buddha

hi all--

I am a newcomer and am wondering how to determine my sobriety birthday. My last drink was on Dec11. So is my SOB date Dec 11 or Dec 12 (the first day I woke up sober and didn't drink)?

thanks

CAPTAINZING2000

My last drink was Sept. 2 99 I count mine as the 3rd. My mind was such a fog I wasn't sure either at the time Might have taken a few days to sober up.

glad you're here

keep coming back ok

chris

best

If you want to count the day you made the choice to stop drinking... mine is about 23 years ago. If the times (3 of them) that I have had a beer or 2 since then, last time being about 18 years ago. A slip up, bad judgement, forgetting the steps... what ever the reason... I am feeling more and more that the important date would be the date you made the choice to say No more... Today is the first day of a better life.
I would say the important date would be the one the choice was made on... a choice made with commitment and meaning.
As for 12/12 That is a good date anyways... Was born on that date.

findingout

Hey Budda,

I went with the first day I woke up and didn't drink at 5am before I went to work. I made the decision the day before but then promptly had a bottle of wine. (What can I say, I'm an alcoholic and I had to get those last ones in.) Somehow I managed to keep my promise to myself this time, got up and didn't drink and three days later, still sober, called the treatment center and made the appointment for my initial screening.

If I were the sort to believe in numerology, I say you would have to go with 12/12. Twelve steps, twelve traditions - what a good omen.

One Love, One heart, Jah Bless

BubbaBob

...I don't bother with what mine is.

As far as I am concerned, I have been sober for about 5 hours and 30 minutes...since I got up this morning.

This is a one day at a time program and the pereson with the most sobriety time is the one that got up first TODAY.

BubbaBob

CAPTAINZING2000

Bob, I agree with that. We can't rest on our laurels. I know, it does get easier with each passing 24 hours.

ChrisMan

I lost my sobriety so very many times, and I would always call the next day my first day of sobriety.

But the last time I lost my sobriety, on August 3rd, I had a realization -- that the only time I can ever be sober is in the present moment. Right now. Because we never have the past really (it's over) and we don't yet have the future. What we have is the present moment.

So I realized that, for my own mental health and my own spiritual perspective, that I needed to make a positive choice in the present moment to stay sober. This happened at 11:30 p.m. on August 3 of this year. I had acted out earlier that day and evening, but made that concrete choice at 11:30 p.m.

Sobriety is never decided by a clock striking midnight, I realized. Sobriety is a decision I make to be and remain sober. Therefore, my sobriety date shouldn't be determined by a clock, I decided.

So I call August 3, 2004 my first day of sobriety, because it was the day I made that all important present-moment choice to be sober, even though that present-moment choice came very late in the day.

ChrisMan

mountaingirl

I, like chrisman, had to restart the clock quite a few times. I think that's why having a date is actually important to me. Some people don't like doing the date thing = to each his/her own.

In answer to your question, the first 100% sober day would be your day 1. 12/12 definitely has a lovely ring to it!

best

You have that right. The person who got up first and started the day with the proper tools in hand is the one who will have the most time at the end of the day as well.

Don S

I agree with Best. The important thing is when you made the commitment.

BTW, AA is a program that emphasizes 'one day at a time'. Other recovery programs believe that it is possible to change and move on--that you aren't always in recovery, but can be 'recovered'. Thus they don't focus so much on the date of sobriety as they do on the process of change.

Behavioral approaches emphasize the 'stages of change', so if you've moved from contemplating sobriety to acting on your new belief, a brief lapse wouldn't indicate a need to start over. (It might! Just not necessarily.) It would be time to review your tools for fighting urges, but in my opinion it doesn't mean you're back at the first day.

Don S