Eddy808

Hello,

I made a post over a year ago regarding cutting back, and trying to find a way to "moderate" my alcohol consumption after 6-7 years of daily drinking. It took a few nasty spills (pardon the pun) to truly see that alcohol and I could not be part time friends, and that we needed to part ways for good. With the help of family and friends, I finally made the conscious decision for myself to enter a 5 day detox program. Today marks my 12th day sober, and it's almost indescribable how amazing it is to wake up clear headed, and lay my head down nightly sober. Such an amazing gift.

This forum has been helpful in many ways for me, so I wanted to reach out and say THANK YOU to everyone here for the unknown help! For those of you who still battle the demon, know that there is always hope. Even though I am in the beginning stages of recovery, the idea of drinking continues to grow for the better day by day. I'm thankful that after 6-7 years of daily drinking to look at an open beer and laugh. Wondering why I needed that poor tasting, life ruining substance in my life at all. Alcohol almost cost me my career, my relationship, and countless other blessings I've been given in life. At 28 years old it makes much better sense and I'm happy to have made the decision to change.

For those you you in recovery, how do you handle nerves and pressure to have just one after months and even years of recovery? I find my temper and anxiety builds a bit at certain points of the day and in certain situations (normal I'm sure this early in game). I begin my first night of 90 straight days in AA locally, and am actually very excited to have meetings to preoccupy some of my free time now.

Thanks, Eddy

doggonecarl

Good luck on your recovery journey.

I just handle it. Doesn't mean I don't have anxiety, or stress, or other life issues. I just don't drink over them. I employ healthy coping mechanisms, or I suffer through them.

But I don't drink.

Nonsensical

Congrats on 12 Days!

The only one who can make me feel nerves or pressure to drink is me.
I decided to stop doing that to myself.
I've never regretted making that choice.

Keep up the good work!

hpdw

Hi , well done for your recovery time .

For me after years of binge drinking and some decent spells of recovery this time round something is different , very much different yet so simple ...... I now have utter and complete acceptance that alcohol can never be part of my life .
Once I fully accepted this I was no longer afraid . Because Fear and apprehensive thinking are the root of anxiety sensations and symptoms I am now in a much better place mentally than ever before .
I did have some health issues in Dec Jan which are now resolved so its upwards and onward towards spring .

Keep positive and enjoy each sober day . Be at peace with yourself and you will have a wonderful recovery .

least

I'm sober over 8 yrs and still have anxiety and stress. But I don't drink over it.

DontRemember

I'm only 13-14 months. I've had a month here and there since joining,but this is the longest i've ever been without a drink in 15+years. I handle being around drinking by knowing that I just no longer drink anymore. It took me several months(3-4) to get to that mindset. Some AA and posting/reading here regularly have been a big help too. Life does still happen and there's times I'd love to just 'step out' from it for a moment,but my 'moments' can last weeks,months,ect..so it's no longer an option for me and I'm cool with that.

CaliButterfly

Good job at 12 days!! After months or even years, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking you can now drink "normally" and then believing you can limit yourself to one on a particularly stressful occasion. Don't fall into that trap. It may be one that particular time, but it is the first step back down the rabbit hole. It's inevitable. It's why alcoholics have relapses. It took me 5 tries to finally get it through my head that even one is one too many. Remind yourself that giving in to that temptation will never end well. Distract yourself until the moment passes and you'll have years behind you in a better life. Namaste

Dee74

some great advice here Eddy

Like others have suggested I just handle it. I had this huge fear about stress and anxiety and my ability to cope with it, but the relaity once \once I actually started to really deal with it, and not run away to a biottle, things got a lot better,

I still get anxious and stressed - everyone does, alcoholic or not - but it doesn't rule my life anymore...and I don't go to the default of wanting to drink over it either

D

Berrybean

Well, if you're going to AA you will hear about the 12-step recovery program. This is desperate to the meetings and worked with a sponsor once you feel ready to ask someone to be that for you. It's through the 12-step recovery program that the change really happens, and that we find some peace and serenity, and the self-pity, resentments, rage, fears, etc all become more manageable. Early days can be the hardest part, because we are yet to build up those new tools for living but have dropped that old faulty crutch alcohol in the dumpster.

Good luck at your first meeting, When will that be?

BB

Rar

I'm still very early in my recovery too. Fortunately I've not had any major upsets or traumas, just minor nuisances, irritations and anxiety. I'm hoping that by handling these, I'm getting practice on the bigger things sure to come my way eventually. Hang in there.