Time to share learnings!!!
I have learnt that i could not have known when i was going to quit. I have tried so many timea and relapsed… And then one day a switch flicked. I could not have prepared for it. And it feels great!
Your turn!!!
I have learnt…
that the things i want are often hidden behind something i don’t want to do.
ex - to feel the slightest bit of self esteem i have to do some esteemable shit. seems basic but for quite a while my dumb ass just never saw past how everything impacted me and my life exclusively.
i like the saying though 'cause to me it holds true about lots of different things.
Wish I would’ve known how much helping other people really helps me. Being so self centered and ego driven everything was what have you done for me, or that would cost me time and not get me paid/what I want.
I actually like helping people now, it’s incredibly rewarding doing something for somebody other than myself and not expecting a reward/compensation.
I’m learning every day how to really love myself again now that I’m sober and everything else is starting to fall into place. Such a simple concept that’s so easy to lose sight of but it really changes your life when you remember who you truly are and are happy with that person. Constant work in progress but I feel my life shifting already!! 
You are very easy to love, Ms. Mandi! This post made me so happy. Letting go of the self-loathing is one of my favorite things about getting sober.
I wish I had known that my horrible bouts with anxiety would get so much better after I got sober. I used alcohol as a coping mechanism for so many years, not realizing how much it was destroying my mental health. After only three months sober, I’m happier and feel the sanest I’ve been in decades.
I learned that no one could make me quit, when I wasn’t ready to quit, and now, no one can make me drink, since I don’t want to drink.
It comes down to “will”.
Thank you, you are too kind! We are all a work in progress but when I catch myself thinking something “negative” about me I’ve been stopping and turning it right around. That’s hard sometimes!! Lol. Like yesterday, I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a name for my photography that can be used for everything I do, my paintings, my jewelry, my rocks, my random crafty things and even the farm when I get there. It has to be broadly universal. My girlfriend said something about how artists don’t change their names if they use them in their artwork, like ever. I said I’m not really an artist. And then I was like, wait, shit. Yes I am!!! Not really believing in yourself is what has been holding me back far too long. I had some pretty amazing people lovingly show me that these last few months and I’m now seeing how right they are.
This exactly. Who knew that alcoholism feeds anxiety so perfectly, making it so much worse than it actually has to be. For years, I have drank myself stupid to prevent feeling anxious. To shut down my worry filled thoughts. I am thankful that something clicked within me and I am on the right path now. I am on a waitlist for medication therapy now but in the meantime I plan to stay sober. It is already helping.
I want to get there!! Thanks for putting this out here
I’m only 91 days sober. I was feeling significantly better within a few weeks. You will get there - I promise.
I usually make it 4 days maybe a week. This time I want to stop for good. Today is alittle hard because I want to just have a drink so bad! Fighting it.
I wish I had known as a 12 year old boy that Porn is addictive, destructive, and violating of people’s humanity. My life would have been so much easier if my young self had learned to stay away.
The cravings are awful at first. It gets so much easier with time. You know that if you drink it will only start the cycle again. Do you have folks supporting you?
@MoCatt this is so true, it destroyed my mental health as well. I was so different to what I am now, when I look back. It’s scary that something can do that to you, with out you even realising. I honestly thought that was just what my personality was becoming over time, due to my life experiences. How wrong was I ! Thank God. 
I wish I knew that spending time on my own is better than spending time getting shit faced with strangers - and how much more lonely those random nights actually are.
I also wish I knew that I didn’t need booze to define me.
It all seems so obvious now!
I have learnt that I need to love myself, in order to love others. No exterior or material thing will fill the void, or hole in my soul. It’s the hardest thing to do, but most rewarding thing.
I’ve learned that I can actually enjoy watching sport/films/video games alone and sober and in actual fact being wasted whilst doing them didn’t enhance my enjoyment at all but made it a more miserable experience, alone and hungover.
Oddly this is the lesson I am learning on my journey to sobriety. I really didn’t love me I wasn’t good enough. I was a non person with no purpose. But I am finding myself again and you know what I am not that bad after all !! I have surrounded myself with positive people , made friends ,started my fitness journey, I am spending valuable sober time with my little girl and am embarking on a degree course . I kind of like me now . 
How Sweet sobriety is! Instead of walking into AA with my head down …I would’ve run there full speed! 
