This may seem like a weird post to make, but I'm going to make it.
I was a drunk for about 25 years. (Daily drinker since I was 18). I have been sober for 4 years and I feel great. This thread isn't for people who are heavy drinkers who can put down the bottle when they need to. (My wife is a heavy drinker and most of my buddies are still heavy drinkers). I'm not against drinking, and I don't care if people who want to drink, drink. The point of this is not to convince people to stop drinking.
This is for drunks like me. It took me far too long to get straight and put down the bottle, and I think the biggest thing holding me back was that I didn't really know anyone who didn't drink. I grew up in a family of hard drinkers, from the time I was 14 I hung out with drinkers. Drinking was all I knew and the only way I'd ever really socialized. I didn't know what a sober life looked like. I was afraid to admit to myself that I wanted to stop (in case I found out that I couldn't) and I was afraid of how my personality would change. Would I enjoy the things I used to? Would I still be fun to hang out with or would I be some weirdo at the party angrily sipping water? It seems silly but I felt like I would lose part of myself.
I won't get into my whole boring story here, but if the bottle is kicking the shit out of anyone here and they are thinking of trying to give it up, feel free to PM me privately or ask me a question here on this thread. I don't really have any answers, I can just relate.
I was a drunk for about 25 years. (Daily drinker since I was 18). I have been sober for 4 years and I feel great. This thread isn't for people who are heavy drinkers who can put down the bottle when they need to. (My wife is a heavy drinker and most of my buddies are still heavy drinkers). I'm not against drinking, and I don't care if people who want to drink, drink. The point of this is not to convince people to stop drinking.
This is for drunks like me. It took me far too long to get straight and put down the bottle, and I think the biggest thing holding me back was that I didn't really know anyone who didn't drink. I grew up in a family of hard drinkers, from the time I was 14 I hung out with drinkers. Drinking was all I knew and the only way I'd ever really socialized. I didn't know what a sober life looked like. I was afraid to admit to myself that I wanted to stop (in case I found out that I couldn't) and I was afraid of how my personality would change. Would I enjoy the things I used to? Would I still be fun to hang out with or would I be some weirdo at the party angrily sipping water? It seems silly but I felt like I would lose part of myself.
I won't get into my whole boring story here, but if the bottle is kicking the shit out of anyone here and they are thinking of trying to give it up, feel free to PM me privately or ask me a question here on this thread. I don't really have any answers, I can just relate.
