When did “it get better” for you?
 

I’m 34 days in.

It’s been pretty smooth so far, thankfully. But I know challenges will come.

Today has been a little tough. Not sure why but more just filling the void. Family is coming over and we are going out to dinner tonight. Wish I could have a few beers.

Those in early sobriety constantly hear everyone else say... “keep going. It gets better!” “It so worth it!”

My therapist tells me the same as a former drinker herself. She’s been sober 20 years.

When did it click? At one point did “it get better and become so worth it” to you?

How did you know? I haven’t been clock watching as much as I thought I would, but definitely have a case of the blues today.

Great work on your sobriety. 34 days is really an accomplishment and you should be proud.

When did it get better? I am 9 months sober this time around. It got better for me after a few months of restructuring my time. My drinking was over the top, in my opinion. As soon as I walked away from the alcohol and let my head space gain more clarity I did start to feel better physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.
All those facets are extremely important to me.

When removing alcohol or any habit, addiction, what have you.... I think it is important to replace that removal with something that is healthy. Because I have always been a runner, I started to run daily as alcohol did not get in the way of my energy levels and health any longer. I focus on running and gaining physical strength. This keeps my mood level and in check.

It is true that it gets better but if we think about drinking and that we want to drink it could be torture. I dont want to drink. I dont want a glass of wine. Its a pros and cons for me. I know that the "wanting" leads to more thoughts of that action and Its not an option. So, if the thought of drinking comes in to play I have to look at the reason why I am thinking in those terms. Mainly, I get overwhelmed emotionally and this could lead to wanting to escape. I now see the "overwhelmed state" through and know that it will pass soon enough. A rewiring of my brain, if you will.

Keep moving forward!

Well done on your sober time.
Dont take your foot off the gas.
You know there is one sure way of making it all get worse.
Stay strong.

Everybody is different.
For me I was pretty rock solid after 3 months.
And as the years go by,4 1/2 now, it gets to the point where you rarely think about it.
But, one must stay guarded all the time. Especially around the holidays.
One thing that helps me is I kind of have a chip on my shoulder about my sobriety. Take pride in the fact that you took the high road. Many do not and take the low road(6 ft. under).

34 days is awesome !!! But you have to remember.... it doesnt just "happen"... You have to work at it. If you engage in life in your newly found sobriety...thats when it starts getting better. There is no time frame. Im only 62 days sober and life is really starting to get better !! Because I hit an AA meeting everyday and put myself out there in public...and engage in normal life.... Dont go into public situations looking at other people and think to yourself that you are an "alcoholic among normal people"....you are NOT a second class citizen due to your addiction.

I would say at 6-8 months I started realizing that I wasn't thinking about drinking much. I have developed new interests and habits and I'm very happy with them. The same will happen to you....have faith. Congratulations.

I would say after the first few months things started to just click. The first mo th or two I was so focused on not drinking, then I started to shift my focus to recovery and healthy choices, and that really helped. Over time the thoughts of drinking rarely popped into my head, and at close to the two year mark I feel better physically and emotionally.

Everyone that is telling you it keeps getting better is telling the truth. What are you doing for recovery?

I think that is quite difficult to answer! I don't have this "wow I have so much energy" etc that some people get but I know that I am physically healthier & my anxiety is much better than it was. I still have work to do though in that I need to fit some exercise in & eat less chocolate!! Evil chocolate! ;)

I will have 90 days tomorrow. My original plan was just to do 90 days but I realised that I'd just to back to daily drinking in the long term so I decided to quit completely. I'm proud of this decision and know it is a good thing for me. However everyone has their down days, that is just normal life.

Maybe just don't expect some sort of "zing" magic? It is different for everyone but worth it in different ways for everyone I'm sure.

Well done on 34 days!!

34 Days is fantastic!! :You_Rock_

For me it was a few months, it definitely takes some time to get your feet under the table in terms of a new Sober lifestyle, not simply clinging onto not drinking, but starting to begin to appreciate the benefits that Sobriety can bring!!

You'll get there!! :)

When did it click? At one point did “it get better and become so worth it” to you?

How did you know?

about 6 months. iknew because thats when i made a full 24 hours without thinking about alcohol.
worth every second of fight.

For me, at about 7 months (just after it got a lot worse at 6 months). The getting worse had given me the gift of desperation, so I finally got a sponsor and started working on my recovery in earnest. Was it about time? Or about putting the work in? I.m not sure, but I suspect it was the latter.

BB

I started feeling better about my sobriety after I started practicing gratitude every day. :) It's amazing how far a little gratitude will take you. :)

Some things got better right away. Stomach cramps and diarrhoea were the first to go, in the first couple of days. My gums stopped bleeding when I brushed my teeth also in the first week or two. The mystery bruises that I would always wake up with went away.
Mentally, I was still pretty up and down (mostly down) at month 1-2. I just felt blah, most of the time. Not happy not sad, although there were some pretty depressed days in there too. Thankfully they didn't last long.
I'm at nearly 4 months so I still have much healing to do but I definitely feel the "it gets better" thing is happening to me. I am gradually understanding that I can't ever do this again. I really really wasn't willing to accept that at first.

I spent too much time feeling sorry for myself & thinking of what I'd be missing. That was ridiculous, because in the end it brought me nothing but misery - no fun or joy. I was drinking every day - completely dependent. So it took me about 3 months to adjust. I was thrilled to be free of it, but had to learn to live in a new way.

Congrats on your 34 days - we promise it will get better and easier.

Great job on just passing a month!

I found a big shift forward/better around 100 days, in a lot of things. I was very sick when I quit so by that time my mind was clearer and I felt a lot stronger. My journey involved extended PAWS, however, so various symptoms came and went for longer than that.

I am 22 mo sober and will tell you that I am a strong and fit person now (we run a 5K a month and I am planning a 15K in Feb) and I do hot yoga 5-6x a week for an hour, hour and a half - and I am also someone who gets exhausted at times, takes naps a lot of days, and struggles with insomnia.

Anxiety is a fundamental "issue" that I have, so I work on that in various ways.

Relationships and emotional sobriety are continual areas of focus and improvement.

My AA program is the foundation of my life and I cannot list all the good things that are in my happy, sometimes challenging, layered, faithful, generally peaceful and drama-free world.

Bottom line, I keep going - and everything- EVERYTHING - good, bad, physical, mental, emotional - is better sober.

Keep going , too!

The drinking part clicked at 6 months for me. Then came the recovery which was pretty rough for another 18 months. You having a therapist will make that eaiser, I didn't have one. I'm sure you've heard it's not linear. It's like circling the drain and then when one phase is gone a new one begins. It's a soul metamorphosis, it takes time.

Hello! When I was struggling so much in the beginning and would read "it gets better", I was sceptical! Now I'm over 1 year and it's true! I felt a shift about 9 months in, just didn't think about drinking anymore. I feel my brain is still healing from all the damage I inflicted but not tempted to drink.

You WILL feel better. Hang in there

Thanks everyone. Love reading your comments.

Like many here about 3 months I felt a real shift.

Thing got progressively better before that and after, but that was the point where I felt changed.

Also around 90-100 days. Around that time I started owning it — seeing myself as a non-drinker vs. someone who couldn't drink. When you start to live with the benefits of sobriety, the thought of Never Drinking Again becomes a lot less intimidating.

Congratulations on 34 days!!! You've earned it!!!

Last time, I had 93 days before I relapsed. I had just finished 90 meetings in 90 days(probably more like 120 in 90 days). The first 30 days were a bit uneasy, being in rehab, etc. etc.

At 60 days, I started to feel better.

This time around, I currently have 27 days. Despite all the loss and tragedy in the last 28 days, I have found peace. So I'd say it's already better. Actually, It got better after the first three days. That is because the seed was already planted. I had a little familiarity with the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, so coming back has been like muscle memory.

I've lost my aunt, my relationship, got diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, and experienced December 13 2017(Cousin was murdered 12/13/16). All in the last 28 days.

I finally understand the true meaning of peace: To be the calm IN the storm. Took me years to get it.

Hi RUL23 - Congrats on your sobriety. I have 81 days today and things started getting better for me around 30 days sober. At 60 days I noticed how I was definitely seeing things more clearly and working much more efficiently. I also started going to the gym regularly and feel much healthier. I firmly believe I could not have made it this far without the help of AA. I was fortunate enough to meet several people with many years of sobriety who I talk to regularly for advice. The best advice I have received is to take one day at a time and keep coming to meetings. Good luck!
-freeofit

I agree with those that say there was a shift around 100 days, physically and mentally. I also wanted to add, where did all this money come from? After 4+ months, I’ve discovered I obviously underestimated the amount spent on alcohol. Probably in a large part due to those daily visits to the shop where you *must* put something in the cart besides the bottle(s), because what will people think? A nice surprise that the budget is easier to balance!

-bora

Things started to get better (physically) for me after the first few months; actually better (mentally), post-pink cloud (I think that's the term for it).

Immediately after stopping drinking, I had a lot of energy from knowing that I had made my decision and would be doing my best to stick to it. LIFE WOULD BE DIFFERENT! I knew that I'd hopefully never deal with hangovers/embarrassment/self-hate/etc. again and all the problems that drinking caused in my life. I was excited about the idea of starting new hobbies and doing new things. I was ready to have my life in order and not be a grown-up child.

Once that wore off, I realized I still had to do my 'heavy lifting'. I had to come to terms with a career change, talk to my girlfriend about our relationship, make amends for being an a$$hole while I was drinking to coworkers, and come to accept (still working on this) that I'd really limited my personal potential over the past 10 years. The work is hard, but it is good. It is needed.

So, I'd say that things get better in stages. It's a process. Getting off the sauce is the first step (be able to feel better and think clearly), then the next is doing the 'lifting' (repair relationships, finances, emotional work), then it's rebuilding and living. I'm still kind of in the heavy lifting/rebuilding part (not fun, but needed) but looking forward to all the good things that are ahead. I didn't really attach numbers to any of this as I think that people's experiences with this will likely be a bit different than mine. However, I've experienced these things in the first 5 months of not boozing. Along with the lifting and rebuilding, we have to deal with cravings. Those get better over time, but I'm sure they still pop up every now and then for people with lots of time under their belt. At 5 months, I get them when I am stressed out. The trick is to identify when the AV is saying "LET'S DO IT" and have a way to cope. Those urges pass, even if they are a PITA.

The future can be bright! Stay strong and stay sober. :grouphug:

10 months in and it's still hard but it's a heck of a lot easier than it was six months ago.

For me, once the lovely lovely pink cloud had dispersed, I was prob about 10 months sober before I felt errr balanced I guess. What I mean is that my preocupation with mtgs, forums etc had dwindled, and I started to find a balance with day to day life and recovery. You are so early days, take each day as it comes and you’ll be ok. There is no magic time for any of us to feel better im afraid, just take it day by day and it will come x x x. Well done your sobriety time, you should be proud x x x