Six months sober
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Florida
Posts: 298
Six months sober
Six months sober today!
181 days ago I woke up with a hangover, a day after waking up still drunk and having to call sick to work. I had been trying over, and over, and OVER again to stop drinking. But was I really trying?
No. All those times before I was just white-knuckling it. Just putting down the bottle, and nothing else. I had dreams of being sober, dreams that I wasn't sure I would ever realize.
For those newbies who are just starting out, or thinking about sobriety, please stick with it (or please start). I had all the same fears about giving up alcohol: what will I do with my time, how will I celebrate, who will I become, how will I have fun? Well, I've been sober on vacation in the mountains, on the Florida beach, during Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Years, and while traveling for work, and on a boring Monday night...and TRUST ME, they are all better sober. All of it is better sober.
It's almost cliche, and it's said around here a lot, but nothing changes if nothing changes. YOU have to change. YOUR LIFE has to change. That doesn't need to be scary.
I come to SR every day. I don't post all the time, but I read all the time. I bought and read The Naked Mind: Controlling Alcohol, and that completely changed my line of thinking. I've also read several other books on recovery, and listen to several recovery podcasts and AA Speakers on youtube. I changed my diet, my exercise routine, my cooking routine. I finally realized, if I want a better life, I have to make a better life.
And it is better, friends. I'm only six months in, I know it's still new territory, and the path is unknown; full of curves, and hills, and dips, and beauty, and terror. Despite the unknown, I am willing to go down that path and discover a new life. I hope you too will go down your own new path.
Thank you, SR.
181 days ago I woke up with a hangover, a day after waking up still drunk and having to call sick to work. I had been trying over, and over, and OVER again to stop drinking. But was I really trying?
No. All those times before I was just white-knuckling it. Just putting down the bottle, and nothing else. I had dreams of being sober, dreams that I wasn't sure I would ever realize.
For those newbies who are just starting out, or thinking about sobriety, please stick with it (or please start). I had all the same fears about giving up alcohol: what will I do with my time, how will I celebrate, who will I become, how will I have fun? Well, I've been sober on vacation in the mountains, on the Florida beach, during Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Years, and while traveling for work, and on a boring Monday night...and TRUST ME, they are all better sober. All of it is better sober.
It's almost cliche, and it's said around here a lot, but nothing changes if nothing changes. YOU have to change. YOUR LIFE has to change. That doesn't need to be scary.
I come to SR every day. I don't post all the time, but I read all the time. I bought and read The Naked Mind: Controlling Alcohol, and that completely changed my line of thinking. I've also read several other books on recovery, and listen to several recovery podcasts and AA Speakers on youtube. I changed my diet, my exercise routine, my cooking routine. I finally realized, if I want a better life, I have to make a better life.
And it is better, friends. I'm only six months in, I know it's still new territory, and the path is unknown; full of curves, and hills, and dips, and beauty, and terror. Despite the unknown, I am willing to go down that path and discover a new life. I hope you too will go down your own new path.
Thank you, SR.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 25
Thanks for this Tnek97. Really helpful.
Day 16 for me, similar wake up event for me.
Same fears and thoughts with a Florida trip to get through in July.
It's tough but my exercise routine has changed, trying to find things to do and live more.
Good day yesterday that ended up being out for dinner. Stared long and hard at the beer taps on the bar but stayed clear on the Diet Coke.
Question - how long did it take for these thoughts to fade for you or are they all still there?
Day 16 for me, similar wake up event for me.
Same fears and thoughts with a Florida trip to get through in July.
It's tough but my exercise routine has changed, trying to find things to do and live more.
Good day yesterday that ended up being out for dinner. Stared long and hard at the beer taps on the bar but stayed clear on the Diet Coke.
Question - how long did it take for these thoughts to fade for you or are they all still there?
Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Chicago
Posts: 605
Congrats and well said.
I didn't really get what recovery meant until I was about 4 months in. I, like you, realized that I needed to do more then just not drink. I had to change my life and the way I went about living.
For me I learned to forgive myself for not being perfect. That was and is tough, because I am notoriously hard on myself.
Also, exercise and eating well made a huge difference for me. It helped clear my mind and made it easier to relax, which I have a hard time doing.
Thanks for your post!
I didn't really get what recovery meant until I was about 4 months in. I, like you, realized that I needed to do more then just not drink. I had to change my life and the way I went about living.
For me I learned to forgive myself for not being perfect. That was and is tough, because I am notoriously hard on myself.
Also, exercise and eating well made a huge difference for me. It helped clear my mind and made it easier to relax, which I have a hard time doing.
Thanks for your post!
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