Is it normal
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Midwest, USA
Posts: 394
Is it normal
to obsess about alcohol when you're told not to ever have it again? I'm in an IOP and know I have an alcohol problem (I binge up to 3x a week, and once in a great while have drank multiple days in a row, it has affected my life negatively), but find it so strange that prior to this I never obsessed about it like I do now being told not to drink. It isn't physical cravings (and I've never had withdrawal, accept some mild anxiety), but now I look at everything on the topic. Weight gain/loss in sobriety, moderation management, symptoms of alcoholic, etc. I feel more fatalistic now then I did when I wouldn't fully admit I had a problem.
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Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 130
I think this is why the slogan "One Day at a Time" is so powerful even though it sounds so simple. If I think that I will NEVER drink again, I will freak, grab a bottle of anything and that is the end. I cannot think in absolutes, and as an alcoholic, I have a tendency to be black and white, all or nothing. So, today I choose to be sober. Tomorrow will figure itself out.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Yes, it certainly takes some time to adjust. As addicts we are used to instant gratification and that trait does not change overnight. Doing research is good, but don't overdo it....you can diagnose yourself with an unlimited number of potential health issues, so stick to the basics.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,784
When I was early in recovery I was always thinking about it. But with more sober time, I thought about it less and less. Now it's just normal to be sober. 
And waking up feeling good never gets old.
And waking up feeling good never gets old. Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 729
Its pretty normal to obsess about alcohol once its gone. You are realizing that you cant have it any more and your body still wants it due to the addiction. I am not long enough recovered to know how long the obsession lasts but all indications from others further into their recoveries on here are that it does get easier
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Dallas Texas
Posts: 579
Babescake, yes so stop doing it. Whenever I start to think like that I switch to thinking 'I will not drink just today." Nothing becomes cliche without a fair amount of truth behind it.
One Day at a Time.
One Day at a Time.
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Oakland
Posts: 561
Originally Posted by Babescake 
to obsess about alcohol when you're told not to ever have it again? I'm in an IOP and know I have an alcohol problem (I binge up to 3x a week, and once in a great while have drank multiple days in a row, it has affected my life negatively), but find it so strange that prior to this I never obsessed about it like I do now being told not to drink. It isn't physical cravings (and I've never had withdrawal, accept some mild anxiety), but now I look at everything on the topic. Weight gain/loss in sobriety, moderation management, symptoms of alcoholic, etc. I feel more fatalistic now then I did when I wouldn't fully admit I had a problem.
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