SOBRIETY

[Abyss1]

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Im at 9mo and its probably the 2nd longest time I've been this sober and what actually makes me feel better about not drinking is the amount of money Im saving ...but I really do remember how shitty I would feel even after having 1 or 2 drinks, not to mention the DADS was always happening so its nice to wake up and not have terrible smelly shits

[close]

For real.  Congrats!  And you said it better than I did and much more succinct.  Just one or two was leaving me feeling crappy.

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Side note...I havent been to the doctor in almost 20yrs and paid out of pocket because of some shit I am dealing with and the doctor was really happy to hear that I dont drink or smoke...she did say if I can stop using ganja that would be perfect so Im considering that now

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That's awesome.  If I had the ability to rep (gnar?) everyone on this thread, I would and I'd start with your post here.  I'm at 45 days cannabis free now.  I don't know why your doctor wanted you to quit it.  I just wanted to feel more present and less out of it the next day.  I will say this, and i mean it honestly--I think around day 31 or 33 or so I went through hard out of nowhere depression.  And it lasted nearly a week.   Much better now, but I do wonder how much purging that stuff from my system played with my mind.  In my mind that was the majority of it.  Oh, one other warning...somewhere about a week into it or so I had vivid nightmares.  Like bad ones. I hear that's not abnormal.  But they went away.

I laugh more now normally than I did when I was partaking. Edit:  This happened even before the random depression.  And ifif I can skate and I do some exercise my moods are mostly way better.  Take it easy and good luck with it all.

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I've been a Cali medical Marijuana user since 2005 and around 2012 adopted a non-smoke approach.  Mainly edibles and water filtration vaping...I also use a lot of CBD these days.  I've also had very mild depression/ anxiety and anger management, so it pretty much helps with that.  But this last month I've been of any THC intake and feel the anxiety fucking with me/ part of the reason i needed to go see some professional.

She said if I did that then whenever I visit she wouldnt have to make consider it a potential cause for the visit.

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Since you mentioned a Dr, Is this a psychiatrist? I worked in a health care setting on the mental health end and the psychiatrists had such a hard on cannabis use disorder. The therapists and social workers often had a bone to pick with them over that one.

Regardless, hope the anxiety levels out. Small amounts of herb, meditation, running, and yoga do wonders for this head case

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Nurse Practitioner...she was pretty much dressed like a doctor and did everything a doctor would do.  I was having real trouble with being light headed and dizzy all day/last week to the point were I couldn't do shit but put my head down and hope it went away. 

I thought she would refer me to psychiatrist but said I need more vitamin D/ Sun and to get a blood test if it keeps up this week,  its been a lot better since monday so I told her I think it was taking time off from work that helped.  I run my own business and hit a brick wall as far as burnout and anxiety over projects/ clients. 

I don't really use a lot of ganja and really didnt want to bring it up but was being honest with her

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Gotcha. Idk, man, thats disappointing to hear. The doctor says get more sun/vitamin d and no on site blood work. Ruling out imbalances, Sounds like something possibly stress/anxiety related in my opinion. Ever consider counseling/therapy?

She said to do that to but will likely be expensive and gave me options

but yeah, I am signing up for talkspace app this week too

[Easy Slider]

I’m typing this because I’ve been venting to my friends today. I’m almost 6 months booze free and after think about it, it’s kind of great. I like a lot about it, but honestly I just want to fucking drink. Not in a crave sense, I don’t really have cravings, or at least anything that comes close isn’t very intense.  I dunno I’m not in front of a PC so I can’t type now, but I almost feel ripped off. I know how childish that sounds. I don’t even have an urge to drink per se, it’s hard to describe. I’m here and I’m playing along but I don’t really want to be.

Bro I understand this and it‘s good you posted it here. When you are sober, sometimes you feel left out. Everybody seems to have fun drinking, enjoying themselves. I was on holidays recently and found myself ogling the Single Malt bottles on the hotel bars. Why can‘t I have just the one?

Because l would not be able to handle it. Because I would spiral back into the habit, this time for good. Because it‘s poison.

We have a tendency only to remember the good things, how good that whisky or wine tasted. How fun it was being drunk, doing silly stuff, laughing with other shitfaced dudes.

Try to remember the bad stuff, the headaches, the wasted days staying in bed until noon, the embarrassing stuff you did and said, the sorry state your body was in, the lacking performance at work or when skating after a bender.

In the end it is your decision. I decided to stay on the wagon. I hope you will.



 

[macho taildrop]

Approaching 7 weeks sober. Longest in my adult life. I am starting to feel great, though the fatigue during the first month was rough.

Haven't been on the board in well over a year aside from a quick whip on the polarizer. Hoping to change that soon. Miss posting in shoes in gear.

[macho taildrop]

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Approaching 7 weeks sober. Longest in my adult life. I am starting to feel great, though the fatigue during the first month was rough.

Haven't been on the board in well over a year aside from a quick whip on the polarizer. Hoping to change that soon. Miss posting in shoes in gear.

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Yo dude. Welcome back. Pleasant surprise to see your name on my screen again.

7 weeks is a long time! If its what you wish to do and how you want to be, keep it up!

Hey thanks! Didn't think anyone would remember me on here. Glad to be back here and looking forward to getting back on the board.

Aside from fatigue and random weird acne at 42 years old I am loving it and have zero desire to go back. I had a bunch of "trials" right after I quit so it has put a lot into perspective.

[macho taildrop]

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Approaching 7 weeks sober. Longest in my adult life. I am starting to feel great, though the fatigue during the first month was rough.

Haven't been on the board in well over a year aside from a quick whip on the polarizer. Hoping to change that soon. Miss posting in shoes in gear.

[close]

Yo dude. Welcome back. Pleasant surprise to see your name on my screen again.

7 weeks is a long time! If its what you wish to do and how you want to be, keep it up!

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Hey thanks! Didn't think anyone would remember me on here. Glad to be back here and looking forward to getting back on the board.

Aside from fatigue and random weird acne at 42 years old I am loving it and have zero desire to go back. I had a bunch of "trials" right after I quit so it has put a lot into perspective.

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My name has been shortened from
i_used_to_skate_more


But ya we remember the good ones 😜😜😜

Oh hell yeah, thank you. Good times.

[Enrico Pallazzo]

Sitting at 19 months now, from April until now I've had my dad pass away, 5 weddings, 2 bachelor parties, and I've been studying for my professional engineering certification all while raising a young kid. Friends have all been super understanding and supportive, and while I haven't always had the healthiest coping habits this summer (too much phone and stress eating), not drinking has been an absolute game changer with keeping everything balanced.

Looking forward to continuing this trend far into the future, really feeling good.

[ralf_]

whats yalls opinion on na beers?

[JoseCansnake0]

whats yalls opinion on na beers?

I'm a nah. Pass me a bubbly and I'm straight

[Ankle_Lift]

whats yalls opinion on na beers?

The surplus store in my town sells six packs of Budweiser for $2.95, which is stupid cheap, so that's what I drink if I get some when they have them in stock.
Bud and Corona Sunbrew are the closest you'll get to the taste of a real beer.  I find I'll have one or two and then that's fine, just kinda to have something to drink. It's nice to sit back after work and drink something that isn't water, or Bubbly.

Theres a lot out there, some are good, some are nasty.

[radcunt]

It’s pretty wild, I went a solid 2 month stretch not drinking and since I have started again I just don’t have the compulsion to have more. Like a spell has been broken! I also notice how badly I sleep after a drink so I reckon I’m just gonna ditch it again.

[Monolithic Flick]

3,287 days ago i had my last drink. I had spent the weekend at a beer festival in Maine, pissing off vendors because i kept going back for more samples. I recall drinking a very smooth vanilla stout and the guy refusing to take my tickets after a while. But that weekend, i went up there with a bag of mediocre white and the last OC 40s i ever encountered. I bought a bottle of tequila, cazadores, with the deer on the bottle, to make bloody maria breakfast.

I had spent the past few years working a regular job but also building a small, albeit demanding business on the side and decided that it was time to go full time on my own enterprise. I decided that i was going to take a month off. Made a little chart and started marking the days. I was living in a tent on a mountain at that point and although everyone around me waa drinking hard, i was hanging in there. Toward the end of that month, i was handed a pipe with some DMT rocks in it and blasted off. After that, staying off the sauce wasn’t so unbearable. That isnt to say I stopped all the other shit right away, but alcohol was generally the main issue. Couldnt get coke or pills everyday, but get a ride into town and alcohol is always available. Who didnt want to go raw dog w strange chicks, drive, snort shit, fight people, and hate life while drinking all the time?

So yeah, 9 years. There have been points that are harder than others, but really, i am happy to be alove and thriving. I have not only lived a cool fucking life, but i have wrangled some so-called life accomplishments that i never would have considered had i still be on that train. I owe a lot of it to my lady who has been with me for going on 10 years and who stuck w me during my most disgusting alcoholic/addict period.


Ya, its nice to be alive

That's a great story and an amazing accomplishment.  Congratulations.

[Monolithic Flick]

I was messing w/NA beers for quite some time.  Then I thought about the fact that they cost as much where I am as 'regular' beer.  So I wasn't getting the benefit of saving money.

Now I drink as many sparkling waters as I want because the most expensive 8 pack (stupid shrinkflation) still costs less than a six pack of beer for me.

120 days as of today.  Can't say I feel super great, but I don't long for or miss alcohol really.  I think world events, job events, and getting hurt to where I can't skate are all affecting my mood.  But beer wouldn't make any of these issues better.  Carry on, fellow sober skaters.  Carry on.

[Abyss1]

I was messing w/NA beers for quite some time.  Then I thought about the fact that they cost as much where I am as 'regular' beer.  So I wasn't getting the benefit of saving money.

Now I drink as many sparkling waters as I want because the most expensive 8 pack (stupid shrinkflation) still costs less than a six pack of beer for me.

120 days as of today.  Can't say I feel super great, but I don't long for or miss alcohol really.  I think world events, job events, and getting hurt to where I can't skate are all affecting my mood.  But beer wouldn't make any of these issues better.  Carry on, fellow sober skaters.  Carry on.

you will notice after awhile that sparkling water isn't all that cheap also,  It does help a lot tho...

I myself was buying cases of this stuff

[mfweeno]

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I was messing w/NA beers for quite some time.  Then I thought about the fact that they cost as much where I am as 'regular' beer.  So I wasn't getting the benefit of saving money.

Now I drink as many sparkling waters as I want because the most expensive 8 pack (stupid shrinkflation) still costs less than a six pack of beer for me.

120 days as of today.  Can't say I feel super great, but I don't long for or miss alcohol really.  I think world events, job events, and getting hurt to where I can't skate are all affecting my mood.  But beer wouldn't make any of these issues better.  Carry on, fellow sober skaters.  Carry on.

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you will notice after awhile that sparkling water isn't all that cheap also,  It does help a lot tho...

I myself was buying cases of this stuff

Congrats to everyone racking up days!

In lieu of booze, I like to treat myself to "fun" sober bevs like premium seltzers (Spindrift has been a big one lately) or Jarritos (love the Lime myself, Tangerine is a banger too) to celebrate certain occasions or just kick back at the end of a hard day. Same kind of ritual of finding something at the store that piques my interest (and taste buds) without the destructive consequences. I'm usually satisfied after one or two, and don't find myself running back to the store immediately when I run out like I did with alcohol.

For me personally, NA beers are way too close to the real thing for me psychologically, and I tend to get the same kind of enjoyment with sparkling water. For example - I used to love getting 40s at the end of a long skate sesh. Lately, I've been buying bigger bottles of sparkling water and drinking those after I skate to get the same kind of feeling. Never hurts to hydrate a little more either.

[Too Frank To Fred]

Over nine months no booze now. People keep saying I've lost weight and my wetsuits are a little baggy now... But that does not mean as much to me as great sleep and less inflammation (no real aches and pains which I count as victory for a 49 year old skateboarder).

Still not sure how this journey plays out. I had the loose plan to enjoy some beers between Halloween and New Year. I'm talking 1 or 2 on weekends or the holidays. But maybe that's silly at this point... TBD....

[Ankle_Lift]

Now I drink as many sparkling waters as I want because the most expensive 8 pack (stupid shrinkflation) still costs less than a six pack of beer for me.

My dentist told me to cut back on the sparkling water. Apparently it's bad for your teeth, and she could tell I drink a lot of it.
My wife and I would crush a case of Bubbly in a day. She said that's way too much sparkling water to drink. The carbonation fucks up the back of your teeth or something.

So yeah, great...
I don't drink booze anymore, and now sparkling water is bad for me?
Fucking hell. Looks like I'll just die.

[turdtastic]

Over nine months no booze now. People keep saying I've lost weight and my wetsuits are a little baggy now... But that does not mean as much to me as great sleep and less inflammation (no real aches and pains which I count as victory for a 49 year old skateboarder).

Still not sure how this journey plays out. I had the loose plan to enjoy some beers between Halloween and New Year. I'm talking 1 or 2 on weekends or the holidays. But maybe that's silly at this point... TBD....

I feel you on a lot of this. Tomorrow is 4 weeks for me (longest dry spell in years), which was supposed to be the end of a self imposed break after a summer of heavy drinking. Earlier this year I quit my job (was having some mental health issues due to a shit boss that I let get the best of me) and am going back to school for a career change, wife is carrying the bills (+ borrowing $$ from family to stay comfortable) so I feel like the privilege/habit which is my drinking shouldn’t put further strain on my family. This break has actually been surprisingly easy this time around and I have been considering doing a sober October or just seeing how long this feels good for, but tomorrow is my birthday and I’m still contemplating whether or not I’m gonna have a few or not. Drinking is like a toxic friendship that I treasure even though I know it’s terrible, but it’s currently not problematic, so it feels weird to just cut it off even though I know that’s what would actually be best. Typing this out also makes me realize that I’d be pretty fuckin stupid to wait for some big issue or rock bottom to finally quit. It just seems so anticlimactic and that things will be so boring if I cut it off completely right now. I stopped for 3 years after my 2nd DUI (over 15 years ago), but fuckin hated it and was so relieved when I got to relax and unwind with booze and ciggies again. Not picking up cigs anytime soon, but not sure about some drinks; only time will tell.
Anyway, congrats to all of yallz, keep on keepin on; I admire you all…

[Burt Ward]

3,287 days ago i had my last drink. I had spent the weekend at a beer festival in Maine, pissing off vendors because i kept going back for more samples. I recall drinking a very smooth vanilla stout and the guy refusing to take my tickets after a while. But that weekend, i went up there with a bag of mediocre white and the last OC 40s i ever encountered. I bought a bottle of tequila, cazadores, with the deer on the bottle, to make bloody maria breakfast.

I had spent the past few years working a regular job but also building a small, albeit demanding business on the side and decided that it was time to go full time on my own enterprise. I decided that i was going to take a month off. Made a little chart and started marking the days. I was living in a tent on a mountain at that point and although everyone around me waa drinking hard, i was hanging in there. Toward the end of that month, i was handed a pipe with some DMT rocks in it and blasted off. After that, staying off the sauce wasn’t so unbearable. That isnt to say I stopped all the other shit right away, but alcohol was generally the main issue. Couldnt get coke or pills everyday, but get a ride into town and alcohol is always available. Who didnt want to go raw dog w strange chicks, drive, snort shit, fight people, and hate life while drinking all the time?

So yeah, 9 years. There have been points that are harder than others, but really, i am happy to be alove and thriving. I have not only lived a cool fucking life, but i have wrangled some so-called life accomplishments that i never would have considered had i still be on that train. I owe a lot of it to my lady who has been with me for going on 10 years and who stuck w me during my most disgusting alcoholic/addict period.


Ya, its nice to be alive

Big ups, IUTSM!

[Coastal Fever]

Congrats again IUTSM, great story and accomplishment.

I think one of the most helpful reminders to myself not to drink, is the fact that I don’t want to have just 1, 2, or 4.  I want to have 12.  And thankfully no one I’d be drinking with goes that hard, so I just don’t bother.

Personally though, I can’t be in a drinking setting without NA beers.  I like the taste and I like feeling somewhat included.  Maybe it’s a placebo thing but I do feel they calm me down.  I love that the selection around here is getting much better too.  If you ever get the chance to try Bellwoods Stay Classy IPA, I strongly recommend it. 

[Gland Dongzig]

3,287 days ago i had my last drink. I had spent the weekend at a beer festival in Maine, pissing off vendors because i kept going back for more samples. I recall drinking a very smooth vanilla stout and the guy refusing to take my tickets after a while. But that weekend, i went up there with a bag of mediocre white and the last OC 40s i ever encountered. I bought a bottle of tequila, cazadores, with the deer on the bottle, to make bloody maria breakfast.

I had spent the past few years working a regular job but also building a small, albeit demanding business on the side and decided that it was time to go full time on my own enterprise. I decided that i was going to take a month off. Made a little chart and started marking the days. I was living in a tent on a mountain at that point and although everyone around me waa drinking hard, i was hanging in there. Toward the end of that month, i was handed a pipe with some DMT rocks in it and blasted off. After that, staying off the sauce wasn’t so unbearable. That isnt to say I stopped all the other shit right away, but alcohol was generally the main issue. Couldnt get coke or pills everyday, but get a ride into town and alcohol is always available. Who didnt want to go raw dog w strange chicks, drive, snort shit, fight people, and hate life while drinking all the time?

So yeah, 9 years. There have been points that are harder than others, but really, i am happy to be alove and thriving. I have not only lived a cool fucking life, but i have wrangled some so-called life accomplishments that i never would have considered had i still be on that train. I owe a lot of it to my lady who has been with me for going on 10 years and who stuck w me during my most disgusting alcoholic/addict period.


Ya, its nice to be alive

Hell yes. Big love man!!

5 ofhhhhhh 8

[Monolithic Flick]

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Now I drink as many sparkling waters as I want because the most expensive 8 pack (stupid shrinkflation) still costs less than a six pack of beer for me.

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My dentist told me to cut back on the sparkling water. Apparently it's bad for your teeth, and she could tell I drink a lot of it.
My wife and I would crush a case of Bubbly in a day. She said that's way too much sparkling water to drink. The carbonation fucks up the back of your teeth or something.

So yeah, great...
I don't drink booze anymore, and now sparkling water is bad for me?
Fucking hell. Looks like I'll just die.

I think I've heard this too, but I'm like fuck it for the same reasons you mentioned.  I don't drink, don't do cannabis, so my only vice is coffee and sparkling water.  I'll finance new teeth later.

[Monolithic Flick]

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3,287 days ago i had my last drink. I had spent the weekend at a beer festival in Maine, pissing off vendors because i kept going back for more samples. I recall drinking a very smooth vanilla stout and the guy refusing to take my tickets after a while. But that weekend, i went up there with a bag of mediocre white and the last OC 40s i ever encountered. I bought a bottle of tequila, cazadores, with the deer on the bottle, to make bloody maria breakfast.

I had spent the past few years working a regular job but also building a small, albeit demanding business on the side and decided that it was time to go full time on my own enterprise. I decided that i was going to take a month off. Made a little chart and started marking the days. I was living in a tent on a mountain at that point and although everyone around me waa drinking hard, i was hanging in there. Toward the end of that month, i was handed a pipe with some DMT rocks in it and blasted off. After that, staying off the sauce wasn’t so unbearable. That isnt to say I stopped all the other shit right away, but alcohol was generally the main issue. Couldnt get coke or pills everyday, but get a ride into town and alcohol is always available. Who didnt want to go raw dog w strange chicks, drive, snort shit, fight people, and hate life while drinking all the time?

So yeah, 9 years. There have been points that are harder than others, but really, i am happy to be alove and thriving. I have not only lived a cool fucking life, but i have wrangled some so-called life accomplishments that i never would have considered had i still be on that train. I owe a lot of it to my lady who has been with me for going on 10 years and who stuck w me during my most disgusting alcoholic/addict period.


Ya, its nice to be alive

[close]

Hell yes. Big love man!!

5 ofhhhhhh 8

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Thanks, breddah. Nice to see you around these parts again.

And thanks to everyone else who commented with kind words!

I am a fuck off who has started again in their life many times at 39. Highs and lows. Been a caregiver, dishwasher, floor mopper, tried the military, been a school teacher, a counselor, farm hand, farm manager, got a few degrees, been depressed and anxious and come close to losing every single thing, ridden trains, hitch hiked, and driven cars all over, written poems and stories, made music, shot photos, lately i work as a carpenter and on boxer engines.

Im just sharing this because if you’re struggling,  know that change is possible. life is fluid but you have to find the ways to move with it, swim in the stream. If I can do it, you can too.

You may have to reshape relationships with others, even people very important to you. Reshape the relationship with yourself. But trust this dude who used to skatemore, and who used to get really, really fucking wasted and doesnt anymore, you can get off whatever you want to.

Love and respect

This is a fantastic post.  I'm just quoting so my last response doesn't blow over it.

[Sleazy]

always enjoy checking in on this thread and hearing how well everyone is doing. i'm celebrating my 52nd birthday today. i'm at the beach with my kids. been having the best days. i've been able to go so hard all day. up for sunrise walks with the dogs, spend a few hours fixing up our remote cars with my son, bike rides missions around town, we finished off last night at this outdoor place with country music and i drank a few corona NAs and was back up early today for the sunrise walk. first year fully sober and i feel like i've completely recharged my life. it's real easy to feel like you are on your final descent at this age and it's really nice to feel pumped for every day.

[Monolithic Flick]

Congratulations.  Sounds like an amazing year.  Great pic.  Looks like Port A. 

[Sleazy]

this was part of my birthday decorations my kids did. pretty funny

Congratulations.  Sounds like an amazing year.  Great pic.  Looks like Port A.

it's port a. we have airbnb down there that we use in the off season when no one is renting it. much nicer time of year to go. no bugs, no seaweed, not hot, places aren't busy and way less moron's with political flags.

[ralf_]

always enjoy checking in on this thread and hearing how well everyone is doing. i'm celebrating my 52nd birthday today. i'm at the beach with my kids. been having the best days. i've been able to go so hard all day. up for sunrise walks with the dogs, spend a few hours fixing up our remote cars with my son, bike rides missions around town, we finished off last night at this outdoor place with country music and i drank a few corona NAs and was back up early today for the sunrise walk. first year fully sober and i feel like i've completely recharged my life. it's real easy to feel like you are on your final descent at this age and it's really nice to feel pumped for every day.

living it up

[Sleazy]

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always enjoy checking in on this thread and hearing how well everyone is doing. i'm celebrating my 52nd birthday today. i'm at the beach with my kids. been having the best days. i've been able to go so hard all day. up for sunrise walks with the dogs, spend a few hours fixing up our remote cars with my son, bike rides missions around town, we finished off last night at this outdoor place with country music and i drank a few corona NAs and was back up early today for the sunrise walk. first year fully sober and i feel like i've completely recharged my life. it's real easy to feel like you are on your final descent at this age and it's really nice to feel pumped for every day.

[close]

living it up

we've been really fortunate in the austin real estate market and ended up with an airbnb on the beach. trying to enjoy it while it lasts. i'm in tech and robots are coming for our jeeebs

[Monolithic Flick]

this was part of my birthday decorations my kids did. pretty funny

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Congratulations.  Sounds like an amazing year.  Great pic.  Looks like Port A.

[close]

it's port a. we have airbnb down there that we use in the off season when no one is renting it. much nicer time of year to go. no bugs, no seaweed, not hot, places aren't busy and way less moron's with political flags.

Yeah, we went every October for about a decade ourselves prior to our move to Oregon.  That said we didn't own, so congratulations dude.  That's awesome.

[NoComply180]

Congrats Sleazy and others - been a minute since I hit this thread.

Time has been flying. I’ve had a lot of distractions and things pulling my attention - got engaged, work has been hectic, dealing with chronic pain. Still going strong on the no booze train. I’ve been dabbling with weed/cannabinoids more but it doesn’t feel like a problem. Not the same irresistible draw and effect on me that booze had. If I have a stressful day the last thing I feel like doing is getting stoned and thinking about that stress more.

Closing in on a year for me. Keep it up pals.

[Ankle_Lift]

got engaged

NOICE!!