Mags1

Sober blues? Weekenders 12 - 15 August 2022









Sober Blues. I had them. A lot.





I didn’t realise when I stopped drinking I’d lost an old friend. One that made everything better.

Or so I thought.



Being so dependant on alcohol made it difficult for me to function without it, in early sobriety.



I remember thinking everything was going wrong in my life. Truth be known, looking back, it was the start of things eventually going right for me.



How could that be when I’d lost my crutch, my friend, my escape from reality.



Was it really my crutch? A crutch is supposed to support you, mine made me legless and comatose.



Could it be my friend? Friends don’t strip you of your self worth, your dignity and even your money.



Escape from reality? For a short while maybe until I needed more escape than reality.



Sober blues? Yes, they were there initially. The addictive voice in my head was constant, suggesting a drink would make it all right.



I look back and realise I was captivated by alcohol. I lived for my next drink.



Escaping it was going to take determination and grit. I didn’t have those qualities or ‘sober tools’.



I went to slimming world to lose weight, now I needed help how to stay sober.

More importantly being sober without the ‘sober blues’.



‘I will be here along with many others, all of us ex drunks and alcoholics. We are your scouts and can tell you what is on the trail ahead so you can be ready for any obstacles. I can tell you to come on! It is rocky and slippery but if you focus on where you place each step, you will have no trouble getting to where I am on the trail.

All of us can tell you where the potholes are, bumps in the road, and the slippery places, but we can't walk your path for you. We can only take joy as you succeed, and cheer, one and all!

All of us can tell you where the potholes are, bumps in the road, and the slippery places, but we can't walk your path for you. We can only take joy as you succeed, and cheer, one and all!’

CaptainHaddock

Morning Weekenders and shotgun!

Thanks for the new thread Mags. Heavy drinking made me extremely depressed and anxious. I really was at the point of complete anhedonia. Once I quit my mood lifted quite quickly, so to me any blues I experienced once sober was nothing compared to the dark place I found myself in during active alcoholism. I came to realise that drinking would be a temporary escape that would take tenfold what it purported to give. Of course it took a period of sobriety to have a clear enough mind to be able to realise this.

Mags1

Congratulations on Shotgun CaptainHaddock . Good post!

Kaily

Thanks Mags.

It was dismal being a drunk. An endless cycle of misery. Sober takes some getting used to, emotions deeply buried reappear, anxiety, guilt, regret escalate. But then slowly things improve, we learn to live without it, bit by bit.

Britbird80

Thanks Mags for the post, definitely had ups and downs mood wise, especially at the start of sobriety, settled now after 7 5 months but still have the odd bout of low mood but I recognise it, know that it will pass and not be exacerbated by alcohol. Same with anxiety. All nothing compared to the crippling prolonged episodes that were there when drinking.

Congrats on shotgun captainhaddock and I'm definitely in for a sober weekend.

Have a great day everyone 👋

Mags1

Hi Kaily and Britbird.

In a way I rejoice at the fact I don’t turn to alcohol when I’ve had a bad day, when I’ve had a good day, or when things are going tough or things are going smooth. So much better without booze in the mix.

AL48

Thanks Mags
Hope we are all enjoying the summer weather. Working through it but using the evening to paddle and swim in the sea instead of swimming in Alcohol and waking up miserable the next day.
Hangover free is the best for me.

least

Went to bed earlier but couldn't sleep. Going to try again.

calmself

Superb opening post, Mags!! End of Day 270 for me. Congrats to everyone who is doing great. Lets stay strong. Good night from Seattle!

Robbie64

Thanks Mags for an excellent opening post. I'm IN for another sober weekend.

A sunny and hot weekend too, according to the weather forecast. I plan to do some walking this weekend along with also watching lots of sport. The sort of weekend I love and once which is much better than spending it all in a drunken blur.

Congratulations on Shotgun Captain and congratulations on 270 days calmself.

Mags1

Congratulations on 270 calmself. The days are certainly clocking up.

AL, must be nice to swim in the sea. Keep you cool.

Robbie, it’ll be in the 80’s F today, a bit more bearable than a few weeks ago. Thankfully.

PhoenixJ

Wise words, Kaily.
Funeral tomorrow.....my brain is going nuts with every bad booze related memory it can find...after tomorrow I am gonna do some serious thinkin' on how I do life...

so much bad news on TV..thank god for good old Antiques Roadshow ..

Purplrks3647

Thanks Mags, again!

It’s been a while since I’ve attended an AA meeting, but I remember one point: Someone said once they just focused on being sober, everything else seemed to fall into place.

I don’t watch the news PJ….I just get news highlights from ***** or social media….my latest tv guilty pleasure has been rewatching old episodes of “Daisy of Love” on Hulu

In for the weekend!

Edit to add: Oh I forgot some words get bleeped out….I meant an online source that rhymes with “Wah-Hoo”

Cityboy

I gave up any kind of news media also. TV or radio. Who needs that junk.

PJ, sorry you're having to sort through those memories. There must be some good memories also.

Al, "hangover free is best for me". Love it!

Alpine

Happy almost weekend all! PJ, sorry once again for your loss and the upcoming funeral.
We don't watch any news at all which to me is a good thing. Anytime I go over to help my Mom she always has the TV on and very loud which increases my anxiety. I immediately turn it off.

Evoo

Good post! Alcohol is no friend of mine. I built it up in my head as something romanticized and beautiful through my childhood — I idolized it. My room was adorned in Guinness posters and shot glass collections well before I took a first drink — I wanted to be like my elder family members. That lifetime of romanization made “breaking up” with alcohol extremely difficult. But I did it.

SoberLeigh

Thanks, dear Mags. Another great topic.

We are with you in spirit, PhoenixJ. Stay strong. Hugs.

In for a Sober Weekend.

CBS62

Thanks Mags. I am in. Just passed day 600 the other day. Once I realized I was using alcohol as my liquid courage and was dependent on it I knew I had to quit. It took some time to admit it to myself though. But the thing that really was the last straw was the anxiety the next day when the alcohol was wearing off and I needed a drink to calm down or I would ride out the horrible hangxiety until 5 o'clock. So I started tapering down my wine consumption over a few months and quit Dec. 2020. So glad I finally had the courage. I was in a miserable loop.

SoberLeigh

Well done, CBS.

Mags1

PJ, if the funeral is bringing up so many unhappy memories for you, you do realise you don’t have to attend it. You can pay your respects from afar. It is your choice. If it is going to send you down a more depressed road don’t go. First and foremost…your recovery. I know it sounds harsh but you have to protect and care for you first. Sending love and hugs x