How to stop drinking

[Erin]

Hello. Im new, an alcoholic who hit rock bottom last night. Without getting into details i was taken by ambulance for alcohol posining. Pretty scary when doc tells me my blood alcohol was 3 times over the legal limit and i was still very coherent... Needless 2 say i am done. Almost 40 and tired of loosing to the bottle. I want sobriety sooo bad i can taste it. I owe it to myself to start living an authentic life and one that has full sobriety....

[Billy]

Hi Casey - don't stess! I drank also this weekend but I am not going to tomorrow! Pick a day and get ready for it! I know you can do it. If you didn't why would you be on this site wanting support. I'm hoping for you and I, WE WILL BEAT THIS CURSE WE HAVE. That is it? Have you ever thought what did I do to have this Albatross hanging over my neck? I had a good child hood, my parents weren't alcoholics , I'm almost 52, well educated, good family and my children are good, thank the lord, but why do I f... up so many times! I can't explain it! Keep the battle going. This forum, thank you Patrick, has been a life savior (I hope).

[Samantha]

Hi Casey, i hope you keep coming back. I felt frustrated like you. If you keep coming to this forum it will help because you can talk to other alcoholics. You wont feel alone and you will see how so many of us struggle and feel like you. It gets better without alcohol. I never thought I would say that. Carol i feel like you for the first time i actually am feeling its a choice now and not fear or desperation causing me not to drink. Sally breathe it will be ok! Sylvane i was getting worried and am glad your ok and feeling better. Kjbp i cleaned my kitchen shutters and cabinets for the first time in ummm 14 years today! I feel like all of you my body is detoxing and finally getting stable. Billy and thmsmd its so good to have you here.
I noticed friday nite i felt anxious for the week end. Thought this is when i would drink. During the week end i felt periodically depressed and thought this is when i would usually drink. Sunday nite, anxious for work week and would rather NOT be working at all. Sigh. This is when i would normally drink to stuff the anxiety. Im kind of amazed how much I stuffed my emotions. And I'm kind of excited its ok i dont need to drink.
Last, if you dont mind i have to always say it on this forum so its out there that i need to remind myself not to drink as once i start i cant stop for a long long time. I cant go there again its ruined so much good in my life.
Happy sober start of the week to everyone!

[Billy]

Hey Erin, I just joined and thank you for joining our group. It may be small but we are here for each other. You can't change what happened yesterday, but you can control your future if you want. I should talk because I keep drinking, but I took a step by picking a day when I'm going to stop and enjoy SOBRIETY! Good luck and stay tuned in. Their are alot of GOOD people on this site who will give you support and encourgement!!

[casey]

Sally, trying to re-read and found you. Are you alright? Hope so.

[Mary]

I'm not to the point right now where I can quit, but I am trying to slow down a little. I just want to encourage everyone to keep trying and keep posting. It does give me hope that maybe one day I'll be where you are.

[casey]

Thanks Samantha!
I appreciate your reply. All the brest to you.

[casey]

Thanks Samantha!
I appreciate your reply. All the best to you.

[Samantha]

Keep coming to this forum to talk Casey and it will get better you'll see. It helps to also read Patrick's articles. Its helped me tremendously. Im thinking of you and wishing you a great week .

[thmsmd]

Thanks to all who welcomed me. Everyone have a great day - we are going to beat this!!! I've got to keep telling myself - no matter what happens today I cannot pick up a drink. I've got to deal with it. Hopefully we can make it through the day without drinking. Take care.

[kjbp]

I just read a wonderful quote I am applying to my life at the moment:

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." by – St. Francis of Assisi

This applies to my not drinking - and my long overdue chores like cleaning the widows... Both tasks, however are so cleansing. My body is refreshing itself, and by working on conquering the alcoholism, it makes everything else seem like a piece of cake (just not as fun as a piece of rich dark chocolate cake! ok, now I may have to make cake or brownies today...)

Samantha - how is your "new" refreshed kitchen? I just replaced some of the shelf paper. I still have more to replace, but I'm learning to work purposefully and take the time to do each project well. (Again, much like the task of living a new life without alcohol). Does it feel fantastic and inspire you to keep going?!

Billy, thanks for your concern on the mushroom hunt. Fortunately, my husband has my back covered when it comes to all things outdoors. There are a lot of mushrooms here mainly only in the spring once the snow starts to melt in the mountains. The only ones we hunt for are the morels. We made one really mean (delicious) pizza!! We plan to go back out again this weekend, so any recipes you want to share would be super. Have you tried the messaging feature here? I forget if I mentioned it, but my husband is also Italian; his grandparents came to the U.S. from Bari, Italy, in the early 1900s.

Billy - oh yeah, was today your day? I thought I saw you mention that yesterday. I'm rooting for you. Wouldn't it be great to have this week under your belt before the Memorial Day holiday? I always thought it was strange to honor our veterans by passing out in someone's backyard during a Memorial Day BBQ (not that I ever did that - hah!) Let us know how the day goes.

Casey, thmsmd, Erin, definitely keep coming back. This site is unlike anything I've experienced in my battle for healing. I've done private counseling, medication, group therapy... and the group here has pulled everything together for me. I tried AA (not for me) and considered in-patient treatment more than once (actually visited a place and they never called me back). What I love about this forum is that anyone can talk at any time, say anything they want/need to say, learn from others experiences, and be a part of others journey while they travel right along side you in your journey. Another point is there is no pressure to contribute (like there can be in other forms of treatment); you can simply observe if that's how you're feeling. You can pop on here any time you feel the need 24/7 and not have to wait, or get ready to go somewhere. People are here because they genuinely want to be, not because they have to be or are forced to. Makes all the difference! Welcome!!

Erin, I'm so thinking of you. I read your post, and said oh, my that's me. I only wish I would have figured it out the first time I was taken to the hospital for alcohol. It took me 3 times, and each time I was in tears because I wanted the authentic life you are talking about so badly. I pray for us to walk towards that life every day.

Sylvane, hope you are feeling better! Sally, Sam, how are you? Carol, thinking of you. Mary, thanks for the check-in; look forward to seeing your posts when they come through.

Check in later (more windows are awaiting my handy work...) Hugs today!

[Patrick Meninga]

Figured I would check in too, I had the most fantastic day yesterday, went to a golf scramble with a friend in recovery....got there early, so he took me to church with him (which was a unique experience on its own).

The golf was FANTASTIC. We came in 1 over par, the team that won was 14 UNDER. So we got killed! But we had a blast. Fun, fun, fun. Just a gorgeous day, laughter, friends....it was magic.

Here is a quick pic of my and my bud (me on the left):



Recovery is awesome!

[Samantha]

Ha kjbp you said so much of what i feel its amazing! I did a small portion of the kitchen. More to go. But as you said it was mindful and purposeful. I got done what i could and hopefully a little more each day or so. I looked at my shutters. They are clean and jeez the kitchen looks white and sparkly. Which makes me notice all the dirty areas still. So i thought geez you really were busy just having energy to drink and nothing else. Glad to be purposeful now in a healthy way. Life was good today. Didnt drink. I feel so grateful for this forum and all of you. Patrick love the photo and thanks for sharing.

[kjbp]

Samantha, you said it beautifully!! I'm so glad you had a good day and didn't drink. Some days I have to "force" myself to do whatever project it is, thinking "oh, I don't feel like doing this...." and a part of me tells myself I will only spend a few minutes on the project. But you know, once I get started, I end up spending a few hours, and it feels so good!! I'm glad you understand what I mean by purposeful and focused in a healthy way. It seems that by accomplishing a small portion of something like this, it feeds the feel-good, non-drinking part of me and inspires me to keep going day after day.

Hope everyone else is having a good day!

Patrick, it means a lot that you read all of our posts and share your photos. Thanks for supporting us and your friends. Congrats on the golf game! Encourages me to get back out to play. This year I'm intent on waving to the beverage cart as it passes me by, rather than flagging it down

[Billy]

June 1st is my day!! 30 days in June! Lose some lb's for the summer. I live on the beach so thats a real positive! I was going to try but felt so horrible after work today (I had a very tough weekend) I needed another drink just so I could feel better! Isn't that the ultimate oxymoron? WEDNESDAY!! thmsd do it with me and we can talk and get through this together! Erin, I hope your doing better and stick with us! Hi everyone, Sam, Samantha, Casey, Kjbp, Mary and I hope I'm not forgetting anybody but thanks to you all!! You know, why was I able to quit smoking so easy (6 months), and this is so hard!!

Patrick, best ball and you shot a 1 OVER?? Cool shades dude! No cooler or 19th hole?? Awesome! Come on Man, close your eyes and swing and you can do better than a 1 over on a scramble. Glad you had a GREAT DAY and thanks for everything.

[Shelly]

I just want to thank everyone for sharing your experience, strength and hope. I have attempted to post several times as an unregistered guest without success. Today I became a member and hope this will allow me to share. I have been a non-drinker for 14 days, since finding this site and identifying with everyone's stories. My love affair with alcohol has progressed over the past 30 years. "Happy Hour" is no longer a happy and fun experience when your an alcoholic.The end result is LOSS of self- respect, relationships, money, and health. So why am I contemplating drinking a cold glass of chardonnay next weekend when my fiance is away on a business trip??? I'm trying to remind myself this is just a craving that will pass and no harm will be done if I refuse to take that first drink. Thanks everyone, for making me feel I am not walking alone on this difficult journey.

[Samantha]

Hi Shelley that is so true. It was no longer happy for me either. Just alot of work planning to drink, sneaking drinks and then throwing out the bottles. I relate to alot of what your saying. I really think you are on the right path. You have 14 days which is great and if you just keep coming here and sharing it will get better. And its good you talk about your drinking cravings like when your fiance is away. It will bring it out in the open so you can recognize it and not act on it. Just talking about it for me gives the alcoholic in me less power. Im so glad you registered and welcome! There are so many great people on this forum.

[Billy]

Good Morning everyone and hopefully everyone will have a great day!

Quote of the Day
"Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it."
– William C. Durant - General Motors founder

I'm with you Sam! We both need to Just do it!

[josephine]

Well, today is Day 1 for me. I found this site and I felt compelled to share. I am going through a very difficult time in my personal life and my drinking has just sky-rocketed to frightening levels! When I was working I used to only have a drink or two in the evening after work. Then I quit my job and would tell myself I couldn't have a drink until 5pm, then pushed it back to 3pm, then 2pm. Now there are days where I have to tell myself to wait until NOON!!! Yesterday I started at 11:40am (almost noon, right?). And I managed to drink 2 1/2 bottles of wine. This has to stop and I need to pull myself up and not crumble under the strain of my personal struggles at the moment! I can usually go one day without drinking but I literally cannot remember the last time I went more than one day. I need to do it. For my kids & for myself. I'm grateful to have found this site to inspire me to keep trying....

[Patrick Meninga]

@ Sam - so glad you come back and fessed up. Now it is time to make a decision! This forum needs to see you succeed, to show the new folks who wander on to this site that it CAN be done. And I know you will get it at some point, Sam. Do NOT stay away from this place if you slip. That is the wrong approach. Show up, be honest, and then put your right foot forward. We need to show people like Josephine that this process works, that recovery works, that there is a better life out there than drinking.

@ Billy - how are you doing now? June is over a week away....don't push your freedom date that far into the future! The only time you can ever quit drinking is "right now." Might just as well get started on it, no? Fool your brain and pull a fast one on it.....quit earlier than you planned and claim the prize of sobriety that is so much more than you are probably imagining!

@ Josephine - keep coming here and reporting your progress. We want to get you sober. Why? Because it will help us all. This group is gaining power and momentum. We can all stay sober, and make a difference! Keep us posted....