Please don't be ashamed. We all fall. Getting up is what's important. Remember, it's progress, not perfection.

Hello Ms_jiggles,

Don’t be angry with yourself but instead take a look at what you could do differently. If you are an alcoholic, the million excuses will only be a whitewash and you will have taken a drink for only ONE reason – alcoholism.

What are you going to do now? When I was in that situation I went to an AA meeting.

I remember my worst slip which sent me to detox and while in detox, there was an AA meeting so I attended it just so I could get some caffenated coffee because in detox we were not allowed anything that was mind altering. My AA sponser was there and he walked up to me and said, "Have you had enough yet?" and I said, yeah! I have had enough!" That was my absolute bottom and I was ready to climb out of the hole I had dug for myself.

I hope you don't get that bad before you get sober. You can increase your odds of staying sober if you go to meetings, get a sponser and do the steps like I did.

The choice is yours!

God Bless!

I forgot to mention, that when I saw my AA sponser after ending up in detox, I just wanted to crawl in a corner and hide from him, I was so ashamed! He helped me stay sober during those first few months when my sobriety was in a fragile state. I was on the phone daily with him. He saved my life!

God Bless!

Don't beat yourself up too much. We're not all perfect and we slip up... it's pretty much inevitable. It definitely not easy either. But I think it's really great that you have recognized your mistake and are starting over. The past is behind you and now you can move forward. Keep focusing on the future and you'll make it.

Don't be ashamed!! Pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and move on!!!
I had many failed attempts myself. It was when I found this site and faced reality that I was really able to quit. I admitted to myself that I WAS an alcoholic. I DID have a problem. I had to face down the demon and tell it I was finished with it. I had to finally accept that I could not start again drinking later. I would never be 'cured'. Don't give up!! Like the others say here many times, just don't take that first drink. It's not the 4th drink, or the 10th drink, or the 20th that gets you. It is that first one. Don't take that first drink, and none of the others can happen!

I could quit, but I could never stay quit for more than a day or maybe a week. I was sad and mad and depressed without my "helper"... I needed the relief that booze offered. Still do but today I have found other ways to handle and cope with life. You can too ! The trick for me was to find something to replace the alcohol, because life was impossible without it and with it until I found the program of AA and got into action. Today I have the tools to deal with those "life" things that happen. Cmon! You deserve to be happy!
1is2many

Beating alcohol is tough. Most don't succeed on willpower alone. The disease is sneaky. Start a new streak.

Start over. Get up, get going. Just remember that good intentions won't keep you sober. Taking the actions to stay sober, can. For me I needed a tremendous amount of support in the first two years or so. I still need it and know its there. I needed a program, I needed women I could call and who would call me. I heard what I needed to hear; I learned what a cunning and baffling disease alcoholism is, and I learned how to live in the world without the world changing to fit my needs.
You can do it too -- but you might need help. Go to an AA meeting. Raise your hand. tell them where you are and who you are. See what happens!