What did alcohol take from you?
 

For me, alcohol took away my sense of self. Before alcohol I had passions and interests that I could have explored more, but alcohol made me forget about all of them.

I loved writing and art and theatre, but was always too hungover in college to pursue any of these activities. I stopped caring about them. Pretty soon my only hobby was drinking.

Alcohol also made my anxiety, depression, and social anxiety infinitely worse. It destroyed my confidence and self-worth.

What did alcohol take from you? How can you get it back?

Drinking took away my sanity and peace of mind. Sobriety and gratitude got them back. :)

Everything important. I had an alcoholic father so, parts of my childhood were taken. I in turn became an alcoholic and, that took most of the rest.

I’m hoping to find long term sobriety and, get it back.

If you can't find it, create it. :)

Addiction took away the real me and left a corrupted copy in its place.

D

________________________________________
bringmeback7693 writes >>>For me, alcohol took away my sense of self. Before alcohol I had passions and interests that I could have explored more, but alcohol made me forget about all of them.

I loved writing and art and theatre, but was always too hungover in college to pursue any of these activities. I stopped caring about them. Pretty soon my only hobby was drinking.

Alcohol also made my anxiety, depression, and social anxiety infinitely worse. It destroyed my confidence and self-worth.

What did alcohol take from you? How can you get it back?<<<

Alcoholic drinking, the drug alcohol temporally relieved my depression, depression I didn’t know I was suffering. If the effect from alcohol weren’t temporary, I wouldn’t have become addicted.

Before my first drink, I blocked my depression and feelings involved with my depression via hyper- activities, mostly sports. Since hyper-activities was a frame of reference, it’s easy in retrospect to see why alcohol went beyond what hyper-activities, in what it did for me. Depending on my mood and circumstances, I had good and bad times, but the good times became increasingly fewer, this is due to tolerance. One aspect of my problems at this point was I was attempting to recapture my original almost euphoric experiences at the beginning of my drinking. Eventually alcohol stopped working for me and that’s when I began to question whether I was an alcoholic.

Alcoholic drinking contributed to my divorce. On the other hand, Alcoholic drinking opened my eyes in realizing I had married a stranger, because I didn’t know who I was, so my choices in relationships were immature.

I view alcoholism as the cure for that of which it purports to be the disease. The symptom alcoholism, has a purpose, and that’s recovery from my emotional and mental problems.

Also for me, alcoholism is a delivery system into spiritual reality, which is the only reality.

Alcohol have been a gateway drug that lead to drugs.
Drugs blurred the connection with myself, the universe.
It isolated me. It depressed me.
It made me scared ********.

I got Some sense of normaliter back by practising buddhism and going to meetings.

Alcohol took time away from me. 18 years of habitual drinking, very heavy the last 5. I could have done so much with that time. I am 43 now and newly sober pledging to get the time back.

Alcohol robbed me of my morals. In sobriety I am finding my morals are actually quite high. In active addiction I had none.

Alcoholism has taken away any self confidence I once had. Which was never much in the first place. I cant think of anything I like about myself anymore. It has damaged friendships because of the terrible ways I’ve acted in front of/toward people. Sometimes I’m just too embarrassed to ever contact someone again. It has damaged my brain. I feel like I am missing a connection to my past. Like I don’t remember how things made me feel. Everything, even things before my drinking began, feels like a blur. And now, trying to recollect on my past feels impossible. Not to mention the amount of blackouts I’m dealing with now. My entire life feels like it didn’t happen. And that’s sad and scary.

All of me. It took all of me.

You can turn your life around, Quake. I felt 100 percent better about myself once I got sober. Alcohol robbed me of my very soul. I was an alcoholic shell of my former self. The blackouts were a turning point for me.

I know it's scary, but you can do this!

How true this is Yixi and then some for me.

I have gone from being a relatively nice kind person. To the extremely selfish drunk that I become.

Not today though & I'll take that, SP x

Alcohol took away my self worth, my dignity, my sanity at times, my ability to make good choices, my morals, my integrity, my regard for others, my regard for myself, my inner peace, my connection with the Divine, my love for myself and others and much, much more.

My integrity ... it turned me into my greatest enemy!

It took me. I gave myself to booze and forgot everything else. I hated myself and couldn’t stop. I lied, cheated, hid and died a little on the inside. The days are so hard but I know this is worth it.

It took the greatest beautifulest thing i have ever seen my soul mate owe it's a scar a wound that just won't heal she's alive well married two kids owe you know it's your soul msate when they take your breath away

That could be me , amazing and thanks .

It took away the real me, but I won’t stop until she is back

Among other things, it took away my sense of logic. Being addicted isn't logical. :(

It took away my Mum and alot of my childhood. I had to grow up early and learn to survive with a whole bunch of issues but im getting there and I am fortunately not an alcoholic myself!

To those of you that are sober you are amazing ,one to admit you have a problem with alcohol and two to actually do something about it.

My ability to feel my feelings and be true to myself.

It took my whole savings :) I was foolish enough to spend everything .. but realizing that I had nothing left. I came to senses somehow and started my recovery and started working

It took away my ability to feel anymore I can't remember most of my life and 2 houses and countless jobs. Back on day 1 after a relapse so mind is still gone overdrive

That was the biggie for me. I got it back, although the confidence was no longer about how great I was. It was more just knowledge that I could be happy. It is a clearer perspective of who I really am. I'm not the king of the hill, but I'm not a bad person, either.

Took away my stability, my spirituality, my social life (after convincing myself that it was helping my social life) and my looks. It's shallow as hell, but weight gain, premature wrinkles and dehydrated skin and hair are actually a big motivation for me to stop.

It took away my reasoning, my belief in anything good, my trust in God, my ability to love myself, my joy, my hope, my health, to name a few.


Sobriety has given me back all of this and so much more.

It truly is the gift that never stops giving. :grouphug: