I haven't been here in a very long time. I thought I would browse through the threads to see how everyone is doing. Reading the posts reminds me so much of when I was struggling those first few months.
So many ask how do you quit drinking? The easy answer is to say "just stop". We all know it's not that simple. I know how hard it is to quit. The turning point came after I destroyed another relationship due to drinking. Did I stop right after that relationship? Not right away. It still took me a couple of months. I finally realized that I wanted to be well more than I wanted to drink. That was the turning point for me. Think about that for a moment: I wanted to be well more than I wanted to drink. I knew I had some work to do. I had to change my whole life.
First, I came clean with my psych about how much I had been drinking. I suffer from bipolar disorder and drank to self-medicate. He put me on Campral but still I drank through it. It wasn't until my epiphany that I realized how badly I wanted to be well. Finally, I said enough and started taking the Campral exactly as the doctor told me to. Slowly the cravings went away. I still had them though and even the thoughts of throwing in the towel again, crossed my mind. Then I realized exactly what was causing me the cravings again. I was around people who drank. Like I said, I was willing to do anything to quit. I cut myself from my sister. I haven't been to her house since I quit. I do talk on the phone to her, but won't go for dinners, etc. I would rather not put myself in that position to where I'm fighting not to drink.
Like I said, I changed EVERYTHING about my life. I've been sober for over 1 1/2 yrs. Do I still say in my head "boy, I'd love to get shitfaced"? Yup. When I get those thoughts I think about how lousy I felt the next day. That stops those thoughts in their tracks. It also helps to have hobbies or something similar to take up your mind's thoughts.
I was afraid that there would be something missing. And there was, my old friend Mr. Bottle. Did I actually lose something? Absolutely not. I gained so much by being sober. I can read, play games, knit, crochet, plus more, because I'm sober. I couldn't do any of those things when I was drinking. All I could do was lay around and watch TV with one eye closed to stop from seeing double.
I think I've rambled enough. I'm going to try to participate and help as much as I can. If you would like, you can always PM me.
Remember: Anything worth having is worth fighting for.
So many ask how do you quit drinking? The easy answer is to say "just stop". We all know it's not that simple. I know how hard it is to quit. The turning point came after I destroyed another relationship due to drinking. Did I stop right after that relationship? Not right away. It still took me a couple of months. I finally realized that I wanted to be well more than I wanted to drink. That was the turning point for me. Think about that for a moment: I wanted to be well more than I wanted to drink. I knew I had some work to do. I had to change my whole life.
First, I came clean with my psych about how much I had been drinking. I suffer from bipolar disorder and drank to self-medicate. He put me on Campral but still I drank through it. It wasn't until my epiphany that I realized how badly I wanted to be well. Finally, I said enough and started taking the Campral exactly as the doctor told me to. Slowly the cravings went away. I still had them though and even the thoughts of throwing in the towel again, crossed my mind. Then I realized exactly what was causing me the cravings again. I was around people who drank. Like I said, I was willing to do anything to quit. I cut myself from my sister. I haven't been to her house since I quit. I do talk on the phone to her, but won't go for dinners, etc. I would rather not put myself in that position to where I'm fighting not to drink.
Like I said, I changed EVERYTHING about my life. I've been sober for over 1 1/2 yrs. Do I still say in my head "boy, I'd love to get shitfaced"? Yup. When I get those thoughts I think about how lousy I felt the next day. That stops those thoughts in their tracks. It also helps to have hobbies or something similar to take up your mind's thoughts.
I was afraid that there would be something missing. And there was, my old friend Mr. Bottle. Did I actually lose something? Absolutely not. I gained so much by being sober. I can read, play games, knit, crochet, plus more, because I'm sober. I couldn't do any of those things when I was drinking. All I could do was lay around and watch TV with one eye closed to stop from seeing double.
I think I've rambled enough. I'm going to try to participate and help as much as I can. If you would like, you can always PM me.
Remember: Anything worth having is worth fighting for.
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