I just joined and can say the support is very nice. i check this forum daily just to check posts. I am on day 3 and the urges are strong to drive to the liqour store and take a couple swigs...but i actually want to do this. I want to be sober.

Just browse around, maybe post some to try and help others. Read others stories and see how/if they relate to yours.

Stay strong my friend, we can do this.

Great question and congrats on day two!

When I first joined DS I found great strength from posting and following topics on the discussion board, and realizing I wasn't alone in my struggle. Secondly, I friended several members and had valuable follow up discussions in a more private setting. Lastly, I use the journal feature a few days per week to log my progress and the challenges experienced. I've given friends access to this and appreciate their feedback and support as well.

Wishing you success and please feel free to reach out to me any time!

If you are just using this forum, I would say to go back in the history for this group and read as many topics as you feel apply to you and then journal every day, especially if you get a craving to drink.
Post here like you just did, if you have a problem you need help with such are, alcoholics around the house or other triggers that are upsetting you. We can help you with those things because no matter what you are going through in life, chances are one of us has been through a similar situation and can be helpful to you.

Good luck on your road to recovery and May God help you along the way!

I would order a book of Alcoholic's Anonymous and start reading. Nobody needs to know you have it, but it will help.

I recommend starting on page 165, Reading the stories and then going back and reading about the program 1-164.

Hi Ricky,
Welcome to the club! Glad you are here. I'm newly sober and have been trying to quit for years. I actually joined here in 2012. I wasn't really committed then. I guess. I think at the time I was just trying to "slow down" It wasn't until this past Aug. when my son went to college and I realized I had 1 child left at home and she was a freshmen. I realized how fast time was going. So I recommitted. I had some bloopers. I again thought... Well I can drink 1 day a week. But I drank in that one day as much as all the days put together.
So a month ago today I said F%cK that Sh#T! I'm done. No more waffling. What do I do? I have a toolbox.
1. Meditate... however you can. 5 mins of silent time, a guided meditation if you don't like being alone w/ your own thoughts. Or just silence. I like the guided ones. Youtube has many choices.
2. I journal almost everyday. I like to write. Sometimes I will read my journals back to myself after months. It's nice to see my progress. Especially when I look at the entries from 2012.
3. I made the greatest friends on here. Our conversations and messages are so inspiring. If you can get some support from people that get it. It's so nice knowing your not alone.
4. I also have been going to a site called "in the rooms" they have online aa video meetings. Mostly I just listen. But what I hear is very helpful.
Good luck!

A.A was the only thing that helped me to maintain sobriety, before that I would try doing it on my own and joined this site for advice, I usually lasted 2 or 3 weeks at a time but since I've been in A.A I haven't had a drink for 7 months

Understand early that alcohol is made of almost all sugar. When you want to drink get a Coke, candy, or some ice cream. The sugar will be received by the brain and give you those good endorphin feelings.

The main thing is to start to address the why. The reason I drank was I had a hollow feeling that made me feel bad. Booze made this feeling go away. But it's a dragon that grows and then I became reliant upon it. That was the beginning of a 25 yr career of drink, regret, quit, feel better, drink,regret, remorse, need more booze to forget, quit , drink, etc... It was a hel

The end for me was on June 9 2012. I had drank almost a fifth and a bunch of other drinks. I was willing to do anything. I googled AA. It was the toughest thing I ever did to walk in that church but I had had enough. I found a way to live again. I learned I was not bad just had a pro elm with booze.

It is possible , but there MUST be something to replace the booze. Church, a charity, a program of AA , books. Just the quitting is not enough. You have to get moving and do esteem able acts and then you start to have esteem. It's possible. Cmon

1is2many