Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
I am so grateful to actually go this long without a drink. There was one time early this year I went 78 days and thought it would be ok to have a drink and I tried so hard to stay sober after that, it would be 1 week sober, 3 week sober, 16 days sober but I could never stay sober. I then joined A.A and went to 5 meetings a week, I now go to 4 a week and I now have a sponsor.
I do find it difficult though still with starting the 12 steps and seeing my old drinking friends enjoying themselves in the pub. A part of me wants to join them and another part reminds me that I never enjoyed drinking in the last 6 months of my long term drinking spree. I feel like A.A has given me something else to live for aswell as my amazing job which I love.
But everytime I see a pub I used to go to or a bottle of wine I used to drink or even old drinking buddies its like opening an old photo album and wishing yuou could go back to it. But now I know that it wasnt a happy memory no matter how my head and my illness tries to make me percieve it as, it was a traumatic time where I lost friends, money, trust and self respect. and I honestly never imagined I could stop drinking, not for this long and now I dont even feel like I'm grateful for it.
I think I have to take it one day at a time and just let it be, thanks for hearing me rant and its really good to be sober today.
I do find it difficult though still with starting the 12 steps and seeing my old drinking friends enjoying themselves in the pub. A part of me wants to join them and another part reminds me that I never enjoyed drinking in the last 6 months of my long term drinking spree. I feel like A.A has given me something else to live for aswell as my amazing job which I love.
But everytime I see a pub I used to go to or a bottle of wine I used to drink or even old drinking buddies its like opening an old photo album and wishing yuou could go back to it. But now I know that it wasnt a happy memory no matter how my head and my illness tries to make me percieve it as, it was a traumatic time where I lost friends, money, trust and self respect. and I honestly never imagined I could stop drinking, not for this long and now I dont even feel like I'm grateful for it.
I think I have to take it one day at a time and just let it be, thanks for hearing me rant and its really good to be sober today.
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Dick Van Dyke’s path to sobriety was a turning point in his life and career. Here’s what happened:How He Got SoberStruggles and Realization: Van Dyke began drinking as a teenager, largely to cope with shyness and social anxiety. Alcohol made him feel more comfortable in social settings, but over time, his drinking spiraled out of control. By his mid-40s, he recognized that he had an addictive...
I don't really miss anything about drinking and I now have to stop and think what it actually was that I was getting from drowning myself in wine every night. A temporary relaxed buzzed feeling, then it all went downhill. Waking up in the middle of the night dying of thirst, up and down to the bathroom all night. Not being able to get back to sleep and that awful time where you wake up like at 5:05 or so and dread having to face the alarm clock at 6:30. Ugh and just ugh. Not to mention the awful taste in the mouth and feelings of guilt and anxiety the next day.
Just keep it up. You CAN do this!
A very big congratulations to you on 79 days sober.
Once you come to accept that you cannot drink like other people it becomes easier to put that part of your life in the past and move on to better things. Starting the Twelve Steps with a sponsor can be a frightening thought but the reality of it is nowhere near as bad as the fear. In fact, it can be the start of the most amazing journey that you could ever imagine.
I used to imagine the laughter and fun, the singing and joking and general good feeling that I was missing in my local bar. That was how I imagined it but the actual reality could not have been any more different. Very often, it was just me and the barman and there was no fun and laughter. Even when the place was packed, which was very rarely, I still felt like it was the loneliest place in the world. I would drink until I started to get sick or ran out of money and then get in the car to drive home, hoping to avoid police checkpoints along the way. After getting home I went to a hidden bottle and drank more until the early hours of the morning. Some fun!
You will gradually make new friends as opposed to drinking buddies. Opportunities will open up that you could not see before and you will no longer be interested in the sort of life you used to live.
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I needed to focus on what I was getting out of sobriety not what I wasn't
Glad you can get it out and hope you find ease
I'm at a place where I dont wish to shut the door on my past; and that's a blessing. I also don't have ANY desire to go back there.
I've had so many wonderful days and moments in sobriety that i look forward to the now and the soon to be. I try not to listen to my disease when I tell myself I miss any aspect of drinking. I don't.
Those envious moments watching your friends drink won't be so rich and potent one day. In fact you may look on and think "God, I am so glad I am not joining in on that anymore!"
Remember how you really felt on the inside whilst drinking is surely a deterrent. I can't remember the last time I was truly happy while drinking. I honestly cannot recall such a time.