As I sit here writing this story, a counter on my computer desktop indicates that I have been sober 2,105 days, one day at a time. However, what amazes me about this time is that it is 25,000 times the duration I could go at the end of my drinking career without having the need or the craving to have alcohol. These days, my most difficult parts have more to do with what some people refer to as emotional sobriety. Dealing with my feelings can still be very challenging. Am I bottling something up then raging at another driver on the road, or worse, losing my temper with my daughter or nagging my husband?
- There were many times after getting together with another couple that I drove home in a blackout.
- Simpson said in the post alcohol was one of the things standing in her way, and that stopping would help her “break cycles.”
- It’s a thing where you’ll say, “I’m a month sober,” and people will be like, Congratulations!
I did a month-long “dry January” in both 2018 and 2019. A personally turbulent 2019 left me wondering if I should quit alcohol altogether, so I challenged myself to cut it for an entire year. (Little did I know a global pandemic was afoot—yikes.) I didn’t have a single sip in 2020. I had alcohol a few times earlier this year, but I consider myself a non-drinker now. “Nobody recovered from addiction dead. My feeling is if we can keep people alive long enough, we know eventually the majority get recovery,” he said.
Sober Story: Charmaine
I’ve made so many lifelong friends, but I’ve also lost some friends to overdoses. If you feel you have a problem with drink or drugs and that the time is ripe to follow in the footsteps of these stories of sobriety, you don’t need to make the journey alone. You need a contingency plan in place to strengthen your resolve if life in recovery ever gets tough.
These interviews give me hope and for that I’m thankful. The second part of this is how it affects the people around me, notably in worrying about how I perceive them since I’m often the only sober one. The simplest explanation is that I’m happy when everyone around me is enjoying themselves however is best for them. I do know that some people worry I’m judging them for their drinking, or that I won’t still be “fun” to hang out with, and that’s unfortunate.
Sober Story: Helen
I’m five months sober and I’m also transitioning. I am coming out to family members and really re-creating myself in the fullest extent possible. When a person transitions, it’s like rebirthing a human. And my relationship with myself has gotten so much deeper, there’s so much more to me.
- Or maybe you just don’t like the way you feel after an extra glass of wine to take the edge off the day.
- I began to drink at home, frequently wondering the next morning how there could be so many empty beer cans on the counter.
- After a brief job search, certainly hindered by my alcohol consumption, I returned to the large academic practice where I trained.
- My wife, who I believe was also unhappy, frequently left the young children with me for me to supervise while she went shopping or got together with her neighborhood friends.
- This scary but necessary step catapulted her into a journey of long-term recovery.
Tune in each week as we tell these good, sober stories. Inspired by National Recovery Month, people are sharing the power of sobriety through a collection of diverse, inspiring recovery stories. The project, Voices of Hope, chronicles the recovery journeys of Valley Hope alumni, while offering hope and healing to loved ones and families seeking help. Voices of Hope leverages the personal stories of those living in recovery to help educate communities about the disease of addiction, effective treatment and the power of recovery. Landmark Recovery was founded with a determination to make addiction treatment accessible for all.
Sober Story: Olivia
Simpson confessed in the caption, “The drinking wasn’t the issue. I didn’t respect my own power.” Four years into her journey, she celebrated how she was able to make “nice with the fears.” I’d only begun drinking about a year and a half prior to this experience. I got drunk for the first time during my first week of college and quickly spiraled out of control. It made my anxiety quiet down, which was something I’d failed to figure out how to do for the majority of my life.
Sometimes I don’t have strength in a moment but I recognize that if I continue to behave the way I had, then nothing’s going to change. And I didn’t stop drinking to act the same way I was when I was drinking. I realize that I don’t give myself enough credit.
