jaye1313

I've quit drinking so many times and for long periods of time, but I always find my way back. I've lost a successful career and am now on the verge of losing my home. It's difficult to stop when so much is going wrong. Sorry for the pitty party. I just would like to here how some of you got from here to ok again.

Dee74

Hi and welcome jaye

for me it was whatever it took to stay sober - I used the support here when things got fdiifult or when the discomfort was almost too much...,when I thought I'd never stop craving I reminded myself that things would get easier, eventually, so long as I stayed sober.

I had faith that not drinking was the way out of the mess drinking left me with - and I was right

here are some good tips for cravings:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html

and heres some ideas on making a plan to stay sober - a recovery plan if you like:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ery-plans.html

There's tons of support and good advice here. Use it and you can make this time different to all the rest

D

Delilah1

Hi Jaye,

Welcome to SR! The links Dee posted are really good.

As bad as things may seem right now, they will only get worse if you keep drinking. Start with staying sober tonight, even if that means reading and posting on here for a few hours.

I have found the monthly threads and 24 hour recovery thread to be really helpful.

You can definitely do this.

jaye1313

I feel terrible. And drinking has actually made things terrible, so I can't fix any of this drunk.

doggonecarl

True. To get out of a hole, the first thing you have to do is quit digging. Or in our case, drinking. You can only make things better on a foundation of sobriety.

Glad to hear you are willing to give it another go.

Meraviglioso

Hello and welcome to you, it is good to have you here. You are at a really good point in that you recognise the problem and realise that drinking caused it.
You can do this, even when things seem so miserable and so difficult. Here is a post that will show you that even when things seem- no scratch that, ARE- horrible, you absolutely can quit and come back.
Your fellow member/alcoholic here PhoenixJ has risen from the ashes, literally! And you can too.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...tory-such.html

PhoenixJ

Welcome, thoughts- support and prayers.

emjay2017

Yes - things seem tougher to begin with don't they. We're not seeing any benefits from stopping, we feel lousy, and our 'escape' has been taken away.

And yet, we know things in the future, while often not being perfect, will be so much better once we escape the trap of drinking.

Hang in there Jaye.

PurpleKnight

Welcome to the Forum Jaye!!

jaye1313

Wow. Today was so rough. All I could do was sleep. Thank you for all the well wishes.

gettingsmarter

You will start feeling better Jaye.

Hevyn

Glad to have you with us, Jaye. It's always helped me to talk things over here - especially in the early days. You're never alone.

least

Welcome to the family. I know how hard it is to get out of the trap of drinking. But it can be done, and I'm proof of that.

I hope we can help you get sober for good.

Zebra1275

I just would like to here how some of you got from here to ok again.

I gave up trying to do it by myself.

If you are taking guidance on how to get sober from a drunk (yourself) you are in trouble.

D122y

Jaye,

I had Hellashis anxiety that led to panic attacks mixed w a pancreas problem (self diagnosed).

I still have both problems, but they have gotten 95% better.

The alcohol addiction had me believing I was simply a party animal.

I believed work was causing all my problems. I believed a drank to make my life bearable.

When I quit for about 80 days, I was at home freaking out one night. I thought I was going nuts and that drinking again might fix things.

I googled...how long does it take to recover from alcohol...SR popped up.

Without sr...I was doomed.

Thanks.

jaye1313

I'm not a believer in the lack of agency model. I got myself into this, I'll get myself out. To believe you are powerless is to give up responsibility for how you got here. I don't do that.

Dee74

I think you're mixing up the AA idea of being powerless over alcohol with the idea of generally being powerless

Zebra's point is that support makes this easier - and more support generally translates into more long term success.

Coming here to SR was a game changer for me - it helped so much to know people understood and wanted to help

D

jaye1313

I get the idea of needing help. I just refute the idea that I can't figure it out in a way that makes sense to me. Maybe I'm stubborn, but I've sat here getting through those electric jolts you get when sobering up and convincing myself to keep going because there is a little girl next to me holding on tight, almost like she knows. I know I need support. Good god yes. It's the powerlessness idea I reject. If that were true, I'd be done.

Berrybean

I didn't see why I should change my thinking either. I'm an intelligent and rational human being.

Trouble is, my thinking was keeping me drinking. Because I had a faulty perspective. It was an alcoholic perspective and alcholic thinking. Fear and ego led. Hopefully, unlike me, you'll be able to reason your way out of this. But remember, if nothing changes, then nothing will change. And at the root of all our actions is our thinking.

Zebra1275

I get the idea of needing help. I just refute the idea that I can't figure it out in a way that makes sense to me.

I hope that works for you.

It didn't for me. Although I have several advanced degrees and people consider me quite intelligent, I wasn't able to figure out a long term sobriety solution by myself. I had no problem getting sober. I had a problem staying sober over weeks, months and years.

I'm also very independent and strong willed. I've joked in the past, that if I needed a heart transplant, I would likely research the heck out of it, and then try to do it myself. I'm learning to moderate these traits.