Hey all. I woke up this morning feeling terrible from a hangover. I was unable to adequately help my children get ready for the day, as is so often the case. I forgot to do the laundry last night, so they’re wearing dirty clothes (they’re not disgusting, just not technically clean). I wasn’t in the mood to hear the cute story my daughter wanted to tell me; she’s 2 years old, the most adorable thing, I would die for her, and I completely dismissed her. My son, 4 years old, was also ignored as I rushed out the door, giving them little more than a “bye.”
I almost broke down as I drove in to work, and I’ve decided that it’s time to change. I can’t do AA, and I’ve always thought that this was something that I would either have to do on my own, or not do it at all. For so long, I’ve taken the latter route, because it’s damn near impossible to do on your own; I can always justify having a drink. Something good happens: drink. Something bad happens: drink. Anything in between has always been a good time to drink.
I can’t live like this any more. My wife and kids cannot live with me like this any more. I just downloaded this app, and I’m hoping I can find the support here that I’m too much of a coward to ask for anywhere else. Many of your stories have inspired me; you are all courageous and I admire many of you already. I just hope I can find the courage to keep checking back in. It’s time to stop.
Making the decision to quit is a big first step, and a decision that has to be made by you for you or it will never work. You are on the right track. Stay motivated and keep reminding yourself how bad those hangovers suck. No more wasted days waiting for your body to reset itself from too much alcohol. Enjoy the mental clarity, better rest, self empowerment, and no more headaches. Stay strong!
I’m not in AA either, but I think support is good. This forum is good. Look up blogs of people who have gotten sober, etc. Or talk to someone who’s doing it too or a professional.
Try to remember how bad you feel NOW and why you want to stop, because in a week you might feel fresh and good and think it’s ok to start again. You can do it!
Hi @RisenOsiris. You’ve come to a good place. Very nice encouraging people on here. I am similar to you in so much as hate the hangovers… the guilt…etc. you’ll get loads of support here. Have you tried allen carr? It’s a book. It worked well for me. All the best
Do me a favor. Never ever ever ever ever give up. It’s hard for all of us, and we all have our moments of weakness. But we end up coming back stronger than ever. I’m not going to tell you that this is going to be easy because it is not. You will have your triggers, and you will need to learn new ways to cope with celebrations and stress but it is not impossible. I’m so glad you joined! This group has helped me immensely. I could not have done it alone.
AA is wonderful, I fought with heroin and alcohol since 2007 and I tried every which way by myself and failed. The 12 steps gave me a means to live by, to be happy, to let go. Happiness is a gold mine that never stops producing, you just need someone to show you the way.
To be perfectly honest, I haven’t tried AA. I’m very good at hiding my drinking from everyone (although there have been times my wife has caught me) and highly functioning, to a point. So she doesn’t recognize that there’s a problem, and she’s never battled an addiction so she doesn’t understand how it could be so difficult. She sees me as weak, and if I admit that I need help, she won’t get it.
It’s hard to describe adequately, but I feel many of you will now what I’m getting at. I don’t know. All I can say is that, as of now, 2 days sober, even with an opportunity (and desire) to stop for those drinks, I didn’t. I’m only worried now about the weekend. Here comes the test.