I made it 14 days so far
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 3,293
I'm on 16 days and I'm scared too, scared something will suddenly go wrong and I will end up in a liquor store without thinking about it. It's happened before. For me, I think that's a healthy place to be. Things are going well right now and have have very few thoughts about drinking, but I've learned in the past to not get too comfortable with that and to stay sharp.
What do you mean that things are getting harder?
What do you mean that things are getting harder?
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,449
yup, I hear ya.
I'm on 3 weeks and going through a flux of "hey no probs, I got this" and then 5min later "HOLY CRAP! wtf have I done?!"
I had 18mths sober in 2010/2011 so remember quite clearly how the first bit is...the difference is, I didn't take it seriously last time. Not the way I am this time. Unfortunately, it took a really REALLY bad situation for me to get here...legal woes out the wazoo and almost lost my BF and my job. But it also snapped me out of my constant denial and binge drinking every 6 or 7 weeks.
it's a rollercoaster for sure, but so much better being on the ride sober
hang in!
I'm on 3 weeks and going through a flux of "hey no probs, I got this" and then 5min later "HOLY CRAP! wtf have I done?!"
I had 18mths sober in 2010/2011 so remember quite clearly how the first bit is...the difference is, I didn't take it seriously last time. Not the way I am this time. Unfortunately, it took a really REALLY bad situation for me to get here...legal woes out the wazoo and almost lost my BF and my job. But it also snapped me out of my constant denial and binge drinking every 6 or 7 weeks.
it's a rollercoaster for sure, but so much better being on the ride sober
hang in!
Re-Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Posts: 7,583
brownts,
It is too early to feel recovered that takes a bit more time. But when you see all the people here you wonder how anybody did it and if they did how long and then if long like a month or two you figure they haven't a clue because no matter what they say it is different for you.
I thought my withdrawal was harder, my feelings after a longer time made me realize this is not a 7 day detox and live happily sober ever after.
There is a reason we drank. The conundrum is that it takes a few weeks of sobriety to even begin to deal with life, the universe, and everything. Boy that seems overwhelming and it is. You just have to take a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
You've given yourself a second chance at living free and clear. Life won't get better but every day sober you will get a little bit better at handling what life throws at you. We became accustomed to hiding in a bottle and living in fear. In the first month we feel shaky and afraid that something will push us over the edge. I swore I would quit every day for the last two years I drank, and held off from drinking that first shot in the morning to stop the shaking and when I did that I celebrated my willpower and told myself see, you CAN do it, tomorrow. And it took 730 relapses from a few minutes of sobriety to make it stick.
I saw the folks here and thought I could never do it kiddo, but one day led to two and then an unthinkable week! I patted myself on the back for a month, with moments of fear that I dispelled by coming here to SR day and night. Thank goodness for the folks from other time zones so we had some folks here to help almost all the time.
Then it was six months and I was really doing well and have not looked back once. How long I have made it is not important. What is important is you can try to channel that fear into adrenaline action and energy, or trembling and fear. Funny thing is that we were worse drinking than sober and suddenly we aren't doing well enough for ourselves!
I accepted that OK it was good enough before, so good enough for now, and since I was such a critic, I could either get used to my less than stellar performances and sit on my duff, or practice and strive for better, since drinking was no longer an option by my own choice.
No one could help me accept that, only tell me they felt it too. Somehow, that helped me get through it. And over myself.
I will be here along with thousands of others, all of us ex drunks and alcoholics. We are your scouts and can tell you what is on the trail ahead so you can be ready for any obstacles. I can tell you to come on! It is rocky and slippery but if you focus on where you place each step, you will have no trouble getting to where I am on the trail. All of us can tell you where the potholes are, and the slippery places, but we can't walk your path for you. We can only take joy as you succeed, and cheer for us all!
It is too early to feel recovered that takes a bit more time. But when you see all the people here you wonder how anybody did it and if they did how long and then if long like a month or two you figure they haven't a clue because no matter what they say it is different for you.
I thought my withdrawal was harder, my feelings after a longer time made me realize this is not a 7 day detox and live happily sober ever after.
There is a reason we drank. The conundrum is that it takes a few weeks of sobriety to even begin to deal with life, the universe, and everything. Boy that seems overwhelming and it is. You just have to take a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
You've given yourself a second chance at living free and clear. Life won't get better but every day sober you will get a little bit better at handling what life throws at you. We became accustomed to hiding in a bottle and living in fear. In the first month we feel shaky and afraid that something will push us over the edge. I swore I would quit every day for the last two years I drank, and held off from drinking that first shot in the morning to stop the shaking and when I did that I celebrated my willpower and told myself see, you CAN do it, tomorrow. And it took 730 relapses from a few minutes of sobriety to make it stick.
I saw the folks here and thought I could never do it kiddo, but one day led to two and then an unthinkable week! I patted myself on the back for a month, with moments of fear that I dispelled by coming here to SR day and night. Thank goodness for the folks from other time zones so we had some folks here to help almost all the time.
Then it was six months and I was really doing well and have not looked back once. How long I have made it is not important. What is important is you can try to channel that fear into adrenaline action and energy, or trembling and fear. Funny thing is that we were worse drinking than sober and suddenly we aren't doing well enough for ourselves!
I accepted that OK it was good enough before, so good enough for now, and since I was such a critic, I could either get used to my less than stellar performances and sit on my duff, or practice and strive for better, since drinking was no longer an option by my own choice.
No one could help me accept that, only tell me they felt it too. Somehow, that helped me get through it. And over myself.
I will be here along with thousands of others, all of us ex drunks and alcoholics. We are your scouts and can tell you what is on the trail ahead so you can be ready for any obstacles. I can tell you to come on! It is rocky and slippery but if you focus on where you place each step, you will have no trouble getting to where I am on the trail. All of us can tell you where the potholes are, and the slippery places, but we can't walk your path for you. We can only take joy as you succeed, and cheer for us all!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Georgia
Posts: 3,062
Just take some deep breaths and remember that with each day sober you are a stronger person. I had a post-it note on my bathroom mirror for quite some time that said "Do the next right thing". It made me feel better as I knew that all I had to remember and all I had to do was "the next right thing". The saying that we take each day "one day at a time" is also helpful for me.
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