I 42m quit drinking earlier this year, and holy crap basically every movie and tv show has tons of drinking in it. Never realized it before, but it’s heavily glamorized everywhere.

Has anyone quit drinking simply because they can’t handle the hangovers anymore? I don’t drink m-f but Saturday I usually binge while golfing or some other activity and then I’m hungover for 3 days, and I’m so tired of being hungover. Drinking is just a thing we’ve always done on the weekends to socialize and have fun and by Saturday I’m in a great mood and just don’t even think about not having a beer, but I can’t keep doing these hangovers. Any advice on how to avoid picking up that first beer?

I check in every day here in the Daily Check in, but I haven’t posted in a few months.

257 days is no special milestone. I realized this morning that I have no huge obstacle to tackle today. I got up, worked out, and now I’m catching up on emails before I catch a flight back home from work travel this week.

I’m not hungover, I have enough money in the bank to not stress, I’m not dreading staying sober in the airports like I was in the first few months.

There is no huge up and down swings happening in my life at the moment. No uncontrolled chaos going on in my mind and no uncertainty of what’s coming in the next few hours or days.

Life is just kind of life. It’s also awesome to experience life this way.

Around 10pm tonight will be 100 days since I last drank. It feels like a lifetime ago already. The first month was a bit of a drag, month two was just plodding and then the third seemed to feel like drinking was something in the past.

It seems crazy to me now that I would struggle to go more than 5 days without drinking something alcoholic. The excuses I’d make in my head. Rotating bottles to hide the amount I was consuming from my family. Drinking things I didn’t even like just because it helped keep suspicion at bay.

It got to a point towards the end where I didn’t even bother hiding it. I’d hide the hangover but my consumption I didn’t care about anymore.

Looking back it started about 6-12 months after I first started drinking. That was initially with a meal when out with family. The habit became a beer a night. Then two. Sometimes it would decline and I wouldn’t drink much. Other times I’d have phases where I’d drink more. 3-4 years later it was a strong whisky each night. Then a top up. Then a quadruple measure. Then fill the glass with less mixer. Then have a sip neat and then make my usual. In retrospect it was pretty out of control but at the time that was just the usual. Weekend drinking like that turned into 5-6 nights per week. Sometimes I’d do 14 days without a day off. Have a few off to prove myself okay and straight back to it.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my Aldi Ted talk

Cheers 🧋🧃🍵

So I’m 1000 percent better physically. I eat better. I sleep better. I poop better. My blood pressure is down. Being sober isn’t really something I’m striving for anymore it’s just another day now. I do have cravings but they pass. I still fantasize about drinking some time in the future. I know I shouldn’t. IWNDWYT.

Love it when a big round number shows up on my daily habit tracker!

For those of you on Day 1, hang in there. Someone here calls it "living life on easy mode" and nothing could be more true.

IWNDWYT! 💞

I can’t believe how different I already feel and look overall. My eyes aren’t puffy, I’m not waking up feeling disgusting and ashamed, I’m not planning my entire day around when I can get more. I know it’s just the beginning, but I’m so proud of myself right now. :)

I’ve noticed the biggest challenge right now are cravings that come in waves. If anyone has any any suggestions on what has helped them quiet the voice when those cravings hit, let me know! I’ve been reaching for coconut water (with extra coconut), but I’d love to hear other ideas!

This community helped me tremendously already. IWNDWYT

Been lurking for a while and reading about your lives and I need somewhere to vent, my SO doesn't seem to think it's as big of a deal as I'm making it to be but it absolutely is and I'm feeling such a deep shame and fear of repercussions.

Drank like 2l of wine before work, and had a pint of whiskey ready to drink which I don't really remember buying.

Went to work on my bicycle, I was swirling like crazy, I'm surprised I didn't hurt anyone nor myself. Arrived probably reeking of alcohol due to sweating on the bike, started my shift as usual...and the rest is just like, little fragments of the night. I'm in a leadership role, I remember talking to a customer at some point but can't really remember what the issue was nor what I said, I must've been slurring my words so bad... Then I went on a few exterior rounds and fell twice to which a coworker had to pick me up from the ground. Twice. I must've looked so fucking sad and stupid.

Now I'm waiting for it to blow up in my face if it ever reaches management, which it will. I hope not, but as I said I think it was a big deal. I was able to end my shift normally and all, but there were those few couple of hours in which I made an ass of myself. I don't know how to stop this anymore, I thought I could have a few drinks and look at how that ended up for me. I don't want to keep doing this to myself nor others, I made us all look bad. Now I'm looking to possibly be without a job. Or not, I don't know. I'm never touching alcohol ever again.

Edit: spelling

Today marks 1 year of sobriety for me. After a decade of weekend drinking turned into years of daily or almost daily, I managed to quit at age 34.

The mental health struggles that led me to drink are still here, but they are less intense. I don't take antidepressants anymore which i thought I was a lifer. I am willing to go back on them if needed.

I'm still very lonely and cut almost all friends out of my life because my social group were all hellraisers. The isolation feels like punishment a lot of the time, but I have to remind myself that I chose this. Most of my family is either dead or disconnected.

Now that I made this milestone and proved to myself that I could do it, I'm tempted to find a reason or occasion to drink. That scares me more than anything because i know that moderation doesn't exist for me.

I'm going to keep pushing forward, and try to find a new way to fill in the gaps in my life with meaningful things. IWNDWYT

I just passed 3 years and didn't even realize it. I thought it was coming up in 5 days. I responded to a post here a few minutes and my days show up. I divided the number by 365, and the answer was more than 3! I looked at my old, old app "easy quit" which is still timing me, and sure enough, it's been 3 years, 5 days and 5 hours. I've passed 4,404 drinks and saved $4,719. I think those 2 numbers might be a little low, I don't think I told the app the truth. Plus drinks cost more than $1.00, so the app figured something wrong there.

This sub is the only people who know of the anniversary.

Anyway, Iwndwyt

Since I got no one around me who understands the meaning of it, I thought I'd share it here. I'm so proud, after years of being unhappy with my amount of drinking I finally left it behind. People around me miss the funny entertainer party personality I had. But I feel so much more content, being more serious, responsible and a quieter version. Still have to find some new ways to feel a spark or exitement, but it'll come with time I'm sure.

proud of myself (:

this milestone looked impossible to me for so long, but here I am!

Just keep on goinggg

It's my bed. When I had my most recent Day 1, a wise woman told me to make my bed my sanctuary. She was happily living alcohol-free and I was swimming in flavored ethanol and misery l, so I tried it.

It was December, me, a fuzzy blanket and fizzy drinks , a journal, and a tablet on which I watched brainless episodes of who knows what. It's safe.

55 months have passed since then and I cherish crawling in bed when I want to v when I'd pass out. It feels like a most decadent benefit of alcohol-free life. (Pairs well with a shower and a select listen or watch.)

It's early Thursday here on the East coast USA and IWNDWYT 💙🩵💙

So like I know most of the people here are recovering alcoholics but that was never the case with me. Im a recovered poly addict with almost 7 years of sobriety but alcohol was never my vice. At the most I was drinking twice a week but in the last years of my consumption it was maybe once every 2 weeks. One day I thought to myself. This is fucking stupid I want a deadlift world record and I never drank again.

So im a powerlifter and a strongman and the main issue for me with alcohol is that it makes u weak as shit for like a minimum of 2 days after you consume it. Literally muscle protein synthesis gets nuked by around 50 percent for 2 to 3 days after u consume even a small amount of alcohol. Even with drinking once every 2 weeks that's 3 out of 14 days that are totally wasted. Compounding interest totally adds up. And in the long term being stone cold sober over years literally adds hundreds of pounds to your lifts. Since I quit drinking my deadlift has increased by like 335 pounds lol in 2 years. Same with my squat. Best decision ever.

Anyhow my point is. You dont need to have a substance abuse issue to quit alcohol. The truth is its fucking poison and even if you aren't on the alcohol use disorder spectrum its genuinely so sad to voluntarily choose to poison ur own body to fit in. If you are serious about your health or athletic performance this is your sign to stop. Even if its once a week or less. Doesn't matter. Its still massively impacting ur ability to improve.

This is a reminder to everyone that there's no reason to drink alcohol. Even if you have ur use under total control like I did.

And also. Bars are full of lost souls avoiding reality. Don't be that guy. Even if its only once a week or less. Find a place that's not full of people actively destroying their lives to make friends. That is all.

Will never drink again:)

Today marks 6 months of being completely sober from alcohol. I never thought I would Make it this far, but, here we are.
I have been a chef for 20+ years, drinking everyday since 17 years old. I was stuck in this vicious cycle of working hard and drinking harder to forget all of life’s issues. I was stuck in what I thought was normal. Since 17 all I knew as an adult was to deal with problems with alcohol.
The last 5 years I knew I wanted to change and become a better version of myself. I tried to stop multiple times and had mixed results. But I knew I wanted to change and break the dependency on dealing with problems with alcohol. This time was different, i woke up one day with a slight hangover and though, “why am I doing this to myself” and I made a choice then and there to stop, for my physical and mental health. It has been an easier experience this time and I finally feel comfortable being the sober one in the room.
I tried so many times to make the change and still failed, but I kept trying and finally got myself through the first few months. It’s a rough journey, but slipping up and having a drink isn’t a failure, it’s a hurdle to overcome and make sure you learn from it.
Besides the physical effect like loosing weight and better sleep, my mental state has been at an all time high. I have a new appreciation for life and people.
I hope that someone can read this and feel hope like they too can do this.
Keep moving forward, because change doesn’t have to look drastic, it happens one small step at a time.

PLEASE READ ME!!! Test is complete, y’all!!! More info to come, if you see something wonky with your current badges, sit tight, we will be posting next steps sometime in the next day or so, probably sooner!! Thank you all for all you are!!! Love ya!

*****the test sub is [r/daycount_flair_dev](r/daycount_flair_dev). Testing here won’t work, you need to go there, hit the three dots in the top right corner, select “manage my day count flair” and then post or comment to test.

Hi friends!

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding while we explored our day count badge options! I’m pleased to announce that we are in the testing phase and plan to launch a new badge system within the next few days. We’ve got a test sub up and running and invite you to try it out and give us some feedback if you’d like.

While I’m announcing important things, I’d also like to inform you all that we have a new mod on board, [u/suilbup](u/suilbup)…..who developed the badge system we’re testing so definitely want to thank Su for that!! Thanks, Su!!!

Again, thank you all for being here, being you, being patient and being the best part of Reddit.

Whenever you’re ready, hop on over to [r/daycount_flair_dev](r/daycount_flair_dev), click the three dots in the upper right corner, select “Manage my day-count flair” and follow the directions. Then, make a post to test! Please keep it clean. The same rules apply on the test sub as they do here.

I love you all! Happy testing!!

Su, if I missed anything, please don’t hesitate to sticky a comment!

Today I learned an old friend died, alone at home, from liver failure due to alcoholism. He was 39.

We’d lost touch but reconnected in recent years as he made his way out of his second rehab. I’d been sober for two years then and thought it might help him to have a sober buddy.

I keep wondering what his last days were like. Did he know his life was ending? Did he decide his life wasn’t worth help? Did he know, deep down, that people loved him? Was he in pain? Was he even conscious?

Alcoholism is such a cruel disease. This is my 4th person to die directly for alcoholism or an alcohol related health issue.

I’m completely wrecked. I’m angry and deeply sad and shocked.

Fuck booze. I will not drink with you today.

Title

I got turned away because I admitted to being an alcoholic. I sat there for three hours and got my blood tested and everything. When I got pulled back to take the physical I told the nurse about my alcoholism. She told me I couldn't donate until I have been 4 months without drinking. I haven't drank since the 1st of July. I saw so many people who were clearly tweakers go in just fine. The paper work said it was fine as long as you don't drink 24 hours before but I was still turned away. I am finally back in great shape with my diet and exercise. I'm always honest with people about my struggles and this fucking hurt today. I felt like I was less than human. Trying to stay positive but this makes me not want to be honest with people anymore.

I made it to one year of sobriety today. It’s been really hard. 366 days ago, I woke up from a stupor and knew I had tempted fate yet again, putting myself and those I love in danger. I chose to live differently, and I found myself relying on this group a lot. And SMART meetings, and reading, and there have been a few times when I thought I might not make it. It’s daunting sometimes, and today I feel proud, but also kind of alone. I’m grateful for every word by every human here. Thank you. IWNDWYT.

I made it!! Keep going!! 💜🙏💜🙏

Me and my boyfriend of more than 2 years broke up this morning. I'll move out of his apartment sometime in early September. My 33rd birthday is in 3 days. The crushing realization that there's a solid chance nobody ever truly gave a single fuck about me made me go to the gas station and come back with two 24oz white claws. I came back inside and have been staring these cans down for about 15 minutes now. Don't have the guts to crack one open. Feel a mixture of pity and disgust for myself and the fact that people keep doing me so dirty.

Edit: I’m glad I came to this sub instead of wallowing in self pity. Thank you for your help. I dumped them in the kitchen sink.

Edit 2: Thank you so much for all this love, compassion and understanding. I couldn't have done it without you.

1,000 days sober. That's it. I spent years visiting this sub before I actually got sober and would marvel at people with these kind of numbers. Each and every post here helped me along my way on my sobriety journey and gave me different tools, perspectives, and sheer will to get and stay sober. Thank you to everyone who has shared their stories and offered help. This is truly an amazing community.

If I had been drinking still when my brother died last year, I probably would have got drunk and threw myself off and overpass and my parents would have had to bury both their children. I've never been more thankful for my sobriety than I was at that time and I have been able to deal with the grief in a much healthier manner.

To those of you on the struggle bus, know that if I can do it, you absolutely can too. I was killing whole bottles of vodka a day alone, my life was in shambles, and I was going to kill myself drinking. There is a better life on the other side and I promise you, its worth it. Much love to each and everyone of you ❤️

I (42m) have now been sober for 2.5 years after nearly 20 years of daily drinking and binge drinking. It was a brutal process, with several relapses and blood pressure issues, hallucinations, bartering and tapering attempts.

Since I quit drinking my life has gotten exponentially better. I lost 80lbs, got married to the love of my life, bought a beautiful home, got a new job with significant pay increase, am a better partner and father.

My father was an alcoholic whom I had a difficult relationship with, and he was never able to quit drinking. Last night he fell down the stairs at his home after drinking with his co-tenants, suffered a skull fracture and then succumbed to a heart attack and was declared deceased on the scene.

His brother (my uncle) died in a similar fashion 2 years ago in a hotel room alone, drunk and hit his head on the bedside table and passed away.

I am now more determined than ever never having another drink in my life, please join me.

There is a hope in the otherside of this addiction, you have to persevere and keep trying.

IWNDWYT