WOO HOO EVERYONE!!! Way to go us...I am so proud of all of us!! I am on Day 5 as well....
I am actually starting to think this is going to be easier than I thought.

Morning folks. It is a beautiful, sunny (but cold) morning here in the Northeast. I used to start my weekends early, on Thursday night, so Friday mornings could be quite a drag. Not today! My spirits are high and I'm really feeling good.

Gotta get to work here, but will check in on some other threads when I have time. Cheers to you all!

Ha..I'm not givin up the smokes yet either, Oz..but I do find I'm smoking less. I'm a chimney when I'm drinkin. :smokin:

Mirage,

Recognizing the addict voice, as you are, is a big step towards recovery. Hear the voice for what it is, dismiss it, and carry on!

SkiStop,

It sounds like you're doing well and that you have a great weekend to look forward to.

Freespirit,

I'm glad you're feeling so positive about your recovery!

Cold,

Believing in yourself and that you deserve a good life will help you a lot through your recovery.

OzBoy,

Good for you with Day 5!

Day 1.

I've totally lost track of the years I've been drinking. 5 or 6, I think. Have yet to make it more than a week in that time.

It's so easy to say I'm going to quit while hungover. :( By 7 or 8 pm I'll feel fine (or as close to it as I get having been on a bender for a few weeks now) and the cravings will start.

*sigh* I just realized I actually dread losing my hangover, because that's when its easy.

Not sure what to say. I guess I'm not feeling very inspired to quit today.

But today is day 1. I'm going to make it. I can do it. I'll worry about tomorrow when it gets here.

Hello Class
I first joined the class of Jan. 2009 - stayed sober about a month, then fell off the proverbial wagon. During the last year my drinking has really progressed (1.75 liters vodka/4 days) - about 1/2 a fifth per night - seems like a lot - some pains in the area where I think my liver is located - time to quit.

No drinks in 4 days, but up against the weekend now. Wife and I are planning on going out for V day. We'll see how I get thru dinner w/o a drink. I know I'm an alcoholic, and she probably has some idea that I may be, but we haven't ever talked about it. She knows I quit this week, but she thinks its because I want to lose weight (which I do). So we'll see how this weekend goes.

My only withdraw issues are very poor sleep and cravings at trigger points (lots of trigger points - lol).

Lets work together - thanks

Welcome back Jackstone!! This is Day 6 for me. I am actually not too worried about this weekend. We are going out to dinner too. Biggest problem for me is the social scene with the friends at events.

Welcome Jay and Jackstone :)

D

Hey Jackstone. I can relate. My wife must know I'm an alcoholic, but we've never really talked about it and she's never asked me to stop drinking. I'm sure she'd rather see me drink moderately, since a lot of our social stuff involves alcohol. Unfortunately, that's not an option for me.

Anyway, good to hear from another person joining the Feb group!

Hey Febs! My last drink was Jan. 31st - I tried to be a Jan but didn't make it.

Looking forward to a sober Valentine's weekend and checking in with you all!

A lot to be grateful for today - and am going to a women's speaker meeting tonight to hear all those brave and beautiful gals tell their tales of experience strength and hope.
It helps me so much to be in the room with all that love and understanding. It is palpable.
:grouphug:

Skistop - does your wife know that you quit, and if so, what reason did you give. My wife's dad was a recovering alcoholic before he died @ 60 yo, her brother quit a few years ago (reason unknown), my dad is an alcoholic, and my wife is a mediun drinker on the weekends (Thurs-Sun.). Deck is stacked against me - lol!!! Socially we are in the same boat as you - drinking at all/most events. At a friends house for dinner recently, my buddy asked what I wanted to drink - I said that I quit (at the time I hadn't) - he laughed pretty hard. I need a new family, wife, and friends.

Hi Jackstone,

I' m glad you are back and quitting. I just wonder why you have not told your wife you are an alcholic. Are you (subconsciously) hoping to leave a door open so that you can drink again.......in that if you told her that you were an alcoholic and you had quit for good, she might have something to say if you ordered a drink at that meal?

We don't need to open up to everyone about our alcoholism but we do need to be honest with ourselves if we are to recover from this.

As an alcoholic I used that line about not drinking just to lose some weight. I ended up drinking again.....and again......and again.
take care.

Hi Jay,

Do you believe you are an alcoholic and that you can't take a drink without the inevitable happening - drinking more, shame, remorse, regret, hangover, cycle continuing etc.....? It might help you to ask yourself this question.

Well done on one day sober. One day at a time.

Hmm, well, I firmly believe that recovery requires honesty. As a small child, I learned to lie in order to save myself and he lying continued throughout my life, even for inconsequential things. I recognized that I needed to be honest in order to recover. Personally, I don't give excuses such as being sick or losing weight. I firmly believe it's no one's business what I drink or don't drink. But, that's just me. And, I didn't tell my husband when I finally did quit, because I had pushed my family too far. I needed to just do it. Again, that's just my personal experience.

I am SO glad to see you guys all supporting each other. :c011:

Hi all:

I'm on day 24 coming off the Hydro's. Still hanging in there with my gold stars showing up on my calendar. Still waiting on the energy level to come back, but I'm feeling better with each day that comes and goes.

Getting more sleep and getting more administration work taken care of at home. Lordy Lordy mail can stack up in six months while you are feeling warm and fuzzy on opiates.

Plus the dust has taken over everything in our home. I don't overwhelm. I put some good music on, pick a spot and start at it slowly. Little by little I'm making a difference. I look at it this way. If I've lived in it for the past six months I don't need to kill myself now to get it all done in a few days. :gaah

Bless everyone starting over and keep the faith. Put one foot in front of the other and keep reaching for that bright CLEAN star in the sky. Laugh as often as you can. It helps to make you feel better.

Hi my fellow Febs - after a week of feeling almost high on the wonderfulness of feeling sober and well for the first time in ages, I feel very low today and am annoyed to find myself craving alcohol badly.

I thought this determination would see me through but now I have my doubts, and am going to go to a meeting (AA) tonight - never been before and am totally terrified :(

I went to the supermarket and was surrounded by bottles of fizz and wine because of valentines, I had to go and cry in the toilet, lol..

okay, thanks for all these useful posts I am with you all xxx xxx xxx

Sober Saturday -- Yeow! Had a nice sober friday evening. We watched a movie--Donnie Darko. It was weird, I don't recommend it; not sure why Netflix thought we'd like it. But, I will remember it. Can't say that for too many friday-night movies!

Got the whole day ahead of me, which is good and bad, I guess. I'm trying to motivate to get my ski stuff together and head out for the morning, but I'm lacking a little energy. Even though I feel great without a hangover, I'm feeling a little--blah... That's probably not good; I should get out and get the blood pumping, fresh air flowing.

Hope you all are doing well!

Daisy1 when i feel low i take a paper that i have in my

pocket where i wrote down all the bad things that alcohol

gave me during my life and all those horrible situations that

i don't want to live again,also as somebody in this place recommend

me i wrote also all the great things and good feelings i had since i left

alcohol (it works with the tobacco too ;))

This Paper,my determination to live a new life,the life i want

(i hate what i became with alcohol)

SR and AA support,seems enough for keep me away from alcohol

thank you cold - at the moment I am getting visions of my mother spitting and snarling at me as she always did, which is making me remember exactly why I want to drink- so I am going to write down all the things that were bad about drinking right now, thank-you :10:

Skistop I LOVED Donnie Darko! Oh well :)

Jackstone:

My wife knows I've been struggling with a "problem" for years. We've been together for 8 years (married 2.5). She also likes to drink, and get drunk sometimes, but is OK (I think) with or without. I've voiced my worries about my drinking plenty of times, mainly because I'm worried about long-term health consequences.

In any event, to answer your question, I did not tell her "I'm done for good." I don't think she'd believe me--because I'm not sure I believe myself yet. I've told her many, many times that I want to cut back, or take a break, etc. I'm sure she just thinks I'm in one of those cycles. There's nothing really to say.

And it's not about being honest or not, in our situation. My wife is incredibly supportive. I think she wishes that I could be a moderate drinker, but I know she'll ultimately support me in what I need to do. We are very, very close; share everything. But quitting for good is on my shoulders. There's nothing she can do to make me quit, or not.