Hit two months no booze yesterday. It happened to be the day I had planned for a big sponsored walk, I did 34 miles on my own on a walking route called the Sandstone Trail in Cheshire (England).
I was a binge drinker so I don’t feel like giving up has been as hard for me as many others here, but I have made a lot of changes and it’s been a lot of work mentally. I know that I need to be teetotal and moderate drinking is never going to work for me. Reading through this forum has given me so many things I can relate to and helped give me the focus I need to make it happen.
The walk was tough. It was pretty warm and I got stuck in loads of fields full of cows which was actually really draining. I’m sure they don’t want to do any damage but being surrounded by a herd is so intimidating! It took over 13 hours, I’m not sure exactly how long.
At the end of it (outside a pub) someone I know came out with a pint for me - it took a lot to refuse it but I did! I have no doubt that if I was drinking for the last couple of months I wouldn’t have been able to do the walk because I wouldn’t have dedicated my time to improving my fitness and training. I wasn’t going to throw that away for a pint (which would have inevitably turned into more).
I have found the training I’ve done for the walk has been amazingly helpful in giving me time to do some proper reflection on my life and where I want to be. Not so much external things like career goals, but how I want to be as a person and how I want my relationships with others to be.
The walking has mirrored my journey into sobriety… It’s been amazing, interesting, challenging, horrible, hard and uplifting. And I’m so grateful for all of it ️
Thank you! It has been difficult at times, facing some uncomfortable truths about myself, the way I was using alcohol and how it was affecting life. But I have also realised how liberating it is not to drink - I can drive to different places, I have clear mornings, I can connect to people and remember the conversations I have… It isn’t always easy to keep that mindset going but it is what I keep coming back to. Just got to keep on keeping on!
Congrats!!! You should be so proud of yourself!!! Amazing when we realize how awful drinking made us feel, yet we kept doing it Keep up the great work!!!
And yep I know, I didn’t even consider stopping drinking as an option to stopping the issues I had with alcohol for so long There’s a thread called binge drinker rules with lots of examples of this!
It really does. It’s not easy but overall it’s definitely better. Learning how to deal with negative emotions/situations is hard but worth it. My bank balance is actually starting to balance again, ha.
It’s my 30th birthday today, I started drinking when I was 14… Looking forward to the day when I won’t be able to say that I’ve used alcohol for more than half my life any more! Here’s to all the good times ahead
Well done. Binge drinker here also I can’t stop at one. This app is a real eye opener and I agree it can really help change your mind set. I find all the support I need is on here, whether its questions about health or goals. Since joining this I did 37 days but then I bought some bud. It was a good reminder that I could not just have 6 bottles. I am on day 11 now with a better outlook, still some stressy days though. Thanks for sharing your story its more inspiration…
Having something else to focus on, especially something physical, has really helped me. Well done for getting back on it! It’s all part of the process and if you learn from it that’s got to be a positive.
way to go !!! Great job!!! And turning down that drink, I mean you have really gotten to a great place in your soul. I hope you are just EXTREAMLY proud of yourself. I look up to people like you!!!
Sorry to hear you’re struggling, but 293 days is really amazing! Hope you can find some ways of coping with the stress. Do you do meditation or anything like that?
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and yes a very long walk! It was definitely an experience. Not one I hope to repeat any time soon though…
Keep up the great work!!!
There’s a thread called binge drinker rules with lots of examples of this!
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