One thing that struck me this evening on the way to dinner...

I don't miss strategically "planning" out my drinks for the evening, or finding an excuse as to why I'd order a drink with my meal; then planning how to order more without looking like someone desperately trying to get as much as possible during dinner. Then leaving unfulfilled because it was never enough.

I don't miss that at all.

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The feeling of not knowing if you're going to lose control tonight or not. Or lose your phone, start a fight or fall in public.

I dont miss all the time that was consumed thinking about drinking...do I have enough, do I stop at tbe store, what time can I start and can I stop?

I dont miss reading books to my daughter with one eye shut due to double vision..

i wont miss trying to get 20 bucks for a 12 pack of HEINEKEN everyday after work and not giving a crap about not having gas in the truck to make it to work the next day right now i got 23 days in and saved 460 dollars and i have a half tank of gas god bless to my beeps

I don't miss....
driving drunk and praying to make it home in one piece
digging through the cushions for enough money to buy my supply
getting up an hour early so that I'd have time to make it to the packy before work
the delusion that nobody noticed that I was drunk
every time I had a random ache or pain thinking it was liver or kidney damage
looking at old pics and wondering how my life had gone so wrong
so many more things. Thank god I never have to drink again.

I don't miss wondering what the heck I did the night before, wondering what else can I buy so that I don't look like a loser buying only a bottle of wine at noon....on a Thursday, who did I text, did I post something ridiculous on Facebook, does my husband know I am wasted, how will I hide this purchase, feeling puffy and bloated, blowing off working out because I am focused on drinking or hungover from drinking, hangovers at 4pm because I started drinking at 6 am while tailgating, being so tired from covering my tracks, wondering if I am going to get pulled over, wondering where I can hide my empties until I can get them to a public trash can because I can't up them in my trash or recycling, wondering if I remembered all of my empties...and SOOOOO much more.

Waking up and realizing that I am still stuck with me

drinking myself sick only to throw up and start drinking again

Wow... Thank you for this. That truly does kind-of sum it up for me. I love this thread. Great for when I am craving....

Waking up and wondering if I had hidden all my empties from the night before so no one knew HOW MUCH I had actually consumed.

its only been 7 days but i wont miss

checking my bank account the next day through my fingers
ripping/ ruining clothes (candle wax, wet paint, blood..)
checking ive still got my keys and my phone the next day
losing one of two shoes
waking up next to someone i dont know and wondering how to get home
sneaking in to my house at 6/7am (and falling over)
walking through town to get home at 6am in broad daylight
throwing up
dry heaving
passing out in public
falling over in public
sweating alcohol for a straight 2 days afterwards
trying to remember what happened
being told what happened
going to the clinic for a checkup when i was only there the previous month
not being able to function for the best part of a week
post-binge anxiety/depression
oh, regret.

i think thats about it?

EDIT: unexplained cuts, bruises, burns, concussions

Avoiding people
Working out how not to bump into people you have offended
Waking up to find blood everywhere when you have cut yourself
Throwing away clothes that you have got blood, alcohol and food stains on
Never going away weekends since you spend most of the weekend drinking
The terror of running out of alcohol

Things I don't miss about drinking...

Having one foot on the ground and one hand on the wall while laying in bed, in an attempt to ground myself from the spins.

Being stuck in bed all day because I was too sick from drinking to even roll over.

Crashing on a friends couch with a trash bin two feet away "just in case".

Having to explain why I didn't come home the previous night.

Lying about why I'm sick and how much I had to drink. "It was just a few, my body just doesn't tolerate alcohol very well."

Planning where and when to dump empties, and feeling like the whole world is watching as I'm doing so.

Forcing myself to throw up just to feel better the next day.

The phone calls and texts I made while drinking.

- Paying for it
- Waking up between 2 and 3 a.m. and not being able to fall back asleep, leaving me a zombie at work the next day
- Feeling my clothes get tighter and tighter on me as I let alcohol replace all the good health habits I had, and eating like hell every night
- Checking my phone, facebook and email to see what I'd sent the night before and would regret
- The "why am I doing this to myself" guilt I'd feel as I'd drag myself out of bed in the morning
- Getting in the shower before work, telling myself "I'm not doing this anymore, I am am staying sober tonight" and then deciding before 11 am that I need to get alcohol on the way home
- Figuring out what way to drive home from work so I could properly rotate the stores I stop at to buy alcohol, so I wouldn't see the same cashiers on a daily basis

The hangover, the shakes and the throwing up. I most certainly do not miss that.

Lying to the kids we have no money for treats when I had money for booze.
Getting snappy moody and bitter when drunk.
Being too hungover to clean the house or cook a decent meal.
Not giving a toss about my personal hygene or what I look like.

It's so funny how similar and specific the consequences of drinking are for all of us. The morning shame spiral. Trying to pretend you didn't black out. Wondering what embarrassing thing you said to people the night before. Pouring out a bottle in a fit of despair only to buy a new one the next day. The crushing hangovers (for me I would always hit a wall around 3pm--at which point I would start drinking again). Sweating alcohol and smelling like a drunk. Looking in the mirror and seeing a huge fat belly and jowels hanging off my cheeks. Ugh. The list goes on.

Here is the other side of the equation:

Clarity. Energy. 8 hours of sleep. Weight loss. Productivity. Confidence. Being present. Better skin and hair and body smell. Being open to your world instead of being obsessed with when you can open a bottle. A deeper appreciation for good food. Knowing you can drive anywhere at anytime without worrying about getting a DUI. The moment old friends see you and say "Geez you look great! What happened?!"

That's what you get for living in the solution instead of living in the problem.

I'm on Day 40 and I'm very thankful.

Stay strong you drunks!!! :)

I'm with you alison and pippo! Ok, and everyone elses's posts. I can also say I don't miss the embarrassing rash of hives I would break out in when drinking. I had forgotten about those until today.

1. dont miss having to throw away shirts because the armpits were crusty from the constant sweating

2. Don't miss the anxiety it caused me......I would constantly check my eyes to see if they were yellow or inspect the toilet bowl to see if my urine was an odd color. Every pain I had I associated with my heavy drinking

1 week:)
 

first week celebration:
I wont miss waking up and wasting the day laying in bed.
The disappointment in my families eyes!!!
Not recalling what I have said or done!

I dont miss the SLEAZY behavior of the drunks I used to call friends
or
getting out of bed to pee 6 or 7 times a night
or
worrying if I have enough beer to get through each day

It's all over now!