SOBRIETY

[DarthDingusMaximus]

I fucking hate myself for not drinking and it sucks because I'm at a low point and anything sound's good butttttttttt I just can't bring myself to do anything or buy something.

[Sonny Paluso]

 I'm at 15 weeks and change no drinking. 48 and have basically been a consistent beer drinker since 17/18. 48 now. Feel great. Lot of energy and way more positive mental outlook. Don't think I'll ever go back.

[Sonny Paluso]

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I'm at 15 weeks and change no drinking. 48 and have basically been a consistent beer drinker since 17/18. 48 now. Feel great. Lot of energy and way more positive mental outlook. Don't think I'll ever go back.

[close]

 

keep that PMA brotha!

Thank you, I will. Beneficial to family life and my health. Wish I would have done this 20 years ago.

[Dirk_Diggler]

Hey y’all

I know some of you have seen my thread “3 months alcohol free” and my experience trying to stay sober, but that was before I knew this thread existed, so I will be posting here about it from now on.

Long story short- Stopped drinking for almost 5 months, relapsed pretty hard last weekend, and now I’m back on the wagon again.

Hope everyone here is doing well and stay strong.

[Mongey]

Just read through pretty much this whole thread.

 I turn 47 next week. Always have drank mid to heavy since I was 17. Have good job , young kids , house , wife and all that but just starting to feel like I need to step away from the booze. I take care of all my shit but those 4 to 6 beers at the end of the day Are always a constant. With a few more On weekends.

It’s to a point where’s not drinking seems kind of an exciting change , but fucking hard to break 30 years worth of habits.

About to start a 12 week eating thing with the wife. She is trying to get healthier after
Our 2nd kid . So I’m gonna try my hardest to stay off For 12 weeks and see what happens.

[Idk]

I go through periods where I don’t drink. 3 months or so where I won’t drink or buy myself alcohol. I’ll be honest a big reason is because beer just makes me fat eventually. Bloats me up.

[Mongey]

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Just read through pretty much this whole thread.

 I turn 47 next week. Always have drank mid to heavy since I was 17. Have good job , young kids , house , wife and all that but just starting to feel like I need to step away from the booze. I take care of all my shit but those 4 to 6 beers at the end of the day Are always a constant. With a few more On weekends.

It’s to a point where’s not drinking seems kind of an exciting change , but fucking hard to break 30 years worth of habits.

About to start a 12 week eating thing with the wife. She is trying to get healthier after
Our 2nd kid . So I’m gonna try my hardest to stay off For 12 weeks and see what happens.

[close]

you can do it man. if you drink canned beer, have canned soda water or something to replace it. I used to have to crush those during the first few years. Still do when I visit my family and my pop is drinking beers all day.

Thanks for the words dude.

I also brew my own beer as a Hobby so it’s something that has turned into a big part of my life.

Feeling pretty resolved though to give this 12 weeks a real shot. Have thought about trying some alcohol free beer but not sure that will help in the early days. Think it’s better for me to just drop it all.

[Huell Howser]

big ups to everyone in here!

I haven't drank in a little over a month and I have been feeling much more consistently happy(following through with more plans I make, more productive, feel 100% more patient, skating/surfing a few times a week, etc). I don't have any specific time frame/goal set for myself but I am just going to keep it up for as long as I can or feel its right

[Bizarro Jerry]

I'm creeping up on 4 months sober in a couple days here. I did have one stella on my birthday last month, sort of just testing out if I even liked alcohol anymore. Nope, can't believe how uncomfortable even one made me feel. Feels insane I used to drink 7% ipas on weekdays.

Besides feeling generally more happy, clear headed, and finally sleeping good for the first time in 5 ish years, I can't believe the amount of money I've been saving. According to this "I am Sober" app, I've saved at lesat $1,100 bucks since new years.

[Eggie Vedder]

I was never a drinker but I was addicted to OxyContin for about 4 years. A friend introduced me to LSD and without even thinking about it I slowly stopped oxy and mainly did acid. After about two years I had a bit of a breakthrough trip. It’s kind of a stereotype but I feel like the trip permanently changed my brain or something. I was still occasionally doing coke or molly at parties and trying whatever but after the breakthrough trip I felt like a light switched turned off my desire. It’s been 5 years and I feel a thousand times better than I did when I was piling out. I still get turned off how people make psychedelics a religion but I do think scientifically it can help with addiction or certain mental illness. It definitely isn’t the right answer for everyone but for anyone out there that feels like they keep relapsing i think it’s worth a try. Just start with small doses.

[Coldpizza]

So I’ve been off drugs for years now, and stopped smoking weed about a year ago. I’ve been trying to stop drinking, but it’s so fucking hard. I truly thought weed would be harder… I’ve got a great job, happy wife, and don’t drink enough in a sitting to be smashed, but I definitely drink every day and have a problem with it. The habit is just so hard to kick and the fear/anxiety I feel is mentally fucking with me. Any tips would be welcome. My birthday is the end of May, and the best gift I can think of is being sober… thanks y’all.

[Mongey]

So I’ve been off drugs for years now, and stopped smoking weed about a year ago. I’ve been trying to stop drinking, but it’s so fucking hard. I truly thought weed would be harder… I’ve got a great job, happy wife, and don’t drink enough in a sitting to be smashed, but I definitely drink every day and have a problem with it. The habit is just so hard to kick and the fear/anxiety I feel is mentally fucking with me. Any tips would be welcome. My birthday is the end of May, and the best gift I can think of is being sober… thanks y’all.

I far from the guy to listen to but I’m really Similar. I am 5 days in now and can’t  remember last time I went 5 days without a beer. At least a few years.

For me it just feels like it’s time for a break. I feel ready in myself to do it. I think that’s the thing. Unless you really want to do it , it doesn’t work.

Also I have been telling people that I’m on a 12 week healthy plan. Def makes it more real to talk about it.

[Easy Slider]

It is important to let people know you don‘t drink anymore. It may take a while but once the people surrounding you have acknowledged this, the effect is twofold: (1) they will stop proposing to go out drinking and/or offering you alcoholic beverages (if they are your friends, they will indeed offer you non alcoholic beverages and sometimes even refrain from drinking in your presence out of respect for you) and (2) it will serve you as a mental barrier from relapsing as your brain tells you that you would then have to justify why you got drunk altho you have told them repeatedly you were tea total (it works even if in reality they would probably not even care).

Tl;dr: Make it known that you don‘t drink (anymore).

[Pete]

8 months opiate free. I had always taken breaks and shit but this is definitely the longest I’ve gone entirely without. Addiction sucks, being in too much pain to go for a walk sucks as well. The fact that there isn’t a happy medium sucks. Etc



You know they’ve developed addiction-free painkillers like real deal shit not some Hollistic horseshit. But there’s no money in that



Free max b

[jaysouthbay]

for those who went sober, did you find that it sobriety had a positive affect on your skating?

if so, in what ways?

[Frank and Fred]

for those who went sober, did you find that it sobriety had a positive affect on your skating?

if so, in what ways?

I wasn't heavy drinker but pretty consistent. Couple of beers a night. I took January through March completely off and I noticed a big reduction in pain. Things like knee pain and lower back pain that I just put down to being a middle aged skateboarder went away completely. I can't be sure it was all due to alcohol avoidance but I changed little else during that same time period (maybe less sugar also) and was actually stretching less. Spring break, I had a good few beers over that week and noticed those little pains start to creep back up.

I'm now pretty committed to limiting my drinking to one or two on Fridays and Saturdays at this point, especially if it means I can abuse my body more with skateboarding. There is no getting away from the inflammatory potential of alcohol.

[Abyss1]

for those who went sober, did you find that it sobriety had a positive affect on your skating?

if so, in what ways?

found i can skate longer and at earlier times of the day and I don't pressure myself to do tricks all the time

[Miller92]

for those who went sober, did you find that it sobriety had a positive affect on your skating?

if so, in what ways?

yes.  your quads, hamstrings, thigh muscles, etc. that shit dries out and gets stiff from alcohol. 

right after I cut out all hard liquor and started slowing way down on beers my pop and stamina literally came back. 

but also if you wanna skate better do a bunch of planks and core strength bodyweight exercises.  that helps a ton

[Mongey]

Hit my 2 weeks booze free today. Had a few tough moments  ,but not too many. Been at least 7 years since I’ve done 2 weeks with out a sip.

 Bought some zero alcohol beer for the tough moments and it’s really helped surprisingly . Like a Friday night after a long week. One of those after we get the kids fed and in bed  def helps me settle down on the urge.

My first goal is 1 month. So halfway there. Gotta keep at it.

[straight]

Hit my 2 weeks booze free today. Had a few tough moments  ,but not too many. Been at least 7 years since I’ve done 2 weeks with out a sip.

 Bought some zero alcohol beer for the tough moments and it’s really helped surprisingly . Like a Friday night after a long week. One of those after we get the kids fed and in bed  def helps me settle down on the urge.

My first goal is 1 month. So halfway there. Gotta keep at it.

it’s corny but it’s easy if you just think of it is a one day at a time

[gaunting]

almost 4 days off kratom. that shit had a hold on me for 3 years. still feel pretty shitty, but I’m getting through the worst of it. looking forward to not have to depend on a substance anymore.

[Huell Howser]

Just bumping to say I have almost gone 7 months without alcohol, longest I have gone since I have started drinking. Can't say I am sober because I smoke weed every now and again but damn I cannot deny how much better I have felt the last few months

[funeral_tuxedo]

Hit my 2 weeks booze free today. Had a few tough moments  ,but not too many. Been at least 7 years since I’ve done 2 weeks with out a sip.

 Bought some zero alcohol beer for the tough moments and it’s really helped surprisingly . Like a Friday night after a long week. One of those after we get the kids fed and in bed  def helps me settle down on the urge.

My first goal is 1 month. So halfway there. Gotta keep at it.

Congratulations @Mongey that's amazing. One day at a time <3

[Below Average]

So I quit drinking close to a year ago now and it’s honestly been fantastic so far. I feel like a completely different person now and my mood has improved drastically to the point where I feel like my old self again before my drinking got out of control. I told myself at the time when I stopped that I would just stick to weed for the rest of my life and things would be ok like that. Or so I thought..

I have been smoking weed on and off for a long time now, and I’ve been lighting up almost every day since the pandemic hit. Everything was fine for a while and I even got the opportunity to try a huge variety of edibles which were fun. I was also super excited about my state legalizing weed last year which was a huge relief because I was always super paranoid about the legal ramifications that came with buying and using weed.

But something has come over me recently, almost like a switch went off in my head that all of a sudden changed my perspective about life and where I am at the moment, and who I want to be going forward. I think because of this, I started to get very intense anxiety every time I got high, to the point where I’d wish I was sober instead. I even tried different strains of bud, but it didn’t seem to help and I would just get stuck in my head way too much.  I am almost 32 now and I think a lot of it has to do with me getting older and just naturally growing as a human being, or even simply just out-growing things that I was once into when I was younger.

I’ve decided that weed is not for me anymore, as I no longer enjoy it when I light up. Some of my friends were shocked that I decided to quit that too, since I was all about it for the past couple of years. I realized that living a completely sober life is the life I want to live and I couldn’t be more happier in my decision.  I’m never looking back.

[igrindtwinkies]

for those who went sober, did you find that it sobriety had a positive affect on your skating?

if so, in what ways?

Your muscles recover much much faster when you aren't drunk all the time.

[Huell Howser]

I notice after quitting drinking for a year i am so much more sensitive to a night of bad sleep/or eating a bunch of greasy/sugary food. im weak af

I think my baseline has changed because being hungover all the time used to be the norm so functioning throughout a normal day was always foggy/headache was there and feeling like shit was tolerable

but of course overall feel way better

[Huell Howser]

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I notice after quitting drinking for a year i am so much more sensitive to a night of bad sleep/or eating a bunch of greasy/sugary food. im weak af

I think my baseline has changed because being hungover all the time used to be the norm so functioning throughout a normal day was always foggy/headache was there and feeling like shit was tolerable

but of course overall feel way better

[close]

dude. my dude. it took about a year of not drinking to realize that I had always been hungover and didn't realize that feeling like that was a result of drinking and living that life. Now, shit, if I don't get my 8 hours, I'm having anxiety attacks and shit

hahaha so true. the other day got less than 4 hours and had to do shit all day the next day, felt so dead. old hungover me woulda rallied much harder lmao

[AlexOlsonsDashiki]

I celebrated 4 years sober on april 1st

I had the toughest year of my life last year. I was just starting to get settled in at a new job as a software engineer so my responsibilities were ramped up. Days after my 3 year anniversary my kids mom left and moved in with her boss. I learned how to be a single dad, ended up in an abusive relationship, got out of that relationship, started doing stand up comedy, grew closer with my daughter than I ever have been, have began making money doing comedy, close on my first house next week, started utilizing run-on sentences.

What I thought was going to be the end of my sobriety ended up being the catalyst for what is now the happiest I have ever been in my life. Keep on keeping on guys and gals.

[iKobrakai]

9 years today.

Keep your heads up, pals.

[hmmmokay]

Posting this because I'm stoked but also for a little accountability. Hit a month sober the other day (today will be day 33) and I'm feeling good, better than in a long time. I've had stretches of sobriety in the past but this feels very different, and I am much more confident and committed.

Much love to all the sober pals sharing their stories, both the struggles and successes.