Laci

It has to be cold turkey for me. For some crazy reason (yes, amazingly I'm crazy) going cold turkey makes me aware of the impact of being in a drunken stupor for months to suddenly being sober. I cannot describe it but I need to feel that terrible withdrawl as it makes me stronger. Tapering off for this alcoholic is useless. One drink leads to 20. Throw in a little weed and a couple of Xanax and it all starts over again.

It is a crazy game with a crazy poisioness master. You have to take the first step and accept that your life has become unmanagable. In other words, surrender and then begin the healing process. Complete and sincere sobriety is the only way to go. Trust me, tonight I thought "hmmm....I should have just "one" to feel better after two nervewracking days of sobriety but instead I sat down and talked it through with my husband (who is a complete saint) and we got through it. We had our own AA meeting.

So take a hot bath and drink a cup of tea and give your body and soul the opportunity to come into itself and begin the wonderful journey of sobriety. It is hard to quit but it is harder to stay in it and the consequences are dreadful.

Good Luck and keep coming back.

Laci
(Day Two...One Hour At A Time)

Cadrian

I thought long and hard about tapering off, but it was something in David Sedaris' audio book (When You Are Engulfed in Flames, released last year) that struck me - he talks about how going cold turkey was a better decision than testing himself each and every day (via tapering off).

Testing myself every day.

That phrasing stuck with me, so I choose to go cold turkey, it's been six days now (and I seem to be holding up okay, distracting myself as much as possible.)

Laci

Good for you Cadrian & welcome to SR which is one of the best places in cyberspace. Six days is six days of sobriety one day at a time and you deserve a big hug. (((((Cadrian)))))

I am going to order When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I heard it is a good read and you have now confirmed it. I cannot do a "daily test" of myself because I will fail miserably and end up back to where I left off. And it is true what they say...go back to drinking and it only gets worse. You don't "start all over." You begin where you ended off and so many terrible things can happen. It is truly a progressive disease.

Thanks for helping me to stay sober today.

Laci
(Happy at three days)