# Day One - Please Help
**URL:** https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603
**Category:** Your Story
**Tags:** alcohol
**Created:** [September 25, 2026, 11:33am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603 "2026-09-25T11:33:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ashland79](https://talkingsober.com/u/ashland79)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 11:33am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/1 "2026-09-25T11:33:05Z")
Hi! I’m new here. After ten years of functional closet alcoholism, I finally realized that I need help. I’m scared that I’ve already done irreparable damage to my body, as I have some unexplained pains. I’m embarrassed, frightened, and need help. Any advice and guidance is appreciated.
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### Author:  [@The\_Wampa](https://talkingsober.com/u/The_Wampa)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/2 "2026-09-25T12:44:55Z")
Welcome @ashland79 - Great job taking that first step. It’s not always the easiest path, but things that are worth doing rarely are. I can’t speak specifically to your aches and pains, but I can definitely say I wondered the same thing. Every time I felt the slightest pain, I’d Google it and sure enough there was a possible connection to alcohol. So even though I’m completely uneducated in medical teachings, I’d think I was drinking myself to death. Yet also continue drinking 🤦♂️ The reality is that I’m 41 years old and all it takes now is a slight shift in sleeping position to make me hurt for a week. That being said, the drinking likely was exacerbating the pain and certainly wasn’t doing anything good for my body. My point being: Make sure you’re getting your yearly checkups from a doctor, but don’t panic. Press on, one day at a time. If you want sobriety, you’re strong enough to have it. And again, welcome 😊
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### Author:  [@Cjp](https://talkingsober.com/u/Cjp)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/3 "2026-09-25T12:50:35Z")
Welcome @ashland79 im glad you found us. This is an awesome community of folks who are trying, getting, and staying sober one day at a time.
Its encouraging that today youve decided to reach out. Thats the first step to acknowledge the way your life has been going hasnt been working and you want to try another way.
Just for today, just for the next hour commit to not drinking.
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### Author:  [@james83](https://talkingsober.com/u/james83)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/4 "2026-09-25T13:20:36Z")
Ash
welcome! You’re in the right place and amongst friends. Please, stay with us and get to know the community.
I was a functional alcoholic in denial for 20 years, with the last 5 being appalling. I’m still a work in progress.
Fear of what I had done to myself kept me from getting sober for years. I avoided the doctor like the plague. My bloods were awful, unexplained pains in my sides, bloodshot eyes the whole time, stomach problems. 3 mostly sober years later my body has healed and everything is fine. I’m not perfect, but I’m working every day to stay sober.
until you’re dead, it’s never too late. Start today - one day at a time.
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### Author:  [@mikedrums1205](https://talkingsober.com/u/mikedrums1205)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 1:21pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/5 "2026-09-25T13:21:00Z")
Welcome. I understand the feeling of fear and embarrassment, but the reality is that this is common. There are so many people who suffer from alcoholism and addiction. My first suggestion is always just to go check out an AA meeting. Make it known that you’re new and want help. The people in those rooms are more than happy to do so. Most importantly is just don’t pick up today. Take it a minute at a time if you have to. Talk to supportive people. It’s rough in the beginning, but it gets easier. You can recover. Hope you have a great day and stay connected
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### Author:  [@McDude](https://talkingsober.com/u/McDude)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/6 "2026-09-25T13:36:12Z")
Welcome! Come here every day. Read up on others’ experiences and successes and failures. Don’t be a stranger. Many on here highly recommend finding a virtual or in-person alcoholics support group meeting as the key to success. Chop things up into managable time chunks. Don’t worry how far away your sobriety goals may appear - take it one day at a time (ODAAT). Most journeys are not immediately successful on the first try. If or when you relapse, come back here and talk it through with us and make sure it doesn’t turn into a complete derailment of your efforts. And if it does - come back anyway.
Best of luck to you. It took me many attempts, but I am at nearly a year sober. It DOES get much easier and it is absolutely worth doing. You can do it, too. One day at a time.
Cheers.
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### Author:  [@Kjcj](https://talkingsober.com/u/Kjcj)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/7 "2026-09-25T14:15:25Z")
So glad you found us! This place has been the difference -maker for me after 10 years of wishing I could stop. I think the question you have to ask yourself is–what are you willing to do to change?
Two things that really helped me in the early days: 1. I came here and read _every_ time I had an urge to drink, and 2. I planned in advance ways to keep myself distracted and busy during times I knew would be triggers.
Every 5 minutes you’re sober is a win. You can absolutely do this. 🫂
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### Author:  [@Jwfletcher4792](https://talkingsober.com/u/Jwfletcher4792)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/8 "2026-09-25T16:29:22Z")
Your worries about medical related things is valid and normal, so don’t feel you’re alone in that first off! I relapsed two years ago and I didn’t go to the doctor pretty much that whole time and I was worried when I returned recently things would be dire. I found that while there were some slight concerns with cholesterol and one of my liver factors, thankfully it wasn’t that bad. It’s scary but important to get that information so you can know for sure what you need to focus on physically.
The truth is, the human body is resilient and can heal pretty well! The liver alone is an amazing organ that regenerates itself except for scarring which it can’t fix. But even with scarring, it can get itself back to a functional place where it works okay.
I’m approaching 30 days and I can tell you in one month alone, here are some things that have changed physically:
Bloating - gone
Pressure in face and eyes which felt like they were going to pop out of my head sometimes - gone
Cloudy vision migraines - subsiding
Heart palpitations - gone
General inflammation aggravating existing conditions like nerve damage in my back - subsiding
Bowel movements 😂 - less painful/strenuous, more easy and regulated
Asthma - I already had this but it’s become easier to breathe and I’ve needed my inhaler less as my breathing becomes normal with a normal heart rate, alcohol drastically messes with heart rate, slow for me during drinking, rapid the next day when my body was recovering
Acne/skin - actively changing, skin is clearing but still have some flare ups of acne etc.
Anxiety - normalizing and subsiding or returning to the state which I manage it as I live with and manage my anxiety and depression I’ve been treated for since the military
Acute withdrawals - subsided, still experiencing occasional post acute withdrawal symptoms which I curb with sweets, a recommendation in the AA literature, and seltzer waters when I feel the craving for a bitter carbonated drink at the end of a hot day. There are several companies that make a hop flavored seltzer with zero alcohol in it, just water, that I have found is a great tool for me that soothes my brain when it’s wanting that other drink.
This app has a new feature on the counter part of it where you can add in health markers to your sobriety counter, really cool stuff that just shows you generally on a timeline what you can expect for different health improvements.
That was a lot of nerdy stuff, but the point is, there is hope today! “If you’re still in the game, and there’s time left in the game, you can still win the game!” @Dazercat @cjp there’s my coaching motivation for the day ❤
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### Author:  [@james83](https://talkingsober.com/u/james83)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/9 "2026-09-25T21:33:34Z")
This is all great advice
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### Author:  [@Amelie](https://talkingsober.com/u/Amelie)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 4:31am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/10 "2026-09-26T04:31:10Z")
You might find some reassurance from a visit to your doctor, and from podcasts like SoberPowered which covers health related topics as well as general recovery info. Stick around, the body heals when we let it!
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### Author:  [@PinkFirefly](https://talkingsober.com/u/PinkFirefly)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/11 "2026-09-27T03:30:36Z")
Realizing you need help is a great first step and welcome to Talk Sober @ashland79 All of the responses so far are spot on. Alcohol is poison. This is a fact. But our bodies do amazing things when we stop ingesting poison. Every minute that you do not drink is a minute you are reversing any damage you may have done. I drank for a lot longer than 10 years but I have been alcohol free for 908 days and my body has no long term effects. You can do it too! There is so much wisdom on this forum, take the advice given it works. 💯
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### Author:  [@SassyRocks](https://talkingsober.com/u/SassyRocks)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/12 "2026-09-27T15:16:00Z")
Welcome!! Lots of good advice here!! Hope to see you around. ❤
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### Author:  [@james83](https://talkingsober.com/u/james83)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2026, 9:37am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/13 "2026-10-03T09:37:26Z")
Shame you didn’t stay to read the advice and welcomes, Ash. I hope you come back because engaging with the problem is the only way out alive.
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### Author:  [@Dolse71](https://talkingsober.com/u/Dolse71)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2026, 10:57am UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/14 "2026-10-03T10:57:49Z")
Your body can heal from years of abuse but the initial shock to the system might be cause for some proper medical advice from an expert. It can be dangerous to just suddenly stop but unfortunately if a doctor had told me to gradually stop there is no way as an alcoholic I could ever just have a couple a day but please do not ignore anything you are worried about as everyone’s road to recovery will be a little bit different and ultimately our goal is to look after ourselves. Mentally recovery from years of abuse will often take longer to heal than our bodies and being part of a community like this with a bunch of understanding , non judgemental like minded sick individuals 😉 to vent to and celebrate with can and will help you along that road. Welcome and I wish you well on your journey.
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### Author:  [@Noshame](https://talkingsober.com/u/Noshame)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://talkingsober.com/t/day-one-please-help/210603/15 "2026-10-03T23:40:41Z")
If you dont drink
Then
You dont relaps
Its easier said then done
Every second sober is a huge victory
Sobriety is the only thing where if i do nothing, im doing something
Also
Life happens when we drink
Time goes on while we drink
Things change accordingly
Life happens when we get sober
Time goes on while sober
Things change accordingly