Congratulations Finnie :)

D

8 Months Today
 

I emptied my last 1.75 L Vodka 'Handle' on a Thursday 8 Months ago, so I consider a Friday my first day Sober. Despite it being 10 January back then.

All the support here on SR - pretty much my sole 'Program' - has been greatly appreciated! I also swap thoughts with a few 'Reformed' Gents at the local Dog Park; several of whom are in an identical 'Life Boat'. That low-key F2F works for me, since this Independent Spirit is often on the move.

This was a New Dawn from our W. Colorado Kitchen Window back about then...

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Congratulations MM, What beautiful pic. Glad to see you are still checking in. Hope all our classmates are also doing well.

As I do, too.

Hello Mary. :)

Indeed, a really beautiful photo! Thanks for sharing this incredible view.

Congrats on 8 months Mesa Man!

Kris

Hi guys,

Just thought I'd check in, as it's been a while, and to congratulate Mesa Man on his 8 month milestone!

:You_Rock_

I'm at about a month and a half again - I'm having my ups and downs, to be honest. Last night, I went to my first concert (Queen tribute band) since beginning sobriety, and spent about half of it feeling like I was suffocating and about to have a panic attack. I did manage to calm down a little and enjoy the tail end of the evening, when most people were standing up, dancing and clapping to the music, so I suppose that's something.

I'm still feeling like I'm watching the world from behind a glass partition, to a large extent. I missed my best friend's party last month, and it looked like they all had a great time from the photos on Facebook, which included a fair amount of alcohol. One person had even put a photo of a glass of wine (!) on their page, with the caption 'enjoying drinks'. I don't even crave getting drunk any more. I really don't want that - I have experienced happy moments this year that I would have otherwise missed. I love being able to appreciate a good film, admire the surrounding countryside and immerse myself in my hobbies. But, I hate not being able to relax at all. I am constantly on edge. I miss those couple of drinks at parties and concerts that allowed me to loosen up and still remember the evening, before my anxiety got out of control last year and my drinking escalated rapidly to much more than just a 'social drinker' as a last resort to escape it.

At least now, I have to ride out my anxiety most of the time - I know my body can't be swarming with adrenaline indefinitely. But, this really sucks.


On a more positive note, I am glad to see so many of you doing well, and I view every one of you as an inspiration as to what can be achieved. I will continue to check on this thread regularly. Thank you for giving me hope.

Sorry to hear your life is a bit of a struggle right now, Wendolene. I'm glad you are still with us.

Do you meditate? Also, you can enjoy the same things now that you did when you were drinking but I understand it can be a challenge to enjoy those things with your old group who drink. We need to find new friends who like the same thing and don't need to drink.

I am still struggling with sleep and have a sleep study tonight. Probably won't find out anything cuz I don't think I have sleep apnea. They'll most likely have a good time with my brainwaves though! lol.

I'm still hanging in there and just celebrated 8 months and counting. Pray to God to keep me sober.

Hope all of you are doing okay!

Congratulations on 8 months Kris. Glad to hear you are hanging in Wen, and congratulations on 6 weeks.

Thanks, Mary!

Hope you are keeping on, too.

Kinda quiet here lately. Hope it just means people are busy and enjoying the sober life or at least coming to terms with life without alcohol.

We'll I'm not sure if I should be on this board anymore. Probably not. I went on my motorcycle trip the end of July and decided I should be able to have a beer with everyone else at night and I did only have one beer each night of the trip. I talked to my husband first to make sure he felt ok about it and he was fine. I didn't drink at all after that until a wedding we went to and I had 2 glasses of wine the whole night. My husband had a sip of my wine and said he liked it and it would be something he wouldn't mind having a glass of with me sometime. I didn't drink anything after that. I was out with some girlfriends tonight who wanted to stop at a new wine store and pick up a bottle of wine. I picked up a bottle thinking my husband and I could have a glass sometime with dinner on the weekend like we used to. When I got home and told him. He was upset with me that I was going to start drinking again. I thought he saw that I was controlling it and was ok. I told him he was sending me mixed signals. He didn't see it. He is afraid it is just the start of me going back to being out of control and just the start of another cycle. I understand why he feels that way. It is my own fault. I made my life what it is. I made him feel like he can't trust that I can handle having just one or two. I never should have had a drink again. Even if it was one or two. Why do I think I have to "fit in" with everyone else? Life is easier when I don't drink. Why can't I remember that? I guess I need to start over on another board. So thank you for listening. One day at a time.

The fitting in thing is a basic human thing, I think...but wanting to fit in at the cost of your own well being, or that of your loved ones puts a different complexion on it, I think?

There are no hard and fast rules in these threads startingnew :)

I think you'd get a lot out of the Sept thread...but I'm equally sure noone will want to kick you out here :)

you can do both :)

D

Startingnew you are perfectly free to stay here, go to another thread of do both. It's really up to what you feel you need personally to succeed. For me I visit both this thread still and the June thread. I went back to drinking for about 4 or 5 weeks in May. That didn't change the fact that I spent 3 months sober and posting here and sharing experiences with the rest of the members of this thread.

For me the fact that some people are on 8, 3, 2 or 1 month doesn't really matter when it comes to a support system. It's more about where you feel comfortable and accountable to someone and you can go to. When I first quit again I spent more time in the June thread. I felt the need to post daily and that was the more comfortable environment for me at that point. Now I just sort of float between the two (with most of my posts checking into the 24 hr thread).

Startingnew2,

The only thing that matters is that you are back up and keeping sober! Decide what makes life better for you.

Congrats!

Why not post in both and anywhere else. SR is a wonderful tool with so many great threads.



Glad you stopped in and let us know how you're doing.

Startingnew 2, as others have said - it is not necessarily counting the days that is important, it is focusing on the 'today' and not picking up that first drink. Of course, that doesn't mean to go and drink the following day, but 'today' seems much more manageable than 'the rest of my life'.

I am in a similar position to you - when I 'slipped' back in July, I was welcomed back onto this thread with a very sympathetic approach and encouraged to stay.

If you gain something from posting here, I say go for it - do what suits you. The important thing is the support network you gain from this community.

Keep posting, vent if you need to, and remember, we are always here to lend an ear.

I wish you the best :).

Cough, cough, it's dusty in here. Just thought I'd swing by a check in for the first time in months (sorry). I found myself so over-extended back in the summer that I pulled back on a bunch of things, and one of them was online posting. I'm still overwhelmed so maybe that wasn't the culprit!

But I just want to pop in and say I hope everyone is doing well, congratulations on the milestones, the 8 and 9 months and the new milestones to those who came back. I'm so thankful for this group and the support we gave each other in those early days - it really truly made all the difference for me. :tyou

I'm at 9 months and feeling really strong in my sobriety. I have had my share of troubles over the last few months but thankfully, I have not wanted to drink. The support of AA is still a big part of my sobriety and I feel like I'm growing constantly. I'm dealing with skeletons in my closet and the wreckage of my drinking slowly (reallllyyy slowly in some cases) but I AM dealing with it. Progress.

Best to all of you.

Glad to see you check in and that things are going well Adee.

Congratulations adee :)

D

Congrats Adee!

You're doing it one day at a time. Progress not perfection.

I'm hanging in there and thanking God everyday what He did for me.

good to hear you're doing well too Kris :)

D

Thanks, Dee.

I'm hoping the move is final and that things are going good for you, too.

Thanks To SR Palz
 

9 months today for me.

Just truckin' along in Early Retirement and lovin' the Sober Scene. Keeping on the move. Taking Pix. Trailer Camping. Plenty of House 'stuff' to do at our multiple Joints.

Da Wife and the Pooch love me. Got it made in the shade.

Sincere thanks to all here. I'm on daily, just reading mostly. I get what I call 'Knowledge Knuggets' here, and integrate them into my Being.