Alcohol Free

[Guest]

For those that are alcohol free and have been for some time would you please share how long? As you know there is a group of us trying really hard ...I am 6 weeks now and I would like to hear from some of you that have made it a long stretch with success...let us see some numbers....gives us hope!!!! Gabby recently shared she was 11 months...way to go girl!!! Seeing that just and knowing she is having a stressful time right now but STILL doing it, makes me know I can do it to. So please share your AF stories with us...thanks

[Popeye]

Alcohol Free

Hi Luv, I've now gone eight weeks without a drink. I never thought, deep down, that I'd be able to do this, but I'm feeling so much happier with myself and life generally, that I don't ever want to go back to the old ways.
I still get the odd thought that I'd be able to have a drink and enjoy it, but I know that it would only take me a while to be back where I started, so I'm not going down that road.

[Guest]

Alcohol Free

I think the same thing Pop...even try to talk myself into it sometimes....like one or two will be fine.....KNOWING myself...i wouldn't stop...I would start right back up, so I have not even tasted one. Sounds like a child, but I swear if I did it would be like the Lay's potatoe chip commercial "no one can eat just one, no one can".....that would be me with one sip of a drink...I would sit there saying oh another sip is ok, before I knew it, I'd be six months down the road drunk again, crying ...so I think I will stay AF and healthy...kinda liking this feeling.

[Breez]

Alcohol Free

Just over 5 months.....157 AF days



A plan, a goal and a will to never give up. Each AF day is a notch on my belt and as I conquer each day I gain confidence I can do it again tomorrow. I never look too far into the future because I can't predict it. I can control my today & now & today I choose not to drink.

Keep up the great work everyone! Never give up-it's worth the effort.
:goodjob: Attached files [img]/converted_files/253426=1039-attachment.gif[/img]

[lucky 2.0]

Alcohol Free

GREAT thread. Maybe I can get it through osmosis from you all. Major congrats!

[Niblet]

Alcohol Free

This is a great thread Luv, I had my first AF day April 17 th, I'm going to go atleast 60 days AF and then I'll cross another bridge to see what I will see...

[xtexan]

Alcohol Free

Hi Luvuall:

Over 17 months AF. Will be a year and a half on my birthday next month.
I wrote a post about 500 days last month in long term.

The hard thing for me has been the fight to get through periods of depression, and anxiety fits. They come in waves. The waves are coming in slower and receding slower these days. I hope that after another year AF, that things will really start to even out at a new level.

I drank so long, that my body really got accustomed over the long years to getting its "fix" of booze to deal with things. I have to keep it in my head at all times, that things will not be magically better overnight, or even after just a few months. This has helped me get through the rough times, realizing that my body and mind will heal with time.

I have found that at each stage, a new problem has arisen in my recovery, and they seem to get more in depth as the months go by. You have to build on previous success and knowledge, and remember that in the long run, we all can get better if we really want to. My "drinking" Neil monster has used all sorts of tricks to try and make me forget what I learned, so it is important for me to realize that his tricks are all lies.

Wishing you all well.

Neil

[gabby]

Alcohol Free

Cool....for me its 11 plus months. Neil, thats what I have noticed too. Depression comes in waves. Weird. I dont know if that sometimes I still miss drinkin or what. ouch. I am ashamed to let that slide off my lips. I need to put these feelings in to perspective. Anyway I am more happier about not drinkin then anything.

[irishlady]

Alcohol Free

Well, I had my last drink on Friday 29th September 2006.. So in a few days time I will have been AF for 8 months..

I had been trying on and off for almost 10 years, firstly to moderate my drinking, couldn't do that for more than about 3 days, then I tried times without number to just stop.. The longest that lasted was 4 weeks and thinking I was now in the safe zone I stupidly bought a bottle of wine to celebrate, DUH??.. I noticed that after that 4 week period of being AF my drinking really escalated for just over a year... I was drinking at least a bottle of wine every night, some nights it would be two bottles.. Then came the night I drank almost three bottles of wine, that was the last time I drank.. I actually found MWO that night and registered but I had no memory of it. The following morning I was looking through my favourites for something and saw MY WAY OUT, thought to myself, what is that, clicked on it, stumbled through the door, met all you wonderful people and the rest is history, Iv'e been here, sober, ever since..

I agree with Xtexan when he talks about depression and not looking too far forward.. Sometimes when I think about Christmas or holidays and birthdays for example I do get a wave of depression wash over me at the thought of never drinking again.. This doesn't last for long however, and I have now stopped projecting my thoughts so far forward.. I just live for each day and thank God every morning when I wake up after a good nights sleep, without the hangover and the regrets..

There have been times when it has not been easy, but this makes it all the more worthwhile, and as each AF day adds up into weeks then into months it makes you loathed to drink..

I have now stopped fooling myself into thinking that there will come a time when I can drink normally again, for me, that time will never come and I think one of the secrets of staying AF is ACCEPTANCE of that fact and making the necessary changes in your lifestyle to accommodate it..


Hope this helps,

Love to you all,
Louise xxx

[MDBiker]

Alcohol Free

I'm one day behind niblet. Maybe we can run this race with me always one step behind. I don't mind as long as I am AF and dealing with life again.

bear

[Guest]

Alcohol Free

Irish...I too have accepted I will nevr be able to drink again...that is VERY hard...or was for me. I did the same exact thing...tried to stop...did for awhile, tried to moderate, ball started rolling again. I can't moderate and I don't believe I ever will. I know myself. That day will never come. I just have to accept that. I can't do it. Once you reach the point of acceptance, you can began to heal and move forward though and that is where I feel I finally am. WHEW...took awhile...and just in the knick of time...thank the good Lord.

[irishlady]

Alcohol Free

I agree 100% with that Luv... Especially reaching the point of acceptance about the reality of your drinking, but oh the relief once you do reach that stage and finally make the best decision ever about the rest of your life, I don't know about you but I now feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders..

[Guest]

Alcohol Free

HUGE doesn't even begin to express it...you just have to reach that point though...on your own...when enough is enough...seems like something literally just "clicked"...of course I am on all the supps and Topa and it is not easy, but there was finally just this point I just got so tired of being tired....

[irishlady]

Alcohol Free

You know, you could be me talking, that is exactly how I see it too.. Until you yourself are ready then no amount of threats, nagging or sweet talking from family, friends or even doctors will get you to stop drinking for good.. I heard the click as well, it was so loud and final for me... There is no magic pill though, it is a very hard slog especially in the beginning, sometimes you just have to take it hour by hour.. I take all the supps but not the Topa, I discovered meditation helps me as well, I found out a lot about myself that way and I think it helped make me stronger, also I managed finally to let go of a lot of garbage from my past that I had been toting around with me for years.. My one regret???? That I didn't have the courage to do all this years ago, but perhaps I wasn't ready to...

[Guest]

Alcohol Free

I garden...ALOT...my form of meditation...I too have had to let go of ALOT of garbage...ALOT...just let it go. It was eating me alive from the inside out. Drinking made it worse. I can handle the depression and the "bad' thoughts much better with a clear "stable" head. Thanks for the chat Irish!