New here; my story
 

Hello; I am a 33-year-old in New York. I recently made the choice to become sober. I have, in the past five years, gone from light drinker, to functioning alcoholic, to twice-a-week-wasted, to moderate drinker. I began drinking at age 13 and it was not something that I went any length of time without, ever since.

About 4 months ago, I decided for the first real time in my adult life to start living without alcohol. I went two months without a drink, and then had several drinks in a few-week period that ended two weeks ago. It's been two weeks now and I finally feel a real connection, an audible click, that tells me that this is the real thing.

My main "wow" moment came actually from having those few drinks after my two-month hiatus. I realized that I was not just drinking them for the taste alone.. that drinking one drink gave me absolutely No buzz.. so, I rationalized that I cannot "just have one" because it is pointless and I might as well drink soda or something else that is tastier. So.. I am done drinking.

My username refers to the "extra, great hours" that sobriety is adding to my life. A hangover would cost me about 6 hours of time in recovery.. those were 24 lost hours a month, on a very minimalist estimate, as it was sometimes more.. so, I am literally adding hours and days to my life, and I will be "truly living" longer. :)

I enjoy reading this forum, and decided to join for a more personalized experience. Hats off to sobriety :)

-Jen

Welcome, extrahours/Jen. Glad you found SR.

Thanks; looking forward to spending time here :)

Welcome to SR! :) I quit drinking over four years ago and don't miss it one bit. My life is far better than it was when I was drinking. I am so glad I quit. I think you'll be glad too. :hug:

That's a great first post, welcome!

It really is freeing when alcohol is no longer part of the picture. :)

Welcome, Extrahours. I love the username. My days were increasingly consumed by my being either buzzed, drunk or hungover. So much lost time. With a few months of sobriety under my belt, I am amazed at how much more I am able to accomplish in a given day. It really is like having extra hours in the day, isn't it?

Welcome to SR. I am glad you are here with us. :ring

Hi! Congrats on a great start. Also new here and relate to pretty much all of that. Of all the many downsides to boozing i think the lost time is one of the worst - if i totted up all the wasted hours it would be some prison sentence!

Welcome to the forum ExtraHours :)

Very good to meet you Jen! You found a great place. :)

Great post Jen. Never quite thought about it that way- extrahours ...nice

Jen,

Check out the book 'Kick The Drink Easily' by Jason Vale. Congratulations on your decision to quit.

TC

Extra hours, extra money, extra space in my brain...I've gained so much by quitting and lost absolutely nothing. It's a life changing decision that I have never regretted. Glad you've joined us.

Welcome Jen xxxx

Hi, Welcome to the forum extrahours.

I love the way you counted the extra hours in your life now. Welcome to SR.

Thanks for the replies and the welcomes :)

Update! 6 weeks drinkless. I went through a holiday gathering, a weekend tattoo convention (in which there were ample, ample opportunities and invites for drinks) and a few other gatherings with drinks. I can't say that I didn't want them because that is implying that this is easy.. but nope.

Great news, extrahours, and congratulations. Good job getting through some triggering events; very happy for you.

That's great Jen... Keep it up

Congrats on 6 weeks! That is fantastic.