May28

Hello everybody, I'm new here.

I've been toying with the idea of a 6-month trial of sobriety, considering the fact that I did so well on a similar 3-month stretch last year. What ended said stretch, oddly, was a bit of a (TMI) constipation problem.

Now that I seem to have everything else in gear, I've been considering the idea of starting out with six months and then seeing if I want to go even further after that period ends. In my mind, I will hopefully decide to go further.

I want to see how much weight I can lose (I'm already 155 pounds, but it can't hurt to lose bloat) and how healthy I can feel after this time span.

Is this a normal strategy for recovering addicts? I feel sometimes like there's no place to talk about this 'gray area' but this community seems like a decent place to discuss such topics. I really want to quit, but I guess I'd like to warm my psyche up to the idea of it entirely.

Any thoughts on this topic are appreciated and will be taken into account. Thank you all so much.

MantaLady

Most of us with a drinking problem do not have the option to give up for a 6 months and then return to drinking and be able to moderate long term. We always end up back in the hell of addiction and sometimes get in a worse state than the last time we gave up. For me, I didn't set a long term target of any kind to start with, all I have done is decide that I won't drink today.

Do you have a problem with alcohol or are you just wanting to do this for general health and wellbeing?

doggonecarl

I think it is normal for many addicts and alcoholics to struggle to commit to long-term sobriety.

It is also suggested to those who are not sure if they have a drinking problem, to quit for a set period of time and see how it goes. If they struggle, then perhaps they should consider the possibility that they have a problem with alcohol. If a stretch of sobriety eliminates the problems that brought them to SR, it is hoped that they continue with sobriety.