benat

Hi everyone

I was curious in hearing some of your stories or there "moment" they had before they decided to get sober. The "what the hell am I doing". I feel like I have hit rock bottom more then once ... I just hope this is my last for me. On day 3 by the way :p

tyou

SkyeSea

I was surfing the net and (can't remember what I was looking for) got directed to SR. I was reading around the site, and came across 'kindling' and it scared 7 bells out of me.
x

ExWinoMom

What's kindling skysea?

ExWinoMom

What made me get sober?
My family is full of alcoholism and drug addiction, I enjoyed drinking too much and was using it to cope with my kids. I figured I'm an alcoholic.
Wish I got sober years and years ago.
Of course it was "fun" back then.
I stay sober through AA.

SkyeSea

Kindling due to substance withdrawal, refers to the neurological condition which results from repeated withdrawal episodes from sedative-hypnotic drugs such as alcohol or benzodiazepines. Each withdrawal leads to more severe withdrawal symptoms than the previous withdrawal syndrome. Individuals who have had more withdrawal episodes are at an increased risk of very severe withdrawal symptoms, up to and including seizures

PS I copy and pasted that - I've not suddenly gone all posh

tomsteve

What made you get sober and stayed sober?
desperation. the pain of getting drunk exceeded the pain of reality and it was get sober or kill myself.

doggonecarl

I awoke after a night of uncontrolled drinking and in a moment of clarity saw my drinking for what it was. The veil of denial was lifted. I was an alcoholic. Knowing that, and knowing I couldn't drink, I devoted all my energy to my recovery.

Being sober keeps me sober. I'm blessed to not be a slave to alcohol anymore.

lillyknitting

Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

jkb

I failed at moderation FOR THE LAST TIME. I accepted that I would NEVER be able to have just a little bit. That led me to really studying Rational Recovery and getting involved with SR. Those two things have kept me sober.

HeadLump

After a not particularly heavy drinking session, I think I must have been sleep walking. I came to on the bathroom floor covered in blood and had no idea how I got there. I was very lucky that I hit the back of my head and not the front as I probably wouldn't have lived to tell the tale.

It was the look in my partner's eyes that really did it for me. I knew I couldn't ever put him through that again. And feeling so ashamed having to explain at A&E how such a thing had happened to a 'mature, professional woman'!

For the first few weeks just feeling the lump on the back of my head kept me sober (I still use that as an anchor even now). As my sobriety progressed, I started to feel the physical and psychological effects - and to see relief (and pride) shining in my partner's eyes.

So, it was literally a bang on the head that brought me to my senses - and, boy, am I ever grateful that it did

nel68

Realizing if I did not get sober I would die or worse end up very sick and dependent on someone for help...And deciding I want to live free and happy!!

SkyeSea

Wow headlump - that sounds like an awful experience Understand your user name now though and well done on 7+ months

HeadLump

Oh, thank you, skyesea! It was very frightening at the time but my only regret now is that it didn't happen sooner

SkyeSea

My 'legacy' of boozing is a partial denture

benat

Very accurate, it really does become painful to drink.

benat

Wow, sorry you had to go through that! Glad your alright!

hayley86

Congrats on day 3! . I got sober because drinking was ruining every aspect of my life and making me ill. I ended up in hospital because of drinking and i made a choice there and then that i would not drink ever again. That was nearly a year ago now. Sobriety is great and life is peaceful.

Olive1

I went to the hospital because I was super dehydrated and vomiting. I was hoping to just get fluids and vitamins, but as I was laying there with the IV, this doctor came and sat by my bed and quietly talked with me about my drinking. I had never really admitted how serious my problem was to anyone. He just calmly talked with me and asked me questions and eventually told me that if I had one more drink, then I would most likely die. I went into severe withdrawal later that evening and ended up staying in the hospital for two weeks. I subconsciously knew I was in trouble, but I didn't really admit that I was powerless for a couple of more weeks. I think it took that long for my brain to finally clear from the fog.
Never picking up the first drink keeps me sober.

PaperDolls

Pain
Desperation
Helplessness
Shame
Guilt
Disgust with myself
Lack of desire to live

ScottFromWI

For me it was nothing overly exciting or dramatic, I just woke up one day after several years of short attempts at quitting and failed "moderation" experiments and had had enough. It was after a long holiday and a particularly long ( several day ) binge. I just decided that enough was enough. I had been on SR before and dove in head first this time, i still at least read here daily to keep myself grounded and on track.