25 & under club???
 

Just trying to find other young people out there in recovery. I don't mean to leave out those who are older, but I find it really interesting to meet young people, my age, in recovery. It's incredibly rare. I'd love to chat. I'm mostly interested in how you guys make friends/meet people/keep your old friends who still drink/go on with life in your 20's???

Hi Alaek :)

I know there are young people here - hopefully they''ll see this thread :)

D

I'm 33....

Bunnez

Hey alaek, I'm not in the 'Under-25' club, but I just wanted to say welcome!

Good for you getting a handle on this at an early age. I hope you are able to find some other people closer to your age for support, but in all honesty, the challenges (even for us older folks) are still there as well. However, perhaps we don't have the peer pressure as some of the younger people do.

I look forward to seeing you around!

32 excluded by 7 years darn it lol

How are you Alaek

Hi and Welcome,

There are lots of young people here, so take a look around and you will find support.

Welcome to the Forum Alaek!! :wave:

Hi! I just turned 26, haha, but I agree, it's weird being in your early-mid 20s and in recovery. I'm at two weeks now (my 26th birthday was a hard hurdle for me), but I've had some sober stretches over the past few months. I've had to be really honest with my good friends about what I'm working on and luckily they've been very considerate about planning to do sober activities with me. It does mean though that I avoid going out to the bars with them or any ragers, etc. And my good friend plays in a band and I avoid their shows cause they're always in bars. In time I think that might change, but certain lifestyle changes for now.

From all I've read on here, the lifestyle changes are incredibly important. When I've had a couple months sober I slip up because while I'm not drinking, my habits have not necessarily been changing. So slowly I've been trying to find different things to do, like outdoors things like hiking and running and social activities that don't revolve around alcohol. But it's hard for sure.

27 here. I don't think this place sees many under 25. Heavy drinking is very, very "normal" for a lot of people at that age. It certainly was for me.

Hey! I'm 24! I know that you mean, it does feel rare to meet other sober young folks but we're definitely out there. I find that maintaining sobriety has required me to choose new hobbies and in some cases new friends. How has it been going for you alaek?

Heh, I'm another old person (sheesh, my younger son turned 26 today), but I wanted to tell you that you are saving your youth by getting sober now. My first husband got sober at age 21, just celebrated 34 years of sobriety, and he has had a wonderful, amazing life. If he'd kept going as he was when he was drinking, I doubt he would have made it to 30. And if he had, it would have been a pretty desperate and sad existence.

There are lots of young people at my AA meetings. If you aren't in a recovery group, you might want to do that--you will meet lots of people who are doing the same things.

Hey my name is Nick. I'm a 24 year old male with about 15 months sobriety.

Message me

I wish I had addressed my drinking before 25. I think a lot of us here may have taken a while for the problems in life to add up to the point where we snapped out of denial. I am 38 now but I lost 10 years of my life to alcoholism. I had no self-awareness about how much alcohol had dominated my life.

Welcome to the site Alaek. I was a 24 yr old alcoholic once. Age is but a number.

I'm sorry that was stupid of me to just post my name, age, and that I was in recovery. I was on my cell phone and there was no way I would have been able to type all the stuff I wanted to say through my phone. Also having you message me would not help anybody else reading this thread...That was very rude of me and I'm sorry about that everyone. Anyways...

My name is Nick and I'm 24 years old. Throughout my life I have abuse prescription drugs and alcohol. Eventually this led me to get my first driving under the influence. I was put on probation, had to attend AA, pay fines and in the end I didn't learn anything from the experience. Within the next year I was arrested again for a 2nd DUI and put on probation again...had to pay fine, had to attend AA meetings. During this time I was just not ready to clean my act up. I was obtaining prescriptions for all of my favorite drugs and beating these court ordered drug tests. Couldn't violate me if I had a prescription...bottom line I did not want to quit at that time...I just wasn't ready. Anyways my life goes...not working...living away from my parents house with a drinking buddy. We would always have all the alcohol we wanted...throughout all my years of abusing drugs I was addicted to Xanax...I just couldn't quit that one...when I didn't have it in my system I would have seizures. So anyways I'm drinking my life away for the next few years. 20-21. Sometime when I was 21 I moved out to Vegas with a buddy and that's where the downward spiral happened. Before this time I liked to drink...but Vegas took me to a whole new level of drinking. I would drink when I woke up til when I went to sleep. Anyways I came home from vegas after 2 months where my drinking continued for another year. I was living at my parents house...drinking everyday, taking benzos...my life was going nowhere...absolutely nowhere. I didn't work, I didn't go to school. I'm surprised I had enough money for my booze. Anyways what finally drove me to get some help was that I couldn't handle being addicted to alcohol and Xanax...more so on a financial level. So I called a treatment center to admit myself. This was a blessing. When I first went there I didn't even want to get completely sober. I was married to Xanax...I just wanted them to get me clean from the alcohol...silly me...haha. So anyways I go into treatment a week after my 23rd birthday and wow...This treatment center showed me the light. Even going in I didn't feel I had a problem...My problem was that I couldn't afford my drugs. Learning that there are people who cannot control how much they drink or use and that they were called alcoholics or drug addicts really helped me. I was an addict/alcoholic. Whatever you want to call it I have a pretty addictive personally and I would abuse any mind altering substance. Rehab detoxed me and set me on right path. So I get out of rehab and in my mind I think "I don't want to go to AA...I don't need it". So anyways I know that no matter what I am to not drink. I am sober now...drinking is no longer an option for me. I know that I am powerless over alcohol and drugs...I cannot moderate my substance use. I am an alcoholic/drug addict. I completed my first step in rehab. Most important of the steps.

You asked how you keep your friends? Well are you friends alcoholics or drug addicts? Do they love you and care about you? Because if they do they will never pressure you into drinking and understand your problem. My friends sure do. I have a huge support system filled with friends, family, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins...everyone cares about me and would never pressure me into drinking. I have my old friends still yes...and when they drink or throw a little get together I am happy to join because I love being with my friends, that's what makes me happy. Making new friends though? I haven't really made friends with anyone new. I recently went back to AA because I felt that I was doing so well in my recovery that I should give back...and I wanted to help someone else. Well I haven't made friends with anyone in AA...although I only go to on average 1 meeting per week. I'm sure these AA people could make great friends...but there's nothing like the friends that I have known for 10 years. Of course there are some friends that I don't hang out with. I would be careful with friends that you have who are alcoholics and addicts. Misery loves company...you need to watch out. As long as you surround yourself with friends who love you...and love the person you have become sober you will be alright. I am currently single but when I do start dating again I will look for a girl who isn't an alcoholic/ addict or a recovering alcoholic/addict. It will just make things more complicated to date an addict. It will be a bad move on my part in my own opinion. I would love to chat with you sometime message me! Goodluck

I definitely can relate to having to basically avoid hanging out with my friends. It's sad though, because my friends don't really try going out of their way to plan sober activities with me. So, I haven't seen any of them for a month. They're still living their lives with partying and drinking every weekend, and of course I can't go, so I'm completely excluded from them right now. Some of my friends, I realized, have nothing in common with me. Literally the only thing we really did together was party, and now that that's out of the question, I can't even think of anything else I'd want to do with them unless I'm drunk.... It's all very interesting to say the least. But thanks for your post and your help.

Yeah, I'm starting to realize that I'll have to choose some new friends, which I don't really mind actually, because I'm learning who my real friends are right now. Those who don't want to change their habits, or those who get mad or annoyed with me every time I say "no" to partying or going out with them, are obviously not very supportive. It's sad, because some of those people are my "best friends" and have been for over 10 years... But I'm still trying to figure out what my "hobbies" are... It's weird and hard because honestly everything bores me...

Well, I'm still in the beginning of my recovery, so right now I really need to avoid any and all possibilities of being around alcohol. That means I choose not to go to any parties, events, etc even if all of my best friends are going. You can understand then that this is very isolating. What's even worse is that every time I say "no" to going to an event, my friends like to play the guilt trip on me. Instead of simply saying "okay" or better yet, not inviting me because they know i'm in recovery right now, they bash on me and make me feel bad about not going. One of the most irritating things that many of my friends have been saying to me right now is: "Just come out with us! You don't have to drink!!" Like, really..... -____- It sucks not having more supportive friends. They really just don't get it. They think that this is just a "phase" for me and I'm gonna go back to partying with them in a few months.... They just don't get it at all.

I just turned 24 and am struggling to stay sober. I've never really posted on these boards before (I've lurked on an off for a bit) but it's time I get myself on track. I'm still working on the first step of admitting to myself I'm an alcoholic.

I still don't know if I am an alcoholic. But I guess since I'm here and even thought that I needed any sort of "recovery" I am one, right ? Idk...