DoubleDragons

I am very new to this, so I don't know if this makes any sense or not. But after seeing a loved one in a very sad alcoholic state this spring, I started waking up to the idea that I had to take care of myself. Subconsciously, since I started drinking in my teens, I knew I had a problem with alcohol, but I always let that stay in my subconscious. In the meantime, this summer I changed my eating habits, started studying up on vitamins and supplements and started a regimen of them, started exercising regularly, meditation, quit a nasty diet Coke habit. I cut back on my alcohol intake, but I wasn't ready to give it up. However, due to these other habit changers, I started to remember what it was like to feel physically good, to have energy, to be slimmer. I started to feel more confident because of my health changes. When I did suffer a hangover, it feel worse than ever, and I think that is partly because I now remembered what it felt like to feel physically really good. I think I feel more confident to quit drinking alcohol now because I have proven to myself that I can and I have made healthy life changes. So I wonder if a person is pondering quitting alcohol (which I know, for me, is going to be immensely harder than any of the other changes I have done) if it is smart to start with quitting lesser "bad" habits and prove to yourself that you can do it?!?

SkyeSea

I think that your idea of quitting 'lesser bad' things, is your addiction trying to stop you from feeding it

You say your hangovers are getting worse - well they will do! MUCH worse and probably sooner than you think (look up 'kindling')

Hoping you find the strength to quit

DoubleDragons

No, SkySea, don't get me wrong. I am on the October list. My plan is to quit drinking entirely. I am just saying that, for me, this spring when I was plowing myself with junk food, not exercising, not feeling good about myself tc. etc. that I think quitting alcohol would have been harder than at the state of mind and body that I am in now, when I am actually attempting to quit drinking alcohol. Although, it seems for a lot of others their healthy changes come after quitting alcohol.

SkyeSea

Oh, I misunderstood

Dee74

I tried that too - I never seemed to ever get around to the real problem of dealing with my alcoholism tho.

The task is hard but it's not impossible - I'm not sure that tests runs actually help that much because, to me anyway, addiction is much more than a habit or a vice.

There's a new life out there after drinking...I say why wait to start it?

D

wakko

I think you have it reversed quit drinking first and then work on the lesser evils

DoubleDragons

I see what you are all saying. I realize everyone comes to sobriety in their own way. I just think I feel stronger and more confident overall due to health changes that I made this summer and thus I feel more confident that I can quit alcohol. Because my healthy body feels so good, I want it to feel even better . . . .

jaynie04

Hi DD, I think the changes you have made in other areas will help you, they serve to reinforce the fact that you can do something and see the benefits fairly quickly.

Getting sober is different however, and staying sober requires more than just willpower. When you have decided to eat better, exercise etc, pretty much anyone I have ever met has been there. Statistics seem to indicate that around 10% of the human population has issues with addiction. And sadly there is still stigma attached to it. While the people here understand how difficult it is, most of the general population doesn't have to deal with it daily and they don't understand it. For us it is more complicated than just not drinking. It is often said that the drinking is but a symptom of this disease.

Getting sober is simple, but it is not easy. That is why having a support system in place is so relevant. If all we have to rely on is the general population we feel that we are different, left out, missing something. I doubt anyone here woke up one day and sought out this site because they were bored. We end up here usually because we are grappling with something that is bigger than us, and something that eludes our normal ability to problem solve. I can't imagine staying sober without receiving external support.

In listening to others I see myself. Issues are discussed and I find myself going "oh yeah", i never even recognized that in myself. We could move mountains if we could harness all the willpower on this board. I think most of us have tried everything in our skill set before we end up asking others for help. I think you are doing an amazing job, immersing yourself, asking questions, being introspective and aligning parallels. The points you share are thoughtful and you bring a lot to SR, I am glad you are here!

Dee74

Maybe I misunderstood too.
As long as you're sober now and intend to stay that way thats a good thing DD

Deckard

DD, I posted a poll a few weeks back asking whether quitting drinking was the hardest thing people had ever done. I was quite surprised that >70% of the respondents said that something else had been more difficult for them.

Just thought you might be interested in this as you "compare" difficulties related to quitting.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ever-done.html