Girlpower

Hi a little about me, I think I'm an alcoholic, i can't remember my last sober day before I decided to stop drinking for 30 days. I am currently on day 10. I was drinking between 1 and 3 bottles of wine and maybe a beer or two weekdays and up to 8 bottles on weekends, my life has been ruined by alcohol, relationships, family, drink driving charges. The thought of never drinking again terrifies me!!! However my house was tidy and chores were done. Since giving up I've got no energy, can't get going and my house looks like a bombs hit it, I'm constantly sweating and have headaches when will I feel better? Today I slept in until 10am which never happens, I need some advice/help/support.

Lightning Bug

First off, 10 days is awesome! I know you feel like a slug right now, but look at what you were drinking. You removed a ton of poison from your system. Your body is confused, it has been running on toxins for so long and it had come to expect the alcohol. It is draining and exhausting. Google PAWS, post alcohol withdrawal syndrome. It is different for everybody. In the meantime, rest and drink a lot of water. If your house looks like a war zone, then that is what it will have to be. You can always clean later. Be gentle to yourself. I promise it gets better and it is worth it.

FarToGo

10 days is fantastic and 10 of the worst you'll go through, so well done you!
Things will improve very soon and you'll start to feel better than you have in a long long time. Hold tight, it's so worth it.
xx

Girlpower

Thankyou both, I feel slightly nieve I didn't actually think it would be hard to give up booze! I am sat here now thinking I'll go get wine then crack on with chores how stupid!! I have no intentions of drinking! I've also realised I have very few friends who's sole aim in life is not to go out and get wrecked so am turning down invitations of going out! I do have 2 male friends who don't one is checking in with me everyday and encouraging me not to drink although I don't think he knows the extent of my drinking and the other we've just booked to go to a music festival next weekend he is my sober friend so I know I can go out with him and not feel the need to drink. I feel that I'm so boring without a drink though although I find not getting ****** stops me ******* up!

MidnightBlue

Hi, Girlpower.

Congrats on 10 days!

Early recovery is a tough stage - no energy, mood swings, etc. I think almost everyone here went through this.

When I quit (will be 4 years in October) I was totally terrified. How to deal with painful psychological traumas, memories, and emotions, and deal with life overall without wine? How to celebrate BDay and New Year.

But one day at a time, and it turned out that life is far better without alcohol.

Don't overwhelm yourself with too many thoughts and worries. Just focus on your sobriety now.

Best wishes to you!

Lightning Bug

You don't know that you are a sober bore because you can't remember your last sober day. Your sober self has been hiding under your ballgown clinging to your petticoats this whole time. You have to rip that taffeta nightmare off and let the real Girl power out. Give her a chamce, I'll bet she is as pip!

carlingford

Hi Girlpower, well done on 10 days, I am on 12 days now and know the story as was here before, trust me it will get better, I find that going for a walk helps and not eating rubbish food but fresh fruit and veg with plenty of water during the day. Good luck and please keep us posted, well done again 10 days is super.

tomsteve

why only stopping for 30 days?

ccam1973

fantastic job on 10 days GP. Like the other's have said, most of us have been exactly where you are at now, including having all of the feelings you are experiencing. It's your body's way of realigning itself after years of torture.

Give it some time, I promise you will feel better and everything will make more sense. You won't regret this decision. As an every day - all day drinker, I promise you will thank yourself for making this change and making this change stick one day soon.

Hang in there and lean on this community to get you through the tough times.

Windancer

Hi Girlpower.
10 days is really great! And a period of abstinence is even better.

Try and be patient with your body ... every alcoholic goes through something similar ... it's just your body working hard to rid itself of the toxins and repair the damage. The more you sweat the more your body releases. I know how discouraging it can be though. I've quit a number of times and most times I would say "I feel like Ive been hit with a mack truck"... and I did. I felt terrible, and my emotions were all over the map and my productivity was next to nil. Don't forget that if it gets to be too much to see a doctor ... alcohol withdrawal can be very dangerous and needs to be treated right away.

Best of luck to you!

Tonymblue

Its usually right around the 10 day mark when i start to feel better. You're right there. Keep it up.

FreeOwl

those first ten days are a real slog.....

then comes the first year.... which can be very tough at times, but which is punctuated - if you're looking for it actively - by a lot of learning, growth, insight..... a lot to be grateful for.

then comes the second year - wherein you begin to deeply and fully realize the gift you've been given; even though at times it's still a lot of work.

and then the third year arrives - and you wonder how it is you could ever have been that person before..... and every single day you're reminded how blessed you are; that you've left that hell behind you... that you've opened your life to a deeper abundance than you ever realized.

and all of it starts with those first ten days.

well done.

doggonecarl

You are feeling the need to drink now, what makes you think a music festival will be easier?

I hope you'll reconsider going if there is going to be alcohol at this event. Not long ago another poster, with almost a month sober, decided he needed to go to a concert, needed to test his sobriety because he couldn't be cooped up his whole life. He didn't heed the advisements not to go and he hasn't been back to Sober Recovery since.

You are a mere 10 days sober. Make your sobriety more important than trying to maintain your "old" life.

August252015

^^^^THIS as far as the music festival. I personally believe that steering clear of all events with alcohol, or ones (including places like restaurants for me) is the VERY smart thing to do - in the beginning and AS LONG AS YOU NEED TO! Nothing is more important as your sobriety.

Here is an article that may help you- you were drinking a lot of alcohol. Your symptoms are normal, and the process of getting sober isn't just a matter of immediate "detox" (ie, you are physically sober as far as BAC, right now, but you have some "cleaning out" to do in your body) - it will pass. Hang in there.
https://digital-dharma.net/post-acut...r-immediately/

Now sounds like a perfect time for AA. You need a plan to stay sober and begin living a recovered life.

Good luck.

sugarbear1

2-18 months

Leezer

Better at a month, much better at two months, WAY better at 3 months, unbelievable at 4 months, my life is totally different at 6 months.....

You really ARE getting through the worst, which for me, honestly, was the first 2-3 weeks. At a month I started to really get my bearings...

Keep going. Everthing everyone says about it being worth it is SO true.

Soberwolf

Hello Girlpower it's nice to meet you

Bird615

Welcome to SR, Girlpower!

I used to think I could quit drinking anytime I wanted to, I just didn't want to. Until I really did want to and found out I couldn't.

Sooner or later, that little voice in my head would start up and convince me that a drink would be a good idea. Or I'd realize it maybe wasn't a good idea, but didn't know how to not drink.

Even though drinking was causing a lot of problems I could not imagine a life for myself without it. When I got to the point where I knew it was stop or die, I resigned myself to getting help to stop and to just suffer through a dull and boring life.

It didn't turn out that way at all. It was better than my limited imagination at the time could have ever comprehended. But first I had to get help and do some work to learn how to live sober and be happy that way.

And at first one of the things I had to do was avoid all temptation until I was stronger. I didn't go to parties or bars or anywhere there was drinking and when I finally did, I had to be sure I had good reason to, had a sober friend, and was in a solid steady frame of mind with my sobriety.

Stick around here and you'll learn a lot as well as get support if you want to stop.

Girlpower

I have been staying in and staying away from alcohol the fact I have to walk to the shop to buy it (as I'm banned) from driving is a big stopper, I think the festival will be ok because my friend doesn't drink and we have been to lots of music things together and haven't drunk at them he's not someone I associate alcohol with more of have a good time straight guy! I set 30 days because anything more currently seems impossible eeek! Thankyou all for your advice and stories. I read on paws and that's what happens I go from this is a breeze to a crying mess in minutes so odd!

Delilah1

Welcome to SR, lots of good advice above. You should also join the September class. You will be surrounded by others who have decided to stop or stop again this month.

The first few days/weeks are the hardest. It really does start to get easier. MountainBob has a poll posted in the Alcoholism forum and there are posts about how long it took to start to feel sobriety was going smoothly. Might be helpful to read through, and know that it really does get easier.

Looking forward to seeing you here.

❤️ Delilah