Welcome to the group!

Welcome. I am so happy you are here. Nothing can be scarier than being close to death, I am sure. You have tried drinking one or two in moderation and it didn't work for you, I see. I have tried the same thing too, and it definitely didn't work for me. I starting binge drinking again. I turned 40 last June. It is never too late to change your life and path with sober living. Only good things come from being sober. If your heart attack was caused by drinking and smoking, your LIFE depends on changing your life and learning to live without alcohol. This is a great group and can help you tremendously on your journey. Huggles!

Welcome! We're so happy you found us.

I have been sober going on 18 months. I was a nightly drinker which lead to binge drinking every day. SOOOooooo glad those days are over!

This is a great site with wonderful people and you'll find a LOT of support here.

(((HUGS!!)))

Welcome, you have come to the right place. Yes, fear can be a good motivation, but, as you point out, you can get comfortable again and resume your old patterns. I guess the trick is to keep something around to remind you of why it's so important to change. My first husband died of a heart attack at age 49, to give you some perspective. He drank, and chewed tobacco. And he was overweight. So it's important to change NOW. Don't mean to be a downer - just want to help you keep your focus.

Thank you all!

Hi, and welcome! I'm sober 16 days and give alot of the credit to this group. I've tried countless times before without getting this far. Something that I realized in my own situation, it seems to help if you change something ELSE in your life besides just stopping alcohol. Sounds like you are kind of thinking of that already in terms of doing different things on weekends, so I say see that through.

For me the changes were pretty dramatic - Ending my rambling RV travel lifestyle to go back to my home town to look after my elderly Mom (into second day of that), and also I decided to change my eating and sleeping habits. I am minimizing junk food and eating more fruit and non-processed foods. I think that has helped minimize cravings for me.

I also have stopped watching TV in bed before trying to go to sleep. Also starting to turn the tube off an hour before bed and listening to music instead, maybe reading in bed if I am not quite ready to fall asleep. These things seem to be helping distract me from the absence of alcohol, but they are enjoyable as well!

We look forward to see and help with your progress!

I know what you mean about the fear keeping you sober for awhile- then the fear wears off and it's back at it again. But you can get sober and stay sober, and I promise you no matter how crappy or scared you feel right now, it will get better. It's a journey that you kind of figure out along the way.
Meetings and this site sound like a great start. In early days of sobriety keeping busy, exercising, and snacking on sugary foods can help. I used to check in on this site probably 10 times throughout the day, even for just a few minutes at work, just to keep my head straight. You can do this.

Welcome to the group. I hope you can get something out of it to motivate you to stay sober.

So you realize by now that sobriety is your ticket to a longer life and drinking will surely reverse that quite rapidly, if you let it!

With all due respect, I would have more fear of dying from the bottle, and less fear of a group of people like yourself, who are at different stages in their own sobriety, who want nothing more then to help you stay sober anyway they can.

I had to be willing to do everything It took to stay sober because I didn't want to die like my mother did. Believe me, sirosis of the liver is not a good way to go and it's devastating to watch a loved one commit a slow suicide with the bottle!

So if you have family who love you and care about you, please think about them, and may God be with you on your road to sobriety and help you along the way!

God Bless!

Hello and welcome. I check in on DS all the time. I write in my journal everyday. It helps me tremendously. I am not able to check in so much on the weekends but I do what I can. It's been a month and I'm getting stronger every day. At 41 my BP went up so high I knew it had to be the years of drinking finally catching up to my body. I had always had and I quote "beautiful" BP. Now they are like WTF? Good luck to you. This is a great support system and someone is always here for you.

Glad you are taking action to get sober
Let's do this!
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Good Luck, I am back to Day 1. I hope you win! I am alone, and believe it or not my family is not good support (they all drink)... and I am so guilty about it that I hide the bottles from myself... So ping me if you need support. I am here for that.

You want to try new things but you're not ready for a meeting?

Are you really ready to stop drinking?

It's not the 16th beer. It's the first one. Don't have the first, and you won't have 2-15.

Hope you tried the Sat meeting.