Wish me luck
- Thread starter secondname
- Start date
I have not had a drink in five years. It is wonderful not to have nights I cannot remember. I cannot say that I miss the ear splitting hangovers either. Get ready to meet some new friends. The guys and gals that I used to get loaded with no longer even call to see if I am alive. I cannot say that I miss them either.
I had one guy working for me in a key position who came to me asking if he could take a long vacation and go into in patient treatment after serving his short stint in the slammer for a DUI. Of course I said yes and agreed to keep it quiet for him. I feel guilty every annual anniversary of his sobriety when he sends me a heartfelt email thanking me for the support I gave him when I was simply doing the right thing. He celebrated four years earlier this year. I'm very happy for him and will be praying for you.
A wise choice, and one that your body and your loved ones will thank you for in the long run. I wish you courage, strength, discipline, and much love from those surrounding you.
Small steps....just small steps...but they add up to a journey you won't regret.
Small steps....just small steps...but they add up to a journey you won't regret.
Best of luck, you've already taken the most difficult step by understanding and admitting you have a problem. As others have said, find a good support group. Even online forums can be extremely helpful to converse with people that are going through the exact same thing. You're never alone in your battles.
Cris Carter (former Viking great) was candid on Mike and Mike once about alcohol and drugs. It's been 20-30 years of sobriety for him and it was very impressive to listen and hear about how he makes the commitment to stay sober every morning when he wakes up. I respect him for being open about it, and also you because you are seeking that path. Don't let anything stop you brother, you got a lot of people who need you.
I come from a long line of alcoholics: Grandfathers on both sides, my dad & all of his siblings, and even my younger brother. I tried to do my best to learn from their mistakes, my brother never took the lessons to heart like I did.
Good luck to you man. Stay strong!
Good luck to you man. Stay strong!
Best of luck! But be prepared for a couple of things here:
1) friends... you may need to surround yourself with new/different friends. And that's probably the hardest part of it all. Your old/current friends are likely your drinking buddies, and if they aren't they're likely enablers at this point.
2) Get past the shame - there's no shame in this at all. And the biggest reason that I believe you've got some shame associated is the very fact that you've taken a different screen name to admit "publicly" that you have a problem. If you were really open to your problem with no shame attached you wouldn't have chosen a secret identity. Look at how supportive folks on here are to a screen name they've never seen before. They'd be equally or more supportive to the real "you" who was already anonymous.
BTW- you're human, as we all are, and we're all prone to mistakes. They happen. Don't blame your past on yourself, and certainly don't dwell in it. Our past is nothing more than a lesson for the future.
Good luck!
1) friends... you may need to surround yourself with new/different friends. And that's probably the hardest part of it all. Your old/current friends are likely your drinking buddies, and if they aren't they're likely enablers at this point.
2) Get past the shame - there's no shame in this at all. And the biggest reason that I believe you've got some shame associated is the very fact that you've taken a different screen name to admit "publicly" that you have a problem. If you were really open to your problem with no shame attached you wouldn't have chosen a secret identity. Look at how supportive folks on here are to a screen name they've never seen before. They'd be equally or more supportive to the real "you" who was already anonymous.
BTW- you're human, as we all are, and we're all prone to mistakes. They happen. Don't blame your past on yourself, and certainly don't dwell in it. Our past is nothing more than a lesson for the future.
Good luck!
You don't need luck! You had the courage to make the choice to quit and are already on your way now. Stay humble, stay positive, stay determined, and stay disciplined... you can do this!
Two reasons for my post:
First to deny that this is my alter.
Second to wish secondname luck. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. When you get into the journey and don't want to walk alone, post here, we'll walk along with, or boot you in the arse, depending.
:wink:
Edit: Also...in addition to luck, I wish you peace and strength. Luck may be nice, but peace and strength will take you farther in this journey. Also community, but I kinda covered that above..but find people to talk to when you are down or need help, or whatever. Heroes go it alone, and heroes often become martyrs.
First to deny that this is my alter.
Second to wish secondname luck. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. When you get into the journey and don't want to walk alone, post here, we'll walk along with, or boot you in the arse, depending.
:wink:
Edit: Also...in addition to luck, I wish you peace and strength. Luck may be nice, but peace and strength will take you farther in this journey. Also community, but I kinda covered that above..but find people to talk to when you are down or need help, or whatever. Heroes go it alone, and heroes often become martyrs.
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At one time in my life there was a point when I thought if I was not an alcoholic, I was very close. I'm talking about getting plastered 5-6 nights a week. It was affecting my job and my health and I was blacking out frequently during drinking sessions. It was just by luck that I didn't rack up several DWIs during this time. The thing that brought me out of it was marrying and having a couple of kids. It didn't do that for me right away, naturally, as I still went on the occasional bender, only this time with my wife in tow. But you eventually realize that you have more than one mouth to feed now and you just can't afford to go out as often as you used to. My now ex-wife never did learn that lesson and is a raging alcoholic to this day.
Then too, my dad was an alcoholic and I knew what it was like to grow up around that. I didn't want the same thing for my kids. I can say to this day, my grown children have never seen me drunk and have only twice that I know of seen me take a drink at all, and that was at a restaurant, where I might have a bloody mary with supper. Today, I don't drink but maybe 3-6 times a year and then I only have one. There are many years that go by that I don't even drink that frequently.
Then too, my dad was an alcoholic and I knew what it was like to grow up around that. I didn't want the same thing for my kids. I can say to this day, my grown children have never seen me drunk and have only twice that I know of seen me take a drink at all, and that was at a restaurant, where I might have a bloody mary with supper. Today, I don't drink but maybe 3-6 times a year and then I only have one. There are many years that go by that I don't even drink that frequently.
Keep in mind that the bolded part is not necessarily true. One can infer from occasional thread conversations that posters on here know each other outside of CF. And in some case, posters have readily divulged their true identity.
For the OP, congrats...you've made the right choice. There will certainly be things coming up in the short term to make you doubt your choice, and some of those have already been mentioned. But you have folks here and probably elsewhere praying for you to persevere through your recovery.
God Bless!!
Bipolar brings up a good point. There are alcoholics who do find a way to beat the bottle but still can find a way to have a drink now and then. Most are not successful with this. I feel really bad for people with addiction to food because obviously you can't quit cold turkey and vow to never touch another bite like alcoholics do. There are some priests and ministers who have a hard time with alcoholism because their jobs generally require them to partake regularly - even if it is small amounts.
