crayola

I've "quit" so many times (for 100 days on a couple of occasions). I've made so many promises to myself to control my drinking and then broken them. Now when I make a promise I'm thinking "yeah, right, sure you will, haha."
I know I'll be happier when I can walk away from this completely. My birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to quit the day after (you know how THAT thinking goes) but I decided to try to meet it early and quit starting right now.
Can some of you folks share some tips on how you made your last drink truly your last one? I'd really appreciate it - I want to go back to believing myself again!

least

I'm an older adult and am afraid I might not have any recovery left in me if I pick up again. So the fear of going thru withdrawals again, as well as the fear of what awful thing could happen if I drink again, keeps me sober, one day at a time. I like myself and my life a lot better sober and am too afraid of what might happen if I drank again. So far, so good

NEOMARXIST

Total acceptance that I'm an alcoholic and that most other people aren't.

'Just for today i will not drink alcohol'

yeahgr8

Go to AA and do what someone with many years of happy sobriety has done, that's what i did after the zillion'th time of trying to quit by myself:-)

Omega10

For me, a lot of really deep self examination. Truly getting to know myself, accepting my flaws, and making plans of action to overcome them.

My birthday is next Friday. This will be the first birthday in 22 years that I will not be getting drunk. Instead of heading to a bar to celebrate, I am going to go home to visit my family and will take my nephews and niece bowling. It will make a nice memory for them as well as for me, and is far more productive than sitting at a table ordering drinks. When I celebrate my birthday with my friends, we are all going to a salon to get our nails done, then will go for lunch. I know I am still going to have fun celebrating my birthday, it's just a different kind of fun, and much healthier.

HumbleBee

For me, I found that this illness is so insidious that I could not make a committed effort to stop while I felt physically and emotionally well.

That's where the back/forth came from. I'd feel like sh!t, stop drinking, start to feel better, think I had a handle on it and 'could have a few' and bang (!) I'd be right back into it again.

There was something about "the" last time, however. It didn't happen overnight. It was taking me longer and longer to recover from binges and a few times I really thought I was going to die.

I had begun calling 9-1-1 on myself too - that's how bad it was. I actually called 911 twice.

On my 2nd visit to the emergency room, the dr. said "don't you think it's time for a change?" I actually said, "Yes, dr. I do plan to quit smoking soon." What an a$$! Up to the bitter end and I was STILL in denial about my drinking problem! What a tool...

I think many people know when it's "time" but fear of the unknown is scary; with drinking being such a constant companion and familiar part of our lives, the thoughts of living sober can seem out of reach and quite frankly, frightening and at the same time, boring.

I'll take boring over the shame, guilt, self-loathing, physically and spiritually bankrupt feeling any day!! I don't wish those feelings on anyone. I think we all have to reach our own "enough is enough" point. We have to want it and we can't do it for anyone but ourselves.

I don't think you're lying to yourself. I think each time is well-intentioned and brings us closer to "that" day when we've had it.

That's been my experience. Wishing you well ~

Spawn

Anna

I had made a lot of promises to myself too, Crayola.

I knew, I just knew, that I had no more chances left. I knew that if I didn't stop at that very moment, there would never be another opportunity to stop.

Believe in yourself and know that you can do it.

intention

My last drink made it my last one for me. It took me to a place of complete and utter despair. I will never forget how I felt that next morning - I just knew that I could never drink ever again. I was completely beaten by alcohol. This is from Bill's story in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book and it sums up exactly how I felt in that moment.



Working the 12 Step program of AA has meant that I have not only been able to get sober but I am happy, full of joy and most importantly free of the obsession to drink alcohol.

Welcome to SR.