On the road to recovery
 

Hello all,

First of all let me say I'm glad I've found this site as it has helped open my eyes to the fact that I am not alone in this. I have been browsing and reading your stories for about 3 weeks now, and it has inspired me to finally join and share my journey also.

I'm a 28 year old male, living in the Washington, DC suburbs (Maryland) and I've been a heavy binge drinker since about age 18. I've never considered myself a alcoholic or as having any troubles with alcohol in my early days, however lately I have been over the cliff deep in trouble with alcohol.

It all started as innocent high school fun, then college partying, then going out every weekend partying, to a hard habit that I didn't notice that I NEEDED alcohol every weekend. I was masking many emotions and problems that I had and lying to myself about it. I was using alcohol to numb the pain and forget who I was. I felt like I had it all under control though from the ages 18 to about 26, then it just got worse. I started drinking more heavily and that did not turn out well. I started blacking out, crashing cars, getting into fights, getting arrested, getting a lot of driving tickets, and 2 DUI's. Not good.

My health also was taking a huge hit and I began to notice after my annual physical this year. My blood pressure was high, my liver tests were coming back abnormal, my sleep patterns weren't sufficient, brain fog, depression, anxiety, etc etc etc. Not good, again. My relationships and friendships I began to notice were all centered around alcohol which I noticed wasn't healthy AT ALL, because I knew I didn't relate to these people when sober, and the only thing we had in common was drinking.

All of the above and more which I may have not mentioned is why I decided to give up alcohol and reclaim my life. I have been sober for 60 days now and I feel better than ever. There are always great pressures around me which I am trying very hard to avoid relapsing but I remain strong and focused on my goal of complete sobriety. I do not ever want to consume alcohol again. I finally decided to join because I feel you all will be a great support system for me in my journey and through hard times when I just need reassurance that I am on the right path.

With that being said, Hello all!

(P.S. sorry for any grammar mistakes :lmao)

:welcome

Welcome to the family and congrats on two months sober! :c011: You'll certainly find lots of support and good ideas here. :)

Hey Merotti. Nice to meet you.

Your story reminds me of myself. I'm 33 but my drinking from 18-26 was, I guess you can say manageable. By manageable I mean I didn't get myself in so much trouble that My life was in turmoil. I did a lot of travelling. Went to Australia and south east Asia for a year. Then I came back and in my late 20's I lost control. I got a DUI, lost jobs, lashed out at family events and my answer was a geographical cure (wherever I go, there I am) I tried AA and a residential treatment program basically for the court and to quiet my family. I liked AA but I made the mistake of working at a fishing resort for the summer away from my support system. I was then in a geographical tornado of drinking and losing jobs. I was always well liked having worked at mostly resorts but I would cross the line with drinking and get fired. I have been in and out of sobriety since 2009 and even had a year and a half before. Then I got complacent and thought it would be ok and that I could moderate. Well guess what, I got fired from a good job and back to another 6 months of morning-night drinking.

You sound focused. Keep in that mind frame. Get a support system that works for you and if you feel weak use it. I wish the best for you.

Welcome! Glad you're here!

(also, I made a road trip from Nashville up to DC, Delaware, and Maryland last summer. Awesome places)

Welcome Merotti :)
You'll find a lot of strength and support here :)
Congrats on your 60 plus days :)

D

Welcome, Merotti! Congratulations on your 60 days. Glad you're here!

Great job on 60 days.

Congrats on 60 days.
Glad you are here!

Welcome Merotti

Hi Merrotti

Hi Merrotti: Welcome! You won't regret your decision. There are a boatload of people on this site that wish they would have removed alcohol from their life at age 28. Keep moving forward. For me, once I hit the 90 day mark, it got easier and easier. Good luck on your journey!

Congratulations and welcome. One of the harder parts of sobriety is adjusting your social circle. The drinkers in your life need to be kept at arms length. Wish you the best.

I'm glad you decided to post and congratulations on your recovery.

Trust me, this is the hardest part of my recovery thus far. The people I formerly associated with cant understand my decision, and most don't even respect my decision. They are my enablers and I know they are not good to keep around during my recovery.

I have found that when you tell people you quit, and your reasons they always try to down play it. Tell you "you just cant control it, have one drink and you'll be okay"

The most amazing part is that these people have been around during my worst moments and cant seem to see that I and THEY have a problem with alcohol. But its not for me to make any decisions for them, I had to make my own and turn my own life around.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

Welcome Merotti!

Very nice to have someone joining with such an inspiring story!

Why don't you join the August Class? It is a very nice group, and though you are a bit further down the line than most of us I think you would still get a lot from it as we would from you.

Well done on 60 days, that's awesome.

P

Welcome to the Forum Merotti!! :wave: