Main thing I can say is ...I lived in a hopeless state of mind for many years...I have hope today..I can wake up and be grateful to be alive and ready to face the day..Grateful to remember everything that happened the night before.....Great freedom when I think back to when I could not live one day without a drink...Prisoner to alcohol....Grateful to have been given another chance.....

I have been sober now for half of my life. I got sober at 28 and as Eileen said I was given another chance....I used to hear nothing that is worth having requires the effort to get it. My transition was easy in that I had other sober people to play with..solitude today is a luxury but early on I needed the input of others to help me see things a little clearer. Soobriety is a state of mind and is doable. I hope you can make the effort and find out for yourself....what it feels like:))
Billy

the biggest thing I feel about being sober, is that I'm free. I have peace of mind most of the time, and I have lots of hope - I get help for issues.
I feel complete in my heart, and just for today I feel content.
Drinking for me was terribly lonely, and miserable. And, it morphed into an outright disaster which was potentially lethal.
It's totally worth it to let go the alcohol.

The big thing -- like Nelliefay says -- I feel free. When I was drinking, I lived in a cloud of anxiety and depression that lifted when I quit. While I was drinking I did not even realize how crappy I felt, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Also I am no longer trapped by alcohol and spending my life drinking, planning to drink, or recovering from drinking.

The little things are important too:
-- I don't have to worry about getting behind the wheel of my car when I am drunk
-- I can make plans and go out without wondering if it will cut into my drinking time
-- I have more fun in situations where alcohol is served -- I no longer worry about inevitably drinking too much and making an ass out of myself
-- No time lost to hangovers or blackouts

Life is so much better for me now. Drinking vodka everyday was normal for me. Now being sober feels normal and right, and life is a million times better.

It can be scary -- scary to NOT drink, scary to make such a big change. But you can do it and it is so worth it, even if in the beginning all you do is just make it sober minute by minute.

My life is interesting, exciting and wonderful. When I was drinking it was dull.

Amazing.

I'm 39 and was drinking heavily for 7 years. I can easily drink a 2 liter bottle of vodka by myself in 4 days. I was blacking out several times a week. The hangovers were getting worse.

In February, I decided enough. It's been rocky. I've slipped up multiple times. I'm happy to say I've been sober more times than drunk in the past 4 months.

Reasons to get and stay sober (for me):
1. I sleep better
2. I have more energy
3. Better work outs
4. Healthier diet (usually after 8-10 shots of vodka I turn into a human garbage disposal and eat everything and anything)
5. Clearer more youthful skin
6. Depression is gone

I can so relate to where it sounds like you are. I couldnt imagine life continuing as a drunk but I couldnt imagine life without booze either.
My bio is run of the mill. Abused as a child, raped a few times as a teen, drank to escape that and more. Married a drunk, he was violent, divorced him. Still had no idea that I was an alcoholic too. Just thought life was the way life had to be.
Flash forward and three + years sober I'm happy in my own skin. I want what I have. I've been able to look at my past and to see I don't have to run desperately from it. Its all OK now. that "OK" feeling is something I thought could come with booze and/ or drugs. It didnt. Now I have peace and happiness on a Sunday afternoon. I just got back from riding my horse, with my daughter and son who were also riding theirs. Sitting at the kitchen table now with three little boys and wondering how in the world I got from there...hopeless demoralized drunken victim to here. Content. Happy, if physically exhausted mom.
So grateful.

Life as a drunk was full of depression, anxiety, fear, and anger. Life sober is full of happiness, contentment, peace, and gratitude. You can have the good life if you want it.

I'll just say for the times I did get sober for any amount of time, I felt so much better, had energy, didn't have to worry about what I did the night before. I was so relieved from the pressure of "hiding" and planning my drinking, sneaking to the store and hoping no one I knew would see me. I didn't have to try and figure out how I got the black eye, who I slept with, and wonder if I had contracted some disease. All of these worries put great pressure and tension on me. Oh, and not waking up in jail or a hospital.

I will also say that many times getting sober, I was still extremely depressed and anxious. Many times I was very unhappy and that is probably what led me back to drinking, but that is probably because of the other mental issues I struggle with.

It is definitely worth trying to be sober. There are many benefits to living a sober life. Thanks for posting this. I needed it myself. I needed the reminder and it gives me inspiration.

I don't wake up and wonder if I killed somebody or not last night

I don't go check the fenders of the car for hair or blood.

I respect myself and live life

I can see things more clearly now. No longer have to make life different than it really is...

I went through outpatient treatment and while there, I was treated for the things that predisposed me to addiction. Afterwards, I started going to aa meetings, I live my life by the 12 steps and I have never been happier!

Good Luck!