One week sober, now what?

[keyners]

I don't know what to do in the evenings, feeling empty in a way. Alcoholism is a curse in the way that you dislike the negative effects alcohol brings to your life but you also dislike being sober and feeling bored. I guess I must give it time. Lots of you must have felt the same way after your first week, right?

[Anotherday]

One week sober, now what?

Now that you are sober you can do things you couldn't when you were not sober.

I can think of a couple of things I can do when not drinking that I could not when drinking: read a book and concentrate, watch a movie and remember it, drive to the store and not fear a DUI. I'm only on day 2 (this time around) so I'm prolly not the best person to answer this.

[tlrgs]

One week sober, now what?

yep been there and done that and the thing to do is come up with new ways to spend your time .. read write what you feel .. start doing the things you have been putting off ,clean house ,read the book you been thinking about .. anything to keep you busy and as time goes on it just gets even easyer

[Lavande]

One week sober, now what?

Keyners,

Congrats on your AF 1st week, that's just great!
Your journey is just starting, give yourself some time to adjust. In time you will learn to fill in your newfound free time with things you enjoy. It may be time to revisit some old hobbies or find a new one. Reading, journaling, an exercise class, home repairs, volunteer work.........the list is endless really. You will feel more like jumping into things soon, don't worry.

Be happy, be proud of your success!
Treat yourself to something nice with the $$ you've saved!

Hang in there!
Lav

[TranqWilly]

One week sober, now what?

Hi Keyners!

Yes. I felt this way. You are going to feel off balance, and struggle to understand what replaces al in our lives. It is normal, I think. We've always had something to do - drinking al. But soon, like Anotherday says, you'll begin to appreciate the freedom.

I spent some time early on thinking about what I wanted my life to be, and how I wanted to be myself. It helps to think about where you want to go, and to plan how to get there. If you feel you'd like to learn something new - read - I wish amazon.com gave frequent flier miles. If you feel you'd like to get caught-up on culture - rent or go to the movies or listen to music. I think you get the idea. Picture how you'd like your life to be, and set out on a plan to make it that way.

A week is a great milestone! Keep it going.

Take care.
tw

[OverIt2007]

One week sober, now what?

Keyners,

As someone on here said, Life just goes on! But doesnt it give you great satisfaction to be beating this problem? Im sure you will have down days, and you will have up days. Give it time, and just sit back and enjoy life. Even if you have problems (dont we all) you are going to be in a better frame of mind to solve any of lifes issues, in a sober way. That has to be better than the alternative, going through life with booze colored glasses on.

I really like the saying in AA. Im living life on lifes terms. Thats all anybody can do now, isnt it?

Give it time, friend, your joy will come!

[jessie]

One week sober, now what?

:lTry and foster a new friendship, re connect to neglected ones etc. It is difficult, I know.

[mario]

One week sober, now what?

Keyners After the end of the first week of your new life i hope that you have learned much. You should have learned a lot about yourself, your drinking and the problems that you have. However you should have also learned that the power to change lies within you, provided you have the will to use it.keep posting.


"Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."
Conrad Hilton

[keyners]

One week sober, now what?

Thanks for all of your comments. I am doing fine during the day, the evenings are tough. It goes a long way to show that urges are only temporary. I keep that in mind as it is critical to have an objective view. I feel down in the evenings, but once I go to bed, I sleep good and have a great day with a happy spirit and content feeling until the next evening. Thank to all for your genuine support.

[Funny Girl]

One week sober, now what?

Evenings are the worst for a lot of us. Coming here helps me for sure. I now have projects I work on - books I read, etc. Spring will definitely help since it will be lighter longer & I'll be outside & probably more physically active while it's light. Hang in . . . .it will get easier. I'm on day 15 today & never thought I'd ever get through one week let alone two, so I'm psyched.

[Cheech66]

One week sober, now what?

keyners;818389 wrote: Thanks for all of your comments. I am doing fine during the day, the evenings are tough. It goes a long way to show that urges are only temporary. I keep that in mind as it is critical to have an objective view. I feel down in the evenings, but once I go to bed, I sleep good and have a great day with a happy spirit and content feeling until the next evening. Thank to all for your genuine support.

Be thankful you are sleeping ok at night and the days are going well Key!! My 1st time around it took me a full month to get a decent nites sleep and the days were brutal!! Congrats on the week I hope my first week back is as good for now odat just tryin to get threw day 1!?

Funny girl congrats on 2 weeks nice work!!!:goodjob:

[mollyka]

One week sober, now what?

Hey Keyners, when I went back to my doctor when I was about 3 weeks AF he asked me how I felt and I just said I felt bored, it was a very strong feeling but I don't think I used the right word. I think that cutting AL out of your life is enormous, its all consuming time wise and emotionally and physically that really anything else that used to appeal (eg reading, walking, cooking, swimming etc etc whatever your hobbies had been in a previous life) was cast aside. I found and am still finding a couple of months down the road that enjoyment in simple pleasures (see above!) does return slowly, I now can come home from work looking forward to finishing my book instead of the bottle of vodka in the cupboard, I think what I'm trying to say is that it takes a while but the boredom is temporary, life fills in the vacuum created by alcohol:thumbs:

[keyners]

One week sober, now what?

Mario, my alcohol intake was daily and about half a bottle to three quarter of a bottle of wine, so not insane but not healthy either. I would drive like that all the time. At parties, once a week, I would drink more, like a bottle and a half and would feel like shit the next day. I've learned that I have a problem with drinking in the sense that I can not drink one glass and be satisfied with it. It's got to be three, and then the next day the urge is rapidly creeping back in. Thanks for your word.

Funny girl, what's your story? How old are you and how long have you been wrestling with al? How much and when did you drink?

[Farm Girl]

One week sober, now what?

You go Funny Girl, Keyners hang in there, I have the same problem. I'm taking on some new projects and reading at night before I go to bed. It is a funny feeling, not to wake up hung over or feeling like crap in general! A good funny feeling.

[Funny Girl]

One week sober, now what?

You really want to know? I'm 51, and have been doing SOMETHING since I was a teenager. Started smoking cigarettes at 13 - pot in high school. Started experimenting with other stuff during that time, as well & in college. Started heavy drinking in college. Quit pot after college siince it stayed in your system so long & companies tested for it - hard drugs leave your system quickly.

Drinking ramped up in my 20s - cocaine was added to the picture in that timeframe & came & went depending on career demands etc. Drinking was the constant - it was always there as were cigarettes. I led a double life for much of it - kind of like Frankenstein - doing all this & then putting on a suit & going to a conservative corporate job . . . .

Quit smoking in 2003 finally. Became self employed in 2006 and that's when I became what I call an "at home" drinker - not a big party hound, binger type, but a daily at home drinker. I was consuming a large amount over a longer period of time, so I wasn't all out blasted, but drunk probably all the time. Built up quite a tolerance, so I never felt really drunk. Just mildly depressed & to be honest kind of apathetic (this is what pot did to me after awhile)

I guess that's it - is that what you wanted to know? It's just beautiful isn't it? Soon they'll be making a movie out of it . . . . ;-)