SOBRIETY

[mfweeno]

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I think im done skating for good. Like drugs it just feels like something I need to move forward from. I skated from kindergarten till 32 non stop, all I have to show for is im kinda good at skating. Maybe because drugs and skating were so intertwined for me, I never piled out and stopped skating, I would do drugs and skate, my favorite combo. I kinda feel at this point I can only skate if im high. Thats all I cared about was drugs and skating.

Really Im just ready to move forward with my life and focus on the things I never focused on like getting a career and a relationship. Disability denied my claim and I dont feel like appealing it, Im just ready to start moving forward and skating just isnt important to me anymore.

I dunno, maybe Ill just take a break and revisit it in the future, I think it would maybe be fun relearning stuff in the future.

Im just at that point that im over it, I dont feel bad about it either it is what is.

[close]

Maybe you’ll eventually come back to it in a different way.  Cruise or skate bowls or whatever you haven’t done, but I totally get where you are coming from. 
I really think that is what separates people is the willingness to take on new ways of being in the world.
Not everyone is willing to do that. 
Respect.

This really spoke to me this afternoon. I think this willingness is foundational to living an actively sober life - it's also the hardest part and something I have to come to grips with myself daily.

[Peter Zagreus]

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I think im done skating for good. Like drugs it just feels like something I need to move forward from. I skated from kindergarten till 32 non stop, all I have to show for is im kinda good at skating. Maybe because drugs and skating were so intertwined for me, I never piled out and stopped skating, I would do drugs and skate, my favorite combo. I kinda feel at this point I can only skate if im high. Thats all I cared about was drugs and skating.

Really Im just ready to move forward with my life and focus on the things I never focused on like getting a career and a relationship. Disability denied my claim and I dont feel like appealing it, Im just ready to start moving forward and skating just isnt important to me anymore.

I dunno, maybe Ill just take a break and revisit it in the future, I think it would maybe be fun relearning stuff in the future.

Im just at that point that im over it, I dont feel bad about it either it is what is.

[close]

Maybe you’ll eventually come back to it in a different way.  Cruise or skate bowls or whatever you haven’t done, but I totally get where you are coming from. 
I really think that is what separates people is the willingness to take on new ways of being in the world.
Not everyone is willing to do that. 
Respect.

[close]

This really spoke to me this afternoon. I think this willingness is foundational to living an actively sober life - it's also the hardest part and something I have to come to grips with myself daily.

Here, here!
I'll tack my little thought onto the line here: I'm 34 years old going on 35. Alcohol was always my drug of choice. I went sober for ~year long stretches at two different points in my 20s, both of them basically to appease the two women with whom I've been in long term relationships. The latter of these women is now my wife, and the period of sobriety which I undertook for her sake ended a few years ago when we both agreed that it was unhealthy, for my own psychology and for the health of our relationship, for me to go sober for her sake instead of my own. I needed to be actively, not passively, sober, or what was the point? A few months ago, after a couple of years of heavy but relatively orderly drinking (I'd picked up some maturity and restraint along the way!), I had a bad night where I drank way too much, for no discernible reason, and my wife found me blacked out in the bathroom. When she woke me up, I stood up and basically fainted (it felt like passing out from heat exhaustion) and almost hit my head on the edge of the tub. I didn't quit drinking for a couple of weeks after that, but I knew without reservation that I was soon going to, and now that I've stopped, I have to say that it feels different from the other times I've quit (knock on wood).

Circling back around to the "finding different ways of being in the world" point, I think the thing that strikes me now that didn't really strike me in my late teens and 20s, no matter how fucked up I got, and no matter how many times I actually did put my life on the line while I was "being in the world" under the influence, is that my time in the world is really limited. Given an average lifespan, I'm likely halfway through my life; in my prime in some ways, but the cracks are beginning to show (as they will) and I'm having to come to terms with the fact that I will only live to do and be so much, and that the decisions that I make will have some binding effect on the way the rest of my life plays out. This isn't a new thought to me - in fact, some of my most primal fears have always been bound up with the notion that choices are binding, that I can't just be anything or anyone I want, that on some level I have to "become who I am." For so long I think I was just letting the booze choose for me, and I think I could see how that was playing out and I just finally had enough. I have to remind myself that the choices that come up are a privilege and that I've got to show up to make them before they are made for me. Or maybe what I'm saying is that I finally don't have to remind myself...that it has become clear to me in a way that I can't unsee or ignore.

[RembrantQeinstein]

Damn…
Slap is going DEEP!

“my most primal fears have always been bound up with the notion that choices are binding, that I can't just be anything or anyone I want, that on some level I have to "become who I am”

Yep.  100%.
That is me, too.

[JoseCansnake0]

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I think im done skating for good. Like drugs it just feels like something I need to move forward from. I skated from kindergarten till 32 non stop, all I have to show for is im kinda good at skating. Maybe because drugs and skating were so intertwined for me, I never piled out and stopped skating, I would do drugs and skate, my favorite combo. I kinda feel at this point I can only skate if im high. Thats all I cared about was drugs and skating.

Really Im just ready to move forward with my life and focus on the things I never focused on like getting a career and a relationship. Disability denied my claim and I dont feel like appealing it, Im just ready to start moving forward and skating just isnt important to me anymore.

I dunno, maybe Ill just take a break and revisit it in the future, I think it would maybe be fun relearning stuff in the future.

Im just at that point that im over it, I dont feel bad about it either it is what is.

[close]

Maybe you’ll eventually come back to it in a different way.  Cruise or skate bowls or whatever you haven’t done, but I totally get where you are coming from. 
I really think that is what separates people is the willingness to take on new ways of being in the world.
Not everyone is willing to do that. 
Respect.

[close]

This really spoke to me this afternoon. I think this willingness is foundational to living an actively sober life - it's also the hardest part and something I have to come to grips with myself daily.

[close]

Here, here!
I'll tack my little thought onto the line here: I'm 34 years old going on 35. Alcohol was always my drug of choice. I went sober for ~year long stretches at two different points in my 20s, both of them basically to appease the two women with whom I've been in long term relationships. The latter of these women is now my wife, and the period of sobriety which I undertook for her sake ended a few years ago when we both agreed that it was unhealthy, for my own psychology and for the health of our relationship, for me to go sober for her sake instead of my own. I needed to be actively, not passively, sober, or what was the point? A few months ago, after a couple of years of heavy but relatively orderly drinking (I'd picked up some maturity and restraint along the way!), I had a bad night where I drank way too much, for no discernible reason, and my wife found me blacked out in the bathroom. When she woke me up, I stood up and basically fainted (it felt like passing out from heat exhaustion) and almost hit my head on the edge of the tub. I didn't quit drinking for a couple of weeks after that, but I knew without reservation that I was soon going to, and now that I've stopped, I have to say that it feels different from the other time's I've quit (knock on wood).

Circling back around to the "finding different ways of being in the world" point, I think the thing that strikes me now that didn't really strike me in my late teens and 20s, no matter how fucked up I got, and no matter how many times I actually did put my life on the line while I was "being in the world" under the influence, is that my time in the world is really limited. Given an average lifespan, I'm likely halfway through my life; in my prime in some ways, but the cracks are beginning to show (as they will) and I'm having to come to terms with the fact that I will only live to do and be so much, and that the decisions that I make will have some binding effect on the way the rest of my life plays out. This isn't a new thought to me - in fact, some of my most primal fears have always been bound up with the notion that choices are binding, that I can't just be anything or anyone I want, that on some level I have to "become who I am." For so long I think I was just letting the booze choose for me, and I think I could see how that was playing out and I just finally had enough. I have to remind myself that the choices that come up are a privilege and that I've got to show up to make them before they are made for me. Or maybe what I'm saying is that I finally don't have to remind myself...that it has become clear to me in a way that I can't unsee or ignore.

Fuck yah Peter. High Five!

[Enrico Pallazzo]

Just celebrated 1 year over the past weekend. Since my son was born about 2 months after I stopped drinking entirely (was only sparsely drinking before), this past year has been wild in terms of changes in habits, friends, free time, etc. But being present through it all and always ready to help out has been amazing.

My anxiety has improved a good amount, I’m eating relatively healthy and exercising when I get some time, I think the last step for me to where I can really feel like I’m nailing it and being the person I want to be is kicking my phone addiction. Feels so silly having removed alcohol and caffeine and being worried about this, but I just hate how much time I spend plugged in. I’ve tried to go cold turkey a few times but I always back in the same loops, so gonna try to find a book or some other resource.

[NoComply180]

Dealing with some bad family problems - I’m lucky in that I’ve never really had them before, as I know many people do, but I’m unlucky in that I don’t really have a playbook for dealing with them. Positive side - I’ve not been tempted, at all, to drink about it. I’ll have 2 months without booze Friday.

[No-pants Pee Hands]

First time posting but today marks 36 days of sobriety. So far loving the clarity, and thank a lot of previous posters for sharing their stories and progress, super inspiring and supportive!

[hmmoookay]

Just celebrated 1 year over the past weekend. Since my son was born about 2 months after I stopped drinking entirely (was only sparsely drinking before), this past year has been wild in terms of changes in habits, friends, free time, etc. But being present through it all and always ready to help out has been amazing.

My anxiety has improved a good amount, I’m eating relatively healthy and exercising when I get some time, I think the last step for me to where I can really feel like I’m nailing it and being the person I want to be is kicking my phone addiction. Feels so silly having removed alcohol and caffeine and being worried about this, but I just hate how much time I spend plugged in. I’ve tried to go cold turkey a few times but I always back in the same loops, so gonna try to find a book or some other resource.

No this isn't silly at all, I'm right there with you. Not so much the phone itself but social media. I'm not even all that active, but the passive scrolling and letting things get to me that I choose to subject myself to; those things kind of need to go. There can be enough negativity in real life, I don't need to keep adding to it. I was thinking when I hit two years sober next month I might give myself the gift of deactivating all socials. We'll see. And congrats on 1 year!!!

Dealing with some bad family problems - I’m lucky in that I’ve never really had them before, as I know many people do, but I’m unlucky in that I don’t really have a playbook for dealing with them. Positive side - I’ve not been tempted, at all, to drink about it. I’ll have 2 months without booze Friday.

Thinking of you pal I've been super lucky to have become a lot closer with family both close and extended, as a result of my sobriety. But there were some years where I was definitely the one that was the problem (not willing to connect, distant, etc.) Hope things smooth out soon and I'll come back Friday to say congrats, but congrats 

First time posting but today marks 36 days of sobriety. So far loving the clarity, and thank a lot of previous posters for sharing their stories and progress, super inspiring and supportive!

Lets gooo, keep it up!

_

Work has continued to kind of kick my ass lately but I had a revelation in that I would rather be my authentic self in these situations rather than forcing myself to act a different way. What I mean by that is I have a real desire for people to succeed in what they're doing, and I work in education, so you may see how that could kinda drive you crazy. Anyway, I'm gonna keep doing what I feel is right to the best of my ability even if that means over extending myself. I tried to get away from that but it's just how I operate. Good outta the "bad" or tough, I suppose.

Been applying for new jobs and looking to relocate within the next few months so I'm hoping something will land soon. I feel like I'm ready to start the next chapter of my life, wouldn't have been possible at all with out sobriety. The waiting sucks but it feels good to feel confident and hopeful.

[NoComply180]

^thank you fellow slapper. I’m lucky that my whole family is super supportive of my sobriety and they’re all very happy for me. I’m also lucky I was a happy/outwardly functional drunk so I didn’t burn bridges or lose contact with folks.

Honestly, having work stress, family/life things all happen at once during this new journey of not drinking is kind of a blessing in that I’m being forced to figure out navigating life challenges without booze.

Hope everyone else has a great day

[fakiefs180]

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Just celebrated 1 year over the past weekend. Since my son was born about 2 months after I stopped drinking entirely (was only sparsely drinking before), this past year has been wild in terms of changes in habits, friends, free time, etc. But being present through it all and always ready to help out has been amazing.

My anxiety has improved a good amount, I’m eating relatively healthy and exercising when I get some time, I think the last step for me to where I can really feel like I’m nailing it and being the person I want to be is kicking my phone addiction. Feels so silly having removed alcohol and caffeine and being worried about this, but I just hate how much time I spend plugged in. I’ve tried to go cold turkey a few times but I always back in the same loops, so gonna try to find a book or some other resource.

[close]

No this isn't silly at all, I'm right there with you. Not so much the phone itself but social media. I'm not even all that active, but the passive scrolling and letting things get to me that I choose to subject myself to; those things kind of need to go. There can be enough negativity in real life, I don't need to keep adding to it. I was thinking when I hit two years sober next month I might give myself the gift of deactivating all socials. We'll see. And congrats on 1 year!!!

I don't know if that works on all phones. But I activated a timer on my phone, so that I can only use 40 minutes of Instagram per day, after those 40 minutes the app closes itself. That was a huge step in the right direction for me personally. I started with 2 hours per day and now I am at 40 minutes. And most days, I don't use that 40 minutes.

Stay strong and healthy ya all pals.

[pugmaster]

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Just celebrated 1 year over the past weekend. Since my son was born about 2 months after I stopped drinking entirely (was only sparsely drinking before), this past year has been wild in terms of changes in habits, friends, free time, etc. But being present through it all and always ready to help out has been amazing.

My anxiety has improved a good amount, I’m eating relatively healthy and exercising when I get some time, I think the last step for me to where I can really feel like I’m nailing it and being the person I want to be is kicking my phone addiction. Feels so silly having removed alcohol and caffeine and being worried about this, but I just hate how much time I spend plugged in. I’ve tried to go cold turkey a few times but I always back in the same loops, so gonna try to find a book or some other resource.

[close]

No this isn't silly at all, I'm right there with you. Not so much the phone itself but social media. I'm not even all that active, but the passive scrolling and letting things get to me that I choose to subject myself to; those things kind of need to go. There can be enough negativity in real life, I don't need to keep adding to it. I was thinking when I hit two years sober next month I might give myself the gift of deactivating all socials. We'll see. And congrats on 1 year!!!

[close]

I don't know if that works on all phones. But I activated a timer on my phone, so that I can only use 40 minutes of Instagram per day, after those 40 minutes the app closes itself. That was a huge step in the right direction for me personally. I started with 2 hours per day and now I am at 40 minutes. And most days, I don't use that 40 minutes.

Stay strong and healthy ya all pals.

I really need to do the same. What is the name of the app you use and is it iPhone or android?

[fakiefs180]

I have a Samsung phone, so it is android. As far as I can tell, that is a standard app on android devices.

You go into settings, there should be something called digital wellbeing. Open that. Now they show you which app you used the most. Scroll a bit down and there should be something called app-timer. Select the app and choose how many daily minutes you want to use it. Wait, I take a screenshot how it looks on my phone.



I hope my explainations made sense.

[Sleazy]

I hit 8 months today. I'm honestly not even thinking about alcohol these days and very much stoked on getting my old self back. Only recent incident was traveling back from a trip to California and being exhausted in the airport with a long day of travel ahead of me. I thought about "man this is the kind of situation that drinking was made for" but that's about as far as it went.

Just celebrated 1 year over the past weekend. Since my son was born about 2 months after I stopped drinking entirely (was only sparsely drinking before), this past year has been wild in terms of changes in habits, friends, free time, etc. But being present through it all and always ready to help out has been amazing.

My anxiety has improved a good amount, I’m eating relatively healthy and exercising when I get some time, I think the last step for me to where I can really feel like I’m nailing it and being the person I want to be is kicking my phone addiction. Feels so silly having removed alcohol and caffeine and being worried about this, but I just hate how much time I spend plugged in. I’ve tried to go cold turkey a few times but I always back in the same loops, so gonna try to find a book or some other resource.

I wish I had timed it with the birth of my kids and your insights are spot on. My wife and I fought a lot because I was too tired after 8 to do much of anything because I was winding down with a drink.

Dealing with some bad family problems - I’m lucky in that I’ve never really had them before, as I know many people do, but I’m unlucky in that I don’t really have a playbook for dealing with them. Positive side - I’ve not been tempted, at all, to drink about it. I’ll have 2 months without booze Friday.

that's awesome. i'm guessing you've gotten to the point where you are glad you aren't drinking as it helps you navigate the stressful things easier. i loss half of my income and had to put my dog down the first month i quit and it was way easier to navigate sober.

First time posting but today marks 36 days of sobriety. So far loving the clarity, and thank a lot of previous posters for sharing their stories and progress, super inspiring and supportive!

36 days is a big milestone, i bet you are feeling amazing. congratulations!

[pugmaster]

I have a Samsung phone, so it is android. As far as I can tell, that is a standard app on android devices.

You go into settings, there should be something called digital wellbeing. Open that. Now they show you which app you used the most. Scroll a bit down and there should be something called app-timer. Select the app and choose how many daily minutes you want to use it. Wait, I take a screenshot how it looks on my phone.



I hope my explainations made sense.

Thanks!

[hmmoookay]

2 years today Pals. Thankful to have this safe space for my sobriety ramblings, appreciate all of you! On to the next, one day at a time.

[ralf_]

15 months lezzgooo

[Enrico Pallazzo]

Huge milestones in this thread, gets me so stoked to read through it. Congrats to everybody whether it’s 12 years or 12 hours.

[NoComply180]

2 years, 15 months, I’m sure I missed a few…fuck yeah fam! Y’all are crushing it. I hit 2 months last week and things are still on the up. Funny timing for sobriety too - suddenly bars/stores by me have way more NA beers and other beverage options than they did in the past. Really enjoying being able to go out and not just drink Diet Coke or soda water.

Definitely notice other substances (caffeine, nicotine, THC, OTC meds etc) hit me way more noticeably now that my brain isn’t pickled all the time. I smoked a cigar to celebrate something a few weeks ago and realized I hadn’t had nicotine without substantial amounts of booze in at least a decade. Shit hit me like a train - it was midnight and I had to walk around for 2 hours in the rain after to get even remotely tired enough to sleep 

[FUBAR]

Just dropping by to say hell yeah to all of you making positive changes! If you are struggling and/or going through some shit, we are here for you. We’ve all been around the block at this point.

[NoComply180]

Traveled this weekend for the first time since quitting booze and man, travel is definitely a trigger for me. Or at least, all my habits while traveling have been centered around drinking. Didn’t drink but definitely dealt with a really wide range of emotions. I think my brain was trying to figure out what the fuck to do in a new place and free time and none of my routines from at home. Normally traveling meant drink on the way there, bar hop the whole time being there, suffer or hair of the dog the whole way back.

[LUGR]

Traveled this weekend for the first time since quitting booze and man, travel is definitely a trigger for me. Or at least, all my habits while traveling have been centered around drinking. Didn’t drink but definitely dealt with a really wide range of emotions. I think my brain was trying to figure out what the fuck to do in a new place and free time and none of my routines from at home. Normally traveling meant drink on the way there, bar hop the whole time being there, suffer or hair of the dog the whole way back.

Man, totally relate to this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. I was always a really big traveler going all over the world. But I am now worried about getting out of my current routine comfort zone and getting back on the sauce to cope with those disruptions. When ever I traveled I was drinking before, during and on the way back everyday. Hopefully I can figure out a way to do it, probably need to start small and not jump into some big international trip or anything.

[Sleazy]

props to all sharing updates! always feels good reading these updates.

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Traveled this weekend for the first time since quitting booze and man, travel is definitely a trigger for me. Or at least, all my habits while traveling have been centered around drinking. Didn’t drink but definitely dealt with a really wide range of emotions. I think my brain was trying to figure out what the fuck to do in a new place and free time and none of my routines from at home. Normally traveling meant drink on the way there, bar hop the whole time being there, suffer or hair of the dog the whole way back.

[close]

Man, totally relate to this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. I was always a really big traveler going all over the world. But I am now worried about getting out of my current routine comfort zone and getting back on the sauce to cope with those disruptions. When ever I traveled I was drinking before, during and on the way back everyday. Hopefully I can figure out a way to do it, probably need to start small and not jump into some big international trip or anything.

only time i thought about drinking recently was traveling. i was stuck in an airport, tired and had a long day of traveling ahead of me.

"this is the kind of situation that drinking is made for..."

but it was a fleeting thought. i'm more or less in a new mental space where my nights are about resting up so i can have a killer day and not about unwinding from a shitty day.

[Huell Howser]

Coming up on 3 years without drinking next week. life is still hard(that ain’t changin) but 1000x more manageable. way less reactionary to bullshit and quicker to fix problems.

I have forgotten until day of the last two years to try and do something to “celebrate” the time passing so it’s been lackluster, but this year I’m going to do it up. Maybe go eat a nice/fancy dinner…

anyone else do anything when they hit milestones?

[hmmoookay]

props to all sharing updates! always feels good reading these updates.

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Traveled this weekend for the first time since quitting booze and man, travel is definitely a trigger for me. Or at least, all my habits while traveling have been centered around drinking. Didn’t drink but definitely dealt with a really wide range of emotions. I think my brain was trying to figure out what the fuck to do in a new place and free time and none of my routines from at home. Normally traveling meant drink on the way there, bar hop the whole time being there, suffer or hair of the dog the whole way back.

[close]

Man, totally relate to this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. I was always a really big traveler going all over the world. But I am now worried about getting out of my current routine comfort zone and getting back on the sauce to cope with those disruptions. When ever I traveled I was drinking before, during and on the way back everyday. Hopefully I can figure out a way to do it, probably need to start small and not jump into some big international trip or anything.

[close]

only time i thought about drinking recently was traveling. i was stuck in an airport, tired and had a long day of traveling ahead of me.

"this is the kind of situation that drinking is made for..."

but it was a fleeting thought. i'm more or less in a new mental space where my nights are about resting up so i can have a killer day and not about unwinding from a shitty day.

I was literally thinking about this as my morning was kind of going to shit today, just thankful to at least not be dealing with a hangover and being dehydrated on top of already being frustrated with the mornings sequence of events and an already upset stomach. Could be worse, it has been worse, but at least I'm doing my best to not make it worse today.

[hmmoookay]

Coming up on 3 years without drinking next week. life is still hard(that ain’t changin) but 1000x more manageable. way less reactionary to bullshit and quicker to fix problems.

I have forgotten until day of the last two years to try and do something to “celebrate” the time passing so it’s been lackluster, but this year I’m going to do it up. Maybe go eat a nice/fancy dinner…

anyone else do anything when they hit milestones?

I did order in some excellent pizza when I hit two years recently, but otherwise the day was pretty normal with the added pat on the back I gave myself when I woke up. It's funny, I'm not much of a going out person but I did kind of want to go get dinner somewhere with family but it just didn't work out that weekend. If I'm lucky, I'll have more milestones to do that another time. Congrats on the incoming 3 years, huge accomplishment!

[Frank and Fred]

last beer was on boxing day (dec 26th) not sure where i am going from here.... but really not missing it...

[NoComply180]

props to all sharing updates! always feels good reading these updates.

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Traveled this weekend for the first time since quitting booze and man, travel is definitely a trigger for me. Or at least, all my habits while traveling have been centered around drinking. Didn’t drink but definitely dealt with a really wide range of emotions. I think my brain was trying to figure out what the fuck to do in a new place and free time and none of my routines from at home. Normally traveling meant drink on the way there, bar hop the whole time being there, suffer or hair of the dog the whole way back.

[close]

Man, totally relate to this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. I was always a really big traveler going all over the world. But I am now worried about getting out of my current routine comfort zone and getting back on the sauce to cope with those disruptions. When ever I traveled I was drinking before, during and on the way back everyday. Hopefully I can figure out a way to do it, probably need to start small and not jump into some big international trip or anything.

[close]

only time i thought about drinking recently was traveling. i was stuck in an airport, tired and had a long day of traveling ahead of me.

"this is the kind of situation that drinking is made for..."

but it was a fleeting thought. i'm more or less in a new mental space where my nights are about resting up so i can have a killer day and not about unwinding from a shitty day.

Really encouraging to hear I’m not alone in these particular feelings. I have therapy today and it’ll be great to dissect this a bit there as well.

Definitely enjoying my days more without alcohol - I was totally rushing through work/chores/whatever before to get to the point in the day where I could justify starting drinking.

Congrats to those of yall hitting milestones now/soon!

[Sleazy]

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props to all sharing updates! always feels good reading these updates.

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Traveled this weekend for the first time since quitting booze and man, travel is definitely a trigger for me. Or at least, all my habits while traveling have been centered around drinking. Didn’t drink but definitely dealt with a really wide range of emotions. I think my brain was trying to figure out what the fuck to do in a new place and free time and none of my routines from at home. Normally traveling meant drink on the way there, bar hop the whole time being there, suffer or hair of the dog the whole way back.

[close]

Man, totally relate to this and have been thinking about it a lot lately. I was always a really big traveler going all over the world. But I am now worried about getting out of my current routine comfort zone and getting back on the sauce to cope with those disruptions. When ever I traveled I was drinking before, during and on the way back everyday. Hopefully I can figure out a way to do it, probably need to start small and not jump into some big international trip or anything.

[close]

only time i thought about drinking recently was traveling. i was stuck in an airport, tired and had a long day of traveling ahead of me.

"this is the kind of situation that drinking is made for..."

but it was a fleeting thought. i'm more or less in a new mental space where my nights are about resting up so i can have a killer day and not about unwinding from a shitty day.

[close]

Really encouraging to hear I’m not alone in these particular feelings. I have therapy today and it’ll be great to dissect this a bit there as well.

Definitely enjoying my days more without alcohol - I was totally rushing through work/chores/whatever before to get to the point in the day where I could justify starting drinking.

Congrats to those of yall hitting milestones now/soon!

my wife and i talk a lot about being freed from the mental baggage of drinking and the race to happy hour everyday was a big part of it. it's just there on your mind all day. then other parts being annoyed when you eat out because it takes so long to get your drink. having to plan your workouts and fitness around having enough calories to dedicate to alcohol. i'm bored more than i used to be but also free from that mental baggage.

[Natas_Fauxas]

Still here still sober. I have a craving for some whiskey every once in a while. I just do something else to try to forget. Do the cravings ever go away? Or am i gonna have that forever?

[Coastal Fever]

I thought travelling would be rough without booze as well, but then I went on a solo road trip and it was amazing.  So much more time and energy to actually see and do things.  No planning around drinking or not drinking, just pure freedom.  A brewery is a brewery, a glass of wine is a glass of wine.  The things you’ll see and experience away from home are worth so much more than a slightly different drink.