Today, I didn't drink
 

- which means I've managed a whole seven days! Though for me it hasn't been too bad yet, just one day of real cravings.

It's funny, I've been sitting here feeling vaguely proud of myself for not having got drunk for a week, and simultaneously pathetic that that's become something to be proud of. And I've tried to quit many times before, and usually managed more than a week; yet even so it still feels good.

Never been truly sober before though - I've always flitted between booze & marijuana. Finally, I think it's sunk into my brain that for me they're the same thing, just a way of sinking into oblivion.

Thanks to everyone here who's given me the impetus to quit and so much help in staying quit so far, albeit only briefly as yet.

A week is a great start. :scoregood You have reason to be proud of your accomplishment.:) I don't think that's pathetic, I think it's wonderful. I always found the first couple weeks to be the hardest, especially week one. So you've gotten past the worst week. All you have to do now is not drink today. One day at a time.

Be proud of yourself and we get that it's an accomplishment!

Good for you!

Having been there, I know for a fact it's an accomplishment, AlbaStar.

Don't let the naysayers in your head (or elsewhere) diminish your achievement...
it's the start of a new and wonderful journey and a new and wonderful life :)

D

Definitely agree with above wise poster, Mr. Dee.

First week was very hard and we all remember that. It is a BIG accomplishment. Good for you!! :)

I'm thrilled to know of your progress
Well done.....:funjump:

Having the first week under your belt is something to be proud of! Good for you. First one is hard...but hang in there. It does get easier as time goes on. Keep it up! And keep coming back here.

Good for you, Albastar - you ought to be proud of yourself!

I remember when I first 'got it' that alcohol or whatever is all the same - they're an escape - and I had to learn how to handle my stress without that crutch.

It does get easier as time goes by and all those one-days-at-a-time strung together become longer term sobriety which becomes a way of life. I'm always a work in progress and that is totally OK with me.

Happy First Week!

I don't know how many times I attempted to quit and could not make it past a few days. Congratulations, a week is actually KIND OF A BIG DEAL :)

Well Done! Alcoholism is really hard. A week is terrific.

The key now is to get active in a program of recovery. AA worked great for me, but there are others as well.

You can't do this alone. Be really proud of yourself.

a week is a great start.....i'm sure you feel better too. I felt a great sense of accomplishment at eve n3 -4 days.....it only gets better.

Albastar,

How are you doing today?

Thanks Anna.

Feeling a bit odd :(. There are many, many thoughts going through my head that I'm struggling with:

- I feel like a fraud asking for help because other people have far worse problems than me, and in comparison I have it very easy. Am I really an alcoholic or just pretending to be? [nb - the facts speak quite clearly on that]

- One .sig that I've seen is "I have never woken up sober and hangover-free wishing I had been drunk the night before." Although I relate to the sentiment very well, damn it, there are some days where I have wished exactly that. Hangovers can be used to give legitimacy to feeling like s**t.

- Am I merely substituting SR for alcohol as a crutch?

- Do I really deserve any help anyway?

And so on, and so forth.

Rationally, I can produce the "correct" answers to all of these questions, but I'm not too convinced that I believe them. So in the meantime, I'm simply continuing to stumble along sober :)

Thanks for listening...

I would say that is your addict mind playing with you. The thing is some days we do feel bad, low, miserable and that's okay. Recovery isn't going to mean that every day is wonderful, but with recovery we can learn that a bad day is just a bad day and we don't need an excuse for it.

You're doing great!

I know what you mean about telling yourself the rational answers and not quite believing them, I'm sure a lot of people here can relate to that.

-Alcoholism is progressive. while you may feel like others have it worse than you... I would give my right arm to be able to prevent someone to getting to the point I am at. SR is here to give you support and encouragement, we want to do that for you because we've been there/are there.

-A hallmark of an alcoholic is feeling like ****. Continue to put some distance between you and your last drink and the guilt and remorse will fade out. Drinking and consequently being hungover and feeling like **** only continues the vicious cycle. If you mean physically feeling like ****, that will gradually fade out too.

-Very few can defeat the beast on their own, I've found SR to be a great source of encouragement and support, which we all need. By all means, if SR is a "crutch" for you, utilize it until you can stand on your own two feet.

-EVERYONE deserves help. No one would ever tell you otherwise.

I just wanted to offer some reinforcement, hopefully it helps. Feel better Alba.
:)