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.

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I made it! 1 full week sober!!!

readytolive30
readytolive30

Sitting here this morning drinking my first cup of coffee of the day! It feels so good to feel good! I feel the strongest I have felt in years emotionally. Yesterday my husband to off work and we went out to breakfast while the kids were out school and shopping around town. It was wonderful.I had a good heart to heart with my 14 year old late last night. I had a clear head. NOrmally I would have been in bed. How many hundreds of mornings have I waisted? How many nights did I wake up at 2am with bone dry lips, dying of thirst trying to slam vitamins and do damage control from the night before. That is basically how I used to live my life...Damage control...all the time. While I am only a week in, emotionally I have made more progress than I have in months or even years. I finally get it! Here is my truth : I am an alcoholic, I can not drink in moderation. Me having only one drink is like only eating one piece of popcorn at the movies on a much larger scale.  I will always fall into the trap. I must stay away from all alcohol if I am going to be successful. period. I have learned that throughout the last 5 years especially, I lied to myself so much I almost believed my own lies. I would think things like, "Everyone drinks", " Most people are like me" , " I know my limits", and the list goes on. Getting real with myself is scary but it gives me courage to leave this behind. The truth is, If I dont stop drinking now, I may not be here in another 10 years. My body is no different than anyone elses. I have a lot of regrets about the things I have missed out on because of my drinking. But I know in order to move forward I have to forgive myself and and look forward to the amazing future I have laid out in front of me. I will be 34 soon. I still have life left in me. I have goals. I went to school and graduated in the medical field. I hated it. I always truly wanted to act and sing. Getting sober will help me find my way to my passion and doing what I love. I'm gonna find my way. I am determined to find my way. 

nomo
nomo
Good morning. I am new to this group and this is my first message. Thank you for sharing. I have felt like a ping pong the last months thinking about going to rehab, but I really don't want to go. I am thinking about out patient rehab. I need some help. I do believe reading you all's post on sobriety will help. Again thank you for your post and have a wonderful Saturday!
readytolive30
readytolive30
Nomo, Welcome to the group! I understand your feelings about rehab. It is touch a tough decision to make. I was recommended out patient rehab at one time and didnt go. I struggled with drinking for the next 3 years and really wish I would have.gone . Whatever you choose, reaching out on a site like this is a great first step. It has really helped me to see that so many others are going through what I am and I am not alone. Alcoholism is a prison we make around ourselves. Keep reaching out!
nomo
nomo
Thank you readytolive30!
Community Leaderbobinmaine
bobinmaine
Congratulations readytolive30. Keep up the good work, whatever it takes.

@ NOMO! I highly recommend outpatient treatment. It helped me tremendously! There are two ways you can find out. If you live in the USA, contact the Alcohol and substance abuse center. Every major hospital has one. It will most likely be an outpatient program consisting of a few hours a day for 3 weeks or so. You can make an appointment for an assessment which consist of a few hours of questions from a qualified addiction counselor who will figure out what is triggering your drinking. Alcoholism is a symptom of deeper emotional issues like depression, anxiety etc. You will learn coping skills so you won't have to rely on alcohol as a crutch.

The other way is to talk to your doctor who will be the first person to give you support and recommend treatment options with you. In the end, it's your decision on what you feel you need to start you on the road to recovery.

Keep us posted because the path you take may help someone else!

God Bless
finallyawakenow
finallyawakenow
My recovery started with improving physical health then that lead to working on emotional health. Facing my issues and learning how to solve them has been the incentive to keep from drinking. Funny how it’s all connected. Glad you are on the upward path instead of it’s evil twin. Sounds like you are all in with changing. That’s great. Have patience though because some changes take longer than others I’ve found. It took me months to really get a whole concept of what caused me to drink in the first place. And I can see it’s going to be an ever evolving process. Reading and thinking about it formed the thoughts. Took being more honest with myself than I ever have. Enjoy the journey. Congrats on a week!!
Dragonfly1969
Dragonfly1969
Congrats! I'm on Day 10 and very grateful for every minute. I'm at such peace this time, I guess I have learned a lot from AA and everyone here. I haven't stopped reading on the subject or reading the daily reflections the whole 11 months I returned to the bottle. My house is alcohol free for the first time in forever because last time I allowed my husband and anyone else to drink in front of me. Maybe that is the difference. Any way, I'm proud of you!
A.Taylor
A.Taylor
Good for you! When I began my sober journey I read a book called 'Sexy Sobriety' by Bex Weller. It was about someone like me that was suffering with alcohol. It's an easy read and was very real, honest and made me feel like I wasn't alone. I found it on Amazon. Trust yourself and reward yourself with things you love (that aren't booze). You will continue to see the beauty in your life and you will soon be looking back at new amazing memories with a full heart. And, when it is hard, know that you can do this and there are people that will be there for you and help you in your journey. You don't have to do this alone.
1is2many
1is2many
Congrats Life awaits. The world is YOUR stage.

Go out and be the happy you
and keep the plug in the jug!

1-2
nomo
nomo
Hi, how are you doing?
1is2many
1is2many
Hope things are still going great! 1-2
1is2many
1is2many
Big difference between quitting and staying quit, I hope ur ok
nomo
nomo
Hey there! I still have not posted a main post.... will soon as this group is superb in support. I went from Thursday, February 14 until Monday February 18 without drinking. Felt incredible. Drank Monday and Tuesday... Wednesday a great high that I did not crave it. Today.....shouldn't of had caffeine, gives me anxiety(any excuse), I'm drinking. Ugh! We are not alone on this path. Thinking of you and many others.
Ande
Ande
I am so happy to have read your post! I am only 3 days sober, and I feel like I have missed a lot because of my drinking. I too have done lot of damage control. Lots of research and vitamins on how to sustain my body threw all the drinking. I too have done a lot of damage control. I felt so bad the last time I got hammered and just accused my husband of cheating or wanting to cheat. I felt so bad. I am not doing this for him but for me. I was getting to the point that I was starting to forget things when I was drunk. I didn't want to do something I would regret. No matter how bad it gets alcohol is not the answer . Thank you for sharing
NotBadButNotGreat
NotBadButNotGreat
I know exactly what you mean about always being in "damage control" when in a drinking phase. Drink, and make bad decisions, then when sober, push yourself to be extra good, extra hard working, extra kind, extra helpful. All this to make up for the regret from what happened when drinking.

Congrats on 7 full days of clarity! Try and keep it up. Imagine what life would be like if all the stress and regret from damage control ... Just didn't exist anymore!
1is2many
1is2many
One week, then ? Very typical of the lure of booze. Get back to feeling better, then that thought... a half a bottle a night wasn’t THaT bad. One would be nice, I won’t be drinking the whole bottle so it’s not that bad.

Hope things are better, but afraid the window is open for a short time, then it closes again

1-2
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