NeedToFixMe

I've pretended long enough. It's definitely time to take control of my life. I'm a terrible person when I drink, and I am drinking every single day. LOTS. I've been dodging a bullet for years as far as my career goes. It's the same story as most of you all have, I'm sure, so there's no need to rehash it. My question for those of you who have taken control of your life back is this: How do I start? What exactly did you do the first day, and the second day and even the third day to start your road to recovery?

Abraham

Well this may not help much but on my first day I did not do anything different other than not picking up a drink and drinking it. Still sitting around the house all day with just me and my 9 year old. I did not change a thing other than not drinking. If you dont want to drink, dont. 10 days later I am still doing the same thing. Not drinking.

djlook

NeedToFixMe. Welcome.

I went to AA meetings to be around people like me, and I found them.

least

The first thing I did was to not drink. I distracted myself when I had the urge to drink. I practiced gratitude every day, which helped a lot.

Ghostlight1

The first thing I did was pray to the God of my understanding. Then I called AA.
I drank for thirty five years, the last twenty progressively harder and harder until I was drinking every day, all day.
It took awhile but, with work, my prayer was made real. I haven't had a drink of alcohol in over ten years.
I kept going to AA meetings. I came here. It took action to finally quit. It took effort. It took wanting to be sober more than I wanted to drink.
This took time, and set backs, but here I am. Sober.
You can do it, too.
Find something that works for you and run with it and don't look back.

nadt

Hello.
I committed the night before that I was going to get sober. The next day I was determined not to drink. I found SR and read a lot of threads.
it helped-- especially once i started posting some.

i found people here to be very encouraging and supportive. I did not feel well my first several days, so I spent a lot of time resting and reading threads on SR.

I wasn't able to eat for a while, but once i was, i found that healthy foods, especially fruits worked really well to help me feel a little better.

wishing you the best.

Hevyn

I hope you'll keep posting here, NeedToFixMe. Participating provides a helpful distraction. The encouragement I got from my friends here made all the difference to my recovery. I knew I was no longer alone. Welcome!

Anna

I'm glad you posted and that you are ready to live a sober life.

This link has info on various programs and lots of information on what we did to get and stay sober.

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...at-we-did.html (Recovery Programs & What to Expect (What We Did))

NeedToFixMe

I spent a lot of time yesterday reading threads and it gave me hope and the courage to stand up to my addiction. I did not drink. I feel totally different today. I can't remember the last day I hadn't drank. I'd love to picture myself 6 months from now, with the urge much less than what it is today, but I think taking it one day at a time (as encouraged by nearly everyone) is the only way to attack the beast. I will not be a stranger to this forum. Thank you all for taking the time to reply to me.

ImNotThatGuy

Congratulations on Day One! I'm coming up on five weeks, and I feel better than I have in years. People have been complimenting me out of the blue, "Have you lost weight?" "You look great!" "Did you get botox or something?" and they don't even know that I've quit drinking! Point is, keep it up. The first week or so can be tough. If you have any signs of physical withdrawal, consult your doctor. It gets much easier as time goes on.

Here's what I've been doing:

1. Affirmations: "I like my sober self." "I do not drink." "I will never drink again." "I really like cranberry juice!" Say it enough times and it reprograms your subconscious mind to that of a sober, non-drinker.
2. AVRT -- (look it up) recognizing that lizard brain that only wants to feel good right now and overriding it with the rational desire to be sober has been very important to me
3. Check in here every day and participate when possible. It's good to know that others are in the same boat and that others have enjoyed years of sobriety.

Good luck to you. Keep it up!

columbus

"How do I start? What exactly did you do the first day, and the second day and even the third day to start your road to recovery? "

Don't buy/consume alcohol.

Zebra1275

Welcome to SR!

A lot of good advice has already been given, try some of it.

Abraham

What have you tried so far? How is it going?

DriGuy

I'll second that. I found being around my kind to be hugely therapeutic. I had never experienced a group getting together to celebrate sobriety night after night. It was a completely foreign environment, so right off the bat, assuming you commit yourself to daily meetings, you are already changing your routine in a major way. Knowing a meeting was coming up in a couple of hours kept me from drinking. I loved not drinking and going to meetings. I can't actually put my finger on why this worked so well. It's crazy. I can't explain it. I just felt it.

Some people only showed up once a week. Some only showed three times a week. I couldn't understand why they didn't show up every night. These "sometimers" were doing well enough, and most had a lot of sobriety behind them. It's one of those things, where not everyone emphasizes the same tools. To me, meetings came first. If a friend wanted to get together to do something, I would have to say no if it conflicted with a meeting, and not just because I needed them. I also wanted them. I saw them as my lifeline to sobriety.

Like many others, I eased off in attendance, and eventually stopped going altogether as I moved on to other pursuits when not drinking became my new normal. Whatever you do to keep sober, take it seriously, because that new life is worth it.

least

How are you doing?