Cornishman

I think the stats say that only 10% of alcoholics make it past 2 years sober. How can you break this relentless pattern of falling off the wagon and going through the misery of withdrawal?

Truthbetold76

Welcome
I too am trying to figure out the answer to that question. Day 2 here. I had almost 2yrs of sobriety and then COVID hit....the last year has been an uphill battle of on and off again binge drinking. This place is a GREAT start for support.

JustJohn

First off welcome to SR!

I read an article sometime back where a man had gotten sober was asked how it was so easy for him to get sober (it really wasn't easy) and he quipped "I kept giving sobriety a chance and it eventually stuck."

I think we all have to eventually get sick and tired of being sick and tired and just stop. I know that sounds entirely too simplistic, but we all do whatever we have to do to become and remain sober.

Good people will be along soon with much more sage and useable wisdom. Again - welcome! I'm glad you found us!

brighterday1234

For me it was getting the spiritual awakening that it talks about in the book Alcoholics Anonymous 🙏

Dee74

Hi and welcome Cornishman

Not sure where that statistic came from? all I can do is share my statistic which is I’ve been 100% sober since I joined SR.

I was an all day every day drinker and had been for several years when I found the site.

I had no real confidence in my ability to stay sober but I knew I had to try – and the support and advice I found here helped me do that.

It is hard work - I had to change a lot of things, and that wasn’t always easy but support made it easier.

I honestly don’t believe anybody is doomed to alcoholism, not if they don’t want to be

D

Cornishman

I didn't find covid a particular trigger - there often doesn't seem to be a trigger, but once the binge has begun it's hard to stop, knowing what withdrawal is like (crippling anxiety and lack of sleep for starters).

Truthbetold76

it's a b****
The last week consisted of me waking up (well, not really b/c was I even "sleeping"?) saying to myself "SHOWER AND GET TO WORK" - instead was texting my boss with horrible excuses of why I need another day off....then drinking whatever was left before being able to head to the closest store at 8am to start it all over again. Hell. That's the only word I have for it.

Introvrtd1

One reason for me quitting was just being sick n tired of being sick n tired, like JustJohn said.

Introvrtd1

One reason for me quitting was just being sick n tired of being sick n tired, like JustJohn said.

Introvrtd1

One reason for me quitting was just being sick n tired of being sick n tired, like JustJohn said.

Introvrtd1

For me, one reason for quitting was just sick n tired of being sick n tired.

Hevyn

Hi Cornishman - it's so good to meet you.
I drank 30 years & never imagined myself being alcohol free. Yet here I am, 13+ years sober. I joined SR out of curiosity & was a little skeptical. I had no idea the people here could provide such encouragement & hope. I hope you'll stay with us and keep talking about what's going on with you. We care - and you're never alone.

ScottFromWI

For me, waking up in the morning was the only "trigger" needed to start drinking. And in my personal opinion, it's not really about triggers/cravings nor consequences. By that I mean that I used drinking as a means of escape from anything that ailed me - or as an avoidance mechanism instead of facing whatever the issue was ( sadness, plain, difficult ) and taking personal responsibility. Similarly, no consequence was ever great enough that it would not eventually fade to the point of considering drinking again. Certainly death is the ultimate consequence and will end your drinking for good - and some get to that point. But DUI, divorce, job loss, and a long list of other things all eventually subside to the point that you can talk yourself into getting some beer.

Ultimately, the only way you can get out of that loop ( again in my opinion ) is to choose it. Whether you decide to use a formlized recovery program, rehab, hypnosis, reading, therapy or whatever as your sobriety plan - none of it will work unless you make sobriety your absolute first priority in life. For me, making that choice meant very significant change in my lifestyle on top of the sobriety specific work. Think of it like building a house and all the things that you need to do along the way - you don't just decide that you want to live in a house and wake up in it already completed, right?

I'm not really a big fan of statistics either - but I can tell you that you are 100% able to be sober if you really want to.

RecklessDrunk

I thought it was 5% make it to 90 days. Then again some attempts may have been that im never drinking again morning that even a normal drinker may have from time to time.

If you drive drunk you probably have less then a 5 % chance of getting pulled over. Yet if you keep driving drunk you will probably get a dwi.

If you keep trying to get sober one of these times it may turn into something long term, 90 days, 2 years, decades. Most people do not get sober on the first shot. Its step 1, at least I think so. That conviction that I can not drink no matter what has to run so damned deep in the mind, body, bones, blood, and soul.

Even if you just get 90 days, 1 year, 2 years on a given attempt. That is 90 days, 1 year, 2 years of your life that you have taken back. Besides that, after just 1 year you will be looking at life through a different lense. A much clearer lense and the odds of getting from 1 year to 2 should be much greater then from day 1 to year 1.

Each journey begins with a step, you get 730 days the same way that you get 7 days, 1 at a time.

lessgravity

Forget these stats - I've never been called on a poll once in my life - why should I believe anything they say?

Each and every day there is a multitude of people out here saving their own lives - together, alone, rich, poor, every kind of person under the sun. You can be one of them too. It just takes work and a commitment like you haven't made to your sobriety before.

But that cycle is something that the multitude knows as well. None of us are special enough not to have endured that brutal psychic, spiritual and physical hell. And it is a hell of our own making - which gives it an even darker and heavier character. Leave it behind man. You just need a plan. What's the plan?

D122y

I had hellish anxiety that was caused and quelled by my drinking.

It did't really away, but I got used to it.

I don't take meds for booze, but I take meds for BP. If i stop taking those meds, I feel like I am going to die.

I imagine for some people they will need meds for quitting drinking for the rest of their life.

That is a recent realization for me and I pass this on when folks are struggling.

If you took meds to stop drinking, those meds can't be stopped unless the Dr. says so.

I don't know if this is the right answer for you, but who really knows what the right answer is.

My prayer for you is that if you want to quit drinking you are able to do it.

By any means.

Thanks.

Steely

I've thought about that stat too, Cornishman. Came to the conclusion that no matter how small the statistic, I was going to make myself part of it. 💯

ThatWasTheOldMe

One drink and I'd be right back down this rabbit hole.
I think I'll stay sober today.

fishkiller

Don't drink

Snowydelrico

If there is such a statistic. Maybe having ‘SR’ on you Home Screen should be made compulsory.
I’m writing to bill gates and the like so we can get people like us where they need to be.
obviously the majority of alcoholics are not getting the help they need to get better.
slipping through the net so to speak