Sinderos

Now that I'm working a part time job in retail (along with my full time job), I realize how lonely I am. I see couples and families come in. I talk to them as well as the people who are alone. I enjoy interacting with them.

Alcohol is the reason I don't go out and do things so I can meet people. I stay home hiding out with my bottle. I know I would easily make some friends if I would get out instead.

Today I want to make the change. I work 7 am to 4 pm then 5 pm to 9 pm. Instead of going home and drinking at 9, I will put away the clothes that are on my bed, tidy up a bit and play with my pups. I may even start reading the book I checked out from the library over a week ago. I will also check out some of the resources that have been sent to me on here about recovery.

This is a scary step, but I know I can do this. I will be happy in the long term by taking this huge step.

Bunny211

Loneliness and alcoholism go hand in hand.
You are making the right choice.
Early sobriety is difficult but do-able and a few years from now you will look back and be amazed. Life will get goooood. Really good.

ScottFromWI

Glad you are making the choice to quit today Sinderos. I think that you might really benefit from recovery group/meeting type situations as well. Not only would you get to interact with other people, but you would get to interact with people who understand exactly what you are feeling regarding alcohol.

PhoenixJ

ISOLATION AND BOOZE WERE MY ONLY FRIENDS IN THE END...you showed courage and insight in posting here. Next step- try something different. Something really simple- like go for a short walk, just to find one beautiful thing. Or sit in the library and people watch (subtle). Libraries usually have community connections as well. Markets, talks, interest groups. I found art doing this- still very much the loner, but compared to a year ago- better. You need to get out of your comfort zone and get into your courage zone to get un-lonely.
Empathy and support to you. PJ

Soberwolf

Really great to see you Sinderos x

SteveAlex

I heard the people in the rooms are all friends you havent met yet.

Sinderos

Right now I don't want to go to AA. I have been to some here and the people were very nice and friendly. However they were a bit odd. I definitely plan to get support and am going to check into some of the other support systems. SR will definitely be a huge part of recovery for me. I'm even considering a licensed counselor and have found one that my insurance accepts that specializes in addition.

ScottFromWI

The counselor sounds like a fantastic idea, definitely give it a try - especially if your insurance will pay. Regarding my suggestion about live support, there are definitely lots of options out there besides AA. Keep in mind though that all of them are filled with addicts, just like us here - so we are all a little "odd" in that respect ;-) Don't let it scare you off, you are in good company!

Sinderos

I mean odd in the fact that the key speaker/leader was talking about levitation. 🤔

I'm definitely checking into options. It's time to quit toying with the idea of sobriety and walking into it with full commitment.

thomas11

Nice to see you again sinderos. You will find that your life will be much more fulfilling in sobriety or recovery or whatever you choose to call it. Alcohol splits us from the heard and isolates us. Support to you (I stole that from PheonixJ)

ScottFromWI

I would say that is definitely out of the ordinary for just about any recovery group, but don't let it scare you off. For the most part we are all very much the same you'll find. That was one of my problems early on, I thought my addiction/problems were so much different or worse than everyone else. I felt that my problems were unsolvable because I was not like everyone else. But at the end of the day we all have way more in common than we think.

neferkamichael

Sinderos, rootin for ya.

PippoRossi

Glad you are here, Sinderos! You are in good company.

Ariesagain

Can you take your puppies on a walk to a coffee shop or similar? If your dogs are friendly and sociable, there's no better ice breaker in the world.

They would love an outing and it breaks up the isolation/drinking pattern, yes?

Sinderos

There aren't any coffee shops or dog friendly places close enough to walk to. I do plan to take them on more outings. We can walk downtown for exercise and go in any pet friendly places. I can't take them to the dog park because one of them (all 7 lbs of her) wants to "protect" me from the other dogs. She gets nervous then when I pick her up she will growl at the dogs. She does fine with walks though. Totally weird.