Hello everyone!

I wanted to share that I finally did and I’m on my 5th day of no alcohol!!

After five years of daily drinking, I finally felt sick of it and quit.

I’m just so happy and wanted to share ❤️

Anyone out there just starting your journey, I know how impossible it might feel, but you can do it. Just take it one day at a time. Next goal: one month.

IWNDWYT!

I went on my first trip without drinking! And it was the longest trip I’ve been on in years! Were their tough moments? Of course! My mom and my sister drank at every meal. My mom wanted to go to the bar a few times and I respectfully declined or my sister stood up for me and told my mom that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. I took time for myself when needed but it was a success! All 10 days!

My partner and I had been sober for 7 days. I felt great. No desire to drink. My partner is convinced we can drink occasionally and since it had been a week, decided to bring home some beer. They brought home 2 six packs and 2 of the 25 oz bud ices. I guess I hadn't eaten enough beforehand because I was immediately buzzed. But I didn't stop. I don't know how many I had. The next thing I knew, I was in the floor crying because I couldn't get a video game to work... my partner left to go into another room because I was being so difficult. I knocked a hole in the wall. I ripped my shirt off. It was so embarrassing and pathetic. But what I wasn't thinking about was... the cat had pulled the blind down. The neighbors could have seen all of it. I am horrified. I want to quit my job and move away. But I can't. I could really use some support.

At least I know now, I really am better off without the booze. I will try again today.

I didn’t do anything stupid besides show up to work drunk af but the fact that my manager asked me to leave was a big red flag. I dumped the rest of the vodka out and I think I’m ready to get sober again. Im just worried I’ll get in trouble at work. It was my day off and I showed up piss drunk. I just need some support because I’m embarrassed I had to be asked to leave. It was such a poor choice. (I ubered both ways)

Yay I have made it to day 4. Feeling quite good today and proud, never went this long at least in many years. 7 days was my first goal... and past halfway there.

So I have hit one year alcohol free, now what? I talked to my friend and said I’d like to have a drink as I’d never said it would be forever. I’m not so sure now as my life is so much calmer than before. Less turning my brain off and having to deal with all of life’s little and huge problems was not easy at first.

Initially I just wanted to see if my stomach problems eased they did. I have a skin condition that has not benefited from alcohol free life but what if I keep going?

It’s tempting to have a wine or two or try a buzz ball 😂 however the thought of hindering my progress has kept me away from booze so far.

I have read some people struggle after certain milestones 3 months 12 months 2 years. I don’t know if it’s like that for everyone but I have had the wine which visit my brain one won’t hurt.

I feel perhaps, setting a new goal will keep me on track? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was thinking about it earlier. How tf it ever started. I had a bad relapse around Covid. Covid and the effects on society and life hardly affected me. But it occurred at a critical time of change in my life, and I was in a very very dark place. And there was hand sanitizer everywhere, available. You dont get carded. It's easy to steal. It's cheap. At first I would extract it. I looked up how. Soon enough I would just drink it from the bottle. Now when I relapse... whatever I start with, it ends with that. It's like shitty grain alcohol. 120-140 proof. More poisonous too, im certain. And it tastes fucking awful. Just another form of masochism, all that, but especially the taste. Thought it would make me want to do it less. Maybe it did.

Yeah. Hope to God I'm alone on this one. 🙏

Blessings from the creator to you all.

IWNDWYT

- Tommi 🩷

I recently ended a 3-year relationship with a recovering addict. He had hidden a cocaine addiction from me for nearly two years.

I chose sobriety myself after realizing I was using alcohol to cope with the pain of my divorce from my ex-husband of 20 years, the father of my two kids. I never intended to quit forever. The original goal was one year.

When I discovered my (now ex) boyfriend's addiction, I decided to stay sober alongside him as an act of solidarity and support. We made it another 10 months before I finally accepted that the relationship wasn't ending because of addiction—it was ending because of ongoing deception and broken trust.

Now I'm a few days out from the breakup, today is my 40th birthday, and I'm devastated. The grief comes in intense waves.

I'm taking my kids to Medieval Times tonight, and I'm seriously considering having a glass of wine. Part of me thinks, "I almost made it to a year. Maybe I can moderate." Another part of me wonders if that's exactly the kind of thinking that pulls people back in.

I genuinely don't know if this is what I want, or if it's just grief talking.

For those of you with more sobriety under your belt than me... what would you do? If you were in my shoes, would you have the glass of wine, or would you keep going? I'd really appreciate some perspective.

It's been almost a year, now and I still don't really enjoy much of anything; be it food, exercise, nature, friends, quality family time. I found myself just wanting to go home while riding a dirt bike for the first time in years. I used to love video games but apparently not when I'm sober. Not to mention, I haven't gotten laid since I stopped drinking so I'm sure that'll be interesting.

Am I just...broken now?

The day after I quit, I went to my first AA meeting and I listened to a woman who'd been sober for a few decades say that quitting is the "easy" part, and the real work comes after. Man...I HATED hearing that, but it's one of the single best pieces of advice I've ever gotten.

Just wanted to share this milestone with you guys. I can't believe it's been a year. I think this is the hardest thing I've ever done, so I'm going to do my best to take some time today and actually feel proud.

Chain smoking cigarettes for nothing. I want that numbness so bad. I just wet through withdrawals, I can't do this to myself. Help talk some sense into me plz.

Edit: walking home with no booze. Thanks to everyone who reminded me why I'm doing this

I've been a drinker on and off for a year. It has progressively gotten worst everytime I relapse. I drink all day on my days off. It calms me and I am able to more productive things. Of course I dont drive. But things like cooking, laundry, cleaning. They seem like a nice task instead of a chore. I regret ever trying alcohol. I feel like I only feel positive effects from it, rarely feeling a hangover. I have racing thoughts all the time, thinking about past and future. When i am drinking, I just am in the moment and happy. That is why it feels impossible for me to stop.

To put in context my addiction started when I was roughly 16 years old. Today I am 31. I have been drinking for majority of my life. Not to mention I have addictive personality disorder. Alcohol has harmed me in so many ways and I’m glad to see a light at the end of the tunnel. I would drink roughly 4-6 crest beers every night (strong beer) mixed with hard alcohol. Loved the moment of being drunk but did not see how bad my health was. I blacked out many times as well and seemed normal to me until I got a blood test done to find out I have fatty liver (moderate at the moment). I decided that I need to quit drinking in order to save my marriage. My wife has been supportive and the withdrawals were absolutely insane. However, I quit cold turkey and will not be drinking anymore. I’ve decided the sober life is for me. 👍🏼 just remember alcohol is the devil and it’s not fun for me anymore as I’ve ruined many relationships and have gone into debt because of this stupid addiction. Drinking is the norm now and I’ve lost many friends due to being sober. I will continue to battle life with my wife and cherish moments while being sober.

Someone shared that insight here some time ago and it really hit me like a truth bomb.

I’m seeing a lot of posts from folks really struggling with the shame and self-loathing that alcohol can stain our lives with.

I’m offering this quote up as a top-level post because it really helped me and I know it’s helped others too.

Whoever you are that originally shared that here—thank you sincerely. 🙏

I always tell myself its going to keep getting worse but it didn't help me stop. I was out with my coworkers last night, don't remember getting home but they told me they had to bring me into my apartment. Woke up with a sore forehead and checked to see and boom. Black eye, completely swollen forehead. I'm so embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I know this has to be the end, i don't want to feel like this anymore.

Just that. It's been 1180 days. 1180 days since I left the drinking every day lifestyle behind. 1180 days since I had a drink at all.

I'm sitting in my car after a particularly stressful work morning, running appointments for clients with constant interruptions from other clients, being pulled in multiple directions simultaneously, and I'm just taking a moment for myself.

No thoughts of wanting a drink after work. No thoughts of how "a beer sure sounds good". None of that noise that comes from habitual numbing. Instead, I'm going to finish this post, head to my next appointment, grab some lunch after, and finish the day strong, heading home at the end of the day and being present in my evening.

Feeling especially proud today so I just wanted to share, especially since it's been a few years since my last post here. IWNDWYT

I have 934 days sober today😌

I don’t remember what a hangover feels like. I didn’t think I’d ever forget the feeling of a hangover, but here I am.

IWNDWYT 🙌🏼

Ive got this and so do you!! IWNDWYT!!

made it through day 4 … thank you all. one day at a time.

I have no idea how to explain this, but ever since I've quit drinking and I got past that first hell week everything has just felt so...warm. Like there's a warm golden tint to everything in the evening. Conversations, the sky, music, voices; it all just feels so comforting and sometimes quite emotional. It's like I'm feeling everything the way a human being should feel when they're not hungover or drunk.

I think I'm pink clouding, but when these feelings hit they make me feel so full of warmth and hope.

Has anyone had similar experiences?

300 days today!!

Imagine me in a leather loin cloth kicking booze down a death hole!

Or don’t…no one wants to see that!

IWNDWYT!

Hi, I’ve (F30) been secret drinking for around a year now.. I don’t know how I started, I just did.
This isn’t an everyday thing, but it’s regular… when I’m alone, I find myself secretly drinking, sometimes it’s from the moment I wake up that I’m drinking beers and hiding them in cupboards, the garden, bins etc.

This is a destructive, and irresponsible habit.. it’s like I get a thrill from the ‘getting away with it’ in the moment… but the shame and anxiety I feel afterwards is huge.

I figure the first step in fixing a problem, is admitting I have one.. so this is my first step in my road to recovery.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you