Good riddance to hangovers! (And other things I don't miss)

So, as a newbie, I still find it helpful on those rough days to remember all the things that I don’t miss about drinking. So here goes…

  • Raging panic attacks
  • Forgetting conversations
  • Guilt and/or regret
  • High blood pressure
  • Tingling in my fingers (that can’t be good! :thinking:)

These are probably my top five. There are lots more little things, but I can honestly say the removal of these 5 from my life is awesome!! :sunny:

Any others? :grin:

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I don’t miss the walking up feeling shame and guilt
I don’t miss worrying about my next fix
I don’t worrying about making excuses to not c my family
I don’t miss the lies I told to my family
I don’t miss the arguments it coursed for me and my partner x

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I definitely hate the feeling of waking up and not knowing what you did and then the inevitable guilt that accompanies it once you find out you weren’t being your best self.
Hurting others was definitely the worst for me.

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Ah, one of my favorite topics, the crap I am deliriously happy to have behind me. :heart: I keep my list on my phone, comes in handy if I am thinking, “Oh, maybe just one drink…”

What I gain from not drinking…

No hangovers ever!!

Treating husband with respect and no drunk fighting

Self respect gets a major boost

No more internal conflict about drinking and if/how can I cut down or stop

Restful restorative sleep (aka not passing out in a stupor)

Major pride in myself and all that I have and can accomplish

A sense of peace and calm

No more embarrassment and shame because of my behavior

Forgiving myself for past mistakes and terrible judgement

No wondering what I did or how I hurt husband or others while drunk

No treating people I love, including myself, poorly while drunk

No drunk driving and possibly hurting self or others or jail

No upset stomach from drinking

No anxiety and near constant agitation when hungover

No dark suicidal thoughts

No shame around neighbors if I was loud and yelling or loud music

No more blackouts ever

No overwhelming shame at my behavior

No oversharing with strangers while drunk

No making plans I will need to cancel

Not having to check my phone in the middle of the night to delete social media posts - no drunk texting/emails/posts/calls

Not be bloated and puffy and look haggard

Major pride in myself and a boost in self esteem

No hangovers ever again

No more excuses or lies

Peace of mind

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WOW!!! @Natnat @Bryn and @SassyRocks :heart_eyes:

I need to copy and paste these!! Couldn’t relate more - thank you!!! :hugs:

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Hangovers
The fear :scream:
Having to apologise
Next day toilet
Trying to eat at family dinners when extremely hungover and pretend I’m fine then having to throw up the dinner which had been lovingly prepared for me afterwards
Terrible sleep
Fatigue
Heart palpitations
Blackouts
Pissing in random places whilst sleep walking.
Sleep walking
Unknown bruises
Shame
Regret
Guilt
Anger
Flaky skin
Auto immune issues
Anxiety
Depression
Plotting and planning how I would get more alcohol
Sneaking behind my partners back to drink thinking he wouldn’t notice (he always noticed)
Topping vodka bottles up with water and hoping he didn’t notice (he always noticed)
Hiding my vodka bottles in my work bag and other random places then getting paranoid about where I’d left them.
Going to different stores each time so they wouldn’t think I had a problem
Arguing with loved ones
Causing a scene - being asked to leave places
Making loved ones feel uneasy
Vomiting in loved ones cars and homes
Neighbours seeing me drunk
Going to bed drunk and worried, so I put myself in the recovery position just incase.
That feeling of getting caught after a relapse.
Being a selfish prick in general

I don’t miss any of this.

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I agree with everything you listed!!! Thanks for posting because it does help to remember when your mind starts to slip and think maybe…

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Agreed with everything as well!!! The reminders of why we stopped make it easier to keep moving forward. I started doing a video diary for myself on my computer to unleash everything and it helps so much. Continue with the success!! :slight_smile:

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These are what i exactly live. Thats horrible horrible. And here i can see that i am not alone i read people all live the same. So this means that we are not monsters the guilty one is alcohol. We are from other countries other cultures but we all end up with the same behaviours and wake up with exactly the same shame. Words are not enough to tell how terrible i wake up in hangover mornings. The worst is not remembering and the people around me are never kind to me. They are also drinkers and weed smokers but always the guilty one is me. They say you cant drink properly. They shout at me when i am hangover. They say do you remember how were you last night. You ruined our night. You were like a whore!!! Then the great regret and shame comes. And the thought of killing myself follows. That situation is like hell literally hell. And here this place and people i never saw calm me down and say you are not alone. Thank you.

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Yes, we know those terrible dark thoughts and the shame and pain. We share those feelings. The true beauty is that we never have to feel that way again. We can leave alcohol behind and forge a new sober life without regret, shame and dark thoughts. For so long I felt my only way out was suicide, I did not understand how powerful a hold alcohol had on my psyche. Letting that demon go, who we invited in, was very hard, but ultimately, very freeing.

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I am fully determined but i cant help the fear of losing myself again. What do you do to protect yourself from this thought?

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It was a long process for me. I relapsed a lot. I took up running and healthier eating. I read A LOT of books about getting and staying sober. I started yoga and meditation. I read A LOT on here, I was on here a lot. I probably should have gone to meetings. Mostly, every time I stumbled, I forgave myself and started again. Every time. I learned new ways to deal with my emotions…feeling them instead of hiding from them. Keep your focus on sobriety. Make that your job. You are worth it. And take life one day, one moment at a time.

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Hahahahaha. I LOVE this :heart:

I’m only a couple days sober at this point, this time, but this is a great topic thread.
Things I’m not missing about drinking…
Anxiety while driving! It could be 12+ hours after drinking and I’m still death-gripping the starting wheel convinced I’m going to hit someone.
Obvious to everyone shaking the next morning.
Screwing up my body goals both size and health.
Not remembering anything past the third drink.

I’m sure there’s more but this is what I’m focusing on today.

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Knowing everyone is watching the shit show dance that my shaky hands did everyday at work.

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I don’t miss watching how much everyone else is drinking and refilling their glasses to make sure I don’t look like I’m drinking too much…and wondering “if I refill my glass again will they all look at me like I’m an alcoholic”. Ultimately I don’t miss just how much alcohol filled my thoughts…all day, every day…all my thoughts.

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i don’t miss…

  • the HORRIBLE sleep i would get (tossing and turning all night)
  • blowing off plans bc i’m hungover, or too drunk to leave the house and be a respectable member of society
  • feeling irritated if the person i’m hanging out with doesnt want to drink, but i really do
  • feeling like crap the next day
  • going into work late (i’m an early bird by nature)
  • eating horribly, either late at night or any ol’ crap the next day
  • my skin breaking out
  • drunk texting people, or on social media
  • the waste of money!!!
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Taking out the recycling in the morning :grimacing::flushed::pensive:

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Gaaahhhhhhh - yes - the drunk texting, and driving anxiety. THIS! :scream: :woman_facepalming:

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I do not have to wait 10 minutes at the self checkout frantically waving down a market employee to check me out with my. " restricted items". I just breeze right through. :slight_smile:

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