I’m in college. I thought drinking excessively was normal because the people I choose to be around drink often. My family recently gave me an intervention… I’ve been sober for the past few days, now. Tonight my best friend and boyfriend were drinking and I had to say no. I understand I’ve taken it way too far in the past but now I’m not even able to drink socially. That’s the toughest part for me. I see them having fun and I can’t be on their level with them. I can have fun sober… but there’s something about it that’s so different in my mind.
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Hi and welcome. It is hard you are right and it could possible be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do but trust me it will only ever get harder if you don’t stop now. Alcoholism is a progressive dis - ease and left to its own devices will take away everything your aiming to gain from going to college. I didn’t even finish college bc of alcohol, too many missed classes and final chances, spent all the grant on drink drugs and partying and didn’t pay the landlord for 6 months so did a midnight flip and filled up a van and left college and my debts behind. And all that was meant to be my fresh start from being homeless. Anyway I digress, be proud of what you are doing and be the one to make the change and not be a lamb to the slaughter and follow the crowd.
Nothing worth having comes easy but it is oh so worth it.
I wish you well on your journey.
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Good on you! Your family must love you so much. We’re all in this together.
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This was the hardest adjustment for me also. Not Having fun like everyone else… sobriety is hard as hell. You’re right. But… if you keep fighting thru the pain of change,soon enough you will realize they aren’t really having fun and you’re not missing out on anything….keep your head up💪🏻
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Ask yourself, were u ever able to drink socially and moderately? In all honesty, I only drank socially and moderately when there were outside limits, such as the bar closing, and even then, it was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to get hammered. Social drinking is like flapping my arms and flying, not possible, for me at least. Understanding that helps me accept not drinking socially.
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Stay sober and in time, you’ll pity them instead of it…
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It won’t be fun when your sitting in a room on your own drinking a bottle of vodka crying at the tv because that’s were it takes you stay sober odaat and everything will work out 
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Yeah to this. Last Saturday one of my friends was drunk as hell, having fun, doing silly things, the next day he didn’t remember anything.
I had fun. I remember it, and it will last…
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Hello hope all is well I took 3 things from your story college, family and being sober. Focus all your time and energy into those 3 things and you’ll be winning in life. Take care you got this. Peace
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It’s hard but you know deep down you are doing the right thing and your friends are not getting a natural fun. Just a toxic one
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I never really thought of it like that… but you’re right. Any time I would start drinking I would begin with the intent to just be drunk it even tipsy, but by the end the night it became a goal to get incredibly sloshed. I had just thought that if that’s what it came to, then fine. However, when it comes to that every time, it’s definitely an issue. Thank you for your insight 
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This is very true! And although way down the track, we may be able to be smug about it, it’s not fun, especially in early sobriety.
It could bring up nasty feelings of anger and resentments, l found, if l just pretended it didn’t bother me.
Maybe try not to place yourself in situations ATM where you have to sit with loved ones whilst drinking.
Welcome Zoe,
This is just my experience. I cannot think of any two expressions that would trip me up more than the two I just read.
And those are:
Sobriety is hard and
Drinking is fun
By the way, when I say drinking I’m also referring to all the other addictions whether they be crack, nicotine, gambling, or in my case, porn. It’s all the same thing to me.
I imagine myself living in this bubble and eating nothing but moldy bread. And within this controlled environment, guess what’s going to happen? My body will be conditioned to believe that nothing is better than moldy bread. It’s the best thing in the universe!
But everyone else looking in my bubble can clearly see that I’m not really enjoying myself; that I’m being tricked into falling for an illusion. They know that eating moldy bread is not fun. They cannot help but pity me.
And that’s the same thing with our using/drinking. I place myself in a controlled environment and condition my brain to seek out only my DOC while my receptors are conditioned to resist the pleasure of feeling anything else. Thus, drinking/using doesn’t create fun. It takes it away. In addition, the addiction plops more garbage on our laps in the form of hangovers, blackouts, broken relationships, putting our lives at risk, legal consequences, etc. We think we’re having fun, but instead, we’ve fallen for an illusion; a lie.
For 30 years of my journey through various recovery groups and methods, searching and seeking for freedom, I believe it was this lie that kept me from experiencing true freedom. And I sure hope that you’ll learn this lesson a lot faster than I did.
Because once I truly realized that drinking/using was not fun, sobriety was not only easy, but it also became fun.
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Sooo, sounds like you have a lot going on. Cudos for saying no. Im surprised my family hasnt done an intervention yet. Sounds like they love you and care for you.
Full disclosure 19 days alcohol free
Check out The Alcohol Experiment. Use your students mind and look at it as a 30 day experiment. But just take it a day at a time and learn why you may have picked up certain cravings or habits. Its interesting and you gain some introspection.
That being said…there is A LOT of drinking around colleges. Start a journal and take it one day at a time…
And that being said, im new to this and found these resources helpful
Keep coming back and sharing. This is an awesome, uplifting community 
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