15 years of drinking. 7 years of drinking almost if not every day. Have grown up with a family often in an environment that normalizes abusing booze.
Longest I’ve gone sober in probably 8 years has been 14 days, January of this year. Never wanted to or expected to fully quit that time..my wife thought it would be a good goal and challenge before going on vacation. Went right into boozing hard for two weeks after being sober
This time the motive is different. I acknowledged it’s a problem that needs to stop before I end up alone with a family that resents me for all that I put them through. I want to break the family cycle and put an end to the alcoholism that runs in my bloodline.
It being labor day today, my neighbour was having a birthday party and climbed up on the fence with a cold one for me like he sometimes does. Although Ive felt better the past few days (finally), that one hit me hard and was difficult to turn down. But I did. It was the first time I said to another person the words “I don’t drink anymore”. Felt really bizarre, despite rolling right off my tongue.
Anyways, I’m still waiting for that pink cloud I’ve been reading about. Never thought I could wake up feeling hungover, sober. But I’ve almost felt worse every morning than actually being hungover.
I commend you all for working on overcoming your addictions. Every day is a challenge, but every day is a new day.
You are doing this for the right reason, you! Your shit feeling upon waking will soon be in the past and life will get better as long as we stay the course. This group is helpful & supportive. There are others.
I had to attend rehab to get off the wheel & while there got introduced to AA and found that hanging out with my own kind for an hour made it a lot easier. They showed me life could be different than my same Ol’. I could live & be happy again & help others.
A person doesn’t have to go to rehab to have the desire to stop drinking, I just know we rarely see folks quit & stay quit by themselves.
You’re doing great things, friend. Keep the days coming!
Thank you for the kind words! I have a few close friends going through the same. A few are still sober, while others have relapsed. It’s nice to not feel alone and to be able to share the battle with them. I’m praying they feel the same in return.
Well done on turning down that offer to drink and congratulations on your 14 days! Your post just made me remember the first time I said “no” to a drink offered. I felt really weird as well, like I wanted to explain in length the how and why to make it sound more real. Turned out, I did not need to. Noone was surprised, but rather relieved The more often you turn it down, the easier and less awkward it gets. That`s the sobriety muscle growing.
Welcome! Like everyone here, I’m on the sober journey which started out in a very similar way to yours and with similar motivations. I too did not want to continue with the familial journey of alcoholism and wanted to break the cycle.
Those early weeks after stopping drinking I too waited for the pink cloud to arrive and it didn’t until I replaced the dopamine hit I was getting from drinking with other things.
Your brain is in shock right now. You’ve taken away the thing it used to look forward to and you need to find alternatives. My two in early sobriety were connection (here and with other friends, many use groups like AA though that doesn’t work well for me personally) and exercise. Both give you the “high” your brain is seeking and helps make the sober journey stick.
The concept of “growing your sobriety” has a lot to do with becoming relieved of the obsession with alcohol, the constant thought of how it might work in a particular situation or romanticizing how good it used to be (and forgetting how bad it got). That kind of sobriety goes beyond abstinence - though abstinence is required and can be a real struggle some days. Here are some threads about ways to grow your sobriety.
Welcome to Talking Sober. Blessings on your house as you walk your journey today.
@JstBreathe this is good advice my friend, you’ll find solutions to problems at meetings and you’ll around people who share a common bond. If you’re tired of trying and failing on your own, you should check out meetings, they are a game changer for me as well. Go to at least 5 meetings before you decide if it’s gonna help or not.
Turns out I was able to find and lock down an offer on a house for my family in the last week. We went from fantasizing about purchasing a home one day to literally home owners since my sobriety began 15 days. I can be honest with myself in saying that this would not have happened if I was still drinking as it has always impeded my motivation and drive to get sh*t done!
The cravings have gotten easier for the most part. Whether it be the distraction of the house purchase or simply time. Though, the added stress and exhaustion of executing this deal from start to finish so quickly has given me moments of burnout and frustration resulting in major cravings briefly.
The more often you turn it down, the easier and less awkward it gets. That`s the sobriety muscle growing. 
as you walk your journey today.