15 Days Abstinence From Alcohol – What I Learned
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 636
15 Days Abstinence From Alcohol – What I Learned
Today marks 15 days from not drinking and this is what I learned. Even though I’m early in my recovery, I have gained a lot of benefits in such a short time. To start, I have no hangovers on the weekends, im not losing things like keys and wallet and I been able to save up money in this short time.
Drinking was an escape for me; it let me forget about my problems only to have to face them and I would drink again to forget. Thursday was my start to relieve the stress work causes me. If I was down I had to drink and if I was happy that was a celebration for a drink and that caused a never ending cycle. I would make any excuse just to go on a binge and to wake up the next morning with regrets. As I look back, I wasted a lot of years with friends whose main purpose was to reach intoxicated levels and just crack jokes and waste time. I’ve come to a realization that one day I will die and leave this earth. My accomplishment has been limited but now it’s time for a change. Is this who I want to be remembered?
Abstinence is teaching me discipline. I’m also learning how my mental attitude reflects on the outside world, how I can’t fix an effect with an effect so I have to dig down to the root and change the cause. Having goals and a plan and to work with a sense of urgency to get something accomplish has been key for me. I posted before that “a goal without a deadline is just a dream.” I read a few post in here were people are waiting for their birthday or a holiday to pass in order to work on their recovery. That day will never come; trust me I was one of them. We have to start now and work with what we have at the moment. If I kept that mentality, I would had to wait for thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to pass so I could defeat the temptations. Now I embrace sobriety and change as long as it’s going to benefit me today and tomorrow. I also learned to focus on “NOW” and to not live in the past or the future as it’s all an illusion.
I still have some doubts and get depressed but not as bad as before. People have complimented on how better and calmer I look and my anxiety has calmed down too. I’ve been spending a lot of time in solitary and the only social life I have is home, work and the gym (Gym does not count as I don’t talk to anybody when lifting LOL). I still visit my old friends but don’t last more than 1 hour or 2 a week as I don’t find it appealing no more to sit, drink and waste time.
It’s been an emotional roller coaster, a lot of confusion but at the end, I think it going to be worth it. My plan consists of:
Taking daily inventory of self
Gym
Reading and self-education
Supporting others
Keeping a to-do list
This is what has helped me in the past two weeks . I have faith that we could all get through this, it really depends on how bad we want it.
Peace!
Drinking was an escape for me; it let me forget about my problems only to have to face them and I would drink again to forget. Thursday was my start to relieve the stress work causes me. If I was down I had to drink and if I was happy that was a celebration for a drink and that caused a never ending cycle. I would make any excuse just to go on a binge and to wake up the next morning with regrets. As I look back, I wasted a lot of years with friends whose main purpose was to reach intoxicated levels and just crack jokes and waste time. I’ve come to a realization that one day I will die and leave this earth. My accomplishment has been limited but now it’s time for a change. Is this who I want to be remembered?
Abstinence is teaching me discipline. I’m also learning how my mental attitude reflects on the outside world, how I can’t fix an effect with an effect so I have to dig down to the root and change the cause. Having goals and a plan and to work with a sense of urgency to get something accomplish has been key for me. I posted before that “a goal without a deadline is just a dream.” I read a few post in here were people are waiting for their birthday or a holiday to pass in order to work on their recovery. That day will never come; trust me I was one of them. We have to start now and work with what we have at the moment. If I kept that mentality, I would had to wait for thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to pass so I could defeat the temptations. Now I embrace sobriety and change as long as it’s going to benefit me today and tomorrow. I also learned to focus on “NOW” and to not live in the past or the future as it’s all an illusion.
I still have some doubts and get depressed but not as bad as before. People have complimented on how better and calmer I look and my anxiety has calmed down too. I’ve been spending a lot of time in solitary and the only social life I have is home, work and the gym (Gym does not count as I don’t talk to anybody when lifting LOL). I still visit my old friends but don’t last more than 1 hour or 2 a week as I don’t find it appealing no more to sit, drink and waste time.
It’s been an emotional roller coaster, a lot of confusion but at the end, I think it going to be worth it. My plan consists of:
Taking daily inventory of self
Gym
Reading and self-education
Supporting others
Keeping a to-do list
This is what has helped me in the past two weeks . I have faith that we could all get through this, it really depends on how bad we want it.
Peace!
Do your best
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 67,047
Originally Posted by GhostFace 
Today marks 15 days from not drinking and this is what I learned. Even though I’m early in my recovery, I have gained a lot of benefits in such a short time. To start, I have no hangovers on the weekends, im not losing things like keys and wallet and I been able to save up money in this short time.
Drinking was an escape for me; it let me forget about my problems only to have to face them and I would drink again to forget. Thursday was my start to relieve the stress work causes me. If I was down I had to drink and if I was happy that was a celebration for a drink and that caused a never ending cycle. I would make any excuse just to go on a binge and to wake up the next morning with regrets. As I look back, I wasted a lot of years with friends whose main purpose was to reach intoxicated levels and just crack jokes and waste time. I’ve come to a realization that one day I will die and leave this earth. My accomplishment has been limited but now it’s time for a change. Is this who I want to be remembered?
Abstinence is teaching me discipline. I’m also learning how my mental attitude reflects on the outside world, how I can’t fix an effect with an effect so I have to dig down to the root and change the cause. Having goals and a plan and to work with a sense of urgency to get something accomplish has been key for me. I posted before that “a goal without a deadline is just a dream.” I read a few post in here were people are waiting for their birthday or a holiday to pass in order to work on their recovery. That day will never come; trust me I was one of them. We have to start now and work with what we have at the moment. If I kept that mentality, I would had to wait for thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to pass so I could defeat the temptations. Now I embrace sobriety and change as long as it’s going to benefit me today and tomorrow. I also learned to focus on “NOW” and to not live in the past or the future as it’s all an illusion.
I still have some doubts and get depressed but not as bad as before. People have complimented on how better and calmer I look and my anxiety has calmed down too. I’ve been spending a lot of time in solitary and the only social life I have is home, work and the gym (Gym does not count as I don’t talk to anybody when lifting LOL). I still visit my old friends but don’t last more than 1 hour or 2 a week as I don’t find it appealing no more to sit, drink and waste time.
It’s been an emotional roller coaster, a lot of confusion but at the end, I think it going to be worth it. My plan consists of:
Taking daily inventory of self
Gym
Reading and self-education
Supporting others
Keeping a to-do list
This is what has helped me in the past two weeks . I have faith that we could all get through this, it really depends on how bad we want it.
Peace!
Drinking was an escape for me; it let me forget about my problems only to have to face them and I would drink again to forget. Thursday was my start to relieve the stress work causes me. If I was down I had to drink and if I was happy that was a celebration for a drink and that caused a never ending cycle. I would make any excuse just to go on a binge and to wake up the next morning with regrets. As I look back, I wasted a lot of years with friends whose main purpose was to reach intoxicated levels and just crack jokes and waste time. I’ve come to a realization that one day I will die and leave this earth. My accomplishment has been limited but now it’s time for a change. Is this who I want to be remembered?
Abstinence is teaching me discipline. I’m also learning how my mental attitude reflects on the outside world, how I can’t fix an effect with an effect so I have to dig down to the root and change the cause. Having goals and a plan and to work with a sense of urgency to get something accomplish has been key for me. I posted before that “a goal without a deadline is just a dream.” I read a few post in here were people are waiting for their birthday or a holiday to pass in order to work on their recovery. That day will never come; trust me I was one of them. We have to start now and work with what we have at the moment. If I kept that mentality, I would had to wait for thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to pass so I could defeat the temptations. Now I embrace sobriety and change as long as it’s going to benefit me today and tomorrow. I also learned to focus on “NOW” and to not live in the past or the future as it’s all an illusion.
I still have some doubts and get depressed but not as bad as before. People have complimented on how better and calmer I look and my anxiety has calmed down too. I’ve been spending a lot of time in solitary and the only social life I have is home, work and the gym (Gym does not count as I don’t talk to anybody when lifting LOL). I still visit my old friends but don’t last more than 1 hour or 2 a week as I don’t find it appealing no more to sit, drink and waste time.
It’s been an emotional roller coaster, a lot of confusion but at the end, I think it going to be worth it. My plan consists of:
Taking daily inventory of self
Gym
Reading and self-education
Supporting others
Keeping a to-do list
This is what has helped me in the past two weeks . I have faith that we could all get through this, it really depends on how bad we want it.
Peace!
Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 959
Great post, GhostFace! Thanks for writing your thoughts. Our plans are very similar.
I always wrote to-do lists at work to keep up with things, but it wasn't until I got sober that I saw the value of having to-do lists for home as well, so all that shapeless "free time" didn't go to waste (or lead to becoming wasted).
Best wishes!
I always wrote to-do lists at work to keep up with things, but it wasn't until I got sober that I saw the value of having to-do lists for home as well, so all that shapeless "free time" didn't go to waste (or lead to becoming wasted).
Best wishes!
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
