made it! now what
 

hey guys, its day 4 now, i guess its done? im detoxed?
my question is, now what should i do? should i do a recovery program? and what exactly is a recovery program?
what should i expect from here on out?

obviously this is brand new to me

no one here can tell you what to do.. but I know I wasn't able to stay sober very long without any help!

personally I got into some immediate and relatively intense counseling, and I went to meetings.. and I read recovery books, and everything I could think of besides drinking again.

AA/NA and get a sponsor, work the steps. Working the steps will give you the tools you need. Congrats on making it through the 4 days. Keep it up!!! :)

Probably no one on here could answer that one -
so many 'depends on' stuff with that.

How long you drank, how much how old/big you are, male or female...
you know -
the kind of questions that keep doctors driving mercedes & bmw's.
And the kind of questions they jealously guard.

OTHER that that for right now -

I think now's the time to ask yourself
just how 'real' has the last four days been?
Were you scared to detox?
Scared to try?
Afraid you will have no kind of LIFE without it?

I can answer only one thing for you.
And that is -
nobody winds up here because their lives were going WELL.

Food for thought

Recovery is an ongoing journey.

I hope you can find a way to recover that works for you. For me, I try to keep balance in my life at all times, and I work on my recovery every day.

There is lots of inspiration here, so keep reading and posting.

:c011: Good job! Keep up the good work. Find what works for you. It might be that AA is the thing. There are counselors out there. Mine's been a Godsend. There's groups. SR is fantastic. I've made some good friends here and we share the journey and our experiences and inspirations. Count your blessings every day, starting with being sober. There will be hard days, but you can get through them. You deserve to be sober and have a quality life.

Well done! You must now begin to focus on your recovery (not just abstinence). For me, that was AA and it has worked great! But, there are lots of other options too. The most important thing is that you don't try to "white knuckle" it, as few before you have been successful without a program of recovery. The advice others are giving is good.

Congrats on your 4 day sobriety! :You_Rock_

Great job myx!!! :ring:ring

Welcome myx! What's next is up to you. Are you a book person, there is a lot to read out there; I personally wish I had picked up "Under the Influence" or "Beyond the Inlfuence" right away, lots of good stuff for one with lots of questions about the health end of things. I agree with Smacked, Vegi, Me... support from others is key, I use AA myself.

The good news is you will get your emotions back.

The bad news is you will get your emotions back.

Now you need to learn to deal with them.

thanks everyone, im so so happy that i made it

thanks everyone for the advice, i guess the only thing i know to try is aa. my real question was that i hear the word recovery, and im not sure what that means/ entails.

now that i stopped drinking, i have been reminding myself every two minutes that i do not drink anymore, and programming in my head that when i see beer or wine that its poison and i hate it. not for my anymore. but its going to take more than than that im guessing?

im a smart boy i think, and have prepared myself that even when im in a new situation, (relatives house, some kind of party, out to a fancy dinner,anything new and unexpected, someone putting a drink in my hand, someone making a tost) i still do not drink. im not concerned about hurting someones feelings, alch is poison to me and i cant drink it. so sorry ( even tho im not) im a ex drinker. but i want to do everything im supposed to to succeed.

for barbs question, im a mid 20's male, a buck 60, and have been drinking every night for 6 years strait. so the time and frequency are what will affect my detoxing time the most.

i was afraid? deathly. was it that bad, no not at all. way to scared to try for so long.
def not worried about losing anything except sleep. it was a real life to gain. breaking free from slavery

i think for the most part detox is over? just have to reprogram my life now. feeling confident. will try to sleep tonight, i know where an aa place is, guess ill just go show up tomorrow?

GOOD for you!

I think you're making a wise decision!

I'm so excited for you! :a122:

The AA meeting tomorrow sounds like a good way to start your recovery.

The term "recovery" has different meanings for different people. For me, it's more of a process of discovery than recovery. Some people claim to regain their sanity, their positive outlook on life, and their ability to manage life better than when under the influence. These are all desirable objectives and well worth giving up the booze for, but there are also some intangibles that come out of sobriety, and those are the ones I seek, as well as others, like getting to really know ourselves without the booze, understanding the many mental blocks that held us down for so long, and the realization of new possibilities in our lives, these are some of the cornerstones of recovery. It's a process, as I understand it now, of reconnecting with our selves, our families, our fellow man and woman, and our Higher Power(if we believe in one), and our world at large. We reconnect, but on a different level, we grow through our experience with alcohol and we grow through our experience after alcohol, and both help mold us into better people, more capable of compassion, empathy, and understanding of ourselves, our families, and our fellows. When the growth begins, it's hard, like a snake shedding an old skin, it twists, turns, rubs up against rocks to get the old skin off, then the new skin is more tender than the old, it needs protection till it hardens into a more protective layer, and that's the way I see myself today, where you are, rubbing up against the rocks to shed the old. It's a great place to be, for I've always considered recovery to be a gift, passed to us from those who have worn our shoes, and sustained by the actions we take to safeguard our new skin, as well as the assistance we receive from our HP, if you will.

MYx, you're at a great place, the first few days of recovery, revel in it and stay busy seeking the new stones to place for your foundation, to build your new life upon. I'm right there with you and am glad you're here.

Haven't tried the steaks yet, but plan to this weekend. Still have the recipe, gosh we sound like old grannies, lol.

Congratulations, myxo... :ring

Don't know what goes next... me, I tried AA and kept up SR and tried to find things to do all the time, 'cause boredom's no good for me. Busied myself with school and extracurricular type activities.

Forward is the right direction...
Right here with you,
-TB

I'm so happy for you...and a little scared too, remembering when I was where you are, all squeaky clean and wondering 'what next'?

It's an adventure, and there are so many options out there. And what works for you now may change, the best advice I can give you is some given to me ages ago, before I could even see I had any addiction issues let alone consider taking them on...the advice is "stay open to changing perspectives"

Roll with it. If you pledge to stay open, and really mean it with your whole heart, that you will stay open...then you will realize that all the elements of sobriety are available to you. Today a 12 step group may be just what you need, but in 9 weeks you may find personal journaling to be your best friend, there may be times you find a "sponsor" or recovery buddy to be a godsend, other times when you need to do things on your own. But if you pledge to stay open, and to always seek and make use of the elements of sobriety available to you...you will work out a recovery program that works.

Don't assume that if one program doesn't perfectly fit you, that nothing will work, or that you aren't meant to be sober.

you are here, that's a great start...I'd use this as home base, and when ever questions arise, pop in here...make some connections so when you start spinning a bit, there is someone you can reach out to.