Will you think about it forever?
 

I know that early in sobriety you tend to think about that drink for a while...everyday, once an hour or whatever...and you crave it...it's always there in the back of your mind...but will you think like this forever??

I have heard some people's stories where they have been sober for 5 or 10 years and yet they have times where they crave a drink...do you still think about booze everyday like you do in early sobriety??

I don't want to think of booze every single day.

I mean, when I quit smoking I thought about it for a while and now sometimes it will go through my head "what if you had a ciggy" but it is just a fleeting moment...just comes and goes and you don't really think about it...
I am confused...
Was just wondering everyone's opinion or personal experience is on this.

Thanks.

Craving went away a long time ago.

Well sure, the thought comes up, but it has no power, it doesn't ruin the moment or the day. I Don't think about it all the time, not every day, except when I come here, mostly. I was at a mixer for the company I work for last night... lots of wine and beer... didn't really effect me one way or the other... I don't drink anymore.

Your experience with alcohol should be pretty close to the smoking after a while.

I quit smoking 6 years ago, and the only time I crave a cigarette now is when I drink! (which I won't be doing anymore, soo...)

I don't think about cigarettes at all 99% of the time.

I don't know if alcohol will be the same for me. I think alcohol is something I'm going to have to be more vigilant about. I'm not a cigarette-aholic, but I definitely am an alcoholic. Booze causes me problems that cigarettes never did... you know?

I need to keep my sobriety in mind more than my nonsmoking status, so that I remember I can't relapse ever again.

But NO, I don't think I will crave alcohol for the rest of my life.

I'm only 15 days into being dry, and tbh I haven't bothered about drinking for the past few days:)Never thought I could pack it in without having some major issues:):c029::a122:

From my experiences I think less about cocaine then I did 6 months ago (8 months clean) as I am getting my life together and trying to fill it with activities.

I mainly only think about cocaine whe I am on my own or see a reference to it in the media - these thoughts are sometimes about enjoying the drug or towards the end of my using where it was not fun.

I doubt it will ever stop thinking about it from time to time but I have no desire to use

Thanks everyone.
I know that I don't want to go back to drinking, of course I think about it...especially since I am so early into my sobriety...and I crave here and there...but not very often.
I just don't want to think about it everyday...

Of course, as I said, I thought of smoking a lot when I first quit and then it slowly just went away, it wasn't that big of a deal for me to quit though...I was done with the cigs...there are times where I have dreams I have a smoke or when I smell it I think "What if I had a cigarette right now to deal with this stress?" but other then that, it's for a fleeting instance.

Cravings will go away...it's the thinking part...I guess. I don't know.
More opinions are greatly welcomed. :)
And thank you to all who posted so far.

The compulsion to drink was gone for me in the first year.
I think the main reason I craved a drink was because I wasn't comfortable in my own skin.
Quitting drinking is the easy part, learning to live sober and be comfortable in my own skin has taken a while.
There appears to be 2 general sorts of people who abuse alcohol, the problem heavy drinker (A) and the alcoholic (B) as described in AA's "The Doctor's Opinion". Telling them apart is readily apparent ........
A) When the alcohol is taken away from the heavy drinker, the problem goes away.
B) When the alcohol is taken away from the Alcoholic, the problem just begins.
Know which one you are and your course of treatment becomes apparent as well (IMHO)

All the best.

Bob R

Bayliss,

Mark's answer is correct. However, even though the thoughts of drinking will actually lessen over time, assume that the thoughts will go on forever. Then, decide that even even if you do have thoughts at full blast, that you still won't drink. You may find that this 'kick ass', no fear attitude makes the little voice in your head give up and collapse all the sooner. Addiction recovery is kind of like FDR -- the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

I've heard this pithy platitude countless times, always from people who have not seen their problems just 'go away', so how would they know anything about that? Most problem drinkers have racked up their share of screw-ups and destruction along the way, and everyone who quits will have to contend with that, in addition to normal problems that everyone has. This does not make them a 'real alcoholic'.

bayliss, you will have to decide which you are.

(You aren't an alcoholic when I say you are, you are an alcoholic when YOU say you are)

All the best.

Bob R

At first I constantly thought about drinking. Didn't do it, but thought about it a lot. It was around four to six months sober that the obsession went away. Right about the time I started practicing gratitude every day. Now I keep that attitude of gratitude with me all the time and rarely think of drinking.

When I pass the local store where I used to get my wine, my only thought is: thank God I don't need to drink anymore.:)

no - absolutely not bayliss :)

I really believe recovery should be enjoyed not endured - it's not a struggle - it really is the absence of struggle now...I accept who and what I am :)

D

It seems so far (early on) that the further I get away from old habits... the less I think about them!

My drink cravings were squarely tied to emotions. Somehow, and I wish i knew the secret as to how, those same emotions have flipped the craving to drink on its head. Now when I am anxious, i often think, thank god I'm not drunk, or I would feel worse. When i hang-out with friends, i think, thank god I'm not drunk and saying anything I'm going to regret. When I argue with my wife, I thank god that I'm speaking and not the liquor.

Maybe I'm lucky, but my craving has almost become a counter crave. But in full disclosure, i did have a bad moment this past Sunday night. I was packed and ready for my flight to San Diego the next morning, I had arranged for a ride, I finished all the "pre-work" that would have made me anxious, and I generally was of very clear mind. For a very brief instant I thought...You know, a glass of wine would be cool right now. I'm not covering anything up, I'm not deferring, there is no emotion i'm trying to quiet. Thankfully, it passed quickly, and then I realized, all this is the case because for once, I'm SOBER! (well for the last several months anyway).

I know a lady who's been sober for 31 years. Recently her husband died, and she said she wanted to drink.

So I'd say it varies on a person-to-person basis. Just my take.

i dont think of it everyday...but it comes to me at times...wanting to relax the easy way...and then i remind myself drinking is not relaxing...and i get busy

I went through several phases, Bayliss. It was on my mind all the time at first. Gradually it's importance became less & less. I got over the self pity stage & realized it hadn't been my friend after all. It hadn't made life more fun or helped me solve problems the way I imagined it had. At around 6 mos. sober I realized it rarely crossed my mind.

Hey bayliss, I'm at one year and I don't really think about drinking very often. Actually the only time I really think about it is when I'm on SR. I still have a lot of the same emotions that I had when I was drinking, I just don't think of going to booze to deal with those emotions anymore. I truly believe that your brain can be retrained.

For people that are 10 years into recovery, if they are constantly thinking about drinking I think maybe they ought to look into changing something about their program. IMO, part of getting sober is losing that fascination and obsession with drinking; that's the difference in my mind between sobriety and abstinence.

The more you put into your recovery the less you will have cravings (ideally). I started to have less cravings when I started changing my patterns. If you sit in the house all day chances are you'll have more cravings then someone who is planning things to do with their day. I always try to keep busy, plan short term goals, clean, and make sure to have reliable sober friends to call/hang out with. With recovery comes a whole new way of life that you should take full advantage of. :) I also keep a list of all the reasons why I stay sober so if a craving arises I have a list to remind me of all the reasons why I quit.

Good luck!

* Adalie

I have more fun trying to convince people that I don't drink nor need to drink. They say 'You don't? What do you do for fun?" Well, that depends on your interpretation of fun! LOL Fun for me is taking my two dogs (one newly adopted Saturday) to the park and walking in the fresh air and looking for signs of Spring. Fun for me is curled up with my puter talking to my old friends on FB and really laughing out loud. Fun for me is sitting on my deck while the sun is setting and the birds are chirping and watching two robins fight over a worm.
I have too many other important things to do in my life than dwell on thoughts. Thoughts that harbor in your mind grow roots. Roots grow.
But yes, in the very beginning it was hard. What helped was working at a store as a cashier and having to see alcohol, touch alcohol and listen to people's comments about going home and enjoying a beer. I was reminded daily why I stopped.