soberbrah

Yes, and I am fully aware if I drink it will not be normal

Nonsensical

The thought of never drinking again feels like a loss until I reframe the issue.

I choose to give myself a better life, and alcohol WILL NOT take that away from me.

DoubleDragons

I couldn't honestly think of never drinking again until I was 9-10 months sober. Now it seems entirely plausible and even appealing, but I still prefer to take the one day at a time approach. Jason Vale's Kick the Drink Easily really helped me look at alcohol in a whole new light.

FeelingGreat

It can be daunting but I deliberately don't dwell on it. My will power has been challenged a few times, and I've still chosen not to drink, so I guess I'm up for it.

least

It was daunting at first but after I became comfortable with living sober it no longer bothered me. I don't feel deprived, but enriched.

ForMeForThem

Acceptance wasn't easy but it was necessary for me. If I don't want to end up where I was or worse, I can't drink - I know there is no in between. I think about that every day so that I keep moving forward in my recovery.

When the idea of never again seems daunting, I try not to get ahead of myself and keep recovery focused on today. I'm not to the point of never missing it all, but I'm still working on it and as time goes on the idea of never again is becoming less and less daunting, where I can actually see that for myself in a positive way. I like what Treerat said - it's a shift in perspective that I think comes in time.

HellJuice

It only felt daunting at first.. but after a while you get over it.

tnman1967

The first dozen or so attempt at quitting I was terrified that I couldn't drink ever again. That's why I didn't succeed. Once you accept and embrace the fact that you can't ever drink again as well as move to the position that you don't WANT to drink again you will have a good stab at this. Once you get to the state where you want to abstain that becomes the new normal. You will realize that a lot of people who drink have an unhealthy relationship with the bottle and it takes some growing up to stay away from it. Yes I take a different approach than a lot of people as I don't subscribe to the powerless syndrome. Not saying that anyone else is wrong, whatever works I'm all for.

Soberpotamus

It took me nine years total, including a failed six year relationship with another alcoholic, and my alcoholic mother's suicide for me to accept I will never be able to drink. It's no longer daunting. It's doable.

I think we all arrive at the place of acceptance a little differently, of course.

It took the above set of circumstances for me to want sobriety. That was my perfect storm.

LexieCat

At this point, I can think of nothing good that could happen in my life that a drink wouldn't ruin. And nothing bad in my life that a drink wouldn't make worse.

Nope, not daunting for me.

I've come to realize how much damn WORK is involved in maintaining an alcoholic drinking lifestyle. No, thanks.

HenryKrinkle

It was daunting the first 2-3 months. Now I hardly even think about it. I'm simply a non-drinker. I used to smoke too, but I quit that a decade ago and never think about that either.

Soberwolf

I have no problem with never drinking again i am 32

From the day i accepted and said i was a alcoholic it was a game changer it took 3 months of trying and now that im sober 16 months this is for life

and i love it so much

fini

Does the idea of never drinking again seem daunting?

no; it's sighs of relief and freedom.

jryan19982

This is good. I tend to get too far ahead of myself in life in general so it is hard for me to look at it being just today... however, I remember thinking that after I got out of that darkness of the last drink last go around. Thank you for that.

jryan19982

Same age here. I just think, how can I be sober for the rest of my days when I hopefully have more a head of my than behind me.

bunnezjp

Nope.

Bunnez

DefconOne

I used to drink and never think of the consequences, now I think of the consequences and don't drink.

b086

one thing that helped me in the earliest days, and which has already been said in this thread, is that it is critical to just take it one day at a time. Today I won't drink. I can commit to that. And at the end of the day, when I get into bed, it feels so dang good to be sober -- no spins, no looming sickness, no sleep deprivation and dehydration and regret, no blackouts, no shame -- that i tend to want to do it all again tomorrow.

never, ever, not even once have i regretted *not* taking a drink....

hayley86

No, i don't find the idea of never drinking again daunting. Accepting and making peace with the fact that i can't drink normally and taking the option of drinking completely off the table meant that i started to get well. For me, to drink is to die and i couldn't imagine anything more horrifying or daunting than returning to a life of drinking. The benefits of sobriety are endless and i feel incredibly grateful every single day. Wishing you the best.

Gottalife

Fear of the unknown was the real problem. A life without alcohol would be.......what? Nothing good that I could imagine based on past experience. Sobriety was unpleasant to say the least, a life of no fun, just pain? As it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.