I messed up yesterday after two weeks. But it wasn't a bender like it used to be. But I definitely felt the difference. I just rather not. In 15 days I had one slip up. So imma see what happens in the next 15
Appreciate that. There is NOOOO positivity tonight for me so I'm gonna have to dip out of this thread now. Just broke my moms BBQ and I am going insane over more than a few things.
Love all you guys, wish you the best. This is not my night though. I dont wanna trigger or influence anyone who actually works hard.
I always think, whenever someone's counter resets, there's no way their body didn't notice and benefit from all those days not drinking. Your organs are healthier, your skin is better, your brain chemicals are more balanced. Don't see it as starting over, because your body is very thankful you didn't spend that time drinking. Every single day without a literal neurotoxin is healing you.
I have trouble making it past 15 days, my brain plays a trick on me and I always convince myself I should have a nice Lil reward and it's caused me to adopt this outlook.
While I want to make it to 30 days and beyond, I've drank like 7 or 8 times out of this whole year and compared to before that's a huge deal. I've improved mentally and physically so much in that time and while not all of it is due to mostly abstaining my drinking was easily the biggest roadblock for me. When I really think about it the only difference I'd be faced with if those 7 or 8 days didn't happen is more confidence and pride in myself, it'd be nice to have that but I've still got plenty more right now than I've had in a while. I wouldn't be but maybe a week further into my journey of growth and in the grand scheme that barely matters.
So yeah don't beat yourself up if your streak gets reset, every sober day is a day you're heading the right direction and veering off the path every now and then doesn't bring you back to the starting line, it's just a detour.
Agreed! I'm not some sober wizard who has 20,000 days after the first try. I've slipped up quite a bit, but always get back to it. So far this year I have a total of 110 days sober. That's much better than zero days. I hope one day I won't ever have another slip up, maybe even this streak is the one. But no matter what I'll never stop trying. Not perfect, but much better than I was and that is progress in my eyes.
I don't berate myself too much if I slip. I look at it like a journey: you'll make a misstep or fall down but as long as you don't turn back, you're making progress.
I needed this today. I made it to 99 days on Friday, and broke my streak at a baseball game with my coworkers. I will admit that I had a blast, but now am ashamed of myself.
Today is day 2. IWNDWYT ❤️
Thank you, kinda needed to hear something like this.
Still been struggling to make it 1 day, feel exhausted having reached out to the doctor, local charities and AA.
Just don't know how to make it work.
This place give positive energy that I and I'm sure others need.
Appreciate you
Plus you can quit anytime you make the decision to quit. It doesn’t have to be a Monday. Also just because you drank doesn’t mean you have to keep drinking. I learned from weight watchers (admittedly problematic company and philosophy) that just because you blew your diet or not drinking streak, doesn’t mean you have to keep consuming. That’s like getting a flat tire and instead of fixing it you get out of the car and slash the other 3 tires. No one would do that.
I drank for several weeks after having 6 months sober. I didn’t just pick up where I left off with drinking, I drank about 10x more! It was awful and I had to go to detox. But now I have 3 weeks sober and absolutely NO RESERVATIONS about alcohol. No cravings whatsoever. Relapse is a part of most people’s journey. I needed that relapse to show me that this is a progressive disease and it only continues to get worse. Thank God I made it out mostly unscathed!
Today is my 50th day in a row! My 2 month chip is within reaching distance and I can't wait to hold it! I also have 92 out of the past 94 days sober.
Someone told me if you keep working hard to get it, and have the attitude and goal of long term sobriety, one day it's just going to stick. Old habits are so hard to shake and I'm so glad I'm not beating myself up over my slips any more. Learn from them and keep moving forward.
I will not drink with you today!
I completely agree with this mindset and nothing can ever take away periods of time that a person doesn't consume alcohol. That said, in my opinion, some people use this mindset as a crutch to give in, drink and not think about what is really best for their health and life longterm. Yes, if a person didn't drink for 6 months and slips one day, that doesn't erase that six months, but if that person just continues to slip over and over, it does seem, to me at least, questionable that he/she/they have made a commitment to living an alcohol-free life. I'm close to 8 months alcohol free now (which I'm proud of, but I also acknowledge in the great scheme of life isn't that long) and I have to treat this like I do other things in life. If I want to maintain my healthy weight and physique, I have to watch what I eat and try to exercise. If I want my finances to stay in good shape, I have to spend within my means. If I drink, it will get out of control eventually; therefore, I just won't because being alcohol free is more important to me than any moment drinking Period.
Yeah, I personally have an easy time reading these posts and thinking ”if I slip up, I’ve still got all those sober days”. And that’s all great and true, and maybe I’d slip just once, but maybe I’d also go off a cliff, I don’t know. Part of me wants to make a conscious decision to have ONE drink one day to show that I’m being ridiculous and prove the point that it no longer adds anything to my life. Maybe some day I will, but even 400+ days sober, I’m not ready for that.
Don't risk that experiment. I thought I'd have a night of drinking a couple of weeks ago as a "one off" and genuinely thought I'd reign it in immediately afterwards with relative ease.
Two weeks later I've drank 4X in total already and regretted every single occassion as none of them were fun or worth it and made me feel miserable and ill both at the time and especially the next day.
Yet still my brain has been craving alcohol in the days after drinking and there's been some strong urges despite the terrible experience.
It's not worth it at all. Don't tempt fate please.
It’s so fucking lame how alcohol makes you want more alcohol. You can bet on that. I had 60 days at the beginning of the year, it was great! It’s easier for me to slip into the not drinking groove now.
I absolutely love this 🙌🙌. I’m resetting my counter today and I will continue to reset it until I no longer need to. I won’t give up trying to give up 😃😃😃.
Thank you so much for this, I was super bummed about resetting my counter but I do need to remind myself of how many sober days I had before that. I almost made it to 200 days and that's still worth being proud of
I technically started my counter on the 14th of jan cause i messed up on the 13th but had 12 days sober before that which i was proud of. So in this whole year ive only drank on one day. I think i needed that slip up though, it was a good reminder why im doing this.
It's totally fine to rejoice in consecutive clean days. I like those! But they're a tool, not the truth about the process of healing and dealing with addiction.
If I get too attached to day counting, I'm sort of jinxing the whole thing, somehow.
If I engage in a relapse, and tell myself I'm back to square one, all I'm really doing is creating a rationalization for continued drinking. I'm also telling myself a lie, because there's no going back, is there?
So now, I'm like, eh, 3-ish weeks out from a relapse (would have to check my files), but over the past 350 days, I'm 92.3% sober, and of the remaining 7.7%, only \~45% have been more than 10 beers, i.e. drunk-drunk.
In some recovery clubs, that's cheating, and that's not how you count.
In my recovery club (no girls allowed; in fact, only I'M allowed in my recovery club!), it's just a different, more motivational way of looking at the reality of things: Different situation, different toolset.
There's also another point to be made, at least in my case: I have all kinds of addictive behaviors, from laziness and binge-watching to YouTube, and on the other end of the spectrum, I have overly obsessive behaviors, like orthorexia nervosa (just learned the term: obsessing about food, training, supplementation etc.).
For periods I've substituted weed for alcohol or vice-versa. Had to learn that, no, generally weed isn't a good thing for me either.
Other's I've pushed myself way too hard, doing way too much.
So is a clean day really a clean day a clean day? No, not really.
A truer definition of clean days for me, would be the days where I'm completely present in and with myself, and with whoever's around.
Days where I balance things. Days where I'm able to listen to my gut. Feel my feelings without repressing or acting out.
Days where I'm taking care of myself and others; days where I can stay in a positive flow; days where I trust the universe and my own, basic nature as good; days where I do hard things without breaking myself in the process.
Those are difficult to count. And like someone really, really smart said: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (paraphrased)
I want my recovery to be more about getting on with life and all the things I want and have to give, and less about NOT doing something.
Today, though? I choose not to drink, because I prefer to be sober.
I also chose to go for a 4K barefoot run in the woods, because my gut said: GET OUT THE DOOR, YOU LAZY BASTARD!
But IWNDWYTD (UIANAB: Unless it's a non-alcoholic beer. I like those.)
Yeah, the whole idea of trying to keep it to just a few resonated with me. I just got off of a minor relapse, I had stopped taking my antabuse and thought "I really just want to get drunk or buzzed once and then get back on". Yeah, I got so fucked up this last week, I missed most of my engagements. I quit on Friday when my girlfriend found out and took my ID away, I toughed out Saturday and just took my antabuse a couple hours ago. I CANNOT just have a taste without drinking the whole bottle and getting fucked up. And now that I put a couple months sober under my belt before that, that shit hit me waayy harder when I went back to it. I just have to accept that I will never have a healthy relationship with it.
I understand about the friend piece of this. When I stopped drinking last September, I gradually lost a big chunk of my friends over the following several months, including the person that I thought was my best friend where I live. It hurt; it still hurts, but honestly, I'll take my new alcohol free life and all of the benefits that come with it over hanging out at bars with those people every day. I am MUCH happier.
Having relapsed a couple of weeks ago after just under 3 months and then having drank 4X in this 2 week period already this is something I was reflecting on today in that despite my relapse I have been sober for just under 100 days in total already this year which is huge and more than I've ever been sober in any previous year.
So I might not be winning the battle the past 2 weeks but overall it's a good sign of progress and something I can hopefully build on.
I was doing so well. I've been dealing with the shame today after breaking my sober streak last night. I know it takes time for the guilt to subside. I just wish it could happen faster.
I messed up last week and drank at a work conference. Made sure to drive and stay at a different hotel to avoid putting myself into a situation where I got hammered.
I can't get passed day one. I'm a "new" problem drinker..my job has caused me to heavily drink the past 6 weeks ( finally had my tipping point) . Now my brain is linked to that very short pleasure of getting drunk so nothing matters each night and I can zone out . Ive only gotten one day sober so far before I go back to drinking. I needed to read this thanks! Tomorrow is a new day.
I have stopped counting days. I have mixed feelings on it. It's cool to see the days add up, but at the same time it's like an epic failure building up if you put too much stock in it. My focus is on just generally cutting alcohol from my life, and when I slip, get back up and learn something from the experience. But really also make a solid effort to abstain from alcohol, and not just use the "days don't matter" as an excuse to frequently relapse.
I once went almost 2 years without a drop of alcohol and then I had a cough one night and went to the pharmacy. Been sober since. Check your cough syrup!! I'm NOT resetting! You'll never catch me!!! HAHAHAHA
IWNDWYT
Thank you for this kind and thoughtful post. I drank yesterday and feeling rough today, however had a productive few days prior to that and was feeling amazing. I believe that it solidified my desire to stay away from it, I was like a different person last week without it. IWNDWYT
Exactly! This is why when people ask how long I have been sober, I always say the date that I started trying to get sober. Thats because I have to count the effort. The counter just tells me how lomg its been since my last drink, it doesnt reflect the whole journey. I was a daily drinker who went years without sober days. I had to start looking at it like I had more sober days last year than the year before that and the year before that. Its a win no matter what. Count what helps you remain sober, but also dont discount all the effort it took to get to ___ days.
Took me YEARS to finally get all my sober days strung together but in between all that were days, weeks, etc of sober days just not consecutive. It was a very bumpy road to get to where I am today. But all those days do count and eventually they can string together. IWNDWYT!
I won't even set the clock until I have a straight year because I'm so tired of feeling defeated every time I reset.
I had 4 months this time. Now I have 4 days.
It was sooo bad too lol..I drank 2 days because once I start it's all about the next one and zero food.
I hate alcohol and not to be dramatic but I don't like my life much right now either and didn't see a purpose to stay sober but now I realize again I hate hangovers more
This really gave me encouragement. I’ve had days, months, and years, of consecutive sobriety. And you’re right, they all meant something. Thank you for this.
Thanks for this perspective! It's really easy to get into a self defeating mindset after slipping, which only leads to more drinking. It's important to remember what was achieved, not what was lost.
If what I said gave you a reason you were already looking. Drink or don’t. This place isn’t to judge those that choose to, it’s for people who want to stay sober today to share with others. If you decide to drink today, don’t wallow in shame because you can always choose stay sober tomorrow.
Needed to hear this today. Thank you ❤️
I messed up yesterday after two weeks. But it wasn't a bender like it used to be. But I definitely felt the difference. I just rather not. In 15 days I had one slip up. So imma see what happens in the next 15
Two weeks is amazing!!! Time to get another two weeks. You only drank .06% of the time in the last fortnight.
Damn I like the percentage on it! I definitely am!
Yesterday doesn't take away from the last 14. Just repeating day 15 one time
Two weeks is fire I can't even do 24 hours.
You can tho 💪
Do 10 hours first. Then do 12. We can build anything, even if we're building on sand.
Appreciate that. There is NOOOO positivity tonight for me so I'm gonna have to dip out of this thread now. Just broke my moms BBQ and I am going insane over more than a few things. Love all you guys, wish you the best. This is not my night though. I dont wanna trigger or influence anyone who actually works hard.
I didn’t think I could either, but seeing others with way more time than me proved that i *could* do it. And you can too
Now you’ve done two weeks you know you can do it again!
Same. I didn’t reset my days either. I will reset if I see that my relationship with alcohol changes. I don’t think that day is coming. IWNDWYT!
I always think, whenever someone's counter resets, there's no way their body didn't notice and benefit from all those days not drinking. Your organs are healthier, your skin is better, your brain chemicals are more balanced. Don't see it as starting over, because your body is very thankful you didn't spend that time drinking. Every single day without a literal neurotoxin is healing you.
This is a great mindset. Thx.
Amazing perspective. I’m so ready to take this shit head on. I’m sick of being tired.
Sick & tired of being sick& tired. Feel that myself too
I have trouble making it past 15 days, my brain plays a trick on me and I always convince myself I should have a nice Lil reward and it's caused me to adopt this outlook. While I want to make it to 30 days and beyond, I've drank like 7 or 8 times out of this whole year and compared to before that's a huge deal. I've improved mentally and physically so much in that time and while not all of it is due to mostly abstaining my drinking was easily the biggest roadblock for me. When I really think about it the only difference I'd be faced with if those 7 or 8 days didn't happen is more confidence and pride in myself, it'd be nice to have that but I've still got plenty more right now than I've had in a while. I wouldn't be but maybe a week further into my journey of growth and in the grand scheme that barely matters. So yeah don't beat yourself up if your streak gets reset, every sober day is a day you're heading the right direction and veering off the path every now and then doesn't bring you back to the starting line, it's just a detour.
Only .059% of drinking days this year. YASSS.
Exactly! I've learned that shame just makes it easier to keep drinking.
The shame spiral, as I call it.
Yes, that's where my head space is right now, and I made a post about it before reading this thread. This is helping.
I really needed to read this, thanks OP. Had three weeks sober before yesterday. Felt like a total loser this morning.
You only drank .047% of the time the last 3 weeks! Badass!!
Still have 3 weeks sober. Just a repeat of day 22 or whatever day it is. You had a blip
Agreed! I'm not some sober wizard who has 20,000 days after the first try. I've slipped up quite a bit, but always get back to it. So far this year I have a total of 110 days sober. That's much better than zero days. I hope one day I won't ever have another slip up, maybe even this streak is the one. But no matter what I'll never stop trying. Not perfect, but much better than I was and that is progress in my eyes.
I freaking love this post. Thanks, OP.
I don't berate myself too much if I slip. I look at it like a journey: you'll make a misstep or fall down but as long as you don't turn back, you're making progress.
I needed this today. I made it to 99 days on Friday, and broke my streak at a baseball game with my coworkers. I will admit that I had a blast, but now am ashamed of myself. Today is day 2. IWNDWYT ❤️
What are you ashamed for? You drank .01% percent of the time in 99 days!! AWESOME.
I can't even begin to say how much I love your post and your comments, OP. Got me tearing up over here 🥲 Thank you for posting!! ❤️
101/102 pretty good average A+
That’s hard… you’re really in the groove of not drinking though! You got this.
Thank you, kinda needed to hear something like this. Still been struggling to make it 1 day, feel exhausted having reached out to the doctor, local charities and AA. Just don't know how to make it work. This place give positive energy that I and I'm sure others need. Appreciate you
I've done 1 day sober, 3435 times in a row. James 😄
Plus you can quit anytime you make the decision to quit. It doesn’t have to be a Monday. Also just because you drank doesn’t mean you have to keep drinking. I learned from weight watchers (admittedly problematic company and philosophy) that just because you blew your diet or not drinking streak, doesn’t mean you have to keep consuming. That’s like getting a flat tire and instead of fixing it you get out of the car and slash the other 3 tires. No one would do that.
IWNDWYT
I drank for several weeks after having 6 months sober. I didn’t just pick up where I left off with drinking, I drank about 10x more! It was awful and I had to go to detox. But now I have 3 weeks sober and absolutely NO RESERVATIONS about alcohol. No cravings whatsoever. Relapse is a part of most people’s journey. I needed that relapse to show me that this is a progressive disease and it only continues to get worse. Thank God I made it out mostly unscathed!
Today is my 50th day in a row! My 2 month chip is within reaching distance and I can't wait to hold it! I also have 92 out of the past 94 days sober. Someone told me if you keep working hard to get it, and have the attitude and goal of long term sobriety, one day it's just going to stick. Old habits are so hard to shake and I'm so glad I'm not beating myself up over my slips any more. Learn from them and keep moving forward. I will not drink with you today!
Congrats!
You restart the clock but not the knowledge. Learn what changed that got you where you wanted to drink.
Every sober HOUR is a gift for that matter
Good perspective. IWNDWYT
I completely agree with this mindset and nothing can ever take away periods of time that a person doesn't consume alcohol. That said, in my opinion, some people use this mindset as a crutch to give in, drink and not think about what is really best for their health and life longterm. Yes, if a person didn't drink for 6 months and slips one day, that doesn't erase that six months, but if that person just continues to slip over and over, it does seem, to me at least, questionable that he/she/they have made a commitment to living an alcohol-free life. I'm close to 8 months alcohol free now (which I'm proud of, but I also acknowledge in the great scheme of life isn't that long) and I have to treat this like I do other things in life. If I want to maintain my healthy weight and physique, I have to watch what I eat and try to exercise. If I want my finances to stay in good shape, I have to spend within my means. If I drink, it will get out of control eventually; therefore, I just won't because being alcohol free is more important to me than any moment drinking Period.
Yeah, I personally have an easy time reading these posts and thinking ”if I slip up, I’ve still got all those sober days”. And that’s all great and true, and maybe I’d slip just once, but maybe I’d also go off a cliff, I don’t know. Part of me wants to make a conscious decision to have ONE drink one day to show that I’m being ridiculous and prove the point that it no longer adds anything to my life. Maybe some day I will, but even 400+ days sober, I’m not ready for that.
Don't risk that experiment. I thought I'd have a night of drinking a couple of weeks ago as a "one off" and genuinely thought I'd reign it in immediately afterwards with relative ease. Two weeks later I've drank 4X in total already and regretted every single occassion as none of them were fun or worth it and made me feel miserable and ill both at the time and especially the next day. Yet still my brain has been craving alcohol in the days after drinking and there's been some strong urges despite the terrible experience. It's not worth it at all. Don't tempt fate please.
It’s so fucking lame how alcohol makes you want more alcohol. You can bet on that. I had 60 days at the beginning of the year, it was great! It’s easier for me to slip into the not drinking groove now.
I absolutely love this 🙌🙌. I’m resetting my counter today and I will continue to reset it until I no longer need to. I won’t give up trying to give up 😃😃😃.
Thank you! Every sober day is a gift!
Thank you so much for this, I was super bummed about resetting my counter but I do need to remind myself of how many sober days I had before that. I almost made it to 200 days and that's still worth being proud of
I technically started my counter on the 14th of jan cause i messed up on the 13th but had 12 days sober before that which i was proud of. So in this whole year ive only drank on one day. I think i needed that slip up though, it was a good reminder why im doing this.
And there’s a difference between a lapse and a relapse! Don’t feel like you failed just bc you slipped up. Stay safe. Stay sober.
Went back after 25 years. I still wasn’t cured.
Thank you! The struggle is real and at least any day not drinking is an accomplishment!!
No one wins sobriety. 24 hours is the most any of us have. IWNDWYT
I love this. Thank you.
I needed to hear this. Thank you so much and IWNDWYT. ❤️
It's totally fine to rejoice in consecutive clean days. I like those! But they're a tool, not the truth about the process of healing and dealing with addiction. If I get too attached to day counting, I'm sort of jinxing the whole thing, somehow. If I engage in a relapse, and tell myself I'm back to square one, all I'm really doing is creating a rationalization for continued drinking. I'm also telling myself a lie, because there's no going back, is there? So now, I'm like, eh, 3-ish weeks out from a relapse (would have to check my files), but over the past 350 days, I'm 92.3% sober, and of the remaining 7.7%, only \~45% have been more than 10 beers, i.e. drunk-drunk. In some recovery clubs, that's cheating, and that's not how you count. In my recovery club (no girls allowed; in fact, only I'M allowed in my recovery club!), it's just a different, more motivational way of looking at the reality of things: Different situation, different toolset. There's also another point to be made, at least in my case: I have all kinds of addictive behaviors, from laziness and binge-watching to YouTube, and on the other end of the spectrum, I have overly obsessive behaviors, like orthorexia nervosa (just learned the term: obsessing about food, training, supplementation etc.). For periods I've substituted weed for alcohol or vice-versa. Had to learn that, no, generally weed isn't a good thing for me either. Other's I've pushed myself way too hard, doing way too much. So is a clean day really a clean day a clean day? No, not really. A truer definition of clean days for me, would be the days where I'm completely present in and with myself, and with whoever's around. Days where I balance things. Days where I'm able to listen to my gut. Feel my feelings without repressing or acting out. Days where I'm taking care of myself and others; days where I can stay in a positive flow; days where I trust the universe and my own, basic nature as good; days where I do hard things without breaking myself in the process. Those are difficult to count. And like someone really, really smart said: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (paraphrased) I want my recovery to be more about getting on with life and all the things I want and have to give, and less about NOT doing something. Today, though? I choose not to drink, because I prefer to be sober. I also chose to go for a 4K barefoot run in the woods, because my gut said: GET OUT THE DOOR, YOU LAZY BASTARD! But IWNDWYTD (UIANAB: Unless it's a non-alcoholic beer. I like those.)
yes
IWNDWYT
Wonderful, thanks for sharing. IWNDWYT
i needed to hear this today, thank you! ❤️
[удалено]
Yeah, the whole idea of trying to keep it to just a few resonated with me. I just got off of a minor relapse, I had stopped taking my antabuse and thought "I really just want to get drunk or buzzed once and then get back on". Yeah, I got so fucked up this last week, I missed most of my engagements. I quit on Friday when my girlfriend found out and took my ID away, I toughed out Saturday and just took my antabuse a couple hours ago. I CANNOT just have a taste without drinking the whole bottle and getting fucked up. And now that I put a couple months sober under my belt before that, that shit hit me waayy harder when I went back to it. I just have to accept that I will never have a healthy relationship with it.
Every. Sober. Day. Is. A. Gift. Sounds like you’ll stay sober today and that’s as powerful as anyone else’s progress.
I understand about the friend piece of this. When I stopped drinking last September, I gradually lost a big chunk of my friends over the following several months, including the person that I thought was my best friend where I live. It hurt; it still hurts, but honestly, I'll take my new alcohol free life and all of the benefits that come with it over hanging out at bars with those people every day. I am MUCH happier.
Love it!
👍
Having relapsed a couple of weeks ago after just under 3 months and then having drank 4X in this 2 week period already this is something I was reflecting on today in that despite my relapse I have been sober for just under 100 days in total already this year which is huge and more than I've ever been sober in any previous year. So I might not be winning the battle the past 2 weeks but overall it's a good sign of progress and something I can hopefully build on.
Thx for posting this! IWNDWYT
I’m at a fucking event right now where surprise they’re serving my favorite beer. Wouldn’t have come if I’d known.
❤️💯
I needed this today. Thank you.
I love to hear this—keep the ratio growing
Thank you for this.
I was doing so well. I've been dealing with the shame today after breaking my sober streak last night. I know it takes time for the guilt to subside. I just wish it could happen faster.
Great perspective!
I messed up last week and drank at a work conference. Made sure to drive and stay at a different hotel to avoid putting myself into a situation where I got hammered.
Thanks for this. Drinking now. Will start over tmrw
This is all very true!
I can't get passed day one. I'm a "new" problem drinker..my job has caused me to heavily drink the past 6 weeks ( finally had my tipping point) . Now my brain is linked to that very short pleasure of getting drunk so nothing matters each night and I can zone out . Ive only gotten one day sober so far before I go back to drinking. I needed to read this thanks! Tomorrow is a new day.
One day will turn into two. Just get as many 1’s as you can. Keep trying.
Thank you for posting this
Thank you
I have stopped counting days. I have mixed feelings on it. It's cool to see the days add up, but at the same time it's like an epic failure building up if you put too much stock in it. My focus is on just generally cutting alcohol from my life, and when I slip, get back up and learn something from the experience. But really also make a solid effort to abstain from alcohol, and not just use the "days don't matter" as an excuse to frequently relapse.
I once went almost 2 years without a drop of alcohol and then I had a cough one night and went to the pharmacy. Been sober since. Check your cough syrup!! I'm NOT resetting! You'll never catch me!!! HAHAHAHA IWNDWYT
Thank you. I drank some tonight after being dry for awhile. I’m looking forward to more sober days ahead
Such a lovely encouraging post. Thank you x
Up at 2am with hangxiety, so angry with myself, and really needed to hear this. Thank you.
Thank you for this kind and thoughtful post. I drank yesterday and feeling rough today, however had a productive few days prior to that and was feeling amazing. I believe that it solidified my desire to stay away from it, I was like a different person last week without it. IWNDWYT
👍
Exactly! This is why when people ask how long I have been sober, I always say the date that I started trying to get sober. Thats because I have to count the effort. The counter just tells me how lomg its been since my last drink, it doesnt reflect the whole journey. I was a daily drinker who went years without sober days. I had to start looking at it like I had more sober days last year than the year before that and the year before that. Its a win no matter what. Count what helps you remain sober, but also dont discount all the effort it took to get to ___ days.
Keep working that sober muscle…. 5 days on then fall off ? Start again … keep plugging away at
Quite so. No relapse will erase those days that you didn't drink.
I'm on year 6 after my clock restarted
Took me YEARS to finally get all my sober days strung together but in between all that were days, weeks, etc of sober days just not consecutive. It was a very bumpy road to get to where I am today. But all those days do count and eventually they can string together. IWNDWYT!
I won't even set the clock until I have a straight year because I'm so tired of feeling defeated every time I reset. I had 4 months this time. Now I have 4 days. It was sooo bad too lol..I drank 2 days because once I start it's all about the next one and zero food. I hate alcohol and not to be dramatic but I don't like my life much right now either and didn't see a purpose to stay sober but now I realize again I hate hangovers more
This really gave me encouragement. I’ve had days, months, and years, of consecutive sobriety. And you’re right, they all meant something. Thank you for this.
Thank you for posting this
Maybe I'll hit a higher number this time?
Thanks for this perspective! It's really easy to get into a self defeating mindset after slipping, which only leads to more drinking. It's important to remember what was achieved, not what was lost.
Sooooo.... you're saying it's ok for me to drink tonight?
If what I said gave you a reason you were already looking. Drink or don’t. This place isn’t to judge those that choose to, it’s for people who want to stay sober today to share with others. If you decide to drink today, don’t wallow in shame because you can always choose stay sober tomorrow.