Good afternoon everyone. My name is Rachael…I am currently 8 days sober. I know it doesn’t seem like a long time nor a big deal, but it is for me. Here is my story.
I am a single mother of a 10 year old son. We are both victims of domestic violence. During that relationship (2018-2020) he was a very heavy drinker. Which in turn i started to drink. For almost 5 years my addiction has gotten worse. I used to drink 6-8 beers a night, on top of mixed drinks. Friday nights would be more. The weekends we there worst. Starting almost as soon as I woke up until I would pass out. In the process I was gaining so much weight. I became depressed. The crazy thing is from all the drinking through those years my alcohol tolerance was very high. I barley ever caught even a buzz. I found that if a drank a lot in a short period of time I would catch that buzz only for it to dwindle down if I didn’t stay with the consistency of how I started. I stopped doing things with my son. I stopped going to his football games because I wanted to stay home and drink… if I did go I would fill my yeti cup up with wine and drink it at his games. I’m not a perfect person. At all. And looking back as I type this I feel like a horrible mother and person. But I am on my way up.
If any one has any advise or suggestions I am open to them!
Stay blessed y’all
Welcome Rachel.
Congratulations on your 8 days sober. That is HUGE Don’t sell yourself short. It took me forever to get 8 days. I’m happy you found us. This has been a great sober community for me to get and give support and stay sober.
Have a good read around.
Here are two good threads to start:
Welcome. I’m on my 2nd round of taking sobriety seriously. Actually, the first time around a couple of years ago I went 64 days, but I had planned at the time to try moderation after 60 days. I did well for a couple of months but slowly slipped back into daily drunkenness. My jam for at least a decade has been a pint of vodka (shots) and two beers nightly during the week and on the weekends I would go through 2x 750s from Friday night through Sunday and I don’t know how many beers.
I am currently on day 17 and feeling really good. I’m starting to regain a lot of the passions I had before becoming a heavy drinker…hiking or mountain biking on weekends, road riding a bit a couple days per week, walking my dog daily, and I’m hitting the weight room with my 13 yo son 3x per week which is a lot of fun training him and working out with him.
I listen to a lot of AF podcasts on my walks and doing quite a bit of “quit” reading. I just finished “Alcohol Lied to Me” and I’m currently reading “This Naked Mind” which I started a couple of years ago but started drinking again just a couple of chapters in. This Naked Mind is also one of my favorite podcasts. I’m also just keeping myself busy doing fun things that I’ve neglected over the years because I preferred just to stay at home and drink. A couple weekends ago we all went to the movies as a family which we hadn’t done since before the pandemic. This Saturday we’re going to an annual Celtic Festival here which I’ve always wanted to go to either drinking or a hangover from drinking always got in the way. We’re also going to check out an EV car show on Sunday for which I’ve booked an hour block to drive several different cars, so that should be fun.
I’m basically just trying to be out and doing stuff as much as I can, especially on weekends as I don’t do particularly well when I have an entire day just sitting around basically doing nothing. My personality is such that I always feel like I have to have some kind of momentum going and one of the reasons for my heavy drinking in the past has been to fill a void of a lack of momentum and a lack of anything really going on, so booze became that momentum and something to do.
Thank you very much! I am actually still going through court issues because of said situation. Just trying to stay a float and keep my head above water. Gonna get it before it gets me mind set
Hello and welcome. 8 days is huge, those early days are the toughest so be proud of yourself and most importantly keep going. I spent a ton of time here and also listened to sobriety podcasts, audiobooks, and walked miles.
We all did cringe worthy things in active addiction but the good news is you don’t ever have to do them again. Best wishes to you.
The guilt a parent who has struggled with substance abuse feels is particularly hard to bear. I can relate to not supporting my kids because I put alcohol first. The best remedy for guilt is changed behaviour. Congrats on your days .
What are you doing to stay sober? I needed to join a program, AA is one, Smart and Dharma recovery are others. I needed the structure and support.
Oh lady! Your story is mine. And 8 days is huge. We only have today. Someone mentioned The Naked Mind. It was such an eye opener for me. There is also a 30-day experiment that comes with it. I also participate heavily in AA and The Luckiest Club. Lots of mothers in both communities learning to deal and get past the guilt and shame. This community is a great support as well. Welcome!
but welcome to TS 
and congrats on 8 days 
