I cannot remember a damn day I did not drink alcohol for a week and today marks 1 year of no drinking
Here is my story
Not sure how I started but it sure was fun getting drunk the first few times and vividly remember my first drink was a Wine Cooler, a few days after an old school mate poured beer in my face even though I told him I don’t drink.
Just like most people it was weekends and parties only in the beginning and then a few exceptions. Exceptions are - I am on a holiday, out for a movie why not a drink and the excuses ran out and it became a nightly event pretty soon in a few years
After that - I only drink 3 drinks(vodka or RUM), initially they were 30 ml each and towards the end they were 60 ml each after a few months and that continued for many years
My life in recovery can be summarized with a strong desire not to drink
What helped me
AA - The meetings, the serenity prayer, honesty and repetition helps create habits
Other Tools - Duh this App, YouTube, Netflix
Places - Avoided all the places I frequented to the bar
There were some good days, bad days and many sleepless nights with anxiety
Temptation - I changed jobs and my new team does not know I have a drinking past and I did not volunteer that information
What Helped
Walking away from TV for the first few months during Alcohol commercials
Staying the least amount of time to eat dinner and watch a movie(excuse for leaving early was some thing else) afterwords at work parties
Podcasts, Apps
Talking to somebody about your feelings about not drinking(AA)
What did not
Staying alone
People you know(not friends) who keep asking just 1 drink
What’s your story with Alchohol or Recovery? What worked and what did not?
Hi @kyalamanchi congratulations on a year that is fantastic…I am coming up to a year and half sober…I am doing my first triathlon tomorrow…and exercise has really helped me stay focused… it’s good doing something positive for your health…I know my body took some hammer so gonna look after it now… thanks for the post
Congrats!! I have almost 16 months.
What didn’t work for me: thinking I could quit on my own, being too afraid to reach out for help, trying to set rules for myself to control my drinking (no drinking on weekdays, no hard alcohol, only drink after 5pm…none of those worked)
What works for me: AA, surrounding myself with sober friends and reaching out for help and connection, reading a lot about alcoholism, listening to recovery podcasts, working the steps with my sponsor, prayer and meditation.
Such an inspiration. I will be at 21 days tomorrow…three weeks! Never thought I’d be here. Focusing on one day…one hour…one minute at a time. And hoping to go to my first AA Meeting this coming week. I’ve felt very alone. This group has really helped.