soberbrah

Pros

-love the feeling
-the ONLY thing that makes me feel good
-all alone
-that nectar absolutely soothes my soul


Cons
-break streak of 32 days
-likely want to hurt myself in the am although I don't want to I get this primitive urge to do so during a hangover
-won't be functional for a couple days and will probably lose my job

PurpleKnight

I'd focus on the cons!!

Alcohol fixes nothing in my experience!! It's just not worth it!!

BernieE

That feeling you love doesn't last long. Stay strong the urge will pass.

andyroo72

I've been wondering recently whether I actually really 'loved' the way alcohol made me feel. It's more like an anaesthetic than a feeling. No matter how much I drank, I never managed to completely conceal what I was feeling under that alcoholic haze.

Soberpotamus

I would concentrate on the long-term... loss of the job, hurting yourself... those are the things that are irreparable. They aren't worth feeling a buzz for a couple hours (if you even feel a buzz anymore).

Notimetoloose

Really, for about a hour and then feel awful....give it time, you will feel good without alcohol, in fact, so much better...hang in there and give it more time...
List the of Pros of not drinking....

Dee74

I'd disagree with your pros Brah.

ultimately you don't feel good - you touched on that.
You probably have enough recovery in you not to feel good when you drink any more anyway.

drinking won't help you feel less alone. Why not go out and volunteer at the local shelter or food bank or something? be around people and do some worthwhile?

and drinking never soothed my soul. There was not enough alcohol in the world to soothe my soul.

Your addicted self is remembering things through rosy glasses, man.

D

Wastinglife

I relate to how alcohol is the only thing that makes you feel good. I don't feel comfortable in my own skin generally. Alcohol makes everything OK. It makes me feel alive.

Well...it does for the first 10 beers. Then I morph into a loud, obnoxious blathering idiot with no filter to what I say or do and the next morning I am crippled by self-loathing and regret.

But it's only the warm, fuzzy feeling of the first few drinks that I tend to focus on when I think of drinking. Never the consequences. That's why I need to come to SR everyday. To remind me of why I can't drink.

least

I don't see any pros anymore, only cons.

Soberwolf

This

ubntubnt

I want to pick up on something that Dee said. Frequently i see him recommend to others to do something worthwhile like volunteer work, something with a little charity. I am sure most of us just think "yeah, whatever, I am too busy for something like that and I don't know where to start anyway"

I would like to tell you a short story. About 4 years ago I was running a business in Myanmar (it was a small part of a bigger business). Myanmar is a deeply religious but desperately poor country. I was a raging alcoholic at the time but managing to keep my work and business life in tact, just about. Over an all night bender I got a chance to run a charity event involving approx 200 young orphans and being hammered at the time accepted the challenge. It turned out to be one of those life changing events. In the following two years I started 16 different charities across China using the business as a catalyst.

Truth be known I did it for the feel good, it made me feel useful and not just a money making and drinking machine. I guess on some level I did it to counter all the internal guilt about my drinking. But the fact is that giving something of yourself to help others is a very powerful thing and nobody should underestimate it. If you have not tried I suggest you do, you might just surprise yourself. If you don't feel particularly charitable then look on it as helping yourself and see where it goes. Just a suggestion.

soberbrah

I'm actually planning on doing volunteer work

Isn't it selfish tho if I'm doing it to feel good

Marcher13

Good heavens no! Volunteers should feel good in their volunteer work.

soberbrah

Going to bed super early tonight

I do this quite a bit on my sober streaks, doesn't seem healthy, if gunna be unhealthy I might as well have some booze

azza88

I personally have had nothing ever come good from Alcohol, the buzz sometimes but after years of abuse its f*cking depressing!

Good luck with it

Keep fighting.

azza88

I can so relate!

Fly N Buy

Pros - Yes, I was sadly. Inducted into Hall if Shame.

Cons - If I drink again very likely will become one

Hang in there, you can do this!!

OklaBH

those are rose colored glasses you are looking through. I cant think of 1 pro. However I can think of about 20 more cons. I bet you can too!

LBrain

Pros: you don't have to spend money on a new one as your weight fluctuates. I also have the infinitely adjustable style.

Cons: Not disciplined to watch diet.

lovesymphony

All I personally miss is the excitement and relaxation RIGHT BEFORE drinking...believing that illusion that it would help me cope better and get me away from my problems. My last slip was a two day binge and I felt I had finally escaped the world only to sober up and think miserably,"I'm. Still. Here." It was all an illusion. I didn't escape anything plus now had to do a lot of damage control. The pros are faaaaar outweighed by the cons or we wouldn't be on this board