Getting rid of the booze in the house is a good place to start if your goal is 7 days of sobriety.

Welcome to the group! Most people start with their doctor who can give you a check up to determine the extent of any damage done from years of drinking and discuss available treatment options with you.

Addiction is a symptom of deeper emotional issues which is why alcoholism is classified as a mental health disorder. My doctor put me on medication for depression and I was able to stop taking them a few years ago and haven't needed them since. Once I had the depression under control, it made it alot easier to quit but I was totally honest with my doctor and she recommended AA which I went to for a short time. I got a sponsor yet I ended up in detox just the same.

This is where I should have been in the first place because I was then referred to an IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) which taught me coping skills. While in detox, caffeinated coffee was taken away from us but on my third day in there, we were allowed to go to an AA meeting on the same floor. I knew I could get my caffeine fix there so I went, but I bumped into my AA sponsor and he just had 5 words for me, "Have you had enough yet?" I said, yea, I'm ready to do everything it takes to stay sober!" So he helped me get through those first few months when my sobriety was still in a fragile state. I don't know if I could have made it without his guidance, but it took everything together. detox, iop, counseling,, my doctor who was the first person to give me support, my sponsor and AA meetings. I needed all of it.

Good luck on your road to recovery. Keep us posted.

God Bless

I'm glad you're here Ready. First, I don't have seven day goal. I have a 1 day (and night) goal and somehow that goal has been met quite a few times in a row. In the beginning I needed to have alcohol completely removed as an option so I went to residential treatment for 30 days. I was scared crapless, but it's the best decision I have ever made. Then I surrounded myself with recovering alcoholics and began to work the 12 steps of AA with a sponsor. I remember thinking the same thing as you "I can't believe I'm in this place." I think the same thing now but only because life is much better and I can't believe it. There is a miracle waiting for you too. I suggest treatment and AA.

Welcome back! Some good advice already offered by my friends here. It really come down to you. Are you really Read to Live? I hope so, you have suffered enough. You can do this! Wishing you the best and please stay in touch!

Wow, Thank you so much everyone for the incredible advice and taking the time to write to me. I think you all a 100% right. I have been thinking of AA for a very long time. I just need to pull the trigger and reach out. It's so hard to admit that this is my reality in front of others but it is the only way. Getting the alcohol out of the house is number 1. I thought I could make it tonight without it but poured myself a small drink that will probably turn into much more. I guess this is what feeling powerless feels like. Thank you all for the warm welcome to the group. I really appreciate that so much. I know I have some emotional issues that still eat at me and that is the key to getting better.... It's one thing to know what to do and another to put it into action and believe in yourself when you have failed so many times. I am going to get rid of whats left in the house and keep checking in here. I think just having you all to talk to will be a big first step for me. It means everything to talk to people that understand where I am . It means a lot

Most of us are broken. I love this site already. We really do need each other, we are wired that way.
It's hard for me to understand why it's so hard to to find people face to face to be human with.

Since you are considering AA, I would like to tell you about my first AA meeting. Maybe others here will describe their first meeting so you will know what to expect. I know Jeff and 1istoomany are AA members. Not sure of the others.

I drove to the building where the beginners meeting was and parked my car. I sat in my car for the whole meeting, too afraid to go inside. Then I went home and told my wife I went to a meeting. I did that a couple more times but on the third try, I dared myself to go inside and ohhh....it was so hard to do. I finally made it through the door where I was greeted by a very friendly guy and proceeded to sit in the back.

For some reason, I had this feeling that this is where miracles happen. I talked to an older fellow sitting next to me, before the meeting began, and I told him all my problems in life. I expected the guy to give me some advice and tell me what to do but the only thing he said was, "Don't do anything but stay sober. That's ALL you have to do....one day at a time!" So I did as he suggested.... I kept going to meetings, got a sponsor and worked on the steps and figured the rest of my life would continue to go downhill but to my amazement, just the reverse happened......I got a job I really liked, I had money coming from places I never expected, and my relationships improved. It was just like a Higher Power was manipulating the pieces of the puzzle of my life, and placing them exactly where they needed to go and at the right times!

My sponsor use to tell me that good things happen to those who quit drinking and I could see those good things occuring on a daily basis! So I hope my experience motivates you to make an effort to go to meetings. You don't have to say anything, just sit down and listen. That's all I was told to do. Eventually, you can get a sponsor who will be available for when you get a craving. Call them up and they will help you get through whatever is triggering you.

Keep us posted because the path you take, might help someone else. Many people read these but they do not post so you can potentially help many.

Here is more info on how the 12 steps work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIq87qCZppM&t=1264s

Good luck and God Bless

Yes, most of us are broken..We do need eachother. For me its just realizing that Im worth having people who care. I drank too much tonight. im crying. im in tears now listening to Chris Stapleton (Whiskey and you) and being so broken. Im just so tired...but in the drunken state I am I feel like I cant confront my feelings and that I have the right to them for once. This is going to be a long road.

I will never forget the day I woke up, poured the booze down the sewer in the street, drove around all day, and finall6 decided to go to an 8 pm aa meeting, June 9,2012. I have found a way to not have to drink 3/4 of a bottle a day.

It gets worse, and you have your whole life ahead. Get busy living not just living to drink

1is2many

I too, was a regular at this site. 11 Months ago my sister died and I started drinking again. At first, was under control but in the past month a lot of bad things have been happening in my tight knit community and the sadness is overwhelming so to dull the pain and confusion I have drank way too much and when wine wasn't enough to dull it, Vodka was added. I have blacked out a few times waking up the other morning to a bruised forehead and a hangover and husband saying "this has got to stop" once again. I am now on third day sober. I called some friends in AA, went to my therapist, and am planning to go to an AA meeting tonight. It's not easy coming back, and yes, a part of me wants nothing to do with it, but am want a better life for myself. Good luck, and it truly is one day at a time-sometimes one minute at a time.

Having a goal is great! This place has been so helpful to me and I hope it is for you too. Sending love, strength and prayers.

Being honest with myself by seeing the brokeness was a big step. The bigger next step was deciding to try and learn from my past mistakes instead of letting them drag me down or repeating them. It’s all about changing your perspective. Our past actions don’t work, right? What’s left? Reboot the whole system. Think about a healthy mind and how you can get one. Lol.
My wife was home with the kids for a decade. It’s a tough gig that I didn’t (at the time) fully understand. She had some anxiety that is just easing up from that. . There were lonely days. So be good to yourself. Once you take care of yourself and establish a recovery try the job thing again. Or anything to keep active (out of the house) Drink plenty of water. Ride out the cravings. Don’t give in and they will pass. It takes a month to break a habit so be strong. It is possible. Say YES to yourself. YES, I WANT to change. YES, I can do this!!

I just joined this site today and am dealing with a similar situation myself. I am also a stay at home mom and I have ADHD and the past two years my alcohol consumption has quadrupled. I drink almost every day even with the new anxiety medication I just started and last Monday found out I am having kidney problems. I told myself I have to get my act together because I do not want to poison myself to death. We can do this because we are strong enough to say no. We are mom warriors and have to stick around for our kids. Remember that they are more important than the stress life throws our way. That is what I keep repeating to myself so I stop using alcohol as my coping tool.