Just curious. I’ve used alcohol for the last 10 years to cope with just about everything. I’m day 3, and it’s hitting me. Today I’ve been all over the place emotionally. Thinking about not having that coping mechanism (albeit unhealthy as it is) is frankly terrifying me right now.
Can anyone else relate?
100%. Completely scared and can’t imagine my life without it. Day one.
Glad I’m not the only one
Yes I was definitely like that before I quit. Wasnt sure how I would get through life at all. One day I told myself. How bout I go 100 days without alcohol… no excuses!. If I didn’t like the results, I could always start drinking again.
Made it past the 100 days but did drink again for some stupid reason. That first 100 days though showed me that a life without alcohol was much better for me. Currently almost 5 years without alcohol.
I sure was… like I lost my best friend. That friend was trying to kill me, steal my family, steal my money, steal my dignity… but I still couldn’t imagine life without it.
I only do this sober thing for today… one day at a time is the key. The days will stack up fast, you will miss your old friend less and less… see it for the truth and it will no longer have power over you.
I’m a little over 1250 days sober now but I still can clearly remember how I felt in the first 10 days. Trust me, if you keep going you will never want to go back. Best wishes to you and nice to meet you.
Thank you so much Dan. That’s really what I need to hear right now. Nice to meet you, too.
That’s awesome on 5 years. Thank you for sharing you experience. It gives me some hope.
I personally did a lot of podcasts in the beginning… totally binged on them. Hearing other peoples stories really helped. I walked like forest gump ran 
miles and miles. AA is another option. Just dive into your recovery, work on it everyday and you will do just fine. You can do this.
Most definitely could relate, but you said it right their …Coping mechanism…its not really the alcohol but the way we deal with life … we use it as an escape. Thats why for me Rehab and then AA helped . I surrounded myself with positive people who also dealt with the same issues . I started serving in the program and other areas in my life and got involved in all types of activity which helped me get out of my head. Its not easy but it’s possible…the first month or two were tough on me emotionally. .i would just cry …randomly…out of nowhere …i didnt know it then but i was beginning to feel abd deal again. It takes time but im tell you …ITS WORTH
im going on 4 years and im beyond blessed …i prayed for the life im living now…please stay 
…you are loved and many on here want to you succeed… i imagine in your personal life … and definitely on here .
Maybe generally we’re afraid to give up the vice because we long for the Pharaoh that ruled over us the way the people did in Exodus because the alternative is to worship in the desert until you find the promised land. And you can spend a long time in the desert. Worse yet the Pharaoh is really accessible to some of us that either struggle with alcohol, food, self harm or PMO. I’m paraphrasing what I’ve learned from other people so I can’t take too much credit for the idea but it really, really helps me understand the motivation. Hope it helps.
I can definitely relate. I am on day 16. I cried my eyes out on day 3 and day 10! I feel like I am grieving giving up alcohol. It was the one thing that was always there to help me numb emotions. But it also was the one thing that was hurting me. I honestly am taking it one day at a time.
Grief is a good word for it. You will go through varying stages of grief through this journey. Dont run away from the emotions. Acknowledge what you are feeling. Even if you dont have words just cry, yell, hell i went to a smash room early on and that helped.
I could have written this myself. It’s very true that giving up drinking was like losing my best friend.
Well said man.
Absolutely. I can very much relate to what ur feeling. Not so much now but for years n years trying to get recovery, I felt this fear and thats what kept me out. I used drugs for 22 years (from a youth to adulthood). I didnt know any other way to cope honestly. Being clean and sober scared me. Feeling emotion scared me. Being in unknown territory with my recovery scared me. But u know what, it does get easier over time. Alot of my coping skills i learned from treatment or from others on here. I gave them a try and figured out which ones worked best for me. Have u tried any techniques that help u cope the best? I think initally recovery is very scary bcuz we often dont know who we are coming into it. Its like having to relearn how to live all over again. Plus with all of our intense emotions coming to the surface, it can be overwhelming. Ur doing amazing work reaching out and staying connected 
When I first quit, I was sad, I was in mourning. It was like a part of me died. In a way, that was true. I didn’t know who I was without alcohol, and that terrified me. I couldn’t really imagine the rest of my life without it, much less a whole year, month or week. I took it one day at a time. If I could just handle one day, I could get a grip of this addiction. Each day that I was sober I worked on actual coping mechanisms. I also changed the way I saw and thought about alcohol, my process is outlined here Change your Relationship with Alcohol
Eventually, it went from “ugh I can’t have it and that makes me sad” to “Yay! I get to live my best life!”.
Its perfectly normal to be terrified of quitting, because you will no longer have that filter. But it’s ok, life sober is better.
For years I felt like this so I continued to try everything that would allow me to not give up alcohol forever.
The last year of my drinking became purely medicinal. I wanted desperately to stop, but couldn’t. At that point I both wanted to die but was terrified to. That’s when surrender and acceptance came. I haven’t drank since.
You don’t have to dig as deep as I did before shutting the door on alcohol and opening the other door that provides endless opportunities and beautiful possibilities. One that’s lived one day at a time, free from alcohol. A true gift.
I am slowly creeping up on day 60. And on day one I was scared to death and one of the biggest was to know I was letting go of a best friend. Still to this day if I try to look ahead it seems to be a struggle for my life. I take my hat off and bow down to anyone trying this on their own. I went thru a treatment facility and am using meds to help me out but my biggest ally is to know I’m not alone and neither or you. We are hear for you praying for you. Also take each moment for what it’s worth. Don’t worry about tomorrow and stay focused in the moment. Good luck, God Speed and welcome to the family.
Thank you for responses. Yesterday and last night were awful with anxiety today 4 I’m just depressed and feeling lost. I tried an online meeting yesterday and am posting here more than ever. Also, spoke to a counselor yesterday. My parents and boyfriend tell me not to give up, but this is really kicking the shit out of me right now.
It gets better! Hold tight! Keep posting and reading if thats what you need. For me the first week was the worst but it got progressively better.
Absolutely I can. It wasn’t so much of not drinking but all the feelings I was going to start feeling after from being sober.