Verdantia

I have two years and one month of sobriety, and I don't obsess over drinking anymore. I do often think about alcohol in the context of my recovery and gratitude, though. It's inescapable in society, with advertising and the social acceptability of drinking at parties, sporting events, etc. I cannot become complacent, however and must always be on guard. Lack of vigilance once cost me 15 years of sobriety, and that must never happen again, or it will end my life.

LSC1

It is almost impossible not to think about alcohol as alcohol is everywhere. I rarely think about DRINKING alcohol ... 5 /1/2 years sober here.

MindfulMan

Maybe once or twice a week, but these are rarely cravings, or if they are cravings they are mild enough that they wither away immediately if I take a second and look at them. I’m just over eight months sober. I decided that I was finished negotiating with alcohol and drugs about two weeks in. Even if I could moderate for a time, as I often had over the years, moderation was a constant negotiation of how much and how often I could drink or use.

I’m pretty much done with that.

I had a long discussion with myself as to whether or not it would.d be OK to roll at a music festival at the EDM tent. Once it started to sound like a big negotiation, I rapidly concluded that it was not.

MindfulMan

Maybe once or twice a week, but these are rarely cravings, or if they are cravings they are mild enough that they wither away immediately if I take a second and look at them. I’m just over eight months sober. I decided that I was finished negotiating with alcohol and drugs about two weeks in. Even if I could moderate for a time, as I often had over the years, moderation was a constant negotiation of how much and how often I could drink or use.

I’m pretty much done with that.

I had a long discussion with myself as to whether or not it would.d be OK to roll at a music festival at the EDM tent. Once it started to sound like a big negotiation, I rapidly concluded that it was not. Party drugs and dancing only was a slippery slope to addictive drinking.

madgirl

23 months here. I really don’t crave it at all, and only think about it at length whenever I read this site.

I genuinely look forward to evenings and weekends, am rarely bored and when I remember my old life it feels like a horrible dream.

I remember thinking sober people must get so bored. I had no idea how much better - truly - it is to be clean.

Contrite

[QUOTE=neferkamichael;6747042]RUL23, 56 days is just FANTASTIC, congratulations. At 7 years sober I rarely think about drinking alcohol, but I do stay on SR regularly to remind me about being an alcoholic for 40 years. It took about a year for the urges and cravings to disappear. Rootin for ya.
You can see I am new here

duane1

Nearly 6 years and I rarely think about it or dwell on it.

tekink

I'm a bit over 11 months. I'll think about drinking fairly often but it tends to give me a stomach ache these days and I don't really crave having one at all. It's kind of like an old friend I had to remove myself from because they always took advantage and screwed me over. There's some nistolga but it didn't end well and I'm also reminded of that.

RUL23

Appreciate the feedback everyone.

Wholesome

I'm coming up on a year next month and I still have the occasional thought, for example I was away dog sledding last weekend and everyone at the cottage was drinking except for me, the only time the thought flashed through my mind was when I first arrived after a long drive up through a snow storm..... I saw those beers and my mind thought, "Oh, one of those would be nice!" Instead I grabbed a club soda and carried on enjoying myself as the sober person I am today. The thoughts no longer concern or upset me, sometimes they are there, most of the time they are not, the important part is what I do about them.

DreamCatcher17

I am like 113 days or so sober...
I have thought about consuming alcohol, twice. But not in a way of I want to drink it but rather, seeing if a certain activity made me want to drink. Nope, it didn't. I am good, for today at least!

EliL

Almost 10 years. The days were a struggle so i drank, drinking made the days a struggle, the struggle came before i ever drunk alcohol. I don't think about alcohol as i don't blame it for the struggles in my life, i do think back on the struggles i had and am glad that i found a little peace and a way to live in this world with others.

If it hadn't been alcohol it would have been drugs, food, sex etc. It took a lot of work on myself to get this point though and i absolutely blamed the drinking for all my ills for most of my life; if only i could stop everything would be fine and when i did stop i wasn't prepared for how i felt, acted, thought, without the drink. I didn't realise that all along i was using the alcohol, the hangovers, the chaos, the fixation on quitting/alcohol as coping mechanisms until i got help and changed a little.

ljc267

I feel the same way on both counts. Whenever I think about alcohol now it is how/why did I do that to myself.

I also used to think people who don't drink must be bored all the time. I equated alcohol to fun. What a mistake that was. Actually it's quite the opposite.

ljc267

That is the first time I ever heard someone say that.