30 days sober today!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 1
30 days sober today!
Hi All,
Long time reader, decided to take the leap and post today, hopefully, my experience can help some people in their need for sobriety.
I've been drinking rather heavily for the last 10 years, to the point 30 days ago where I decided enough is enough... After several failed attempts at sobriety, horrible accidents with broken bones and scars, embarrassment, horrible anxiety, out of control finances, degrading relationships, you get the point... It's time to take back control.
For people thinking, its too late to stop drinking, the damage is done, it's not true, the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago, the second best time is today, life is a finite thing, it's best not to waste it.
My previous drinking consisted of alcohol from morning until night when I passed out, 7 days a week, I was ignoring everything important in my life and alcohol really took over, everything was planned around drinking...
The first 8 days were absolutely horrific, the withdrawal symptoms were incredible, insomnia, horrible nightmares, weakness, sweats, headaches and some audible hallucinations, I strongly recommend that people seek proper professional help when you stop, going cold turkey worked for me but it is dangerous, hopefully, I don't need to, but I would never do that again.
The biggest shock to sobriety was my favourite hobby of drinking being taken away, wow, I have so much time... I've started my old hobbies again and kept busy. This (for me anyway) is the absolute key to sobriety, not having idle time, plenty of things to stimulate you, entertain you and fulfil you as a normal functioning human. Achievement is brilliant, building something; be it a hobby thing or a business, it has restored a lot of self-worth I was previously stripped of.
I've had a few times I've thought about drinking again, once at around day 5 when I felt like death would be a better option than sobriety, and day 18 when my mood swings took a swing too low and I felt tired of everything, I just remembered that tomorrow will be different, and it was, completely, sleep reset me and I got my focus back.
The best bits of being sober for me have been (so far):-
1. Breakfast (and food in general)
2. Not hunting for alcohol
3. Restoring relationships
4. Returning confidence and self-worth
5. Having much more savings
6. Weight loss
7. Enjoying life as it should be!
Thanks to you all for reading, it's a pleasure to join the community, I hope you all are doing well on your road to recovery.
Best wishes,
Deetotal
Long time reader, decided to take the leap and post today, hopefully, my experience can help some people in their need for sobriety.
I've been drinking rather heavily for the last 10 years, to the point 30 days ago where I decided enough is enough... After several failed attempts at sobriety, horrible accidents with broken bones and scars, embarrassment, horrible anxiety, out of control finances, degrading relationships, you get the point... It's time to take back control.
For people thinking, its too late to stop drinking, the damage is done, it's not true, the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago, the second best time is today, life is a finite thing, it's best not to waste it.
My previous drinking consisted of alcohol from morning until night when I passed out, 7 days a week, I was ignoring everything important in my life and alcohol really took over, everything was planned around drinking...
The first 8 days were absolutely horrific, the withdrawal symptoms were incredible, insomnia, horrible nightmares, weakness, sweats, headaches and some audible hallucinations, I strongly recommend that people seek proper professional help when you stop, going cold turkey worked for me but it is dangerous, hopefully, I don't need to, but I would never do that again.
The biggest shock to sobriety was my favourite hobby of drinking being taken away, wow, I have so much time... I've started my old hobbies again and kept busy. This (for me anyway) is the absolute key to sobriety, not having idle time, plenty of things to stimulate you, entertain you and fulfil you as a normal functioning human. Achievement is brilliant, building something; be it a hobby thing or a business, it has restored a lot of self-worth I was previously stripped of.
I've had a few times I've thought about drinking again, once at around day 5 when I felt like death would be a better option than sobriety, and day 18 when my mood swings took a swing too low and I felt tired of everything, I just remembered that tomorrow will be different, and it was, completely, sleep reset me and I got my focus back.
The best bits of being sober for me have been (so far):-
1. Breakfast (and food in general)
2. Not hunting for alcohol
3. Restoring relationships
4. Returning confidence and self-worth
5. Having much more savings
6. Weight loss
7. Enjoying life as it should be!
Thanks to you all for reading, it's a pleasure to join the community, I hope you all are doing well on your road to recovery.
Best wishes,
Deetotal
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,569
I'm so glad you posted, deetotal. 
Congratulations on your one month free of alcohol.
I had a very similar story & drinking pattern - but I went on trying to manage my drinking for 30 yrs. I left a trail of destruction & chaos in my wake. No problems were ever solved - but many new ones were created. I thought alcohol gave me an escape, a vacation from everyday troubles. I never imagined I'd end up dependent on it - drinking all day, with a ruined life. It feels wonderful to be free.
Congratulations on your one month free of alcohol.I had a very similar story & drinking pattern - but I went on trying to manage my drinking for 30 yrs. I left a trail of destruction & chaos in my wake. No problems were ever solved - but many new ones were created. I thought alcohol gave me an escape, a vacation from everyday troubles. I never imagined I'd end up dependent on it - drinking all day, with a ruined life. It feels wonderful to be free.
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