Is it really this hard?

[Jazzetry]

Here it is monday, and im finding alot of the influence is the people to which I choose to be around during meals and what not. I stopped drinking last saturday and joined sunday seeking support. It is 11:45am and several of my friends have already started drinking during lunch. I decided I would forego lunch at the bar & grill and went to a local tea bar instead =D I do miss the company of my co-workers but I think I would just crave the taste of a beer.

One day, one meal at a time.

[Nelz]

Is it really this hard?

Heya Jazz,

Well done on staying away from temptation and triggers. Yes, in the beginning it "is" hard, but the good news is, you are at the hardest part. It will only get easier the longer you fight the cravings and win.......but you have to stay super diligent at the start...our buddy AL is very tricky, and cunning.

[Wagoneer]

Is it really this hard?

Good for you Jazz!

[paulywogg]

Is it really this hard?

hi jazz,ive had to avoid certain places,people and things,its better at first i think,but it sounds like youre doing good!

[Hippyman]

Is it really this hard?

Jazzetry;1472685 wrote: Here it is monday, and im finding alot of the influence is the people to which I choose to be around during meals and what not. I stopped drinking last saturday and joined sunday seeking support. It is 11:45am and several of my friends have already started drinking during lunch. I decided I would forego lunch at the bar & grill and went to a local tea bar instead =D I do miss the company of my co-workers but I think I would just crave the taste of a beer.

One day, one meal at a time.

:goodjob: A happy, sober future is worth what ever you have to do to get it and keep it. It gets easier and new habits begin to feel like the norm. I'm lovin tea rooms and coffee houses now. Every part of my life is so much better. I'm sure it will be better for you to. You CAN get and stay sober. I KNOW YOU CAN! This time 4 sure!!!

[Anjicia]

Is it really this hard?

Hi Jazz well done on giving up the booze and joining mwo. It is a bit difficult at first but it does get a bit easier i think the month is a challange. Al is a cunnung drug. I found also i had to stay away from places people and things to get sober and i had many trys but i'm back again. Not counting days but just takin it odat. I think you are wise not to go to bars for now as its early days and will crave and may be end having a few. The best of luck to you on yor journey.

[supermario]

Is it really this hard?

Cravings go away with time.. It's probably hard for you because you believe that you are missing out when not drinking.. but please understand there are no benefits when it comes to drinking, none whatsoever. You have nothing to loose when not drinking but so much to gain. Yeah, I know the cravings are horrible, I tried to quit for 5 years, I used to lock myself in my room, go for walks, stand on my head, bang my head against the wall, over eat, try to sleep, take pills, drink something sweet, you name it, I tried and failed many times because I always thought I was missing out on something VERY special!! At one point of my 25 year drinking career I even left sorry for people who did not drink!! Hahahaha! Can you believe that? I thought they were losers because they couldn't or didn't drink. Hahaha!! Guess what? the joke was on me! I became an alcoholic without even realizing it. I ended up drinking almost daily for years, alone, with people, day, night, weekends, weekdays, on holidays, at work, oh! and special occasions such as birthdays, baptisms, weddings had to be celebrated big, drinking myself into oblivious every time.
Even though alcohol is a powerful addictive drug that kills millions of people every year and it destroys millions of families worldwide, we learn from our families and society in general that social drinking is fine, so we all do it, after all, most people drink and nothing bad seems to happen to them. Until we become hooked ourselves and then when we try to quit, we feel trapped and we can't seem to quit!
First of all, it's not your fault you find it almost impossible to quit, it's not! Alcohol is very addictive and it's playing tricks with your mind. but if you wait it out, cravings come and go. Try not to think that you are missing out when you are not drinking because you are not!! Do you think non-drinkers get sad or depressed because they don't drink? They don't! Because they are not addicted to it. Are you addicted to heroin? (I hope you are not).. I am not addicted to heroin and I couldn't care less if I'm told that I will never, ever have access to it. Cravings diminish when you start believing that being a non-drinker is the best decision of your life and it is! I am told by some people who have been sober for several years that they couldn't care less if they learned that all the booze in the world is sent to the moon, they'd be delighted if anything. That's a non-drinker's attitude, that's what I would like to achieve and you can too.

[SKendall]

Is it really this hard?

Hi Jazz, I think it's important to stay away from alcohol and drinking friendsin the beginning as we seem to have developed poor impulse control during our drinking days and it just takes a while to restore it.

[Kairos]

Is it really this hard?

Supermario there with some superadvice.
Anything worth achieving in life is hard.
You have to weigh up how much you want the change.
I just got sick of a liquid in a bottle dictating how I felt mentally and physically, what I did, what I didn't do. Believe me,the freedom I now feel is worth the effort it took.
Hang in there Jazz,
Kairos

[Supercrew]

Is it really this hard?

The reality is it's only as hard as you believe it to be.

It's completely simple for me now. I realize that what I am doing now is really no different than what I was doing when I perceived it to be really really hard, except I allowed myself to say, "damn, not putting that bottle of poison to my lips is really hard". It's funny I never had a problem not drinking bleach. Someone told me it was poison for me, and I stayed away from it. You can do the same thing with alcohol...and it's really pretty easy, just use your imagination.

[K9Lover]

Is it really this hard?

You know what was REALLY hard for me? Sitting through a whole day at work with a hangover from hell. Watching the seconds tick by until I could go home and lay down. NOT drinking is WAY easier than that ever was!

[199days]

Is it really this hard?

Hard hmm not in the real sense , no. Cravings thoughts issues with other people , yes. Depending on how long you have been drinking etc. life is raw real and frigging amazing without drugs, but you gotta learn a lot and look at things differently , for start just say to yourself " they need to drink" . Grind out the early days weeks, good things await.

Sober is cool, sober is rebellious.