CreativeThinker

Welcome Dubstar! I felt the same way you do about booze being the only thing "fun" in life. It took me a while to realize that the aftermath of going out and drinking (being hungover, ashamed, non-productive, broke, depressed...) really wasn't that much fun.

Weekends are always the hardest. Especially in the beginning because it's a good idea to stay away from people and places you would normally drink until you have some solid sobriety time under your belt.

I knew that if I really wanted a new life, something had to change..."Without change, there's no change." I began by including activities/hobbies into my day that I avoided when I was drinking: working out, reading, posting here on SR, cooking, playing the guitar, going to the theater, learning something new, ...

If you are worried about not meeting people, why not go to an AA meeting? There are lots of people there that you would be able to relate to you and your new journey.

The bottom line is, if you truly want a new life, you will do whatever it takes to stay sober. It's not easy, but well worth waking up every morning with a clear head, excited to face the day and knowing that you're capable of so much more than when you were living life in a fog from poisoning yourself regularly.

saoutchik

Hi Dubstar, congratulations on your decision to quit.

The symptoms you described - insomnia' sweating etc are all very common, I had those too. The sweating does not last very long and there are things you can do to minimise the insomnia.

I am not going to suggest hiking but any form physical exercise does really help with sleep.

The social aspect will be a bit harder for you being young but there are s lot of areas like art, media and culture that is not focused on booze, even though it may be present. My 2 daughters are in their twenties and although they do drink themselves it is only moderately - they are not into the big drinking kind of guys

Puca

What did you guys do to find a new way of living? What the hell am I supposed to do at weekends apart from party?
I'm sick of being told to go bloody hiking by the internet! Hiking and meet up groups seem to be the answer to everything.
How do people socialise when not drinking? How do you meet women/men?

In my own efforts to change, i had to find a whole new way of thinking.... the living part came later with time and effort...

when the urges came in the day i tried meditation, walking, ( a lot of 1 hour walks in the early days ) ..... the walking helped a lot with moving past the urges. im not a big fitness person, so instead of the gym i walked a lot and did a half hour workout at home.

small changes are the way to go with this type of change. if you can stay sober for 24 hours than you are capable of making the change you want to see in your life to build up sober time.

Meeting people will come too. and being sober you get to remember the experience.

I wrote a lot in a notebook, to try to find new things to do. when i drank drinking was everything, so in the beginning the truth was i had no idea what i was even interested in.... this took some time to find out...

Now 3-4 years later i'm running a small craft / jewellery business. but also conscious of only remaining alcohol free for 24 hours at a time.

Hope this helps.