Obladi

Awesome.
There you did it.
You stopped.

Moving right along to staying stopped...

Ghostlight1

Congratulations on your decision to quit drinking!
I think writing at least today down would be a good idea.
That way when you get to a year, and I know you will, you'll know your anniversary date.

It is hard to admit a drinking problem. I know it was for me, too. But once I did, I could begin recovering.
So you've taken a huge step there.

Yes, identify the triggers that make you want to drink.
For me, it was sunrise
I was a bad drunk.
And remember, you're always welcome here and you never have to drink again.

Anna

Becky, I'm glad you've decided to stop drinking. Whether or not you count days should only matter to you and what works for you. I think the trick to remaining sober after 2 or 3 months is to make some lifestyle changes to support your recovery. Do things you love to do, find things that bring joy to your life, spend time with people you love, that kind of thing.

DriGuy

We understand. Believe me; We understand. It's good to have you here.

Obladi

Hey Becky, how are you getting along?

Zebra1275

Honestly not sure why I'm posting since my logical brain can easily solve the dilemma for me

In my experience, that's not going to work. I put the greatest analytical and creative resources I could muster into trying to solve my dilemma for over 20 years. I still couldn't stop drinking.

I'm a successful professional, whatever that means.

Me too, that doesn't matter. It just helps you deny the problem longer.

but I can't stop drinking . . . but that often spirals out of control and into a binge.

Been there, done that. I was sober for over 5 years and thought that I was cured and could moderate my drinking. I was not successful. I would have a couple of drinks, and then be off on a 3 day bender. I would follow this up with a 10 - 14 days sober and then, knowing full well what was likely going to happen, do it again. I did that for a year and just couldn't stay sober - long term.

What finally worked for me was giving up and going to AA. And logging onto this website every day in the beginning.

The good news is that I got sober and I'm coming up on 10 years of sobriety in a few months. I also got to retire as a "successful professional." That outcome was in doubt 10 years ago.

16YearsDrunk

Alcohol and logic are polar opposites. I asked myself the same question many times while drinking. The solution was to simply not drink alcohol. But of course, logic isn't that simple while addicted. Don't kick yourself. Recovery is difficult, but you need a plan of action. Do you have any support groups like AA?

DriGuy

Counting days or years may be a little more than just keeping track. I found it useful to think in bigger and bigger blocks of time as I progressed. Getting time under your belt for most people is motivational based on the premise that "Success breeds success." Eventually, time under my belt became less important as I settled into just being sober, which is the actual goal, and can't be easily measured by a block of time.

I only make this an issue, because I had a friend who was about the same kind of alcoholic as I. He got into trouble with his drinking, and ended up losing a great job. He decided to quit for one year to prove he didn't have to drink. On the day of his one year anniversary, he started drinking again. We had mostly lost track of each other by then, and I don't know where his return to alcohol eventually got him, but I remember thinking the one year goal seemed rather pointless. I hope he's OK. He was bright and had a lot of potential, but alcoholism doesn't respect intelligence or potential. It gladly accepts anyone into it's fold.