August252015

Now. Now. Now.

And, everything Berry Bean said- worth rereading and studying the post to really ingest all of it.

We can hand you plans and info - that's easy and we're happy to do it. YOU have to then execute.

Jut think: one less - many less- days to still worry, fret, and "Decide" on stopping.That many more days to start feeling better, physically and mentally. Get started now and you're on the way; put off till you have all the right sweaters packed and checked the suitcase three hundred times...you're still not on the road.

Did I mention to do it NOW?

fgo

Maybe join us in the August support thread we are all on our first few days to a couple weeks. Great bunch of people in the same part of recovery.

Bobbieka

Yeah, now. What if your next, " just one more time before I quit" binge is the one that lands you in jail, the hospital or the morgue. "Now" might be you dodging a huge bullet. Lots of great advice here. From really strong people who have "walked the walk".

Irnldy001

I just love this one. Yes, I too set quit dates. They would come and go. The problem for me of having a quit date in the future is that it actually made me binge harder - figured I better get some really good drinking in before that 'date'. Which I would then ignore.

Here's what finally happenned. I went to my first AA meeting just to check it out. I bawled like a baby the entire time. I came home. I sat on the sofa and watched tv. I made decaf tea. I was determined to sit there and finally get sleepy enough to go to bed. It was a hard night, I struggled. I watched the clock tick by. For some reason my resolve was strong that night (and to be honest, I'd committed to 24 hours, but my AV was already telling me if it didn't work I could drink the next day). At some point I eventually went to sleep. I woke up without a hangover and felt good. I went through my day - decided that because it had felt good, I would give it another shot. That's it. That's all it took. It was no special day, no day circled on a calendar. Just decided it was "THE DAY".

It's been a year and a half since that day. I spend most nights still (bad sleeper) watching netflix and drinking chammomile.

So it's up to you. If you know you need to stop, time to do as the sage wise ones here say: make a plan.

advbike

I had an obsession with the actual date.. the number had to had some significance, like s square root or something. I know, weird.. but it helped me. Or maybe a holiday. My current day (today) was a kind of a spur of the moment decision, but it was okay because it has both cube and square roots, and a prime number in it. I know.. really weird.. but happy three years to me, Hahaha..

MLD51

Hey congrats on 3 years, advbike!

MLD51

Mawapril -
I tried setting quit dates. Never worked for me. For drinking or smoking. (I still smoke.)

When I quit drinking this time, it was on a day when I had gotten myself in trouble yet again because of drinking. I said "enough". And that was it. No prior planning, no recovery plan. I made a plan very fast, though. That same day I called a sober friend and asked for help. That was the first time I had ever asked for help. It made all the difference. Do you have a plan for getting some support? SR is wonderful, but a lot of people need more help.

thomas11

As you can/will see, many people will encourage you to start immediately. I take no issue with someone setting a start date, with one condition...you must start on that date.

I'm a big believer in mental preparation.

EndGameNYC

I never tried to moderate, I never promised anyone that I'd stop drinking, or even try to stop, and I never set a quit day. All because I never wanted to quit or to cut down on my drinking. And I've never attempted to ennoble myself by claiming "At least I was honest." I only "quit" because I could no longer function on my own, and even then I fully expected to continue drinking once I got back on my feet, whatever that means. I mean, I was never "on my feet" in the first place. But I most certainly was everything that someone who claims that they're "not ready to quit" implies.

Didn't happen. You, or anyone else, don't/doesn't need a quit day or to feel "ready" to quit in order to get sober. If I'd waited till I felt "ready" to do or to start doing the things I've accomplished in my life, or the things that make it worthwhile for me to get out of bed each day, I'd likely need many more support sites than SR.

You wanna get sober, you wanna live a better life then there is one, very imposing obstacle: We need to work through our fears. Though my education, training, personal and professional experience have left me with some good ideas about how to work through fear, I can't tell anyone how to do it, especially those who've concluded that they can't and those who refuse to do so. Regardless, who and what we truly are, who and what we truly can be lies well beyond our fears.

"Feeling ready" to do anything is largely a fantasy. I don't ever feel ready to be ill or to die, but that has nothing to do with when those inevitabilities knock on my door. Why would I need to wait to feel ready to live a good life, or to simply live my life at all? The starter's pistol sounded decades ago.