That’s great to hear! Yeah, the best thing to do is to try and recognize the things and times that make you want to drink and be cognizant at seeing the signs of urges before they turn to actually picking the drink up. If you’ve never looked into them, I’d highly recommend Smart Recovery (smartrecovery.org), it’s a great program and has a lot of excellent strategies in their toolkit online for coping with and combating urges. Keep up the excellent work ;)

Right now, I’d say the biggest beneficial thing you can do is just experiment. Pick a few things that look interesting and find some beginner resources to dip your toes in. It’s important not to over-analyze and be too critical of these new pursuits in the beginning. My problem was, quite frequently, I’d talk myself out of something before I really explored it to even decide with confidence if it really was for me or not.

Allow yourself to just go with an idea without judgement. Reserve your criticism for later when you have enough information to make a informed decision on if it is for you. Although, be aware that there are times when you can intuit your interest and desire based off of how it makes you feel early on, just don’t be so quick to pivor away because sometimes it’s just the learning curve of trying something new, and when you power through the initial discomfirt you find that you DO like whatever it is.

Bottom line: don’t feel as if you need to rush. With some exploring and experimentation you’ll find something that really resonates with you. For me that was writing and it’s been incredibly refreshing.

Good luck, comrade ;)

Thanks! It’s been a long road, but I am in a much better place now. Time to get back to supporting my fellow comrades!

I’d love an invite, username is kvasirofthewoods

Fantastic choice my friend! I just discovered the NA stuff as well too. Never tried it until a few days ago and I must say it is great to have since I had been missing the taste of beer since there isn’t anything that tastes like it. Anyway, good to see you here, sorry I’ve been incommunicado here on /c/sobriety , been a busy month, but I definitely aim to be on here a bit more and try to grow our humble little nook. Welcome to the sub ;)

Doing good myself. On Thursday I’ll have 2 weeks again. Should be over two months before my relapse but I’m letting that go, moving forward and staying positive. I’m not going to let anything hold me back, not even a relapse. In the past I’d have juat said screw it, but I know that as long as I keep my head straight I don’t have to let mistakes drag me back down.

Anyways, hope you guys are doing good, stay strong out there comrades <3

Excellent! Keep on keeping on :D

I’m doing pretty good myself. I’m on day 5 now after my relapse but I’m chugging right along. At a doctor’s appointment now and busy thinking about how to tackle the rest of the week. Feel a lot better about things then I did last week, so that’s good. Looking forward to the future and what that looks like. Hope everyone else out there is doing good.

Exactly. I’m so happy to be feeling a bit better and have some positivity back. This morning was rough and depressing. I’m out of the hospital now though and going to a meeting with my sponsor later on today. Thanks for the kind words <3

Thank you for that. I’ll keep it in mind. Yeah, I’m just going to right the ship and be more vigilant to possible triggers. Also work more closely with my sponsor and make it to more meetings. I appreciate all the love and support from everyone, it means a lot.

Great job! A year is big news. I get you on the ups and downs of self-esteem. Sometimes life just throws you curveball after curveball and it gets tough not to get down on yourself. Keep swinging for the fences, all we can do. I pray your job earch bears plentiful fruit soon <3

I feel you. It’s soul-draining to work as a pleb grinding away and under the geara of capitalism. My advice is to find your passion, what makes you tick. For me it was returning back to nature, reading and getting creative. Alcohol has a tendecy to get in the way of those pursuits, at least it did for me.

I would try and change up your routine (it’s not easy) to find something that really makes you happy. It wont necessarily happen overnight but when you find a genuine love than it’ll be worth the effort you put in in spades. I wish you the best and feel free to PM me if you ever need to talk to someone. We’re here for you comrade <3

That’s amazing! I’m nearing day 30 myself. It really keeps getting better day after day. I actually found a fullbox of wine while cleaning trash up at the beach and had no compunction to want to drink it whatsoever, I knew my cravings were gone but it was joyous to see it illustrated so strikingly.

You’re absolutely right about activity keeping you focused. I’ve been at it with whatever form of social/community action I can take and it has been a boon to my ongoing sobriety. To know that I can be there for others when they need me and be a positive influence on their lives is tremendously uplifting. Keep up the great work, comrade!

For myself, things just keep getting better each and every day. I feel immense gratitude at not craving or desiring a drink whatsoever. I feel incredibly clear-headed and like myself for the first time in years. Alcohol really drained me of my passion and siphoned the joy from my soul. I’m meeting so many new and wonderful people, both in AA and out of it. It really is amazing to finally be able to connect with others.

Not everything is always sunshine and roses though. I have my moments. I still miss my fiance a lot and still cry at least a time or two everyday. But it is much more manageable than when I was drinking. There’s also the issue of being around or exposed to repulsive ideas and personalities. This morning I went to what I thought was an AA meeting, but it was really just a evangelical Christian early morning bible group and I was smacked in the face with transphobia and homophobia, as well as “remember to vote, it matters, for those that need help we made a ‘cheat sheet’ with conservative candidates to vote for.”

I noped out of there right then. It’s a blunt reminder of that these people are in the midst of us, intolerant, ignorant and mobilized against our fellow brothers and sisters. It made me sad, but I was also emboldened by the fact that I know that my fight has just begun anew and now I have tye clear head to face it head on

Stay strong fellow comrades, we got this! 😊

Of course! No worries, just PM if you need to 😊

Same here, just PM me if you’re at that point. I’ll give you my phone number and you can text or call me if you need to reach out to someone ❤️

Try and keep positive, it does get better 😇

Every day is better than the next when I don’t drink. Sure, they might not always be great content-wise, but I feel much better and confident.

Stay with it, comrade, imagine how you’ll feel a year from now, hell, even another few months from now 😉

Are you registered on lemmygrad? Maybe it has something to do with interacting through hexbear?

Thank you for the kind words 😄

I’m trying to do my best to give back and hopefully steer others to a happier, more positive place. I know where I’ve been and it’s not pretty, so if I can help just one person avoid that I’m going to try my damndest to spread the word ❤️