Experience with the first year
 

I don't want to change sobriety for anything, I feel so much better and never want to go back to my old life.

I know everyone has a bit of a different experience and journey but I feel angry off and on and tired. I'm at almost 90 days.

I realize the first year is different for all, but can you describe your journey in the first year?

Hi Hopeful :)
for me things got a lot more consistent after the first 90 days - I think I started getting used to emotions again and worked out in my head what the level of appropriate response for any given situation was.

I felt a lot less angry about what had gone before and a lot more excited and hopeful for the future

I started to get some energy back and I started on the foundations of building a new life - a sober life - that I loved.

I still had ups and downs and still had moments of cravings the first year but they were more and more easily dismissed as time went on.

I drank for years - the fact it took only a year to basically get my ducks in a row was a pretty good return I thought :)

You're doing great but do hang in there - it will get better :)

D

My story is on page five of the Stories forum. :)

I found the first year to be a year of changes. I was shedding a horrible habit and learning how to live sober. The biggest thing I did for my recovery was to start practicing gratitude every day. :)

There's also PAWS. Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. A collection of symptoms people sometimes get in the first year or so of recovery. So getting angry or irritable is common. So is depression and inability to concentrate. But with good food and rest, the symptoms go away with time. Exercise helps too. :)

Here's my story.

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ory-least.html

Thank you so much

After 90 days I started to get over the shock that I wasn’t drinking. I wasn’t quite as freaked out about this huge change in my behavior anymore but I was still really shaky comparatively. I started to realize I wasn’t missing out on anything by not drinking and in fact, had been missing out by drinking. By six months I realized I had really done something here, so it was time to start living it. I am glad I didn’t jump the gun though because I had a lot of inner work to do and wasn’t really owning what being an alcoholic in recovery is. It’s not just not drinking or putting the tangible back together. I still had a lot of bluster and ego going on, and didn’t really consider that even though these six months felt like eons to me, others who had been affected by my years of unreliability weren’t quite seeing me as I was seeing me, and for good reason. By about a year I had more patience and was a little more hip to those concepts. Working on staying physically active by eating right and exercising helped a lot, too.

My story is in the first year forum too, but I am not good wi links!

Like others, I remember points of progress and change, and mostly ups with lessening downs. I was VERYsick when I quit and had a lot of physical healing to do on top of the rest of it. See a good. Article on PAWS on digitaldharma.net under tab PAWS. There is also a great book called Living Sober that describes the first year well. It is not an AA text but it is a Hazelden pub which does put out AA approved lit.

In a nutshell, I noticed a good jump forward at about 100 days. I am a dedicated AAer and began working a dedicated program from the beginning. There are other programs and I would suggest committing to a plan of action, whatever that is. Plenty of folks around here to share their successes.

I had to learn about my underlying anxiety. I had to prioritize health and then increasing emotional sobriety. I noticed things like a quite irritable week in the fourth month, a rough eighth, my best til that point at 11...I considered myself in early sobriety till at least a year and a half. My third year has brought increasing stability and exploration of my recovery lifestyle developed during the first two years. Recovery is the top priority in my life and everything, decision, relationship including my marriage is based on that. It is wonderful.

There are a lot of good threads and folks here. Hope you stay with us in your journey.

By 3 months I was feeling much better. I was less agitated and emotional.

By 6 months the obsession about how I wasn't drinking started to ease up.

By a year I hit my stride and started focusing on rebuilding.

Now at 18 months I live my life normally as a nondrinker.

I went through ups and downs a long the way, funks where I felt off, episodes of anhedonia.... I rode them out and trusted the process. Whatever you do, don't drink, no matter what. It gets easier and way better.

90 days is fantastic! :)

Let's see...

First couple of months: I was so focussed on my plan and getting through critical "firsts" (first sober Christmas, first sober social function etc.) I had tunnel vision about sobriety. Was probably a good thing. Was very emotional but mostly quite optimistic and "up" about life.

8 weeks: I suddenly experienced physical changes, noticeable changes to my body and physique from the running and fitness work I was doing as part of my recovery plan. Very motivating. I strongly recommend incorporating exercise as part of your recovery plan.

3-6 months: A hugely positive, pink cloud time. I made a lot of plans and felt super-organised and like a highly functioning member of the human race... for a change!

6 months: I moved countries - a big move that was rather daunting. I noticed social anxiety I never had before. Learned to deal with it. This move took up a lot of the next few months.

9-12 months: I consolidated my finances. Undid a lot of damage from the past. Got an accountant, started to rebuild my financial situation which I'd ignored when drinking. This was a time of looking back and fixing things that needed to be fixed.

12 months: A time of reflection. I began to look forward to the second year and wonder what I would do with my new life.

Year 2 .... that's another story! The amazing ride continued and I found a new purpose in life.

Challenging, but with SR, meetings and professional support- rewarding.
Support to you.