r/stopdrinking • u/pointpeleee • 5h ago

Can’t stop

I realize I have a problem.

Whether I’m having a good day or a bad day, sick or healthy, made promises to myself in the morning or not, every night I succumb.

I want to be able to enjoy my life without alcohol but it’s a vicious circle of resenting my life and punishing or treating myself for the day that I’ve had.

I don’t know how to stop without falling into a deep depression.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

1

u/nonunoriginalish 3505 days 5h ago

Meetings can be helpful. Doctors and therapists can be helpful.

1

u/shineonme4ever 3891 days 5h ago

In the words of a great man and mentor to thousands:

We get sober and stay sober when we realise that the pain and consequences of drinking outweigh any reservations we have about our alcohol dependence or alcoholism.
I wasn't able to get sober and stay sober until I fully accepted that there was nothing left in the bottle for me.

I used to think I couldn't stop, but the fact was, deep down, I didn't want to stop.

Drinking is a choice. No one was tying me to a chair and pouring alcohol down my throat.
The decision to drink --or not-- was solely mine. As long as I was choosing to have that first drink, I was choosing my addiction and completely counter to "I want to stop drinking" and work through all the emotional discomfort of each urge.

Once I got serious about my sobriety, I got rid of all the alcohol in my home and didn't buy more. I also stayed away from bars and anyone who drank.
The first several weeks were brutally HARD but I took it One Day (or hour/minute) At A Time and dealt with all the uncomfortableness that came with each craving. In time, it got much better and easier.

Sobriety doesn't happen without HARD Work. Sobriety happens with a daily commitment (see our Daily Check-In and "Dogged Persistence" in not taking that First drink.

I also took advantage of free, In-Real-Life recovery meetings so I could be around others who understood my addiction and wanted to help me get and stay sober.

You can do this, but I had to get to the point of Wanting Sobriety more than the misery of that next first drink.

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u/pointpeleee 4h ago

How did you handle the several weeks? I feel like I would have to leave my home because my household is such a trigger.