I use to drink to numb myself from a job I hated. It didn't take long before it got me into trouble with my marriage, in fact, my wife kicked me out when she came home to a house filled with smoke. I was supposed to be watching dinner in the oven but I was past out on the couch. I would not leave so she called the cops. The cop gave me a choice of detox or jail so I chose detox. After 4 days of detox, I went into an IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program) It was during the evening hours so I was able to keep my job while attending.

While in the IOP, I was treated for the underlying issues that predisposed me to addiction. 3 weeks later, my counselors refered me for additional aftercare so I had 3 months of once a week relapse prevention group counseling where I learned what my triggers were and how to deal with them.

Throughout all the treatment I had, regular attendance at AA meetings were a requirement. That was 9 years ago. Today, I continue to live my life by the 12 steps and I have never been happier! I wish the same for you. You can talk to your pcp who will discuss your options with you and do a complete physical to make sure there is no damage to your liver or other organs. You can also contact your local Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center at your local hospital and make an appointment to go in for an evaluation. Either way, you will get the help that gives you the best chances of staying sober.

You can also google an AA meeting closest to you. I hope you take a proactive approach to your problem. There is so much more to life when you are sober and can experience life to it's fullest!

Please keep us posted. The path you take on your road to recovery, may help someone else. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

God Bless

Hello Mom2girls,

Some who have a problem with alcohol can quit on their own but very many others cannot. For those who need help, a good time to get it is when trouble strikes like it has done for you now.

You now have a simple choice. On the one hand, you can keep trying to fight on your own but it is a battle that you are almost certain to lose. You feel like you have fallen as far as you can but believe me, it can get much worse. The other choice that you have is to admit defeat, which you seem to be doing, and copying what has worked for other people who were where you are now and who have recovered.

When I lost control over alcohol, I didn’t want help from anyone, least of all from Alcoholics Anonymous. I called AA and didn’t like what they told me (the truth) so I looked for a second opinion by emailing AA in another country. A kind lady replied and she said: “Go to a meeting – you won’t regret it”. I did what she suggested and up until tonight, I have not had another drink.

This can be the turning point in your life but if you want to reap the rewards, you will have to do the work. My suggestion to you is to go to AA and give it everything. Rehab also helps a lot of people so don’t rule anything out. Don’t let pride get in your way as you are dealing with an extremely serious situation and you need to be prepared to do whatever it takes.

In a little while from now, you can be looking back and thinking about the amazing progress that you have made – if you are prepared to do the work.

My husband is an active alcoholic and it has ruined our marriage and our love for each other. We are still together and he has tried treatment a few times, but continues to drink. I got serious about this and started Alanon in January and am working on myself. The stronger I get, the further away I get from my husband. This is no way to live - neither of us are happy. I am waiting for him to stop drinking and I have no idea what he is waiting for.

Your husband said he'd stay with you if you get treatment. I am that same spouse. But I am getting tired. And losing hope. Be honest with yourself and your husband. If you don't want treatment, don't lie to him about it. Just tell him. Don't let him wait in anguish as I have for the past 12 years. I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone.

I wish you success, whatever you decide to do.

I was great at quitting. I just couldn't stay quit. Only when I reached out and sued for help was I able to keep going sober. I used to do exactly what you speak of. There is a solution.
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Thank you all for taking the time to reply to me. I am going to AA. I actually went for my first meeting today only to find out the online schedule was wrong. But they have one tomorrow morning that I will be at first thing. And to the woman who is waiting for her husband to quit, I understand that battle too. I was on the other side before. My husband is a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober for just over a year, and before that he was verbally and physically abusive and I waited and waited. When I took our girls and left him he finally went and got treatment. We were seperated for 4 months. The thing is I didnt realize, or I was just lying to myself, that I also had a drinking problem, just compared to him I did not think I did. Now I realize I was completely wrong and I should have stopped when he did. That was the thing was I said I was hiding it and drinking during the day cuz I did not want to drink in front of him, not because I had a problem. Deep down though I am sure I knew but now I am going to finally get help too.
Thanks to all of you for your support

Did you make it to the meeting? The window of opportunity opens and then it shuts. Action is required, sobriety doesn't just show up on the doorstep
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Hi, I went but the schedule that was online was wrong. There was no meeting at 3. There was a schedule on the door and the only meeting left for the day was a closed NA meeting at 4 so I wasnt sure if I could stay at that one. Anyway I took a pic of the schedule and there is one at 11 am today that I am going to. Thanks for checking in on me. Its nice to have someone do that.

Let us know how the meeting went.

God Bless

You could get the help you need now or you could try and do it yourself. It might work but may ultimately fail. I came to this website almost 10 years ago to the day. I was ready to quit. I thought I could do it on my own with maybe a little help from talking to people on here. I even tried AA. But I never truly vested myself in getting sober so every promise I made to my wife or to myself was empty. In order to truly quit drinking you have to be truly honest with yourself. Are you ready to quit? Because if there is any question as to whether or not you are ready to quit, then you are not. If you truly are and have no hold ups then please do seek help from others, whether it be in AA or an inpatient/outpatient program. From your name and photo I can only assume that your children are young. Ten years ago I had a 4 and 3 year old daughter. Today they are 14 and 13 and I have a 9 year old daughter and 3 year old son. My son is the only one that will never know the pain that I put my whole family through. Innocence lost from seeing the drunkeness, and a few years back the arrest of their father for drunk driving, can never be recovered. It is not only ourselves that are affected by our drinking but our family is the ones who pay the price for something they did not do. Good luck to you. Admitting you have a problem is the first step. Reaching out to others for help is the next. I hope you continue on this and quit drinking. For you and for your family. Take care.
-mj

Yes, I find this website pretty helpful because it's always there. I can journal and post about anything, and say what I need to say. People are very helpful. I'm also a member of A.A. I find that I need to get out and be with people. It's not good for me to isolate and be with my own thoughts. Addictions are mainly a thinking problem that we just can't fix ourselves, and we need the input from others in recovery to straighten our thinking out. It's my own thinking that always got me drunk, so I need to not trust it in early recovery. We learn to think soberly from finding whatever help it is that we need to. Everyone has their own path to follow. By being on this site is a good start. You can get other ideas from here and go from there. Just hang in there for now, and don't drink. Do whatever it takes, detox, hospitals or whatever, but you can't drink. You know already that drinking will destroy you and everything you care about. You need to start fighting it. Hang in there, and all the best. James

I'm a newbie, single mother of 3, and I get it. I just lost my SO because of my drinking. I was doing ok, and had one hell of a relapse. Be thankful that your husband is willing to stay and give you a chance. People walk away and leave us worse off. You have a rock, but over time, without change, people will leave. Stay strong and keep pushing forward, don give up! If you lose your family, you will lose yourself. We are stronger than what the addiction is, keep fighting for your life and your happy place.