Hello new friends!
 

(cross-posted from the July 2015 thread)

Hey folks! I am new to the class of July 2015...and on day 2 of not drinking I was on this site a year ago under a different name, but I forgot my password and realized anyhow that the name could be taken in an unintended way

...so here I am, ready to begin the path to complete sobriety! I realized I had a problem when alcohol started reacting with my body in bad ways (digestion and pains and odd reactions, etc. etc.) and I couldn't/wouldn't stop. So here I am. I'm a functional alcoholic, which hasn't done me much good because I don't have anybody telling me that I should change my ways. In other words, I don't have anybody (wife included) saying, "thank God he's on the right track now!"

I'll be looking to you guys to help me a bit on that part

My name, by the way, is John. Ron Medford is just a nickname my buddy gave me in school a loooong time ago!

Welcome Ron! First of all, you need to change your ways. :) Seriously though, you do and fortunately you are aware of that.

What's your plan for getting sober?

Welcome to the class of July 2015, and hope you stay connected on your journey going forward...day 2 is another day better than day 1!

Absolutely I do! Thanks for the welcome, JerryFish :) The need to change my ways is very clear to me and is quite a motivational statement. I am somebody who obsesses with new processes/goals once I truly internalize them and claim them as my own, and this is one that I really want and need.

My current fool-proof plan is to not drink (fool-proof was said tongue-in-cheek). I know going forward that I will have my wife's support because she at least knows the physical issues I have when I do drink. I don't think I will have any detractors around me...and my son and I play horse until bed time so I have a great evening distraction :)

Welcome back John! You will find a ton of support here. Good luck on your journey. :)

Welcome, great decision to "change your ways", the only way is up.
Good luck to you.
x

Welcome back John!
Don

Welcome to SR, John. I am glad you are here with us. :c009:

Sounds good! It's obvious you're very motivated. And having your wife's support is very valuable!

I always recommend anyone who wants to quit to contact their doctor about it and tell them everything. They can offer a lot of help if you need it. And if you don't, it's still good that they know about it.

What's your situation? How much and how often did you drink? Have you quit already or are you going to soon?

EDIT: Woops, I missed that you're on day 2. :) Great going! How are you feeling?

Welcome back! I'm glad you've decided to stop drinking. I'm sure you won't regret it. :)

Thanks for asking. My situation is that I had ~4-5 drinks a night (mostly wine, sometimes mixed drinks), pretty much every night. My vacations were spent drinking slowly throughout the day, accelerating it at night to "knock the edge off." It pretty much started when I began having debilitating anxiety, and I was self medicating. I could drink only 1-2 drinks at work events, but chose not to limit myself at home.

I developed IBS and some throat pain/problems beginning last year. Knowing that drinking contributed to it (or at least thinking it might), I decided to stop for a bit just to test the theory that it was a major contributing factor. Those "quitting" stints lasted 1 night at best. I just couldn't or wouldn't quit. I enjoyed it too much. That made me realize that I may just have a problem...and didn't care about it enough until a few nights ago when I yelled at my wife and berated her. If I'm hurting my own health and making my wife feel bad, I'm not at all where I want to be. I don't mind being bad to my own body, but I refuse to be somebody who crushes his wife's spirit in a fit of alcohol-enabled anger.

Welcome to SR, John! It helps to have the support of others that understand.
:c012:

It's obvious that you have a very clear perception of your situation, so I think you'll be alright. You recognize it really is a problem and that you just need to quit.

You care enough about it now and that is an essential part of it. Good luck and keep posting here! It really helps.

Welcome back John! I wish you all the best!

Welcome to SR John. You have some great insight, and it sounds like you are able to spot the dangers of addiction before they get the best of you and your family. I think it's great that you are making the change now. Congrats!

Welcome to the Forum John!! :wave:

Nice to meet you RM

Welcome back :)

Yeah it's tough to be our own parent when we spent so many years getting away with all we could :)

Whats you recovery plan?

D

Hello again 'Ron'.

When I decided to give up alcohol it was because of something that changed my life. I was a "functional alcoholic" too. I was sent to rehab, orders from work. I had an opportunity to review my life. Holy cow! I knew I needed to quit but when I looked at my history and drinking habits it was amazing. How I made it as far as I did is amazing.

Here's the thing. A lot of people had no idea. Many were in denial for me telling me I was not an alcoholic etc. I had people trying to convince me I wasn't alcoholic.

The important thing is that I knew. I didn't need anymore convincing.
Don't be influenced by others who don't know what you already know.
And you don't have to convince them or prove it to them. It's nobody's business but yours (and your family if you wish). You don't need to explain yourself to anyone. And in time you'll realize that just telling folks you don't drink is good enough. "No thank you, I don't drink" - SAY IT! Think Sam Kinison in 'Back To School'.

Hi John, SR can definitely be that place of community support that's needed to beat the demon drink. Just keep posting and you will be amazed at the generosity to receive :-)