Leonidas

Gonna be tough but I've battled this demon long enough. Even went to the doctor the other day to let him know what's been going on and to get blood work done and etc. because I've been feeling straight lousy lately. I think the years of drinking are finally catching up to me.

I also finally told my mother as well the other day. Up until the other day I've been hiding it from people because I some how convinced myself I could quit on my own if I really tried hard enough. However after trying and failing what feels like hundreds of times I have now accepted that I definitely can't do it on my own. I'm hoping reaching out and letting people know will help hold me more accountable and give me more motivation to quit.

I haven't made a plan yet or decided what method to use to help me quit but I do realize these are stuff I need to figure out soon now.

Wish me luck and happy 2019 to you all. Stay strong!!

Ghostlight1

Good luck. And I'm staying strong, thanks.
Glad to hear you're quitting. I needed help. I went to AA. I came here.
I hope you can get sober in the new year. One day at a time.
You can do it. Many of us here are. I'd love to see you succeed. All the tools are available, you just have to use them.

Leonidas

Thx Ghostlight. I am strongly considering going to check out some AA meetings. I've never gone before because it doesn't really sound like my thing but that really is kind of an ignorant thing to say considering I've never been there. Plus I've accepted that I need to do something different this time if I really want to quit(which I really do). Repeating the same patterns that I've constantly failed at obviously isn't going to work and I know this now.

Anna

I'm glad to know that you see you need to do something different this time, and to come up with a plan that will work for you. One thing I found helpful in the early days was to change my daily routines. I made myself do something different during the time of the day when I was most likely to drink.

Have faith that you can do this.

Lonewolf22

I think many people from my experience find going to AA meetings just to be around people with a common aim without taking the AA principles on board.

Ghostlight1

I agree. Just go. The room full of fellow alcoholics has a dynamic to it.
People all there with the same goal is a powerful thing.
I would certainly give it a chance. The only thing you have to lose is a bad cup of coffee.
And, it may just save you. It did me.
I rarely spoke at meetings. Just listened and looked for the similarities.
You could say I got sober through osmosis.
Best to you.

Leonidas

Thx for the advice guys. Yes I think I will and at least give it a chance. Even to just have something to help kill time helps me in my early days. Certainly can't hurt either way. It's actually silly of me to make judgement on something that I've never tried before and have nothing to lose by doing so.

Leonidas

That's good advice, thx Anna. I think even more specifically I need to find something to do with myself during the hours I normally would drink. Extreme boredom during the times I normally drink seems to be the main culprit that gets me back drinking again.

courage2

Hey Leonidas! Congratulations on Day 1!

After a few failed attempts to get more than 3 days strung together, I sucked it up and went to AA. I ended up doing the whole 9 yards, including sometimes 3 meetings a day, because I got really into it. There's a ton of good stuff happening in the AA rooms, at least in NYC. And as someone here said, it's a great time-filler in early sobriety. One of the old-timers I know used to say it was better than the movies, and free.

My policy on recovery was, if something worked as far as helped me not drink once, keep doing it. If I ended up drinking anyway, do that first thing and add something else to the plan. Eventually what starts as a sober plan becomes a sober life. And it's great!

Leonidas

Thx courage. I am going to go once I finish with the withdrawal stage. Sounds like a good place to start at least. Like I mentioned I know I need to do things differently this time and going to AA would indeed being doing something different.

Snowydelrico

Good luck.
Glad you made the decision to get help.
Like you I thought I could quit anytime I wanted.
With help, determination, research and tools collected along the way I got sober.
As a result I love myself and I love life.
Even the challenges that are presented, i know there will be a positive outcome from taking them a step at a time in a sober adult manner.

I can’t see doing anything sober is a wrong way to do it.

You can do it, nothing is worth drinking over.

One foot in front of the other, this is your time, this is your life, take it with both hands and never let go.

Happy new year

Zebra1275

While you are in the process of constructing your sobriety game plan, go to an AA meeting.

You can find several meetings in any decent size city and use AA as an interim step until you figure out your plan.

Going to a meeting won't kill you and you might discover that you want to use it as part of your plan.

Leonidas

Rough sleep but made it through Day 1. Day 2 now.

PhoenixJ

Not good luck- but strong, good commitment and working hard- every day to stay sober, learn and heal. Stopping the booze is but the first step....

BUT- I give you my prayers and support.

Dee74

'grats on day 2 Leonidas

D

Leonidas

Thx Phoenix, I appreciate that.

I think when people wish people "good luck" here they generally mean it as a good gesture. Not actually wishing them luck. Pretty sure anyone who is at the point of needing this place knows it takes more than luck, I'd say.

Leonidas

Thx Dee.

Snowydelrico

You’re doing great Leonidas.

August252015

Glad you are here, leonidas. And I'd venture to say that going to a meeting today is the best idea. I sat in the rooms during the immediate and extended withdrawal I had and it was sometimes uncomfortable and I am sure I didn't get things mentally for a bit. But the act of going started me on the path to working the program- and saving my life.

Getting over that hump of turning an idea into action is so hard! Sometimes even now I find myself arguing about doing the active thing even when I know I'll be better for it, like every time I choose to go to a meeting.

Stay with us!

Oh - AA is certainly not the only choice - but along the lines of my last comment, those of us who get some sobriety under us have at least one thing in common - that ACTION part. Dee can talk about how he based a plan using SR - others use methods like SMART, people like me AA, some combine multiple methods (me too, since I use an excellent psych).

All of it boils down to choosing not to drink, every day. As AA says- we have to be willing to go to any lengths, at any cost. That might mean literally killing time at the movie theater, or going to rehab, or coming on SR....whatever it takes.

Leonidas

Day 3.