Hang in...in a few more days you might find you start to feel better...maybe tomorrow, who knows :)

Guaranteed if you start again you're back at square one.

P

It only gets better the longer you go, you have a completely new life. It's like being born again and it's only just begun for you!! :)

You are still detoxing, and feeling anxious and like you have the flu is pretty normal. You should start to feel better over the next week. If you still have a lot of anxiety or depression after a month, you might want to discuss it with a doctor.

Good for you for stopping! Glad you found our group.

when you realize that life is better sober than drinking.

For me that was not an overnight process.

Physically i felt better in a couple of weeks, mentally it took about a year..

1is2many

Hello sofgilead,

There is a bright future ahead, providing that you take a few points into consideration.

The first thing is that it takes some time to withdraw from alcohol. After 4 days the worst should be over but some people maintain that it takes up to three months for alcohol to leave the system completely. Either way, the more time that you have since the last drink the better it gets.

The mental aspects of adjusting to life without alcohol can vary with each person. For some all it takes is a decision to stop drinking and then getting on with life and for others it is not always that simple. For a percentage of people, drinking will have become an obsession and breaking the habit can present several difficulties. Some will quit drinking but will struggle against the urge to drink, with some relapsing along the way. Others will stay sober but will not be happy with life and those who live with them will suffer as a result. However, it does not have to be like this providing that there is a willingness to accept reality and to change the way of thinking. This change will often require outside help and there are several options. Counselling may benefit some and AA offers a free programme of recovery that is open to anyone who desires to stop drinking.

The important thing to remember is that you need never drink again and that you can have a great life without alcohol.

Thanks all, It's been a long 5 days now. Doing this one day at a time(feels like an hour at a time), the emotions are all out of wack and I actually told a complete stranger about my new sobriety...he listened and told me if I needed him again to just call, not used to that but I'll take it. Thanks again for the responses, I will move forward.

Welcome sofgilead,

Glad to see you here. Let's all of us continue to move forward. After all anything is better than what I was when I was drinking...

I am 16 days into my second attempt at sobriety in 45 years of drinking alcohol nearly every day. I did not feel too bad once I got over my most recent hangover (caused by 2 bottles of wine and a Foster's Lager the night before) on day one. Kinda like I always feel only a bit sharper every day. Also, sleeping good (stopped snoring) and no real craving for a drink so far. Suggest you will need to get some amount of exercise into your routine if you want to continue and even escalate the detox cleansing process. Also, you might try juicing as it works for me. I do feel much better, physically and mentally. I hope you get there soon.

Sofgilead,
I hope you visit here frequently, as it is a wonderful place to vent, to seek advice, and to give advice, too.
You are making a courageous choice that will pay off perpetually the rest of your life. That said, it took a month for me to really start feeling better. The anxiety more or less cured itself just by virtue of not drinking, I was sleeping like clockwork and like the dead from 10:30 pm to 6:30 am. I started waking up and feeling rested and clear headed. The fog started to really clear and I was better at time management and organization. I became self-motivated and my energy was greater and longer-lasting.
The emotions, too, evened out for me. I wasn't so unpredictable, so touchy, and so depressed.
The trick is seeing those cravings through, and remembering that they DO go away. The only way to get sober is to face them head-on and know they will pass. It gets easier and easier. That's one of the many blessings of sobriety.
It does differ for everyone, that is true. I have drank regularly for almost 10 years and was on the brink of death in my own relationship with alcohol. I am now almost 10 months sober and I cannot believe I waited this long to get clean. Life is so bombastically incredibly amazing without booze.
Keep coming here. I wish you well.