I finally did it
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Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: NE United States
Posts: 1,052
I finally did it
I’ve been an alcoholic for 10+ years. I’ve been mortified to reach out for help. I feel so ashamed and helpless. I’m losing my family, my job, and my sanity. I finally had to reach out.
My doctor was kind and understanding. He is referring me to a therapist and prescribing me meds to help through detox.
I hope anyone out there looking for help finds the courage to ask for it.
Alcohol takes your life before it kills you. Don’t let it.
My doctor was kind and understanding. He is referring me to a therapist and prescribing me meds to help through detox.
I hope anyone out there looking for help finds the courage to ask for it.
Alcohol takes your life before it kills you. Don’t let it.
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 752
That takes a lot of courage and I applaud the step you have taken. The acknowledgement that you cannot do it on your own is a hard one to swallow but it might become the best thing you've ever done for yourself.
I have no real history with alcohol myself but I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people around this forum who have been through it all and more. You will find this place can do wonders for you.
I wish you the very best and please, keep up updated on how you're doing, even if things aren't well. I would say: especially when things aren't well.
I have no real history with alcohol myself but I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people around this forum who have been through it all and more. You will find this place can do wonders for you.
I wish you the very best and please, keep up updated on how you're doing, even if things aren't well. I would say: especially when things aren't well.
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 293
Hi Basset
This can be a very pivotal point for you. Many of us have been where you are. Like many of us, getting sober may be the hardest thing you have ever done but ultimately the most rewarding with huge benefits to reap. Stay close and keep posting!
This can be a very pivotal point for you. Many of us have been where you are. Like many of us, getting sober may be the hardest thing you have ever done but ultimately the most rewarding with huge benefits to reap. Stay close and keep posting!
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Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 3,293
Sometimes it takes a lot of losses and pain for us to wake up and see what we are doing to ourselves. Some still don't stop even when they lose everything. Good for you for grabbing hold of your drinking and doing something to keep things from getting worse. Takes a brave person to do that. John
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Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 525
Congratulations on reaching out for help. Shame is not without utility (it can alert me to the need for inventory, amends, etc.), but for the most part I have found it to be a perverse form of pride that just keeps me cut off from my Higher Power.
The first time I ever said "I'm an alcoholic" out loud was around 1987. Now, my sobriety year is 2002. In the 15 years between '87 and '02, I celebrated 2 years three different times (and 4 years once). I simply could not stay clean and sober until I realized there is only one effective solution for me and that's the one laid out in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. That may not apply to you, but I hope you'll keep an open mind about the possibility that it might apply to you.
The first time I ever said "I'm an alcoholic" out loud was around 1987. Now, my sobriety year is 2002. In the 15 years between '87 and '02, I celebrated 2 years three different times (and 4 years once). I simply could not stay clean and sober until I realized there is only one effective solution for me and that's the one laid out in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. That may not apply to you, but I hope you'll keep an open mind about the possibility that it might apply to you.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Sonoran Desert & Southeast Asia
Posts: 6,561
Welcome BassetDog!
Glad you sought help, life is so much better without being weighed down physically and mentally with this. Keep posting - there is so much understanding and support here.
Glad you sought help, life is so much better without being weighed down physically and mentally with this. Keep posting - there is so much understanding and support here.
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
That's awesome, @BassetDog! Nothing changes until you make the effort to change it, so kudos for taking that step!
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Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: New England, U.S
Posts: 204
Basset- I was right where you are 38 days ago. Losing family, home, job. Desperate and in severe withdrawals. Thought I was losing my sanity. Hang in there- sobriety doesn't cure all of the problems but you will be feeling better in a week or two. You will be thinking clearer and you will look back on this time as the time when you took control of your life. We had been digging our hole deeper, putting down the "shovel" is a life-changer.
You're smart to stop drinking before something worse happens. You'll find lots of support and good ideas here. 
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Join Date: May 2019
Location: UK
Posts: 3,928
Well done, Basset. I too was scared of ever going to the doc, but mine was also very understanding.
Seeing my doc was the catalyst to stop drinking once and for all. Not that I needed constant reminders any more, but two years on, my doc still asks if I’m drinking, although she did say she could tell I wasn’t (physique, etc). Your doc will always ask that question, and no one likes lying to their doctor, especially when they know if someone is a drinker or not. Well done again, Basset.
Seeing my doc was the catalyst to stop drinking once and for all. Not that I needed constant reminders any more, but two years on, my doc still asks if I’m drinking, although she did say she could tell I wasn’t (physique, etc). Your doc will always ask that question, and no one likes lying to their doctor, especially when they know if someone is a drinker or not. Well done again, Basset.
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Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: NE United States
Posts: 1,052
Originally Posted by slayingthedrago 
Basset- I was right where you are 38 days ago. Losing family, home, job. Desperate and in severe withdrawals. Thought I was losing my sanity. Hang in there- sobriety doesn't cure all of the problems but you will be feeling better in a week or two. You will be thinking clearer and you will look back on this time as the time when you took control of your life. We had been digging our hole deeper, putting down the "shovel" is a life-changer.
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