Jupiters

I'm learning that I need to first have a healthy relationship with myself. And there was no way that was going to happen under a veil of wine. All that was doing was making me miserable. I hated myself. I wanted to crawl out of my own skin most days after a binge. The feeling of absolute despair and hopelessness...hell no.
How can a SOBER life be worse than that? in my mind, it just has to be better and so far - despite facing some pretty craptastic situations (see my jail thread) it is. It really is.

Soberpotamus

Yes! It's WAY better and WORTH the effort. I wouldn't have it any other way now.

HockeyGuy

This is what I feel completely. We need to understand why it is we feel the need to drink I think. For myself, it's a way to cut myself off from reality for a number of reasons. Of course, drinking makes everything worse, all of the time.

Jupiters

ab-sol-freaking-lutely!
I know there aren't many "guarantees" in life...but that was. Every.single.time.

lunar

Trying my best to stay sober for good
because drinking only complicates my
life with misery, pain, anxiety, fatigue,
organ damage, ugliness, hate, poor sleep,
poor eating, poor attitude, poor pockets,
poor decisions, poor purchases, poor health,
"poor me", general dysfunction, mood swings, shame,
guilt, embarrassment, endangerment, etc etc etc
I could on and on with every negative word
I can find in a dictionary, but that's enough.
The hard part (and I speak for myself) is to stay sober forever,
but I'm gonna do it.
I've been beaten down enough
by this vicious demon called alcohol.

hayley86

Yes, i am healthy, happy, and rarely think about drinking these days. Every aspect of my life is better since i stopped drinking. It's well worth the effort!

PAINLESS66

DOES A FAT BABY FART? .... That would be a definite YES!!! BEING CLEAN AND DRUG FREE IS SUCH A GOOD FEELING THAT I CANT TRULLY EXPLAIN WHAT IT FEELS LIKE SO... GET YOU 30 DAYS CLEAN AND MAYBE U CAN EXPLAIN TO ALL OF US WHAT THAT FEELING FEELS LIKE... THEN MULTIPLY THAT 30 BY 100 AND KEEP ON KEEPING ON... PEACE..

Dee74

I've never been happier or more at peace
This is from a guy who was never happy or at peace as a drinker.

Of course there's happy endings Windancer.

Grab yours now

D

tomsteve

welp, I didn't get sober for anyone but me. I didn't have to prove to them or anyone else I wasn't drinking. but I showed it with my actions. I worked hard to change who I was.
the relationship with my family....that took T.I.M.E. for me to earn their trust. words alone weren't going to work. it was my actions. I have a pretty good relationship now with my immediate family....well...that's half truth. I have a brother who,after I got into recovery, I had to remove from my life. sober, I could see how I was and why people turned their backs on me.

do cravings lesson??yup. but that took time for it to happen for me.think it was sumthing like 5-6 months before I made a full day without even thinkin about a drink.
but every second of fighting was well worth it.

happy and satisfying days without booze?
I will take my worst day sober of all of the good days drinkin.
im very glad I knew that stopping drinkin meant everything was gonna be all sunshine and rainbows.
but life for me today is a bed of roses. I just have to remember them roses have thorns.

how happy and satisfying my days are lies in my perspective.

Ren1love

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Yes the cravings lessen, but for me it still intimidates me to be at a party. I've proven to many of my family members. You can do this, I have found the real me, actually feeling feelings, be genuinely happy, remembering that moment. feeling sad (which sucks) remembering that and not numbing it with alcohol. Thats my choice to go too. Its nice to not wake up hungover and feeling guilty for something you did, not remembering anything. This is a great place to vent. It has helped me alot, getting advice, giving advice, knowing your not the only person whos going through this.One day at a time

least

I am much happier and at peace with myself, for the most part, now that I'm sober. It took some time, and some effort, to get here but was well worth it.

Michelangelo

I am happier and healthier now without drinking. Cravings do disappear. I dont think in alcohol anymore.

neferkamichael

I'm happy to be 4 years sober, rootin for ya.

aborkie

I didn't think it was possible, but yes, I now remember what it's like to live sober, and it's not bad at all. I wish I hadn't wasted so many years.

Croissant

When I first came here nearly a year ago, I didn't believe it when people said they were happy sober. I mean, I believed they could feel healthier and happy they didn't have dramas from alcohol....but truly happy they couldn't drink? No. That wouldn't be possible.

Well, it is possible. I'm so glad the craziness stopped and I don't have to worry about what I wake up to tomorrow.

The biggest victory for me was dealing with and finally losing that guilt that hung over me. The guilt of drinking, the guilt and shame of the ever growing stack of bottles, the fact I couldn't socialise without worrying when the right time to leave was, and remembering to actually leave.

Alcohol tricks you physically into thinking it's still bringing you a positive, when all it is bringing is negatives, one after the other.

To drink again would be like killing myself in a living body. A zombie is really all it made me into.

Notmyrealname

I have happy and satisfying days all the time, now that I quit drinking!

Problem is, they only come in twos, starting the day after Fridays ..

(I am seriously considering downsizing my life to where unemployment compensation would cover all my living expenses, I think it would be very liberating, although probably wouldn't help my on-the-job productivity any)

Seriously though, getting out from under the flaming Hindenberg of worry that sailed around above me all day long, that alone makes sobriety worthwhile.

ultradad

Relationships take time to heal, but yes...my wife and I have a much more rewarding relationship and she trust me now! I tell everyone that will listen to me and I'll share with you too. It took AA for me, I tried everything else and nothing worked. There's a HUGE difference between NOT drinking and working a program of recovery...I needed to get to the cause of my drinking, not just stop, in order to become a healthier person. Now everything in my life is 100% better, not perfect, but I wouldn't trade one day sober for every time I ever drank!

instant

Yes but it takes longer than now

Nuudawn

My sobriety is still new. But only yesterday, at not even a month since my last drink, I was able to realize I was actually "present" in my life. Of late, I have been taking myself out for dinner with a good book often. As I am again, recently single...cooking dinner alone, without a lover or wine ...well, I'm not quite up to it. Anyways, last night when I was leaving the restaurant I spied a couple I knew at a table across the way. They didn't see me and I could have easily snuck out, which occurred to me would be EXACTLY what I would have done if I was still drinking. For whatever reason, I have been living in some sort of transparent bubble for I don't even know how long.
Instead, I went over and said "hello". We had a nice little chat before I excused myself to head off to a meeting.

I realized yesterday that I have been avoiding "connection" for a long time if I was out and about and between "drinks". I have been walking around with blinders on just doing whatever I need to do like I was on some sort of mission...to get whatever I had to done...so I could get home to the safety of my wine cocoon. You see there wasn't much "me" out there in the world anymore. Not often anyway. I couldn't deak away from everyone (but I typically tried). When I would be forced to "make small talk" to acquaintances on the street or at the grocery store..I would feel awkward. I don't think I even realized that has been what has been happening for a number of years now. I never used to be quite that bad.

I'm not doing that anymore. Twice this week I have seen people I have known..and have actually made a concerted effort to connect..make small talk.

This for me was a HUGE realization. And I haven't been sober long at all.

wackybunny

I used to be chronically addicted to pot, thought it was the only way I could relax and handle life. I didn't really believe life could be better without it, just like many people here. It was all words and being sober seemed like a boring, cold existence. I was miserable for months but I held in there and now it's been over four months and I feel fantastic. I would say without a doubt it is better. Not just better as in healthier but better to the core of my being. I am in love with living without the chains of addiction.