok so I'd put it off a few more days.

sobersolstice

Well, I got through a day without the sauce, and though I ate a lot of junk food through the night, I feel more refreshed and less poisoned.

The physical part only presents itself after around 5pm for me (no idea why that is), but at least I'm not throwing up water into the bathtub and trying to control dry heaves this morning.

Today is my second day, and though not a huge fan of counting and feeling like "oh look at me, I'm at day x!", I need it a bit to validate myself of my efforts in the beginning.

I'm not sure what kind of plan will work best for me. When I stopped for half a year a long while back when I joined, I just deemed alcohol a poison and told myself it's dumb to drink flammable liquids. I stopped on the summer solstice. Maybe I'll tattoo today's date on my forearm. It's my parent's birthday.

I'm going to FIGHT each and every temptation within, start enjoying this amazing backyard I have, and live a healthier life.

Hawkeye13

A plan for times you are tempted helps.
Quitting and recovery are two different things sober--
Make a plan, and actively work on recovery. . ..
That's what I had to do. Just quitting wasn't enough.

Great job on Day 1!

IronPhoenix

There is no right day other than today. Period.

ccam1973

Congrats on making it through the first day SS. Keep going, it gets easier and life gets way better.

Never loose focus on what you want to get out of your life. I spent 20 years drinking my focus away, what a waste of time that I will never get back.

Stay strong today, one day at a time.

doggonecarl

Tattoo this instead:

ICanDoBetter

I tattooed this (still healing) ☺️

image-2281424859.jpg