SOBRIETY

[ralf_]

17 months. thinking of hangovers: would there be something worse than having one say tomorrow morning (noon)? on the other hand they sometimes made for chill days (excuses) to stay in bed eat pizza and ice-cream (and eventually drink beers in bed, too)…

[IUTSM]

17 months. thinking of hangovers: would there be something worse than having one say tomorrow morning (noon)? on the other hand they sometimes made for chill days (excuses) to stay in bed eat pizza and ice-cream (and eventually drink beers in bed, too)…

I didn’t realize that I was in a years long hangover until my body acclimated about a year out of drinking. I never got any of those pizza and ice cream days. On non work days it was straight to beer, work days, i just powered through with coffee and PMA.

Nowadays, if i dont sleep enough, or drink enough water by a certain time, or dont stretch, im a miserable grouch. Alcohol was a crazy anesthetic for sure

[hmmoookay]

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17 months. thinking of hangovers: would there be something worse than having one say tomorrow morning (noon)? on the other hand they sometimes made for chill days (excuses) to stay in bed eat pizza and ice-cream (and eventually drink beers in bed, too)…

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I didn’t realize that I was in a years long hangover until my body acclimated about a year out of drinking. I never got any of those pizza and ice cream days. On non work days it was straight to beer, work days, i just powered through with coffee and PMA.

Nowadays, if i dont sleep enough, or drink enough water by a certain time, or dont stretch, im a miserable grouch. Alcohol was a crazy anesthetic for sure

I've been thinking about this since you posted it and I feel like I need to start being more consistent with a kind of "feel good" routine. Like starting the day with the intention to feel good no matter what comes your way kinda thing.

Since my last post I have continued to have on and off again drinking dreams. I'm really just chalking it up to stress; I'm in the midst of a career change, getting ready to move across the country, and the last two weeks of the semester have truly kicked my ass (rounding out my 5th year as an adjunct instructor, leaving teaching fwiw). On top of that, I've got whatever bug is going around right now (not covid) and cannot for the life of me get good sleep, as a result of all of this I'm sure.

To spin all of this in a positive light, it's all made me thankful for my sobriety because if I were still "living" off of vodka and fried food I think I would probably have spiraled into a mental health crisis by now. No one ever said this would be easy, but its easier than repeating that cycle for damn sure.

Congrats on 17months ralf, big big big. Keep it up! 

[Monolithic Flick]

Well I am starting over again.  I went 90+ days as an “experiment” and felt great.  Again I was never a “problem” drinker in that alcohol never interfered with my daily life.  But it is definitely affecting my energy levels in my old age.  And I just overall felt so much better sober.  Was stupid of me to give that up.  My job security went to hell right before I did so I justified it with “ stress” and things like “you’ve proven you can give it up.” 

Job is still insecure but obviously long term alcohol doesn’t really reduce stress.  Anyway I am very grateful for this thread.  Thank you all for sharing. It is all inspiring and encouraging me to restart my sober journey. 

[Coastal Fever]

90 days is a huge accomplishment!  Don’t think of it as starting back up from the bottom, you’ve already conquered the uphill climb, you’re just hitting the ground running and picking up where you left off.  The many rewards of sobriety are still right in front of you.

[CrumblingInfrastructure]

Well I am starting over again.  I went 90+ days as an “experiment” and felt great.  Again I was never a “problem” drinker in that alcohol never interfered with my daily life.  But it is definitely affecting my energy levels in my old age.  And I just overall felt so much better sober.  Was stupid of me to give that up.  My job security went to hell right before I did so I justified it with “ stress” and things like “you’ve proven you can give it up.” 

Job is still insecure but obviously long term alcohol doesn’t really reduce stress.  Anyway I am very grateful for this thread.  Thank you all for sharing. It is all inspiring and encouraging me to restart my sober journey.

You got this, I just hit 90 days yesterday

[Ankle_Lift]

To spin all of this in a positive light, it's all made me thankful for my sobriety because if I were still "living" off of vodka and fried food I think I would probably have spiraled into a mental health crisis by now. No one ever said this would be easy, but its easier than repeating that cycle for damn sure.

Congrats on 17months ralf, big big big. Keep it up! 

That's it right there. The cycle from before is easy and comfortable to get into, but just remember how shitty you probably felt all time.
All the negative emotions that follow after a binge. They're the worst. Keep going.


Everyone else... Keep it up boys! Keep going!
The stress relief that booze brings is so tempting, but it's also so incredibly temporary.

I'm at four months, and it's for sure gotten easier as time goes on.
I spent almost 25 years of my life making unhealthy and bad decisions, so when I stopped drinking, my plan was  going to be to be healthier all all-around.

I was struggling with ongoing mental health issues as well at the time I decided to stop drinking, so I had no energy to do much of anything. I would have used alcohol to get that comfortably numb emotional state, but things have gotten much better, which probably wouldn't have happened if I was still crushing the booze.

But, I've started to feel much better... I've started riding my pedal bike to work, and I joined a rec soccer league that plays twice a week. I feel better than I ever have, which is a weird feeling for sure.

[ralf_]

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To spin all of this in a positive light, it's all made me thankful for my sobriety because if I were still "living" off of vodka and fried food I think I would probably have spiraled into a mental health crisis by now. No one ever said this would be easy, but its easier than repeating that cycle for damn sure.

Congrats on 17months ralf, big big big. Keep it up! 

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That's it right there. The cycle from before is easy and comfortable to get into, but just remember how shitty you probably felt all time.
All the negative emotions that follow after a binge. They're the worst. Keep going.

thanks hmmoookay, appreciate it!

a "the day is yours" routine is awesome, but even harder is learning that there is a lot of stuff you can do that is good for you (water, vegetables, clever coffee routine, work outs, cold showers bla bla), but it is also okay to sometimes do the opposite and then live the consequences and feel not awesome, stress out, be depressed about stuff etc. at least for me that has been a big realisation lately, that i dont need to stress myself to feel good. theres feeling bad and its ok and i can deal with it without booze. thats so awesome :-))

[Sleazy]

@Ankle_Lift and @Monolithic Flick appreciate the shares! at 10+ months in i'm at a point where i understand so clearly the impact that having a drink has on my day and grown to love being energetic and in a good mood everyday so it's gotten beyond easy for me. i've had to deal with some really stressful things in my work life this year and i've found so much comfort in "at least i'm not drinking". hoping you all get to a similar place with your journey.

[Monolithic Flick]

@Coastal Fever, @CrumblingInfrastructure,@Sleazy thank you for the kindness.  It is humbling and well received.  This is a great thread and I wish everyone the best and will keep checking in here and there. I am actually excited about getting sober again because I know how good it is going to feel.