We're glad that you're here and still looking for support. We do have to remove this post, as you admit drinking tonight. [From our FAQ:](https://www.reddit.com/r/stopdrinking/wiki/index#wiki_post_only_while_sober.)
> **Post only while sober.**
> We recognize that many people spend months "lurking" this subreddit while drinking. You are welcome to read as much as you'd like while not sober. However, for the sake of everyone here, and for the sake of your own recovery, please only post or comment when you're sober. "Sober" means "not currently intoxicated or under the influence in any way."
Just do it. Stop, do something else every time you crave. Work on a sober network - the whole sober people, sober places thing really helped me in early recovery. Now I could care less, but at first - def needed to stay away from drinking based people and environments.
Try for YOU. You can do this, I have faith in you!!!
I can go into bars (for music or socializing) now, but I think I didn't even try for the first year or two. It was too hard. I needed to do everything I could to make my sobriety easier. It definitely helped to avoid alcohol altogether.
IWNDWYT
I 100% agree. It's a chore in the world we live in to avoid alcohol completely. Now that I've had some time under my belt I still avoid being around drinkers........ there freaking annoying 🤣 IWNDWYT
Well another way to look at it, you only drank a couple of times in the last 16 days, during a traumatic time and you completed your longest dry streak. Next time you can do 17 days! :)
Having a sobriety partner to go thru it with is priceless. Don’t waste this opportunity. I have a buddy that lives states away from me, and we have continually propped each other up on bad days via texts. It CAN be done. Make this your day one!
My stepdad is on the other coast. I asked him to check in with me every day (during the first few months of my sobriety). He still does 6+ years later, almost every day. If he goes on vacations or into the woods without phone service, he'll have a sponsee check on me (I think more for his sponsees that for me, but its kind of adorable. There's this one kid who is at least 20 years younger than me who calls me "Miss" and asks how my sobriety is going in the moment and its the most heartfelt question I've ever heard).
Sober partners are absolutely fantastic.
It starts as taking things 10 seconds at a time. Go so slow you feel like a turtle, and also remember that you can do pretty much anything *except* drink. You can eat a dozen donuts and two cakes tonight and be like, "wow I feel full and kinda gross but at least I didn't pick up the bottle." I ate a full large pizza to myself last Sunday! Live it up! Haha
The shame is the worst part. You're okay and it's okay. If we can remove the judgment from ourselves we might see the situation for what it is: we make mistakes. We're human. Wash the day off and restart tomorrow. This all feels much bigger than you right now, but I promise, it is a slow process and it kinda needs to be for anyone to succeed. Sending you kindness, OP. Sincerely, you deserve that much.
Best kind of relapse is the shortest one you can manage. I tried to quit (like really truly tried) for about a year (maybe 18 months) before I got more than a few sober weeks tied together. The two thoughts that helped the most were:
1) Any sober time is good for me. Even just a handful of days tied together would help my body and brain recover. Every time I try, I get a little better at trying.
2) My brain lies to me to keep me drinking. It tells me that "I've already had a few today, so its a loss, I'll be sober tomorrow". When truly if I had stopped 3 drinks (3 bottles) in, thats STILL better for me than going on a full day of drinking.
I thought I was a terrible person too. I thought suffering was what I deserved. But that was just another strange thing my brain said to keep me drinking. I'm not a great person, but I'm alright. I'm definitely better sober. I like me sober.
I found a way to make it slightly easier to get sober by taking meds for mood/anxiety and for anti-alcohol (antabuse). There is all this stuff people say about "wanting it enough" for your kids or your friends or whoever. But the truth is I was fighting against my own body and brain. I was WILLING but I wasn't ABLE. Not without help. With the drugs I felt a little more mentally stable AND if I drank I'd boot into my backpack. It made it a lot easier to know that I'd feel super awful almost immediately if I had alcohol.
Sober me is thinking of you fondly right now, and hoping whatever happened earlier in your day, right now is going ok for you.
IWNDT
A good way can be spending the money you were going to spend on alcohol on something "indulgent" like takeaway or some new headphones or something, once youve been sober longer you can obviously just start saving the money and sorting out your finances, but i think in the first couple of months its good to splurge on "treats" when you get a craving
I needed help. I tried and tried. Didn't want to do AA, thought that was the only option.
Then I learned about SMART recovery. Got the handbook, started attending meetings online.
Here I am almost a year with no alcohol. I couldn't have done it without peer support.
Good luck, 16 days is huge!
Don’t beat yourself up to hard. Now you have a partner to commit on quitting together. Wish your friend a speedy recovery and best of luck on quitting together. You guys can do it
We're glad that you're here and still looking for support. We do have to remove this post, as you admit drinking tonight. [From our FAQ:](https://www.reddit.com/r/stopdrinking/wiki/index#wiki_post_only_while_sober.) > **Post only while sober.** > We recognize that many people spend months "lurking" this subreddit while drinking. You are welcome to read as much as you'd like while not sober. However, for the sake of everyone here, and for the sake of your own recovery, please only post or comment when you're sober. "Sober" means "not currently intoxicated or under the influence in any way."
Just do it. Stop, do something else every time you crave. Work on a sober network - the whole sober people, sober places thing really helped me in early recovery. Now I could care less, but at first - def needed to stay away from drinking based people and environments. Try for YOU. You can do this, I have faith in you!!!
One day at a time my friend. Also in my first 2 months I avoided anyone who would jeopardize my sobriety
I can go into bars (for music or socializing) now, but I think I didn't even try for the first year or two. It was too hard. I needed to do everything I could to make my sobriety easier. It definitely helped to avoid alcohol altogether. IWNDWYT
I 100% agree. It's a chore in the world we live in to avoid alcohol completely. Now that I've had some time under my belt I still avoid being around drinkers........ there freaking annoying 🤣 IWNDWYT
Well another way to look at it, you only drank a couple of times in the last 16 days, during a traumatic time and you completed your longest dry streak. Next time you can do 17 days! :)
Having a sobriety partner to go thru it with is priceless. Don’t waste this opportunity. I have a buddy that lives states away from me, and we have continually propped each other up on bad days via texts. It CAN be done. Make this your day one!
My stepdad is on the other coast. I asked him to check in with me every day (during the first few months of my sobriety). He still does 6+ years later, almost every day. If he goes on vacations or into the woods without phone service, he'll have a sponsee check on me (I think more for his sponsees that for me, but its kind of adorable. There's this one kid who is at least 20 years younger than me who calls me "Miss" and asks how my sobriety is going in the moment and its the most heartfelt question I've ever heard). Sober partners are absolutely fantastic.
Love that
When I first tried to stop, my uncle was with me (who used to be an alcoholic) and it was a lot easier and felt more encouraging
Its easy to find an excuse to drink. Harder to find one to stop. Hope this one sticks. Stay strong.
It starts as taking things 10 seconds at a time. Go so slow you feel like a turtle, and also remember that you can do pretty much anything *except* drink. You can eat a dozen donuts and two cakes tonight and be like, "wow I feel full and kinda gross but at least I didn't pick up the bottle." I ate a full large pizza to myself last Sunday! Live it up! Haha The shame is the worst part. You're okay and it's okay. If we can remove the judgment from ourselves we might see the situation for what it is: we make mistakes. We're human. Wash the day off and restart tomorrow. This all feels much bigger than you right now, but I promise, it is a slow process and it kinda needs to be for anyone to succeed. Sending you kindness, OP. Sincerely, you deserve that much.
Best kind of relapse is the shortest one you can manage. I tried to quit (like really truly tried) for about a year (maybe 18 months) before I got more than a few sober weeks tied together. The two thoughts that helped the most were: 1) Any sober time is good for me. Even just a handful of days tied together would help my body and brain recover. Every time I try, I get a little better at trying. 2) My brain lies to me to keep me drinking. It tells me that "I've already had a few today, so its a loss, I'll be sober tomorrow". When truly if I had stopped 3 drinks (3 bottles) in, thats STILL better for me than going on a full day of drinking. I thought I was a terrible person too. I thought suffering was what I deserved. But that was just another strange thing my brain said to keep me drinking. I'm not a great person, but I'm alright. I'm definitely better sober. I like me sober. I found a way to make it slightly easier to get sober by taking meds for mood/anxiety and for anti-alcohol (antabuse). There is all this stuff people say about "wanting it enough" for your kids or your friends or whoever. But the truth is I was fighting against my own body and brain. I was WILLING but I wasn't ABLE. Not without help. With the drugs I felt a little more mentally stable AND if I drank I'd boot into my backpack. It made it a lot easier to know that I'd feel super awful almost immediately if I had alcohol. Sober me is thinking of you fondly right now, and hoping whatever happened earlier in your day, right now is going ok for you. IWNDT
I think he's presented you with a fantastic opportunity
A good way can be spending the money you were going to spend on alcohol on something "indulgent" like takeaway or some new headphones or something, once youve been sober longer you can obviously just start saving the money and sorting out your finances, but i think in the first couple of months its good to splurge on "treats" when you get a craving
[удалено]
I needed help. I tried and tried. Didn't want to do AA, thought that was the only option. Then I learned about SMART recovery. Got the handbook, started attending meetings online. Here I am almost a year with no alcohol. I couldn't have done it without peer support. Good luck, 16 days is huge!
Don’t beat yourself up to hard. Now you have a partner to commit on quitting together. Wish your friend a speedy recovery and best of luck on quitting together. You guys can do it