Things we don't miss in sobriety
 

I thought it would be interesting to write down the things we don't miss about our drinking or using days.

• I don't miss running into people who remember talking to me at a restaurant, but I have to pretend I remember because I was blacked out.
• I don't miss that jolt of panic when I opened my eyes after a night of drinking and couldn't remember how I got home or what I said to people the night before.
• I don't miss having to skip entire days of jewelry making (for a business I am in the process of opening) because my hands shook too much to work. Sometimes the shakes went on for days.
• I don't miss the sadness that sober me felt because sober me had all these goals and projects that I never got to when I was drunk.
• I don't miss being exhausted all the time.

Feel free to add your own. These are the kind of lists I look back on when I have rough days.

-I don't miss sitting at my desk with heavy eyes, wishing I could just find a way to stop drinking.
-I don't miss the mix of negative emotions I always felt, not being able to differentiate between me and drunk-me.
-I don't miss the look of disdain in my daughters eyes, while she tried to communicate with the drunk me...and begging me to stop.
-I don't miss my husbands eye-rolls because it's another unstable day and he's fed up.
-I don't miss the paranoia I felt because I erroneously thought my husband was cheating.
-I don't miss spending more money on booze then I did on self-care.

I could go on forever. Thank you, I needed this today:)

Dont miss:
regret
anxiety
being drunk
trying to run/ workout with a hangover
shame
guilt
headaches
risky behavior
blackouts
feeding the alcoholism
Battling
depression associated with active alcoholism
groundhogs day

I don't miss the crippling anxiety.
Dry heaving in my morning shower.

The constant and debilitating alcoholic loop that plays out over and over and over again, with the same results every single time AND without any significant change only a perpetual wallowing day after day, year after year.

I don’t miss any of that.

on a related note: I don't miss the sadness, frustration and shame I felt at all the goals and projects I envisioned while drinking but never did anything about.... because I was always spending so much time drinking and thinking about things I could do one day.

I don't miss the terror of who I called or drunk texted in a blackout.
I don't miss needing to drink in the morning to get back to zero, but throwing up after said drinks, and continuing on.
I don't miss the withdrawals of quitting over and over again.
I don't miss figuring out how to stop the madness.
I am free.
Thanks

After 7 years of sobriety.
I don't miss the hiding it, or at least trying to.
To thine own self be true.

I don't miss

• Getting over Being awake more than 1 & half days because of long binges, hiding in my spare room with cider & coke ashamed to face my partner or look at myself
• The craziness, I seemed to get real crazy & embarrassing in the last days
• Putting my life at risk of suicide while blackout
• Hearing my actions once i sobered up
• Having to stay in bed crying for a full day
• Not being able to enjoy food
• The money I spent on alcohol

Just a few awful things that stick out most

Taking home Janet jackson from the bar to wake up the next morning next to Freddie jackson. Just kidding. :c033:
So much to list but I love being sober and having a good laugh. Take care everyone

That's hilarious....

But also... very on point.

Reminds me of a drunken one night stand of unprotected sex when I was on a business trip - and at the time I was both married and having an affair. I woke to the triad of a terrible hangover, deep shame and terror that I probably had HIV or some other STD.

DEFINITELY don't miss that.

I don't miss anything about my drinking days. Anything I did drunk, I can do better sober... Anything! So what's to miss?

I don't miss driving around hammered with my two young daughters in the car, bottle of vodka between my legs, and being utterly unable to find my house.

I don't miss my daughters finding me tipped over in a snow bank outside and fearing I was dead.

I don't miss towards the end of the madness being surprised and saddened that I woke up and survived another day.

I don't miss the dread of night, the dread of mornings, sweating in the winter, organ pain, gout, e.d., rotten teeth, ****** up feet, filthy house, hangovers, impulsivity, anger, smelling like death, looks from others, chest pains, drunk food decisions, drunk shopping decisions, drunk career decisions, eyes looking like two ****-holes in the snow, foggy brain, fat face, red face, ugly face, ****** up joints, smoking the dirty cigs. I could go on and on.

So grateful to be in recovery and sober. Grateful for every single day.

-waking up at 3 in the morning with a raging thirst, pounding head and that utter fear, despair and shame as the memories-the ones i can recall, start coming back. who did i text.fb, what did i say?
-the constant going round and round what shall i drink, what time, how much?
-arguing with myself, im not doing this again, only to do it again
-not trusting myself
-looking and feeling awful every single morning

Christ RAL, you've stolen my list. 😵

Every reply on this post has brought me to tears! Everyone reminds me of how I felt everyday.
​​​​​​Ground hog day really sticks out.

Love this post!!!
I don't miss:
Waking up hungover every day, and eating junk and drinking more to try to "fix" it
Day drinking, period.
Hiding bottles and cans, needing to take out cash so I wouldn't leave a paper trail of the incredible amounts of alcohol I was buying
Living life at a distance from everyone else
Shame and guilt
Planning my driving around when I would be drunk
Puffy face, bloodshot eyes, generally looking and feeling like death warmed over

All this and...
Acid reflux. Constant.

'Jolt of panic', terror, dread, fear, despair, shame - all words used in the above posts. This was fun? What were we thinking?!
In my case - in the end I had no choice but to take it to work with me - or I would shake & be sick during the day. (Oh, I'm sure no one noticed :tongue:) Classy!

I won't miss trying to count the drinks I had the night before and hope my blood alcohol is low enough so if I get pulled over at work I'll be under the limit. Or waking up finding a loaded gun on the living room floor and having no memory of putting it there or why.