entropy1964

Hey Movingforward

Congrats on Day 4! I never took your OP as anything more than someone looking for people he could more readily relate to. Never seemed to even indicate you were considering your age as some kind of reason to drink.

Anywho, keep up the good work.

nmd

I will be 42 this year. I personally don't have an issue relating with different ages groups on here. If anything, I find people hide out in their own favorite threads on here too much making the main newcomers forum too quiet. I appreciate the mixture of ages, cultures and "wreckage" from drinking. There's something to learn from everyone.

MLD51

Coming up on my 53rd birthday soon, just celebrated a year and a half sober. And thankful every day for that. I choose not to dwell on wishing I had done it sooner. That just fills me with despair. I did what I did, can't change any of it. All I can do now is live every day as it comes and remain true to myself.

I find I can relate to people of all ages in recovery. in my outpatient treatment, there were people ranging in age from 20-65. All of us had similarities - the pain of addiction and the very negative effects in our lives was a common thread. Even the young people, some of whom didn't really want to be there, had a lot to offer the group, whether they knew it or not. When I go to meetings, I try not to compare myself to others and their individual circumstances. Getting hung up on differences gets in the way of really listening to what they have to say. Everyone has something to offer.

I'm not in favor of age-specific threads on SR. I think people of all ages can help each other.

SoberHoopsFan

I drank heavy for 17 years into my early 30s. Happily sober for 13 months now, thankfully. What I found though was the problem I had by age 18-19 was the same one I had by age 33 (when I quit). I was already blacking out and getting into trouble with friends, family, and the law very early into my drinking career. Point being, the length of someone's addiction, which you seem to be focusing on, is not really the key factor - the addiction is what matters, and for many of us, that showed up very early on.

That said, there are tons of members on this site of who I am aware that are over the age of 40. Welcome aboard and keep posting. You will find what you need to stay sober here, if you give it a chance.

ccam1973

You're doing great Movingforward1. I was in your shoes at 39; four years ago. Spent 21 years drinking heavily, every single day. Never took a day off, not for holidays, kids birthdays, church events, school events, not even when I was throwing up sick with the flu... I still managed to drink.

Was diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease back in 2007 so I switched to only beer and wine; thought by quitting the hard stuff I could keep drinking. Got to where I was drinking a case of beer every day or a box of wine each day, drinking earlier and earlier in the day and started drinking at work.

My point is you are not alone. Many of us are your age and have been exactly where you are right now. I spent several attempts and failed, but finally decided I couldn't fail any more in July 2014. You've got to shut down any hint of possibility that drinking can be a part of your life. Until I realized I truly can't drink normally and am so much better off not drinking, I was setting myself up for failure.

You can do this, there are plenty of us here that were exactly where you are right now and are living a life of sobriety today.

Lean on us as much as you can to get you through the tough times.