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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: Renfrew, Ontario
Posts: 5
New to this Forum
Hi,
I've been sober 16 years now and recently began what some call 'stinkin thinkin'.
The odd thought of picking up a single can of beer at the super market, stuff like that.
I've mentioned this to my mental health counselor and thought I'd join up.
Just in case.
Can't hurt, eh?
I've been sober 16 years now and recently began what some call 'stinkin thinkin'.
The odd thought of picking up a single can of beer at the super market, stuff like that.
I've mentioned this to my mental health counselor and thought I'd join up.
Just in case.
Can't hurt, eh?
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,564
Hi Janus! It's a great idea to take extra precautions. I'm sober 14 yrs. - but still come here every day to remain vigilant. Seeing the pain & regret of our newcomers helps me realize I can never touch a drop, or I'll be right back in hell.
Congrats on your 16 years of freedom from it.
Congrats on your 16 years of freedom from it.
Member
Join Date: May 2019
Location: UK
Posts: 3,942
Did you have just one can the last time you drank?
Me neither
I don’t know about you, Janus, but me having just one drink would be about as likely as speaking fluent Swahili. I get cravings now and then, but they last a few minutes. If I had that “one” drink, the aftermath would go on for years. I think you know it’d be the same for you.
Me neither
I don’t know about you, Janus, but me having just one drink would be about as likely as speaking fluent Swahili. I get cravings now and then, but they last a few minutes. If I had that “one” drink, the aftermath would go on for years. I think you know it’d be the same for you.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 72
Great move, Janus. I was sober just over 25 years and got curious if I could handle a beer or two. Seven years later and lots of damage I ended up on SR. I’ve been sober just over 3 years now. The only silver lining is I no longer have any doubt about whether or not I can handle even one beer.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,777
Welcome to the family Janus! I threw away 20 yrs of sobriety by having 'just one' glass of wine. It took me two years to get sober again. I hope you'll play the tape forward and remember where drinking got you. 
Glad you found us. You'll find lots of support and useful information here. 
I threw away 20 yrs of sobriety by having 'just one' glass of wine. It took me two years to get sober again. I hope you'll play the tape forward and remember where drinking got you. 
Glad you found us.
You'll find lots of support and useful information here. 
Giving up is NOT an option.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 7,808
Welcome! And congratulation on 16 years.
Warning: Sad Cautionary Tale coming.
I had a dear friend I had known since junior high. I had not seen him in years, and we ran into each other at a bar and hit it off and began dating. We both drank pretty heavily at the time. I found out after some time went by that he had been sober for 16 years and decided he was "cured" enough to drink again. We dated a while but broke up. Stayed in touch. He called me one night and said he needed help, he'd gotten a DUI. I went and picked him up, and he decided he needed to be sober again. He went to treatment, went to AA. Got sober (or so I believed). I got a DUI a few months later and also went to treatment and AA. We dated again, sober. Broke up again because something was "off" about his sobriety and I saw warning flags. Still stayed in touch. Came to find out he was drinking more than ever, and had been for some time, even though people thought he was sober. He had given up trying to be sober. He gave up on life on October 9, 2019. Took his life. Was unemployed, nearly homeless, destitute, and ill. I had tried so hard to convince him to live, to go back to sobriety. I felt so guilty, like I could have done more. I still feel that way sometimes. The sadness is with me every day.
So, even 16 years isn't enough time. 7 years isn't enough (that's how long I've been sober). I had another dear friend who went back out after 5 years and died of internal bleeding. I know countless others who "experimented" and it was disastrous. Whenever hear that little voice in my head telling me it might be ok to have a drinkie-poo I just think about my friends who didn't make it back alive. It would be stupid of me to think I wasn't running the same risk. I'm the same as they were. Powerless over alcohol. Gotta stay humble.
Warning: Sad Cautionary Tale coming.
I had a dear friend I had known since junior high. I had not seen him in years, and we ran into each other at a bar and hit it off and began dating. We both drank pretty heavily at the time. I found out after some time went by that he had been sober for 16 years and decided he was "cured" enough to drink again. We dated a while but broke up. Stayed in touch. He called me one night and said he needed help, he'd gotten a DUI. I went and picked him up, and he decided he needed to be sober again. He went to treatment, went to AA. Got sober (or so I believed). I got a DUI a few months later and also went to treatment and AA. We dated again, sober. Broke up again because something was "off" about his sobriety and I saw warning flags. Still stayed in touch. Came to find out he was drinking more than ever, and had been for some time, even though people thought he was sober. He had given up trying to be sober. He gave up on life on October 9, 2019. Took his life. Was unemployed, nearly homeless, destitute, and ill. I had tried so hard to convince him to live, to go back to sobriety. I felt so guilty, like I could have done more. I still feel that way sometimes. The sadness is with me every day.
So, even 16 years isn't enough time. 7 years isn't enough (that's how long I've been sober). I had another dear friend who went back out after 5 years and died of internal bleeding. I know countless others who "experimented" and it was disastrous. Whenever hear that little voice in my head telling me it might be ok to have a drinkie-poo I just think about my friends who didn't make it back alive. It would be stupid of me to think I wasn't running the same risk. I'm the same as they were. Powerless over alcohol. Gotta stay humble.
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