Couldn’t agree more. I never allow my kids to try alcohol and I absolutely tell them all the bad things that have happened as a result of alcohol.
They are not keen to try.
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I’ll be 31 next month. I’m not married, no kids and am excited to start year 31 sober
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I’m 22, seems like it’s not just me who is in his twenties 
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I’m 28. I honestly don’t even know how long I’ve been an alcoholic but it’s been a long time.
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I’m 58, although at times I feel 28! I still have some growing up to do. Ive been drinking since I was 15. The last 4 years have been the worst ever because of Alcohol. I wish I knew them what I know now and ai could have avoided the pain andlst time with people because I was drunk and angry. I’ve hady years with cocaine as well. Kicked that one years ago. Drugs being what they are now there’s no way I would touch that dirty crap now.
You have your whole life ahead of you. Listen to us ‘Old Timers’" and avoid the mistakes we have made. You are doing GREAT! 
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It would be easier for me to list the couple I didn’t do 
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That’s a good (and sad) point, agreed.
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I will be 60 in August. Looking forward to the next decade being sober and present. My parents were from the hippie generation and smoked weed and did cocaine. I really started drinking in my 30’s but was not really into drugs.
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72 this coming December (yikes, how did that happen). First drink at 17, it was love at first sight. Loved the smoky pubs, the chat, and most of all the booze.
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Love the post Eric - great to learn more about our fellow members 
I am 46 - started drinking at 11 as an experiment and got into it heavy around 13. Didn’t ever go more than a handful of days without.
I started smoking around12 and weed around 13-14. I did manage to quit smoking cigarettes for about 2 years 19-21. Was heavy into weed throughout high school and all of college. Dwindled down after that and wasn’t a daily necessity until about 4 years ago where i needed it to sleep.
i always knew i had an issue with cigarettes but was unable to stop smoking. Grateful for the wake up call I had over 2 yrs ago and was able to leave cigarettes. As for the weed and alcohol, i never thought i had an issue until i quit this last time and joined this forum. Here i realized my addiction went so deep and was so obvious. Guess i was only fooling myself with it.
Grateful that you have realized your addiction at an early age and are actively working towards leading a addiction free life. Your body and mind will thank you for it. Glad you are here with us 
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Love this! I’m 69 years old, myself. We never stop learning. As long as we stay open to the dharma of life.
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Forty two.
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I’m 38, no kids, never married. So I don’t relate to the people (with whole families) my age either. 
I never really drank alcohol in my early 20’s because I was super into my health and fitness. When I moved to Pittsburgh for grad school, I formed a group of different friends that I partied with. It got worse when I finished grad school because I no longer had the responsibility of school. And it started to become a problem when I was 29. There were things going on that my young self just couldn’t cope with. After a good 8 years of alcohol abuse, I finally quit last year. I was tired of feeling like literal garbage.
Good for you for recognizing your addiction early on and taking action now. 
You will lead a full healthy and happy life! 
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Hi there, fellow 25 year old. 
sorry if I sound akward, english isn’t my main language.
I found that the sooner you quit your drug of choice the better. The only thing you’ll ever truly gain from it is a longer list of regrets. And nobody wants that.
Remember to take it one day at a time. Otherwise It’ll be overwhelming to say the least.
Have a good evening. 
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For sure homie, thanks
Yeah definitely, the earlier one deals with their addiction, the better. I’m now 12 days sober 
feeling better than ever! I never wanna go back to cocaine ever again.
I hope you have a great day man. Some days will be good, some days will be bad, some days will be neutral. One day at a time like you said
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I’m 30 y/o. I never knew that my drinking was a problem because that’s what I was raised around. I mean like my grandmothers house is literally decorated with empty and some full liquor bottles. Her alcohol bottles are like curtains and furniture to other people. I started drinking at 15…I always had access to it, whether it was grandma house or dad’s house. I grew up in a small town in Louisiana and everyone knew everyone…I could easily walk into the store and get someone I knew to buy me alcohol or buy it myself depending on who’s working & I didn’t start off with beer or MD 20/20 or Boones Farm or any kind of wine, I started off with Seagrams Gin. I would see everyone get together every Friday and get pissy drunk…it was normal. So since the age of 15, I’ve never had a drink just because, I drank to get drunk. I’ve never drank 1 drink. NEVER! I drink to get drunk. When I was 19 y/o I had my first DWI, then I started looking at things differently, didn’t consider myself an alcoholic because of the YETS. Well I haven’t lost my job yet, I haven’t lost my house yet, I haven’t lost my car yet, I’m not broke yet. People would tell me i had a problem and I would continue drinking to “show them” “how dare you call me an alcoholic?” Kept drinking and kept diggin myself in bigger and bigger holes. I’ve known I had a problem since around the age of 20-21, but definitely couldn’t admit it, didn’t want to admit it.
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Hey! I’m 27. But I joined here two years ago so I was the same age as you. I’ve been trying to get sober from alcohol ever since. I started partying young, I saw a tiktok today that said you’re actually 4 times more likely to become an alcoholic if you started drinking as a teen 
I did a lot of drugs too as a teenager I was highly addicted to abusing adderall, was addicted to weed until I developed CHS so I’ve been off it for 4.5 months, did ecstasy, acid…alllll that stuff but then I had my son at 19 and outgrew the drugs the drinking just never left me. I’m lucky I even survived my teen years and I know I did a lot of longterm damage. My body actually always kind of hated coke thankfully 
I’ve done it multiple times but I would way rather put crushed adderall up my nose. I’m diagnosed with adhd and it sucks because I know how much the medication would help me but I don’t wanna get addicted again. I guess I could look for a different medication but I still feel like I’d get a high feeling and it’s a slippery slope.
Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. 🫶🏻 it’s helped me a ton.
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I’m 22 (turning 23 in 2 days). I am 10 days clean from cocaine. This is the longest stretch of being clean since I started and I’m happy about it. I found this community today. I wanted to go to NA meetings in town, but I’m nervous about attending alone. If I ever do relapse, I have promised myself to go. I agree that our drug of choice is becoming way more prominent. Almost everyone I know is doing it, but they aren’t concerned about sobriety. I grew up without a mom because she was constantly going to jail for drug related charges. I saw firsthand how drug addiction destroys lives and I don’t ever want to hurt my family or myself the way she hurt us and herself. I’m proud of you and glad I found this community.
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I will be 40 on may 9th.
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wow it’s really interesting reading everyone’s stories, i appreciate you all sharing and getting to know a little about you 
i’ll be 37 this year, i have a 2 year old and i’m 7 months sober - started drinking around 16 and it was a toxic relationship from the start. (from 21-23 i was a straight-edge punk bandleader touring the USA so i was completely sober and it was the most productive and exciting time of my life ) - but once that ended i’ve been binging ever since. so about 13 years of delusion, passion, obsession, addiction, adventure, dark magic, danger, lust, disgust and general all-around f**kery.
i stopped drinking for my pregnancy - but when my son was 6 months old i had to quickly leave his sons father and relocate to another state. it was then i began to drink most nights again, for about a year. heavily. it was last October when i said “okay no, absolutely not, no, this nightmare ends here, i am not going this way, not with my son, this madness ends now” and i’ve been sober ever since.
over the decade+ of my active addiction i attempted sobriety for various reasons, none lasting longer than a few months. i attribute that in part to engaging superficially with the “recovery” part of sobriety. i never really reached deep enough into the brokenness of my spirit to begin the healing process, so i stayed in the trap of shame and self-destruction. now, this is the first time i’m in true, deep recovery. devoted to transforming my vision beyond the cruel and persuasive bondage of fear and misery. im learning about the true nature of the mind. im learning how to let go and trust life’s unfolding. the courage it takes to be vulnerable. i’m really grateful to be recovering through sobriety and very grateful for and inspired by our community here and all the amazing folks who make this incredible experience possible 
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