DeepBlue

So - today's is the day I stop drinking alcohol. It has taken me quite a few weeks to build up enough motivation to do this. Reading these threads everyday has really helped to get my mind in the right place. I have also been watching endless You Tube videos about alcoholism and other people's experiences. I have just woken up and am feeling hungover and unhealthy - but my mind somehow knows that today is the day.

It would be great to hear from others about what finally make them to take the leap into sobriety and how they got their motivation

Wishing everyone a great day

Treerat66

Good luck DeepBlue.
Do you have a plan?

MrPL

Hi DeepBlue,

Good stuff, you seem determined!

I have to say there wasn't a single event that made me do it, but it also suddenly clicked for me, actually in the beginning of a drinking session. I had commited to sobriety two weeks before that day, then started messing up as usual but when opening can number 3, and taking the first sip It suddenly happened.

It wasn't easy especially in the first few weeks, but stick to this motivation, build a plan and I promise you you can get there.

Wish you all the best.

Mr P

KitKat7575

Sending strength & support, DeepBlue. It may not be easy but you can do this. We're here

I'm on day 27...I stopped on impulse because I felt ill. Very ill. And it was a case of stop now or this is going to end very, very badly. I took to my bed for a few days with shed loads of water & prescribed diazepam (not intended for withdrawal but I knew I didn't have time for rehab before I'd talked myself out of it).

I have since read loads and loads on alcoholism. Especially the physiology. I watched YouTube programmes...enough to scare me to keep me on the path of sobriety. Now I need a back up plan/group for the days I wobble or have the extreme anxiety. AVRT/AA/SMART etc..see what suits. SR has been my saviour so far, tbh.

All the best...as I said, we're here
KK x

Dee74

Hi DeepBlue

I pretty much drank to the point of no choice it was quit or die.

I've never regretted it tho - I go my life back, and I got the real me back.

I have happiness and joy, peace and serenity now.

I wouldn't take a drink for anything

Welcome aboard

D

kenton

Good luck DeepBlue,

Watching my dad die of alcoholism should have been my motivation but such is the strength of addiction, his death made me become an expert at self justification. I spent many many hours drinking and telling myself that somehow I wasn't as much of an alcoholic as he was.

In the end it was after a Halloween party last year when I woke up after a black out and looked at the sad resignation in my husband's eyes. It was as though he had accepted his lot in life... .marriage to an alcoholic who said hurtful, unforgivable things every time she drank. Never wanted to see that look in his eyes again and for the last 197 days I haven't seen that look again. Still early days for me but I got no intention of going back. I'm beginning to feel like I'm worthy of feeling happy and strong. Sending you lots of strength and support

Outonthetiles

I tried a variety of ways to quit, and finally I was able to put two days together, and I started looking on line, found one place that wasn't a good fit, came to SR on day four or five of sobriety, and it's been great ever since. One and done, no relapses, but lots of nail biting drama! Never a dull moment with me.
I didn't make a big thing about quitting. I did it more or less by stealth, no big announcements, no facebook posts, no selfies. I didn't save my last vodka bottle or beer can...I just stopped.

PhoenixJ

welcome- read, post, share, learn -grow.

bimbott

Hi Deepblue,

well done on naming the day! Good luck to you.

I stopped drinking because I wanted to quit smoking for good and I thought it would help. I knew I had a drinking problem, but I didn't mean for my stopping drinking to be forever!

But I started to be honest with myself about my relationship with alcohol, read all I could about addiction (alcohol and nicotine), joined this forum and realised that it couldn't be temporary. I couldn't control my drinking, so I either started drinking again and feeling like cr*p all the time, getting sicker and sicker. Or I didn't. I chose to not.

DeepBlue

Thanks so much to everyone for their good wishes and support. It has given me real strength during today. It's also been very good to hear about the thing that finally helped each of you stop - how different we all are, but we all found our way in the end.

Day 1 is nearly done with - now I just have to face Night1 which I suspect could be a bit sleepless. I've had a few aches and pains today but noting too major in terms of withdrawal apart from a minor panic attach late afternoon. Am keeping an eye on things.

A few people have been asking if I have a plan. I have to be honest and say that the short term plan is just not to drink, and that the longer term plan is to work on me and the reasons for my drinking. But I'm afraid that is as far as it has got! I do know that this is going to mean a lot of work though.

Thanks again to everyone

Shitzupuppy

My plan is that I don't drink. Under any circumstances.
I stopped because I had finally had enough. Enough worries abiut my health, hiding bottles, not remembering what happened, going to different stores so no one caught on,kying to my spouse, yelling at my spouse, being resentful that my spouse wanted me to stop, day drinking, turning every activity into a boozy one, always meeting my neighbors wth booze breath, and back to #1- my health.
I had been sober for several years, and started a slippery slope to one here and there to day drinking every day for a few years.
So i know i cant go back.

DeepBlue

Made it to Day 2 - but with only about 2 hours sleep last night. Even so, it was good to get out of bed without the familiar hangover feeling. I did feel very restless during the night but my body seems to have calmed down now. Yesterday wasn't great but I think possibly the worst of my withdrawal is already over - so happy days!

Good luck to everyone else - especially those in these first few days

PhoenixJ

a plan for me- involves proactive choices. So what will I do when I feel crap instead of booze? What resources do I have? How can I control what I do??
Like post here, mindful breathing, HALTS, art, walking, meetings, counsellor, journal, positive self talk blah.

VigilanceNow

Congratulations Deep blue!! You won't regret it. Like everyone has said, have a solid plan and take it seriously. If you say I'm going to write 3 positive things to do each day, actually write them down and make an effort to do them. In the beginning I had every intention to go about it that way, but didn't do the actions. It becomes more real when you're taking action, showing up, etc.

I too was super sick enough times that I was finally scared straight after having a withdrawal panic attack. I thought ok so these consequences are real... And I decided no more of this! Ever!

BD84

2008 was a long time ago. You need a better plan. A counselor could help you see the why you are drinking. Nothing will change until you fix the why you drink. That has to be fully realized and acknowledged before you can have a solid why you don't drink.

I failed for 2 years until I got the help of a counselor.

Anna

Good job on getting through Day 2. I'm glad you're feeling okay and hopefully you will continue to feel better.

It's good that you recognize you need to do more than stop drinking and that you're prepared to put in the work. I had to do a lot of soul-searching and accept things about myself that I had previously denied. You will always find support here.

Hevyn

Proud of you for getting through those rough first days. The anxiety should settle down soon. You're doing this, DeepBlue - no more alcohol-induced misery.

DeepBlue

Thanks all - beginning of Day 3 now - slept much better last night. Also very happy to see my blood pressure has come right down. These early physical signs are very encouraging and also remind me just how poisonous alcohol actually is. I can still feel it in my system but day by day it is draining away from me. I reckon I should feel it all out of my system by the end of the week. So 7 days is my next goal

Dee74

Day 3 is great DB - congrats

D

D122y

Deep,

I had binged, moderated, drank daily, quit for 2, 3, 4 weeks, over and over for the last 10 years.

I never made it past 27 days. Funny how I knew that....but I still couldn't quit.

I started having moderate physical and mental problems after about 9 days clean, while working out. I nearly collapsed at the gym. I was trying to lose weight, working out on an empty stomach. Rediculous...

I drank the next night...hard for me...about 700 ml of wisky over a 10 hour period.,I napped in the middle of it. Rediculous....

I had a big commitment the next day...across town...with my 11 yo son. I was probably still drunk in the morning. Anxiety through the roof. I could barely drive.

That was my first of now 700+ sober days.

I was still having moderate anxiety at 3 months clean when I stumbled across SR while googling....how long to recover fully from drinking.

I learned...here.... the healing can take years...with relapse looming the whole time. Folks make it a month, 6 months, 2 years, 7 years...and boom...relapse.

So...addiction is for life. There is no going back...once a pickle...no more cucumber.

Sobriety is amazing. Real life is grounding.

Each time I get through a crave, wake up sober, push myself mentally or physically....I revel in my sobriety.

There has never been a time when I woke up wishing I had drank the day before. There were a thousand times I wished I didn't drink. That is addiction.

Addiction is for life.

I have done AA for f2f support. I guess I am not that social. It is there if I start to feel a relapse is looming.

My recovery plan follows a plan similar to what Dee offered. It is a daily list of how to live life sober. I also simply copy my wife and son.

I obviously read and post all the time here. It passes the time and totally keeps me in the right frame of mind to stay content and sober.

Yay.

Thanks.