Lisbon

Well i went 2 weeks sober after deciding it was time to stop.

This past weekend however, i spent 4 days in a big condo on the beach with 42 people at a music festival. Needless to say, it was a 90hr long, non stop party.

We had all booked this months ago (way before i decided to get sober) spent a good chunk of money up front as well so there was no avoiding the weekend.

I went into the weekend knowing i would drink and didnt let the stress of trying to avoid the booze ruin my weekend. I didnt drink at all Thursday or Friday and it wasnt tough at all. Saturday i decided to drink and enjoy one day the old fashioned way. I had a blast, didnt get too hammered, didnt make a fool of myself or feel guilty the next day. Sunday i woke up and had a mimosa (my favorite) and said goodbye for good to alcohol.

It was like breaking it off with an old girlfriend on friendly terms. The initial breakup was hard, some things were said that werent meant to be said, ect ect. This weekend we cleared the air, spent one last day together and decided mutually it wasnt what each other wanted out of life.

I have begun my sober journey again, i am on Day 2, and i feel comfortable knowing that i wont be drinking again. Ive laid it to rest.

P.Sl The Black Keys were awesome! (And i watched them on a sober day!)

Hawk07

Hmmm... Well welcome back to day 2.... I'm glad you feel confident in your ability to move forward. Personally I have whats called a 'No contact' rule when it comes to exes and am applying that to alcohol as well. Too much danger in finding myself right back to square one emotionally and physically.
On another note The Black Keys rock and I'm glad you're back and on the right path. But this time don't stray again

zeroptzero

Hey that sounds great. Why didn't I think of that? One last party for old times' sake? One last drink to say goodbye to my old friend. Go out in style. Oh wait I did do that. Lots of times!

In all sincerity I wish you nothing but the best. I can't tell if you are trying to get a rise out of people, I will assume you are not and give you my best wishes for success. I think your post is provocative, because for many people, including myself, alcohol at the end was no kind of friend, and the memories are none too pleasant.

Anna

This is not true. You could have avoided the weekend and chosen to not go.

Early recovery is a time to focus on yourself and what you need to recover.

Tang

The fact you felt bad enough about your drinking to join a recovery website tells me you can't deal with alcohol in a healthy fashion. To sing the praises of a debaucherous drunken weekend is not a good thing. May the wheels on your track stay intact and not accelerate beyond control.

ReadyAtLast

The safest way to avoid this situation is not to go. You could have not gone. 2 weeks ago you decided to quit drinking then go to a drink fest and drink. what happens when the next event arises? There will be another event-there is always something.

For me,it wasn't just a case of putting down the drink it was changing my lifestyle. Learning what to do when in unexpected situations when offered a drink. Putting myself in a drinking situation in early sobriety would have just been crazy and obviously I would have drunk.Nothing changes if nothing changes

Croissant

Giving up for a few days and then proclaiming it isn't tough at all - then laying on excuses about why it was ok to drink would indicate that in fact it was tough. Way too tough.

Didn't you give up a few weeks ago, also?

I'm wondering why you are posting about drinking at the concert as if it's no big deal. Like others have said, other challenges will come up. How would it feel if everyone just came here and posted every couple of weeks when they had the weekend off and drank? Are you serious?

This is a site for sobriety.

WanderingBear

This just doesn't sound like a post from somebody who is ready to quit drinking- or even wants to for that matter.

GwenCummings

Well Lisbon. I hope this is false cheeriness and underneath you feel really bad. Aside from the damage to yourself, I don't need to hear about a great drinking party and mimosa on the beach. I am struggling with my demons. All these other people are as well. I am sad that you think it's ok to post this.

If you are coming back to be sober I will support you but please listen to the sensible voices who are very concerned that you think this is ok.

Mentium

I hope the weekend was the 'long goodbye' you seem to be sure it was. Seems to me though you are still friends with that old 'girlfriend'. For many people with a drinking problem they have to hate that b***h to dump her good and proper!

All the best though - takes all sorts to make a world!

Lisbon

Yikes, so much hostility! I didnt post this to upset anyone or get a rise out of people. I have read dozens and dozens of posts just like mine except they arent as positive about a slip up.

I have gone to this festival for 4 years. Each year i would be absolutely **** faced nonstop for 4 days straight. This year i drank one day, i would call that progress, anyone would call that progress.

It tought me two things. One: drinking isnt what i remember it being, its not as fun. Two: i dont need it to live a full life. This is also progress.

I have a positive outlook on sobriety in my life (isnt thatt he whole point?)

If you want to post about how im i shouldnt be on this site and i shouldnt be posting about my thoughts and life events in my journey, then you are no help and please dont post under my threads again.

We all have our own paths to travel, i came here for support. My path may look different than yours, my starting point may look different than yours, our destinations are the same.

huntingtontx

Let's keep calm. We are a support group. We are here to help people. Maybe some people take longer to let go of alcohol. Let's work together here. I hope you can walk away from alcohol. Life is so much better without it. Good luck.

Low

Oh my....the denial, ego, and insanity of the alcoholic mind in action. Fascinating to see it laid out like this. Sorry of course for the road that inevitably will lay ahead....but a good reminder.

Dee74

You've got to admit tho Lisbon - this isn't a great recovery plan:

I'm glad you've decided to be sober now, but you're trying to make a virtue of a last hurrah, man.

I'm not sure you're even aware that's what you're doing, but that's what people are reacting to.

I think you'll need to look carefully at your social life for a while...my old life was great for a drinker, but not so great for someone trying to be sober.

I do wish you the best.

D

GwenCummings

You seriously want me to congratulate you on your survival plan of drinking cocktails for breakfast then happily returning to your sober life?

I need to stay alive so I'm not buying it. Sorry. X

bigsombrero

Lisbon -

You probably feel like you're being fed to the lions here. Sorry about that.

I'll start by explaining that this is a serious recovery site. Many people here have been to treatment, rehab, counseling, and have battled this disease/condition for decades. We've seen families, jobs, and lives lost, and many of us have serious deep running emotional scars.

Slip-ups are a major hot-button issue. When you say "Yay, I only had one mimosa this morning" and do a happy dance, it's going to raise some eyebrows. You see, if we had a mimosa this morning, our entire lives would crumble.

I'm not surprised you're shocked at the responses - everyone was new to this once. Just read around, take your time checking out the site and see if you can relate to anyone's stories. Good luck, and if you're serious about this I hope that you can find something here that will help you make some changes.

Cascabel

I think you are interpreting serious reservations as hostility. There is a lot of experience in fighting alcohol on this forum and what you seem to interpret as hostility is actually the voice of experience. Those here who have successfully quit drinking have also experienced their fair share of failure and see what you call progress as insufficient commitment.

Quitting drinking is the easy part; you did that for two weeks. Then your unchanged lifestyle pulled you back into drinking. To successfully quit drinking, one needs to not only abstain but to change the lifestyle that supports your desire to drink. That is the hard part.

I suspect that you will do what you will do regardless of the advice you get here. I wish you all the best and, please, check in again this time next year and tell us how it all worked out.

GwenCummings

I'm sorry if I've been a lion. It's just that you made me want a mimosa on the beach and I don't even know what the hell a mimosa is but I'm guessing it contains alcohol.

Live long and prosper. X

Cahabr

I'm glad you feel great about starting your journey again. Realize that alcohol added nothing of value over the weekend and remember that for next time.

PayingTheTaxMan

Your reply is completely demoralizing and judgemental. It's easy to judge someone for their actions. Hell, we have ALL and are continually being judged for being alcoholics. "It's our fault" "It's our decision" "We did this to ourselves".

If we can't support each other here, how are we supposed to find the path to recovery? I have done extensive reading on recovery and most alcoholics do "slip up". Any addict is likely to. We shouldn't ostracize someone for giving in to something that is very difficult to break away from.

Why not applaud this person for recognizing that the slip up reinforced the reasons to give up alcohol. Whether the slip up was conscious or not, the out come is what is important.

So, thank you for sharing your story of the weekend. It was brave of you.