Betha

Oh my, it's already getting difficult. Can't remeber ever getting past 5 days. My sixth day ( if I get there) will be the start of the weekend. Usually I would drink a bottle of wine tonight on day three, or on 4. Anyone with a longtime binge drinking history? I'm 42. First drink was 14.

Soberwolf

Hi Betha your doing exellent having a recovery plan helped me & countless others check these links out see what you think

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-recovery.html

kittycat3

Hi Bertha. I am a long term binge drinker. I'm at day 1 today. Not sure I can do this but I will try.

SDH73

Hi, Betha! I was a binge drinker, too. 2 or 3 days of non-stop drinking, then dry out a bit during my work week. Days 3 and 4 were difficult for me because usually by that time I was feeling decent again and had "beaten" the multi-day hangover. Went on like that for probably 6 or 7 years. Before that I was a daily drinker for a number of years.

Getting through that first sober weekend was tough, but it's so worth it. You can do this!

Betha

We can do it together? I'm just learning how to muddle my way around the SR website. The support has been great.

Betha

Thank you for the links Soberwolf. I'm reading a lot of mentions about "plans".
Makes sense , but I never gave it thought before (at least anything more than 48hr advance).

sva777

Hi, I am a long time binge drinker as well. I tried many times to quit but could not make it past 10 days. I am now at 109 days with a plan and support.

Betha

109 days sva777! That's so encouraging, thank you! And Congratulations! Does it get any easier? I sure hope ��

least

Yes, it gets better. It takes time to heal from the damage alcohol did to us. But give yourself some serious sober time to count the benefits. It can be rough at first, but it does get better.

Mysusnshine1

Betha, Way to go on day 3. I am also a long term binge wine drinker. Today was my first day on my own with my husband at work and me with the freedom to do what I want. It would have been all to easy to drive into HEB and get that bottle without my husband knowing, but where would that put me? Right back at the beginning stages of my binge drinking. I'm trying very hard to focus on the reasons I gave myself to stop drinking. We can do this, every single time we say "NO" the stronger we become. Best of luck to you and everyone focused on better "US"

Dee74

Hi Betha - for many years I could never get past 3 days then I did.

Whatever happened in the past need not be a determinant on what happens this time

stick close to SR - think about recovery plans - and above all don;t drink no matter what

you can do this

D

Mark1014

Hi Betha,

You may consider joining a 'class' as part of your plan. Dee will start a new thread on May first. It will be the class of May 2015 and will be made up of folks in a similar stage as you. I'm in the October 2014 class and it has been extremely helpful to me. I'm sure the April class would be happy to have you jump in as well. Something to consider. Also, with the weekend may come new challenges. Stay very close here and consider joining in on the Weekender thread. It is generally started on Thursday mornings and is hosted by lots of folks who have achieved some long term success. The whole point of that thread is to help folks get through the weekend without drinking....and have a little fun too.
I'm so glad you're hanging in there and wish you all the best.

Betha

Thank you so much!

Dee74

You can also join the class of April right now Betha

D

InMyBlood

Hi! Fellow binge drinker here. I also had a problem getting more than a few days at a time, for years I "tried." The thing about all those false starts is, I wasn't really ready to give up drinking. This time around, I'm finishing up day 39. And it does take a while for the rocky road to level out, we all understand.

Everyone is right, I think, a plan and a support system are keys to this recovery thing. Congrats on day 3! Just remember, every single recovering alcoholic who's been sober for 30 years was once at day 3. And then day 4... And so on. You can do this too!

happyandfree

I quit many times also...thought I couldn't do it. But then I made up my mind, took it one day at a time, and with the help of sr, I have almost 15 months. It is possible! You can do it.

Soberpotamus

Day three was always when I would binge again. I was a binge drinker from about age 19-20 until I stopped finally at age 36.
Minus a total of about two years sober during that 15 year stretch.

It can really help if you get together a plan of sorts for what you'll do when things get overwhelming as far as stress and urges.

Reading several recovery books helped to occupy my mind and time early on, especially the first year. Reading and posting here helps as well.

Betha

Thanks everyone! These posts are really helping. It's going to be an extremely difficult weekend , this and next. We have so much going on. Things I can't change or cancel. I will definitely need a plan A, B , and probably a plan C. Thanks for the link ideas @fromadistance. And Dee74, I will join the May class I think since its this week and I'm only on day 4. I definitely will ck the weekender thread now!

Soberpotamus

A couple of tools that saved me early on were "play the tape through" and distraction/substitution. Playing the tape is where you imagine in great detail the entire scene in your mind, from the moment you take the drink until the very end where you're hungover and in withdrawal, as well as dealing with anything that you've said or done while drunk. I found this to be the most powerful tool available More often than not, we get sloppy, disgustingly drunk, do a few questionable, if not downright horrific, things and then there's the nasty early stages of withdrawal (that I'd always assumed was a hangover).

Binge drinking is so hard on the body, especially if you're female. Google it

Distracting yourself from the drink immediately and then switching to something that is truly rewarding is also a powerful tool. That can be a walk, a fruity seltzer drink in hand, posting on SR, a movie, a meeting... and so on.

You can do it

TennantSmith

Binge drinker here as well. My issue came from the fact that I didn't drink daily. I would binge hard and then quit for a period. So, it was always in the back of my mind "Okay, I can drink and then quit. How bad can it be? I'm not drinking daily"

But then the desire to drink would show up a day earlier, two days earlier, etc. I've realized lately that I was spending time white knuckling it to reach the "acceptable" span of time.

That's not living.

So I stopped.

I wrote a plan.

I work the steps of the plan.

It's been 6 days now. It's not easy every day. The AV still screams. The justification starts. But I have my plan and support now to stop it in its tracks.

You are among friends and the support here is INCREDIBLE.