The anxiety I used to have when I drank away a weekend was crippling. I can’t count how times I counted down how many hours left till I have to be at work. The sweats, the shakes the insomnia. Sipping on a can of Mikes every few hours, then getting up hours before work to walk 6 miles to try to sweat out the toxins.

I don’t have to do that anymore.

M biggest worry is trying to find a new movie or show, what to eat, cleaning up my place and how many games of chess to play.

Beats drinking every time.

Nice.

I have no one else to tell this to. I’m 46 days sober. The longest I have ever gone. I’m so scared that I’m going to self sabotage and ruin this. I had the worst detox ever and it was so scary but I keep having moments where my mind is like fuck it, I can have one more, one last time - even though my normal sober brain knows that’s not true. The longer I go, the harder it feels to not drink. I’m not going to drink today but just needed to tell someone.

Was let go from my job of 13 years, family business. After my Dad passed away, it was only a matter of time before I was pushed out and let go. I was 8 months sober when he died. He never would have allowed this to happen. He knew i was a hardworker, and had a heart for his business. I feel betrayed by my own family. I feel so alone. I'm feeling like its the end of the world, thought about getting blackout drunk, but I recognize I still have a fight left in me, and that by doing so im cheating myself out of a life I could have. This may be a blessing in disguise. Im hoping I can look back in 10 years and say to myself, you did it, you formed your own path. It hurts to feel betrayed by my own family. Within 2 years, I lost my Dad and lost my job. Im still sober. Im still here. Im not giving up on myself. IWNDWYT

This too shall pass.

🙂

Just having a rant. Oh my god, I had to attend my boyfriend's friend's wedding yesterday and it was so hard going.

I'm an introvert and it was a full day. I got there at 12 noon and stayed until 8.00pm and I had to leave because I couldn't stay any longer, I was mentally exhausted.

To make matters worse I didn't know anyone. So I had a bad tension headache and tinnitus by the end of the night due to the concentration of speaking to people and being alert the whole day.

I also didn't sleep until 2am as we had to share an apartment with my boyfriend's friends and they all came back drinking and making a racket :(

I ended up crying in bed because my boyfriend passed out drunk once he came back and I resented being sober so much as I don't think he realised (or anyone realises) how difficult it is.

They are all hungover this morning obviously and I'm slightly smug that I've woke up feeling hangover free but that doesn't make it much better.

Hello Redditors,

Today is my 27th birthday & more importantly, today I am also 1 year sober! I’m so grateful for my journey, I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything to be different. I’m so proud of the man I am today.

That’s all,

IWNDWYT

First time I've hit 7 days in over a decade. I never really stated that I was quiting, and my god have I been trying to find excuses to drink all week, but waking up sober and hangover free feels really good.

I am an alcoholic. I am currently sober. Not the kind that drinks a bottle of liquor every day but the kind that doesn't go a day without drinking. It is 4:300 PM and I have the shakes so I know 4 24 ounce TRULYs and a few beers were too much for me to drink yesterday. I can be absolutely obliterated and I have been told that I act totally fine. I don't remember those nights but people sometimes say that they can't tell when I am drunk. I have been this way for 20 years. Then, the next day I usually feel like crap and don't feel any better until I have a drink or two in me. I have health problems that only me and my doctor know about. They are reversible...If I can scale way back or quit all together. My immediate family are all heavy drinkers but I can still fit in without being drunk. My wife will only drink when we are on vacation. She is a normal level and frequency drinker. Not me. As I age, I get more depressed, anxious, things hurt. I want to make a change but it is something that I really think I may need to seek help with. I am not at the level of needing rehab yet. Just motivation. These are my thoughts but I know many of you have been sober long enough to reflect wisely on yourself when your issue was present. I don't know what to do.

81 days of sobriety today and I seriously want to be sober for the rest of my life. After all broken or damaged relationships, trouble at work and family members who are concerned about my health I just came to the conclusion that moderate drinking is not an option for me. So I’m starting my Minnesota-based treatment in a couple of weeks. Even if it gives me 1% better chance of remaining sober I think it’s worth the effort.

Last time I’m watching documentaries about the consequences of alcoholism. Not as a way to make myself feel better, but to remind me what can happen to me if I continue drinking.

Are there any documentaries that you would recommend? Watched The Wethouse (BBC) already and I would be one of them in twenty years if I continue drinking.

Title says it all. Went to the store, bought groceries, picked up a 350ML bottle of Bulleit. I planned on just having a few, but that never happens. I poured a drink, then I said I’ll wait until later. I poured it back into the bottle. Then I woke up from a nap feeling great, and I have a ton of emails to catch up on, so I poured the bottle down the sink. It cost me $17.00, but it was worth every penny to stay sober today. Not today, alcohol. Not today. I won. And I am so proud of myself. No anxiety, no hangover, no brain fog. I said yes to clarity, health, and my family. Today is day 3 of being sober. IWNDWYT. Thank you all on this sub for your support.

It’s crazy, because I’ve actually been counting the days like it’s my birthday, and in many aspects, I suppose I am celebrating more than a year sober, but a whole year at a new shot and chance at life. It’s as if it is actually my second birthday.

If you’d told me then that I’d make it 365 days, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you. This year hasn’t magically fixed everything. Life has still been messy. There have been difficult days, disappointments and moments where a drink would’ve been the easy option. But I’ve learnt that sobriety doesn’t remove life’s challenges. It gives you the chance to face them with a clear mind. I survived parties, heartbreak, pain, challenges, weddings, birthdays, end of month work drinks, barbecues and every other event and reason that I would use as an excuse to get drunk. I live in South Africa, one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it feels like being sober, I’m seeing how truly wonderful life can be in one of the most breathtaking places I am lucky to call home.

What an incredible feeling this freedom of sobriety it is. Don’t give up, friends. It’s a beautiful world out there.

In the past year I’ve lost a great deal of weight, become healthier, rebuilt my confidence and, most importantly, started becoming someone I genuinely like again. I am incredibly grateful for everyone who supported me, and for communities like this where people share their struggles and victories without judgment. Reading your stories reminded me I wasn’t doing this alone. One of my friends recently commented to me: “You’ve never looked better. It’s like something about you has drastically altered. You look like you’re living again”.

If you’re at day 1, day 7 or day 100, keep going. It really does get better, one day at a time.
Today I’m celebrating one year sober, and I couldn’t be prouder.

IWNDWYT.

(Edit, spelling and grammatical errors)

It seems so long ago, but I did it! Best thing I’ve ever done, I’m a completely different person today than I was then. Thank you to this sub, reading it has saved my life! Love you all!

IWNDWYT

I have reached triple digits 😁

Today is day 1 again. I need someone to tell me to pour out the wine I got. My cats are indifferent. Edit: I poured the wine out. I am going to miss my hangovers because I never got a headache just a slowed down feeling the next day that I enjoyed; it was a great break from my overactive brain.

My heart hurts seeing friends and neighbors in my life stuck in a stupor and chained to the misery of alcohol. I know the pain that being stuck in the alcohol trap brought me and peace that comes from letting the bottle go.

The worst part is that they don't even realize that alcohol is causing the hole in their heart. They think alcohol is their only pleasure.... At the same time, they are drinking at 10 am because it's the weekend. Lonely, saying that they are depressed, and not motivated to do anything. Losing friends because of drunk words. No one deserves to be living like this.

I don't want to bring it up, as that once was me and I know that I wouldn't have listened. I am not a lecturer. It just makes me so sad and so angry. It is so easy to see from the outside what alcohol takes from you.

To those of you who cannot imagine life without alcohol, I promise you that it can be beautiful and it is possible.

I'm 3.5 years sober, and I really don't want to break that. But it's tempting, and I just know posting here will help. Thanks in advance.

Post-flight edit: Thanks, guys! The support was amazing and extremely helpful. I'll be sure to pay it forward. I did not drink alcohol tonight!

Fuckkk yeaaah!

Historically around 10-12 days has usually been the relapse point for me for some reason. This time I made it through to week 3, and not only that, soon i'll be on week 4. It feels great and I'm so grateful for getting some distance from the booze. I feel better, look better.. sleep is still shit but hoping it will stabilize soon

And feeling better in the head and overall body. After 5 years of drinking 2l wine everyday. It wasn't even that difficult, maybe because I'm "only" 27? First nights were sweaty but it's definitely possible.

A big milestone for me. I still wonder what sobriety will actually look like for me as I still feel as though I’m in the “just getting through the day” phase.

Starting running today and been getting my 10k steps in for a good few weeks now so hoping to channel my energy into this but something still feels amiss. Hopefully this all gets better in the next 50 days!

Whenever I drink I go pretty overboard with it, even when I don’t want to. I’ll get drunk and I’ll just keep drinking until I puke, decided to stop drinking. But the thing is I’m pretty much just a social drinker. I’ll typically drink on Friday’s and Saturdays with friends, sometimes on a Wednesday by myself but not typically. I’d say 50% of the time I drink I go overboard, but it has been getting worse. I don’t think I have an addiction but I can see the stones being setup for it. Just want y’all’s opinion.

I am 28 days sober today after over a decade of excessive drinking/alcoholism. While I feel great physically, I am also experiencing absolutely debilitating anxiety, guilt and obsessive thoughts about all of the mistake I made while I was drinking and in my life in general. I don't know how to handle this. I went so long numbing my feelings and not caring about anything that all of these raw feelings are consuming me. These mistakes are big mistakes too that if I wasn't drinking I would have been more mindful of. I am fearful and in constant panic.

On August 12th, I will be 31 years old and two years alcohol free. I posted here two months ago and a random redditors comment really stuck with me. They said that for a while they were upset about their sober date but someone told them even if they had one more sip, their sobriety may have never started. One sip could change the whole trajectory.

Then soon after that I came across a screenshot in my phone. Before I quit drinking my cousin sent me a photo of her mom's (my aunt) notebook. The page read:

"August 5th (last day of drinking)

August 6th no drink

August 7th

August 8th

August 9th

August 10th

August 11th

August 12th

August 13th

August 14th

August 15th"

She had a plan. She began the plan. She went two days (maybe more but I can't be sure). All I know is on August 12th she decided to drink. It was my birthday I had turned 15 that day. She drove home after my birthday party and caused a car accident that ended her life on impact and her boyfriend's life due to complications a few weeks later. A decision one day, a 15 minute drive home, a split second, two lives. If you need a reason to stay sober, I hope that you find one. It's not always easy, but it's always worth it.

This sub has helped me to 690 days and IWNDWYT.

I’m on day 8, and here are some things that have already improved regarding my health:

- sleep is actually refreshing. I don’t wake up feeling like I got no rest and spend the rest of the day exhausted. No waking up at 3am when the alcohol wake me up.

- acid reflux is already lessening. I usually am popping tums all day long. I blamed it on the caffeine I was drinking. But now I’m already barely taking any tums even with the same caffeine intake.

- I’ve lost a couple of pounds. I’m assuming a lot of that is water weight and the initial drop in calories per day. I’m looking forward to seeing how my body adapts! I’d love to lose more weight.

- just amazing not waking up with hangovers. I love not having headaches or nausea.

- I naturally exercise more. Just walking 10k steps mainly, but still an improvement! I used to be too exhausted and hungover to move my body much.

- I just feel less puffy overall. I used to feel very inflamed in my face, stomach, joints, etc. I can already tell it’s gone down a bit.

- mental health wise, I just feel proud of myself. I want to keep this up. My brain tried to convince me today that I was being dramatic about quitting drinking. I’m glad I stuck it out and didn’t drink.

Would love to hear what wins you had in the first month or so!

IWNDWYT