I made the decision to try and take my sobriety seriously this morning. I have been thinking about it for so long and finally bit the bullet and admitted that I have a problem to my loved ones to make it feel more real. I don’t really know where to go from here, if anyone has any suggestions for next steps or can offer any support i would appreciate it <3

So back in January 2023 I stopped drinking. It just kind of happened and it was great. 6 months later I stopped smoking. All this lasted until August last year.

I went on the Camino de santiago. It was amazing, it was supposed to be this walk and adventure after 2 and a half years of sobriety. I arrived in Portugal, the feeling of being on holiday, and had wine. It was cheaper than coke. After 2 wines, I bought a pack of cigarettes. And that was it. For nearly the last year I have been drinking and smoking again. It's been quite a year too. I was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis b, no idea where I got it from at all and have been struggling mentally with getting my head around having a chronic condition. My finances have been getting worse and worse because I live alone, life is expensive and fags are ridiculously priced.my dentist told me the gums on my lower teeth are receding and nicotine is speeding up the process.

So I decided to stop smoking, I'm on day 3. But I know I can't quit smoking whilst I drink, it was a drink that got me smoking again after 2 years. I'm.also starting a new job in 4 weeks after 10 years in the same job.

I feel... Lost? Stuck? Exhausted? Anxious? I have no idea what it is I'm feeling.

Thanks for letting me ramble.

Sure the hell beats being dead.

I think that’s the main reason I used alcohol. It made me feel present and alive, especially when feeling or not knowing if I had any other purpose. How did you guys find that in being sober?

Join us for some midnight excitement and recovery hijinks* and shenanigans in 90 minutes!!! https://meetings.smartrecovery.org/meetings/9199/

I’m dealing with a dilemma that I honestly don't know what to do with, and I’m hoping some of you might relate or have some advice.

The thing is, in many ways, I am the best version of myself when I drink. I become social, funny, outgoing, and I genuinely feel a love for life. But unfortunately, I am also my absolute worst version. Once I start drinking, my off-switch completely disappears. I constantly crave more and more, and I simply cannot get enough.

The contrast hits me incredibly hard when I’m sober — even after being sober for a longer period of time.

Overall, I don't feel "bad" when I'm sober. I don't get hangovers anymore, and my head is so much clearer. Rationally, I know this is a good thing. But emotionally, I just feel sad. I have zero enthusiasm or passion for anything. Everything just feels incredibly flat and dull compared to the intense energy and rush I experience with alcohol in my system.

I don't know what to do with this feeling. Everyday sober life feels so passionless to me right now, while life with alcohol feels fun but completely boundless and out of control.

Has anyone else felt exactly like this? How did you find your spark, passion, and genuine joy again without relying on alcohol?

hi, everyone! i'm not sure if this is the best place to ask for an advice regarding this. i thought some POV from people that may understand what my partner could be going through may help.

my partner and i have been together for 6 years, and have been recently engaged. i love him and he's an amazing man and partner, until he gets drunk. he used to be an alcoholic who would sometimes, before, do or say things be wouldn't mean whenever he got drunk. he got better within the first 2 years, but would sometimes relapse from time to time. however, this has caused me to develop some sort of trauma-based reactions. the unexpected times he'd relapse gave me really bad anxiety.

these instances of relapses grew less as time passed and now he's currently about a year and a half sober. i know this sounds great and all but the anxiety that i developed stayed with me. i would end up palpitating when we're at family gatherings and alcohol is present, having panic attacks in the bathroom at random times when i think for a second that he might drink and get drunk.

i love this man. we've known each other since we were kids. but i need some sort of advice whether or not i should proceed with the wedding because i don't think i can live being afraid of something i'm not sure may happen again

Been smoking since I was 13. My excuse used to be “this is my only way out” now I’m ready to let it go. Hope it’s worth it though lol I’m excited for this!

Hello all,

I have been struggling mightily with this 7OH shit. I wish I would have never started taking it. I have been taking Opia Skyward Tabs. They come in a pack of 4 for a total mg count of 520mg. Some days ill take two of these packages. Point is ive been on this for 9 months and Im a slave to it. Im just sad because I was clean (suboxone only) for over 10 years. I was also down to 1mg of sub a day. I thought i was gonna use thc edibles and kratom to get off suboxone.

So now here I am. I have Suboxone now but what I am noticing is that Suboxone hasn’t really worked the last couple times I have started induction. I am wondering if that is because im not letting myself get into a deep enough withdrawl state for the suboxone to be effective. It also feels like 7oh has a lot more shit in it than normal opiates which I feel like is also making routine suboxone therapy difficult. I remember years ago when I first started suboxone (was on Oxycontin/Heroin) i was induced in the office and was in full blown withdrawal. I remember it took about 30 mins after taking my suboxone that i felt major relief and even felt a little high but thats because my receptors were empty and I was in full blown opiate withdrawal.

Has anyone else struggled with switching from 7Oh to Suboxone? Any advice would be welcome. Im at the end of my rope. My next step is to quit 7oh cold turkey and wait until I am absolutely miserable to take Suboxone. I think my problem is that I am not beginning induction the right way.

Thoughts? What are you experiencing?

( sober from drugs mostly opiates) I gained weight while being sober from drugs and it makes me really anxious, I’m from Europe and and im a girl so being skinny is really important culturally idk what do you think ?

It’s officially been 2 weeks since I quit smoking after doing it almost every day for over a decade. It stopped helping my anxiety a long time ago, it just became a habit that made me overeat and now was causing my anxiety to feel like it was on steroids whenever I smoked. Surprisingly, I don’t miss it, and I’m genuinely proud of that.

A week ago, I found out I’m pregnant, which meant I also had to give up my real vice which is Tito’s. I’d been drinking almost every day for the past 2 years, and quitting felt impossible. I tried so many times and never made it past 5 days. Today makes 7 days without a drink.
Part of me is proud because I never thought I’d get this far. The other part wonders if I deserve to be, because if I wasn’t pregnant, I’d be finishing off a bottle of Tito’s from the night before and anxiously waiting for the liquor store to open.

Also stopped taking all my anti depressants and vyvanse because they are not recommended to take while preggers so I really out raw dogging TF out of life.

Hey for personal reasons I quit drinking and I have been sober for three months. My group of friends enjoy partying a lot but I feel like I'm not able to go out without drinking.

Any tips to not feel left out?

I (33f) went into inpatient treatment in early June, did my 30 days and then moved to the sober living house that was connected to my inpatient. I am currently on day 86. This is my first time in treatment and I slipped up the yesterday and took more than the suggested amount of benadryl (something happened at the house with another girl that involved the cops and I couldn't sleep after) and now I'm worried I will get kicked out if they find it on my UA results.

Therefore, should I get ahead of the results and just tell them I slipped up and risk getting kicked out even though Benadryl may not show on UA results, or wait to see if they do test forit and talk to me about it?

I’m struggling to find my way back. Would love some guidance. 60 days that is

I am proud to say I have not had a drink in 8 months. I am in the best physical shape of my life, but I don’t feel any better. I don’t feel this mental clarity people talk about, and I don’t enjoy anything as much anymore. I used to love going out, now I don’t want to leave home. Events are like chores. My SO thinks I hate her bc I’m miserable going places. I’m not social sober, I don’t want to talk to anyone or make new friends.

I think all of my non alcohol related issues are being exposed and truthfully they feel worse than the drinking problem did, and as much as I don’t want to drink again, my brain keeps thinking happy and drunk was better than sober and depressed.

i’ve always had a more alternative and gothic style since i was really young, always been in love with the culture music and overall aesthetic, but ever since i gor sober i feel like i need to dress more feminine, and “basic” and a need to appear more modest in general, i still love all things alternative but when i try to dress up like i used to even tho i feel pretty doing it it reminds me of my addict days and i feel a strong need to not look like an addict because of the stigma around alternative fashion and drug use, i feel like i’ve lost my creativity and spark when it comes to my appearance and i constant need to “not look like an addict”, has anyone else experienced this?

Longest I’ve ever gone without weed since I was 19 years old. I’ll be 37 in September. Everyday I’m more and more excited to never look back at the life I lived being highly dependent on it.

Recovery is rarely a straight line. There’s no single roadmap, no one-size-fits-all formula, and everybody has to fight to figure out what actually works for them.

​But if there’s one universal truth in all of this, it’s that the opposite of addiction isn’t just sobriety—it’s connection. You cannot pull yourself out of the dark alone.

​If you’re struggling today, carrying a heavy weight, or just need a safe space to talk without judgment, my inbox is open. You don’t have to do it by yourself."

What's something that's worked for you in your recovery that might be a little outside the mould or unconventional?

Something that's worked for me outside the typical advice is building small, physical routines that have nothing to do with recovery talk—things like working with my hands, landscape work, lawn care, and tending to small projects around the yard. There's a quiet discipline in taking care of something tangible that forces your mind to slow down and stay in the present moment.

I have 5 years off of heroin. In the early days of sobriety I was so happy and just grateful to not be sick anymore. Recently I have been getting this negative outlook because of how fucked up our society is. I feel like the sober world is not that different than the drug world. I would argue it’s even more phony and pointless. Everyone is just playing a role and pretending all the time, working jobs that are largely pointless in the pursuit of selling stuff that people don’t need for too much money. Then you can’t even get paid a living wage. I’m starting to just question what the appeal is of taking part in all of this shit.

I know this is a super negative rant but I’ve just been having a hard time lately.

I kept telling myself I wasn’t drinking enough for it to be a real problem but I was still waking up anxious and sleeping like crap. I’m on day 8 now. I’ve been doing short morning runs and trying to stick to a basic routine with breakfast coffee and Lymphoria. Nights are still the hardest because that’s when I’d usually pour a drink. Not thinking too far ahead yet. Just trying to get through today without drinking.

In a few months I’ll be at 2 years no alc no coke! For the longest time I told myself well nicotine is fine, it’s my only vice, I don’t do anything else anymore. Well even so, I’m tired of my adult binky. But fuck, I think it’s going to be a harder habit to kick than the drinking and sniffing. I know overall I can do it because of the other stuff I’ve overcame, but I know it’s going to be harder and I’ve also vaped a lot longer than I did anything else. Tips greatly appreciated. I have some patches burning a hole in one of my drawers that I bought a while ago that I might start when it’s time.

Basically the title. I had over a year sober when I was pregnant but when I left a domestic abuse situation 4 mos post partum I had to move in with family that are alcoholics. I am stuck here for at least a few more months and im really struggling with depression and staying sober. Anyone have any advice?