3 Weeks Sober!
21 days without alcohol- I did it!
Months ago I wouldn't have thought it was possible. It took time and weaning down. I failed over and over again and I am sure I still will, but I am proud with how far I have come.
Once I tried alcohol, I found myself hooked from the relief it provided my mind. It started out as social drinking but it began increasing and I wanted to do it alone more than I wanted to around others. I'd began stashing away beers when friends came over to have later since I was 20 at the time (nearly 23 now). I was trying to recover from a horrible break-up and it seemed to be the solution- and the only thing that ever made me feel free of my anxiety for once in my life. As expected it began causing more problems than it solved. Fun nights turned into regretful and lost ones and I would spend days throwing up in bed. Alcohol endangered my state of mind and caused me to do things I wouldn't have impulsively done while sober. I found myself in the ER one night, and a few months later, due to a worsened mental state no thanks to it, hospitalized in a psychiatric unit.
Over time a few beers turned into a few beers and some vodka. Or whiskey, or rum, it really didn't matter to me.
Then into several beers, more vodka. Then a pint of vodka, maybe more. I'd be drinking two pints of vodka a week and who knows how much beer in between, I just know I was throwing up and was hungover more than I wasn't. The hangovers weren't your average hangovers, they were full-blown alcohol withdrawal hangovers. What turned into alcoholism paired with binge eating disorder, I gained a total of 70lbs. So far I am 20lbs down since!
I find myself very grateful to say the alcoholism has eased up on its own. Not entirely, but enough I am able to manage it for the most part. When I do drink I still have trouble with control, and usually end up drinking myself sick- like I did 3 weeks ago on a pint of whiskey without anything in my stomach. So while it will always be something I struggle with, I am happy that I have gained more control over this, and that I have come as far as I have. I believe the worst is over. I hope anyone else out there struggling with alcoholism or addiction finds something that works for them and finds a way to recovery. It's important to remember that small steps do matter, and it is okay to fail over and over again, you just can't let yourself give up.
Don't give up. You're doing great!
Thank you!
Great willpower I know it is so very difficult. My oldest daughter suffered with addiction during the younger part of her life. She told me the slogan One day at a time really helped her. She didn't think of stop drinking for a month or a year etc she focused on getting throughjust that one day which lead to two day and so on and so force. Twenty years later she is still just doing one day at a time and has been clean and sober for 20 years. Stay strong one step at a time.
20 years is amazing. I am glad she found a way to remain sober. Thank you for the tip.
I'm glad you are finally getting sick of this! LOL
Drink Some water that should help!
Good advice 😂😂
Me too!
OMG
What a life..
This serve as a great advice to us all
Yes .. Don't give up
Thank you.
A really inspiring post @mandyteacup and you should be extremely proud of your achievement. I think you're definitely on the right track and to have realised the problem so early inlife rather than suffering years more self abuse is a really good sign. It should give you strength to carry on and I'm sure you'll get lots more support from everyone here on steemit.
I look forward to following your progress and supporting you if needed my friend.
Hope you are having a great day. :)
Thank you for your kind words @tonyr
I am grateful to have gained some sort of control early on, before I really hurt myself.
Congratulations don't drink that poison ever again!
Thank you
HI @mandyteacup I am glad that you have chosen the sober life. I just wanted to inform you that it looks like someone plagiarized your article here. I most certainly can't find another copy elsewhere so I have determined you to be the original creator of this article. Anyone who reads this should head over to the link above and flag the author that has stolen this work. Keep up the good work @mandyteacup
@bitfeind, thank you for bringing that to my attention. I am the original owner. I will go flag the author. I hope others do too.
I flagged him but my flag wasn't 100% effective, but it did help. I also wrote an article about plagiarism with him on the headline, so hopefully that helps too. I see you got him already. Happy to help!
@kaylinart payed 5.0 SBD to @minnowbooster to buy a stealth upvote.
transaction-id 9684119eacf97a3109afc717f68edba3e16e6b3c
@stealthgoat
Keep it up. I plan to try too. I have an addiction to wine.
You can do it!
If you believe the worst is over, then the worst is yet to come. Do NOT take alcoholism for granted. It sounds to me, like your in the early stages of addiction, and recovery. I am also an alcoholic, and I can tell you this. Regardless of what you have heard, it is not ok to continually fail at this. Alcoholism is progressive, elusive, and patient. When you think you have this, it will come back to get you. Confidence is dangerous in recovery. Please recognize that feeling good will trick your mind into thinking you can drink again. If anyone hasn't told you they are proud of you today, I am proud of you! Keep up the good work. I will follow you.
Thank you for being proud of me. This article is very brief or maybe misleading in how deep I fell into it. I do not feel I fell as hard as others have, and I hope in my case, there isn't another fall.
There doesn't have to be another fall. I drank to alleviate my anxiety mostly, and have had more relapses than I can count, because of how I react to stress. If you don't crave the drink regularly, your in a better place than some. I would recommend to keep talking with others about your addiction, and maybe join a support group. I don't personally subscribe to AA because of my own personal beliefs, but it works very well for many. Anything is worth a try. If you feel an overwhelming urge to drink again, please...talk with someone. It might save your life. This is how I stay sober. Writing, and talking with others. I hope the same can be said with you. An outlet always helps. Keep on fighting the good fight @mandyteacup