CaseyW

Congrats on day 2 and on pouring out the whiskey. I think hanging out with your sober friend is a good idea.

Keep checking in! This forum is here for you 24/7

JD4010

I have the cleanest drain in town because I keep pouring booze down it. I also have the slimmest checking account balance because I keep wasting $$ on booze.

I drank at home, alone, exclusively. It's easy for me to have only one drink when I'm out in public. But if I have booze at home, I get completely loaded. The good news is, I don't have any booze at home. The bad news is, today is payday.

I'm stuffing my face with food right now because I felt a moderate urge to fall off the wagon a few minutes ago. Ain't gonna happen.

Day 5 of sobriety here.

Hobbers

JD- in many ways, it sounds like me. I've tried like a bear to keep my house alcohol free (well, booze free- beer and wine have never, ever been an issue in the house), but the past month or two, I find myself going to the liquor store to grab a bottle more and more often. Far more often than I like. Out with friends, 1-2 is (usually) fine, and 'far too many' never a problem, but at home, alone, bored? Maybe with a PS4 controller in my hand? Total different story.

Binge-eating helps me too, frequently- though my weigh has ballooned now too. Gah!

Soberwolf

Congrats Hobbers

Dee74

Welcome back Hobbers

this is the hook on which a lot of us wriggle on, some, like me for decades.

There were times I could moderate - if there weren't any such times, it would be a lot easier to quit.

But there were a lot more times when I had every reason in the world not to get smashed - and I did anyway.

I had jobs I missed, relationships I let go, responsibilities I avoided because I got too drunk.

As the years wore on, those few times I could moderate got fewer and fewer.

I finally accepted my relationship with alcohol was toxic - those times when I moderated were more good luck than anything else on my part.

D

D122y

Never want to say day 1 again.

Day 90 here. Not going to break down. Non drinker here. Proud.

Getting ready to work out.

D122y

Fight the cravings.

Waking up stressed, but sober is way better than stressed, and hungover.

D122y

Just found aa online.

They have meetings w rules etc.

Need flash so will use my laptop later.

ckoures

Good for you for coming back.

I found my worst drinking was alone, at home. I could always stop in front of people.

I make sure I am not at home a lot. I take walks, go to the library, work late... anything so the time alone and bored is limited.

Maybe that would work for you.

Dee74

congrats on 90 d122y

D

Hobbers

Made it through the weekend.

cheers,

Soberwolf

Great job Hobbers

Great job on 90 days Di22y

Hobbers

Add another day for me. I'm flying first class all week, so the (damn/glorious/awful) free drink cart will be passing me every 10 minutes.

Anyway, it's been 5+ days of being good. Also, I downloaded Elder Scrolls Online yesterday. That was fun. (too bad I can't play it on the road all week).

bookmaven

Have you thought about how you will cope with the drink cart tempting you 6 times an hour?

NestWasEmpty

Nice work Hobbers , Um make sure you don't stick your leg out & trip up that cart lady .. knocking over all those drinks " My Bad "

SoberLeigh

That's great news, Hobbers.

RustyBanjo

Way to make it out of the weekend. Travelling is definitely associated with drinking for me too. Maybe take some noise cancelling headphones and zone it out?

thomas11

Great job Hobbers. Every single person in long term sobriety achieved the same way you are doing it. One day at a time. way cool.

firstymer

Hobbers, you have been sober before. And you have stayed sober even while dealing with some other pretty heavy personal issues. I know that because I read about it in your posts a year ago. And I was inspired by it. I KNOW what you are capable of.

The concept of an alcoholic moderating their drinking is obviously flawed. Your on/off switch is either broken or its not broken. If you're an alcoholic, its broken. Period. You can't make an on/off switch into a dimmer switch, no matter how much you jiggle it.

And for someone like you, who has actually attempted moderation and, frankly, failed like all of the rest of us, the concept of moderating should be abandoned, once and for all.

Once you figure that out, and jump in to this sobriety thing with BOTH feet, you are gonna be fine. And your life will be so much better. I just hope you don't wait too long....

Good luck. I am glad you are here with us.

SwimKim12

Hi Hobbers, congrats on making it through the weekend! Reading this thread it concerned me that you stated that drinking socially is in control, and fun, and something you don't want to give up. I felt that way for a long time too. What else could I possibly do on a Friday night to relax and celebrate my weekend than have a few with friends?! Just like those commercials I see! The problem is that while I did that and still managed to keep my commitments Saturday morning for a time, alcohol eventually takes over. Alcoholism is a progressive disease, and I got to the point where I was drinking before I joined friends and after I left them. Then I was hungover in the morning and scraped the gym. When I started trying to quit and I sat at home by myself (with a bag of cookies) I was so unhappy. I thought that meant my sober self was this boring unhappy person. What I found out during my three and a half months sober is that the "boring Friday night" feeling was a manifestation of my AV. It wasn't until I was able to break free from that AV that I began to discover who I am and all the joy that is out in the world. I relapsed last week and it was horrible. It made me miss my sober self so so much.

What I'm trying to say with this long-winded post is that it takes time to start to discover who we are as sober people. I was very unhappy and that is why I choose to drink. But drinking didn't make me happy. It made me desperately miss my sober self who could wake up and go to work in the morning (albeit work that I'm not very happy at right now) rather than lay in bed feeling like hell and unable to eat or sleep.

Sobriety is just so much better. Hang in there - I'm glad you are back.