Sobriety

Go to an AA meeting.

Not me but I'm very lucky to be in a job where I can support people who are fighting the same battle alongside mental health issues. The courage I see everyday is humbling and enpowering because it shows me nothing is impossible.

I wish you all the best and hope you get as much support as you want Feel free to add me if you want, I do not drink alcohol at all by choice because of what I've seen during my time in healthcare.

Hey there. I too struggle. I currently have 105 days sober. Have you checked out Reddit's Stop Drinking forum? It offers a lot of advice and encouragement.

Best of luck. :flowerforyou:

You're profile is private so I can't check it out, but if you need a sober MFP pal, feel free to add me.

I'm not an alcoholic. In fact, I've never drank in the 20 years I've been alive because I've seen firsthand what it does to people. But the first step is acknowledging you have a problem… which you did. So that's awesome. That means you are ready to take back control of your life. Next you need to seek help. I would research local alcohol abuse treatment facilities near you and pick the one that stands out the most. Based on your addiction, a treatment team will come up with a course of action. You may need detox before you start treatment- you may not.

***DO NOT QUIT COLD TURKEY. Stopping drinking alcohol cold turkey can result in death.***

There's more to life than alcohol. It will not be a walk in the park. It is going to be physically, emotionally, and mentally draining. But I promise you that getting sober is totally 100% worth it. I've lost a lot of friends from alcohol/drug abuse and I know if they were still here today and could do it all over again, they would've never gone down that path in the first place.

Recovery from alcoholism is far more than sobriety. It involves changing every aspect of your life. Once you complete a 12-step program, you must continue to get help. I HIGHLY suggest Alcoholics Anonymous. They have a great program. People in recovery NEED support. Take advantage of the support out there for recovering alcoholics. This will be a huge aspect in remaining sober.

Best of luck in your recovery. Keep your head held high! You will get through this.

My husband of 14 yrs was an alcoholic 10 yrs out of the 14. One year he quit and decided on Superbowl that he could "handle" a few beers and then never stopped. And he quit again for a year when he was deployed to Iraq. When he came back, he suffered PTSD and that just escalated his addiction. Now since 2012 he has been sober. I can only tell you what I saw from the outside. And you have to quit because you are ready, not for your spouse/gf not for your parents or whomever. But for YOU! I begged and pleaded for years. And he always made broken promises. But one day he just woke up and I guess within himself had, had enough. And he said I'm done!

Take it a day at a time, sometimes a minute at a time. Seek help, talk to others. Maybe get a sponsor. Get a hobby, befriend sober friends, if you're religious, go to church and talk to your priest/preacher/rabbi etc. My husband went through withdrawals, which was hard to watch. But you can do this!! And never feel ashamed to ask for help, there will come a time where that burden will get to heavy to carry, have someone help lessen that load. It isn't a sign of weakness, but strength because you have done so much alone. Good luck!!!

As a former drinker, this is the best most accurate writing on the topic I have read. Thank you, and well said.

I spent a decade partying abusing all sorts of drugs and alcohol. For whatever stupid I reason I didn't feel like I had a problem because I was young and successful and going out and doing these things with other people made me feel like I didn't have a problem . In my head an addict was someone holed up in a house somewhere tweaking, not me out having a good time with my friends. I made a lot of very bad decisions and when I think back at all the money I wasted on drugs and alcohol, if I was smart enough to had invested it properly I'd probably have been able to retire by now. Quitting wasn't easy. I had to completely remove myself from that lifestyle. No more clubs, no bars, no house parties. I had to break off almost all of my relationships because I would relapse as soon as I was around my friends that partied. For me the hardest thing to do was to stop drinking. IMO outside of heroine and meth, alcohol is probably the worst drug for you. It can be very addicting and make you feel very depressed. I struggled trying to quit the alcohol for years after I was drug free before I finally got on top of it. For me the key was I never gave up. I failed one thousand times. I tried again one thousand and one. It would have been easier if I had asked for help. I was too much of a puss to let anyone know what was really going on with me. Looking back it's my only regret. The strongest people among us are those that ask for help and true bravery isn't the absence of fear, it's moving forward in spite of it. Hope that helps...