It’s been five years since my first post on SR. I thought for sure that the success stories I read weren’t possible for me because of the grip alcohol had on my life. Honestly, I was just hoping for a reprieve from the nonstop physical pain and emotional...everything. I worked with hangovers and counted the hours until I could drink. I moved the goalposts of things that I would “never” do.

Staying by this site - for VERY long stretches in the beginning - gave me the strength to continue on. All of the advice on here (recognizing triggers, playing the tape, etc) became as ingrained as my desire to drink.

All you new people: YOU CAN DO THIS. I’m proof. And the further I get from drinking the more I realize the absolute control it had over my life. Even the “good” times were spent with one eye on the bottle level or one eye on the door/clock to see when I could get home and resume drinking. And the bad times...I don’t have anything to compare those to anymore, thank God.

So before you drink, check SR. Even if you don’t post (and I usually don’t), just read.

I’m Drew, and I don’t drink.