When did it "click"?
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 11,431
No click for me either TJ
I simply had to:
1)make decision that I was not drinking, no exceptions or excuses. I started with a six-month deadline as I could not face "forever" and then pushed on forward as I got to each deadline.
2) Actively engage my feelings when I craved--be willing to sit with that discomfort and feel it fully. It doesn't last long. If it got too much, have a plan with distractions such as take a walk or shower, eat some ice cream, go to bed early, watch a movie.
Cravings will pass. Each time you "win" past a craving, your sober muscle gets stronger and you can beat the next one more easily. Over time, frequency and intensity of cravings decrease.
3) don't put yourself in triggering situations in early sobriety. "Testing" yourself is a backdoor tactic of AV to get you drinking again.
4)Reward yourself for doing well--don't beat yourself up for failure.
I simply had to:
1)make decision that I was not drinking, no exceptions or excuses. I started with a six-month deadline as I could not face "forever" and then pushed on forward as I got to each deadline.
2) Actively engage my feelings when I craved--be willing to sit with that discomfort and feel it fully. It doesn't last long. If it got too much, have a plan with distractions such as take a walk or shower, eat some ice cream, go to bed early, watch a movie.
Cravings will pass. Each time you "win" past a craving, your sober muscle gets stronger and you can beat the next one more easily. Over time, frequency and intensity of cravings decrease.
3) don't put yourself in triggering situations in early sobriety. "Testing" yourself is a backdoor tactic of AV to get you drinking again.
4)Reward yourself for doing well--don't beat yourself up for failure.
Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 82
it clicked when i saw how my life was literally the polar opposite for the positive when i wasnt drinking. I still have life, but my bad days now, are not even close to what they were when i was drinking. I heard a quote not long ago that stuck with me and keeps me right "boys talk, men do what they say theyre going to". Tell yourself your going to make Halloween the day and stick with it. I am coming up on a year and I can honestly tell you i never thought i could have this life.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Right here, right now
Posts: 3,975
On 1/21/17, I woke up in a foreign country on a girls trip. My friend was so drunk she was puking up blood. I myself being drunk, didn’t know what to do, and was wondering how to get her to a hospital and deal with insurance in another country. The hangover I felt that morning lasted for months. I had bad alcoholic neuropathy affecting sensation in my hands and feet that developed over several years of heavy drinking. Somehow I knew that morning that I would never drink again, even though countless times before I had said the same thing.
The beginning of quitting was extremely difficult. But after 9 months or so, it got a lot easier. I became somewhat complacent after that. Sobriety was easy for me as long as life was easy. But life got more difficult. My son is special needs, and parenting will always be more challenging than what parents of neurotypical kids experience. I had a difficult childhood as well. I still struggle with sobriety. I have not relapsed but feel that if I do not remain steadfast in working a program every single day, I might.
Lots of suppprt to you!
The beginning of quitting was extremely difficult. But after 9 months or so, it got a lot easier. I became somewhat complacent after that. Sobriety was easy for me as long as life was easy. But life got more difficult. My son is special needs, and parenting will always be more challenging than what parents of neurotypical kids experience. I had a difficult childhood as well. I still struggle with sobriety. I have not relapsed but feel that if I do not remain steadfast in working a program every single day, I might.
Lots of suppprt to you!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 543
Thanks everyone for the advice and support... a lot of great replies and stories and it is so motivating and encouraging that many people made the decision to quit for good even after relapsing several times and/or without having to have a tragic event elevate the immediate urgency to abstain from drinking.
After reading all of the replies, I heard four strong "clicks":
1) Put actions behind my words
2) Stop being sick and tired of being sick and tired
3) Take it one day at a time and push through the cravings early in recovery, the cravings will eventually subside
4) The "Click Fairy" is not going to come down from the sky and give me the clarity that I need
Thanks for the support!
After reading all of the replies, I heard four strong "clicks":
1) Put actions behind my words
2) Stop being sick and tired of being sick and tired
3) Take it one day at a time and push through the cravings early in recovery, the cravings will eventually subside
4) The "Click Fairy" is not going to come down from the sky and give me the clarity that I need
Thanks for the support!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 175
It clicked with me on the last night I took a drink July 20th this year. I fell down and gave myself a huge shiner and bruised everything. I realized I either needed to stop or it was going to kill me one way or another.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 176
Originally Posted by Fly N Buy 
All I could hear in my sodden brain for a long time was Clank! No click.
I deceived myself over and over again regarding my obsession and addiction to alcohol. Decades passed.
A final reprimand from loved ones lead me to step into the rooms. 90 days - 6 months - a year. Somewhere in there I had an awakening; I was a real alcoholic and the path was clear. Sobriety or death.
We have to stay sober long enough for things to click in terms of our relationship with alcohol. For real alcoholics it is poison. Read Under the Influence. Here's a local thread https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...influence.html (Excerpts from "Under The Influence")
This use to be pinned as a sticky under Alcoholism forum, I believe - but don't find it there anymore. Easily found by googling Under the Influence Soberrecovery, for future reference. This book clearly explains how an alcoholic's body metabolizes alcohol much differently than non-alcoholics. I found this incredibly helpful during sobriety. However, self knowledge alone had little effect. Accepting we are alcoholics and doing something about the malady are two very different things.
Best,
Fly
I deceived myself over and over again regarding my obsession and addiction to alcohol. Decades passed.
A final reprimand from loved ones lead me to step into the rooms. 90 days - 6 months - a year. Somewhere in there I had an awakening; I was a real alcoholic and the path was clear. Sobriety or death.
We have to stay sober long enough for things to click in terms of our relationship with alcohol. For real alcoholics it is poison. Read Under the Influence. Here's a local thread https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...influence.html (Excerpts from "Under The Influence")
This use to be pinned as a sticky under Alcoholism forum, I believe - but don't find it there anymore. Easily found by googling Under the Influence Soberrecovery, for future reference. This book clearly explains how an alcoholic's body metabolizes alcohol much differently than non-alcoholics. I found this incredibly helpful during sobriety. However, self knowledge alone had little effect. Accepting we are alcoholics and doing something about the malady are two very different things.
Best,
Fly
Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 33
Jail. screwed up and went to jail. I got a year's time. away from my family and young children for months. it's been years and we are still digging out financially and with the dmv. friggin years.
I didn't hit any other vehicle or crash my car. I just got caught.
detox in jail is a tough one.
please take my advice and detox / stay sober whilst you can do it on your own terms.
and please do not ever drink and drive.
I didn't hit any other vehicle or crash my car. I just got caught.
detox in jail is a tough one.
please take my advice and detox / stay sober whilst you can do it on your own terms.
and please do not ever drink and drive.
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