Hello, new to this site, thought I would give it a whirl.
38, and 30 days sober.
Been relatively intoxicated with pot and or alcohol since I was 19. Quit smoking pot at 28, and was only a weekend drinker up until 4 years ago.
Started drinking heavily due to stress, and mainly backpain due to manual labor.
Found a sales job last year and the back is better because of it. Stress was releived after selling my landscaping business I had for 11 years.
At that point it was time to quit drinking. Was going through half a pint to a fifth nightly. All vodka,and I didn’t drink during the day, so I hit it hard and fast in the evening.
Every day I would have withdrawal symptoms. Sweaty, irritable, hot when I should of been cold, cold when I should of been hot.
Decided on the 14th of October to admit myself in rehab. 2 week stint as in-patient. 2 weeks of intensive outpatient. Decided to go this route for medicated detox to avoid seizures.
Going good so far, quit smoking also. I am very involved with AA, and I attribute my current success to that and highly recommend AA, NA, or CA, for anyone struggling to stay sober.
Welcome. Thanks for sharing, and I’m pretty new to all of this also. Yeah, the withdrawal symptoms were my last straw, and created a never ending cycle of daily drinking to cope. Seriously scared me to no end, but we do not have to worry about those any longer if we make the right choices. You sound like you are off to a great start. Keep at it, and good luck out there.
Thank you for posting. I am not able to join any group so this will have to do for now, for me. But I am glad to hear it is going well for you. Keep posting to let us know how it is going.
AA has online group sessions if you have the equipment to do so.
If anything, read the AA big book. Even people void of an addiction think it’s a good read.
And just to clarify, I do realize that there are other groups out there besides AA, its just been around the longest, it can work, and our area has over 100 meetings a week.
My community is not that big. I’ve run into people I knew at meetings. I’m just not willing to let my coworkers and acquaintances that I have this problem. It’s private. And it’s a little too ceremonial for me. I agree that it does help a lot of people. I’ve had nothing to drink for two days and 17 hrs. 72 hr mark is usually when cravings hit me hard. If I make it through today, I know I won’t drink this week because I’ll be working. And I’m a good little soldier. Never miss work, always on time. Never break the law. My friends and family have no idea there’s a problem. I wish I could be done once and for all.
I’m glad you are getting support. I admit I do feel alone. I’m afraid my friends and family really do not know. I’m very crafty at hiding my disease. I’ve built my own prison of sorts. I’m two days and 21 hrs sober but I still feel very anxious and down. I’ll work for the next three days so I’ll be safe then. After that…? I honestly can say for this moment at least that I don’t want a drink.
My suggestion to you (only opinionated advice) is to pick up a copy of the AA big book. Then turn to the story/testimonial section of the book and start reading those.
It might help you feel less alone, and connect your situation with a story in the book.
Initially, that was my problem. I was quantifying my addiction. I hadn’t hit rock bottom, or I would always say my addiction wasn’t as bad as someone else’s. What I found was that addiction is addiction, just shows up differently in individual situations.
In the end, I found relatable experiences and didn’t feel so alone in my addiction.
