That’s very normal. It’s a hard habit to break and honestly it took me about 3 true attempts

The booze is the go to in a stress filled situation because we have used the booze in that situation many times before. ( I even found myself creating drama to have an excuse to booze).

I also found that I was incapable of doing it alone and found a support group that helped me learn how to cope. See I always boozed and never dealt with life then when you remove booze... life is overwhelming

But once I decided I was done drinking then slowly I was made to deal with stress and work out the issues not hide from them. Each time I did it it got easier.

Life is waiting for you to take control and live again

1-2

You just pull up your boot straps and start again, don't be too hard on yourself, don't let this be a reason to continue drinking due to guilt and shame, make it a brand new day, one day at a time !

Hello everyone,

I have not given up on my quest for a better life without alcohol. I do fall here and there. But I am determined and the nice thing is that I don't enjoy alcohol anymore. I used to drink to get confidence but I am realising that I indeed have confidence. One day at a time and the aim is not to give up.

I remember when I first started going to AA meetings. It took me about 3 weeks to get a sponsor who I could easily identify with so I was all excited. A week after that, I got into a big fight with the wife and went on a bender. From that moment on, things got worse. Long story short, the police came knocking on my door and I ended up in detox at a local hospital.

In detox, I wasn't allowed any mind altering substances at all so add caffiene withdrawals to the alcohol withdrawals and I was in rough shape. On the 3rd day, we were told of an AA meeting on the same floor just down the hall from the detox ward so I was all excited to go because I knew they had caffeinated coffee. So I went to this evening meeting, grabbed my caffenated coffee, and picked a seat in the back.

To my surprise, my sponsor takes the chairman's seat at the front, and I was so embarrassed at having failed. I was hoping he wouldn't see me but he got between me and the door when the meeting ended and said 3 words to me which I never forgot, "Had enough yet?" I said yes, I have had enough! From that moment on, I worked very hard at staying sober. I went to weekly meetings and made daily calls to my sponsor who was instrumental in helping me through those early days of recovery when my sobriety was still in a fragile state. He helped me identify my triggers and helped me come up with a plan to deal with them. That was almost 15 years ago. Today I have a great life, and I have never been happier.

You already know what one of your triggers is....It's the anxiety that causes you to self medicate with alcohol. There are many ways to control anxiety without alcohol. Here are a few I googled for you:

https://www.heysigmund.com/anxiety-without-medication/

Hope these help.

God Bless

I do a lot of little things that make a big difference in my perception; I focus on my posture when I walk or even just standing in line at the store, Every time I go up stairs I use all my muscles to glide up as effortlessly as I can, I say hi to everyone I pass on my walks even if they don't respond... I drink a lot of water and imagine that it's cleaning my body... All this encourages the desire to WANT a more fulfilling life. Because that's the prize here. The golden ticket that sobriety offers. One day at a time and every single moment at a time. Stay strong