I did it yall!!! I made it through summer! 2 vacations! Thc drinks and NA beers have been life savers.
Next up….get through the holidays!!

​

Pressure Doesnt Always Come TO Crush Sometimes IT Builds THE Diamonds Hidden IN THE Dust I Remember Asking Heaven IF IT Still Knew MY Name While Fighting Invisible Battles Nobody Could Explain Every Closed Door Felt Like THE END until I started walking with Faith Countless years of Addiction and Alcoholism I asked God to take the desire and taste out of me I prayed every day and night for it to end. It didn't seem to me that God was listening. But however he was he was putting Pressure on me for me to understand there's a better way and he continued to put pressure to make me feel as uncomfortable as possible.

I continued to fight this demon not knowing why God kept the Pressure on me.I finally figured why and that he was using pressure to make me stronger for when I am Alcohol and Drug free to fight the Cravings Desire and Urge out of me when it presents itself, And It Worked.

Today I am 5yrs free of Drugs and 1yr this October alcohol free and with Grace of God he continues to keep the Pressure on me to keep

me sober. So to those who believe in God lean on him to get you through even when we question if he's not answering he really is he's just building u up...also if I offended anyone with talking about God I Apologize!

So with said when someone says to you you only have one life to live tell them you have 2 the One Im Leaving Behind and The New One I'm Beginning and Thats The Blessing. You Got This Push your way through 🦾🦾🦾💯🙏❤️

Planning to participate in Sober October?

Our research team at the University of Georgia is conducting a study of adults who are planning to abstain from alcohol during Sober October.

If you’re interested in participating, please see the attached study flyer for more information. You can also visit our study website to learn more about the study and find out how to get started.

Please feel free to share this post or flyer with others who may be interested!

Just for today 01SEP26 "Real values' 465 days clean and sober NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
This lifestyle, of actually giving a shit, is new to me. I find myself wanting to give back, wanting to help others, wanting to volunteer. This is a total 180 of my life of chasing that bag or bottle at any cost. I am honest, open-minded, and willing to do what I need to do as a productive member of society. I am not perfect, by any means. Now, when I fuck up, I don't keep thinking about the fuck up. I make amends quickly and get back to being right here, right now. The past is already gone and the future ain't here yet. I'm living just for today.

Hi all,

I am switching from alcohol and weed and decided to try looking into "Functional drinks." A local shop in my home town focuses on non-alcoholic drinks like these, they sold me a pre-made spicy margarita with the above spirit mixed in. I have just tried drinking it but seems pretty close to the real thing so far. It has the two active ingredients L-Thyosine and 5-HTP. Reading online seems mixed on the safety and experience of the above as a true replacement for alcohol. Anyone have any personal experience with these chemicals and could share some insight into?

Thanks!

Hit 8 months a few days ago. Rough month. A lot of personal changes that almost derailed me.

Side note: I do have cirrhosis so that explains discoloration around my eyes

UPDATE: We're all full for the study! Thanks for everyone's interest! Look out for another study coming up in the near future if you're still interested and didn't get to join this one.

We are conducting individual interviews to understand adults’ interest in participating in a temporary alcohol abstinence challenge such as Dry January, Sober October or an alcohol-free month or self-directed period of abstinence. Participation involves a short survey, and a 60-minute remote Zoom interview session. You will be paid a $30 target gift card for your participation.

First, you will answer brief screening questions. These should take you less than one minute to complete. Please answer the screening questions in one sitting. If it is determined that you are eligible, you will then be directed to a consent form telling you more about the study. If you are interested and eligible, you will complete a short survey and be asked to sign up for a one-hour interview session within the next 2 weeks.

Screener is here: Link

Any questions contact us via: [pausestudy@yale.edu](mailto:pausestudy@yale.edu)

Duration: 1 hour

Payment: $30.00

Just for today 31AUG26 "Gratitude" 464 days clean and sober NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day bullshit and forget to be grateful. I catch myself doing it regularly. Reflecting back on where I was before is a quick way to realize how much I have to be grateful for. Just a simple list of three things daily is my goal. I plan to make a habit out of being thankful for three things every day. I think that's doable.

I can't wait to be sober again, to feel free from every mental turmoil—free and serene.

I’ve been a chronic stoner for a few years now. Now…I kinda hate it? Doesn’t matter the strain the brand the method it all sucks lol. Drinking has become not as fun and just a week long of poor mental health following.

How do I just stop the most effective (but toxic) coping skills? Minor healthy coping skills don’t even compare. I’ve done therapy for 10 years. I’ve ran through so many medications. Etc.

How did y’all transition? Like I want to commit but how without just saying “stop”

My first 3 days on 50mg naltrexone
I wanted to share my experience so far because I read a lot of Reddit posts before starting naltrexone. Obviously, I’m only 3 days in, so it’s still very early.
Day 1:
I work night shift, so I took my first 50 mg dose in the morning after I got home, ate dinner, and was about to go to bed. I did this because I was worried about the GI side effects everyone talks about and figured I could hopefully sleep through them.
While sleeping, I had some restlessness and felt a little hotter than usual, but that was pretty much it. I was also probably hyperaware because I was curious if I’d feel some instant change.
Day 2:
This was a drinking day. My plan is to take 50 mg daily, but since it was only my second day, I was worried I didn’t have enough of the medication/metabolites built up yet. So I took it an hour before drinking, Sinclair Method style.
Within that first hour, I felt a little tired and irritable, but I was still looking forward to my first drink. I ordered a strong-ish cocktail and drank it incredibly slowly. I didn’t even finish it.
We went to another bar, and normally I’d be looking forward to my next drink. This time I felt pretty indifferent. At the second bar, I almost felt like I was forcing myself to order another drink. Again, I drank it super slowly, and my friend actually had to tell me to finish it. I had little to no desire to keep drinking.
After that, I went home, ordered pizza, and watched a movie.
Day 3:
I took the pill an hour before a party because I thought I might drink. During that first hour, I felt drowsy and tired, but by the time the hour was up, that feeling was gone.
I got to the party and didn’t drink at all. I also didn’t feel like I was fighting an urge not to drink. I was just chilling. I was honestly more excited about the party food and water than I was about alcohol.
Later that night, I normally would’ve gone to a bar instead of going home. I still went back and forth about it in my head, but I was able to talk myself into going home. I realized I still wanted the nightlife and being-out experience, but I didn’t really want alcohol. I felt like if I went to a bar, I’d be perfectly fine getting a non-alcoholic drink.

From now on, I’m planning to take one 50 mg pill every morning instead of timing it around drinking.
I got my naltrexone through Oar Health.

It’s obviously way too early to know what my long-term experience will be, but so far I’m pretty surprised by the difference.

So I’ve been smoking weed pretty damn consistently for almost three years now and I’m starting to realize how much it’s affected me. I’ve tried quitting before but only made it about 10 days. I feel like for the past year I’ve been stuck in a constant loop of being sober and wanting to be high, then smoking and regretting it. Ik im gonna regret it and it won’t be worth it but I just can’t seem to stop myself. Is there any tips, tricks, strategies, or anything that can keep me from smoking, and keep the motivation to be sober.

Do you experience the urge to binge drink? We are researchers from Bond University, looking for participants to evaluate an online program designed to help people manage these urges. The study involves approximately 8-10 hours of participation over six weeks. Participants who complete the study will receive a $100 AUD e-gift card in recognition of their time.

If you are interested and would like more information or to see if you are eligible, please click here.

Just for today 30AUG26 "Doing good, feeling good" 463 days clean NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
I would have to say that my "state of being" is better than I thought. I have been treating others pretty damn good. I notice when I'm getting annoyed and ground myself pretty quickly. Lately, I've been looking around and naming items I see along with their color. This shit really works. I've also been working on my patience in traffic. I try not to speed up and go around people. Just gonna meet me at the stop light anyway...

Male 60. I need some advice or insight or experience. When I was younger I did drink (not often), but when I did, I liked to drink and have fun (beer, liquor). But over the years I can only drink 1-2 beers at a time (get too full) and I haven’t had liquor in probably 20+ years.  I never drank wine before I met my wife (about 20 years ago). Slowly over the years the day drinking of wine increased. Up to 1-2 bottles a day. I still don’t drink liquor and only 1-2 beers when I actually have a beer (not often). But that wine. It is a killer. And sometimes when I drink a lot I can get moody – maybe say things I shouldn’t. But most times I just fall asleep watching TV. My wife has had enough. My wife wants me to quit drinking 100%. Nothing. No wine (for sure – I agree). But no beer. Or anything. Oh, and my wife will indulge in the wine when she is in the mood. In a way, we are a bit co-dependent. We do enjoy having wine tastings at home or going to winery for a tasting.  Since it is controlled (e.g. one glass to taste), I do not indulge or binge drink. It is having unlimited access to wine that is my weakness. And I agree with her, all daily wine drinking has got to stop. She wants no drinking at all.

My question is: what do I do about having a beer? Is this negotiable? What about our love of wine tasting. We have many expensive foreign wines in the house that we still have not tasted. We enjoy planning vacations going to a winery for tastings. I am also very sad since having a wine tasting with my wife is fun and we really enjoy it. It is that d*mn day drinking that f*cked this all up.

Is it reasonable to cut off one part of drinking without having to cut off everything? Can I even approach her about this proposal without getting into a fight or divorce?

Two years off now this august. Been drinking quite regularly since the early 20's. It's been quite on and off as to when and if it's been a problem, but some times it's resulted in stupid things, like spending lots of money, ending up injured, extreme hangovers that lasted for days and so on. Stuff we all probably know about.

Back in 2019 i got my own (small) apartment and that marked kind of a turning point in my life. I started going to psychologists through my gp, since i was having trouble with the drinking occasionally, and also struggling with other areas in life, namely family. That's largely been the reason for my drinking problems. The next 5 years up to about 2024 was very up and down. Drinking often very heavily and getting very drunk. I would say about 7-8 times out of 10 went good, but those 2-3 times it doesn't really made me suffer.

What really made me convince myself to quit completely was that i was often going out to the beach or lookout points in nature while drinking and listening to loud music. It is very enjoyable, watching the sunset and all that, but when it comes to going home, i sometimes decided to take shortcuts and such, and thus falling over and injuring myself while drunk. About 2-3 times i did so and hit my head.. once i had to call in the rescue.

I consider myself lucky to be alive. This is why alcohol is dangerous. It's very sneaky. Most of the time it's fun. It goes "okay", you can tolerate the hangovers, even the excrutiating ones. That's why it's so hard to give up. The pleasure you get, vs the times is goes bad.

It's all up to ourselves to decide where to draw the line. I figured that, the big rush for me now, is to see how far i can make it the OTHER direction - say, living as healthily as i can, chasing my goals in life, seeing if i can realize some dreams before life is over.

Depression is i think something that is very closely related to alcohol problems. If life goes well, if we can manage the drinking, staying social, or even not - just not turning sad and depressed with it, then it's obviously not a problem. Or losing out on work and responsibilities. I very rarely had problems with that.

So, it really came down to life and death. I just felt that if i continued drinking, it would sooner or later end up in a real disaster, like brain injury or even worse... ending up in a wheelchair, no longer able to chase dreams or make anything of my life. And that really hurts to think about, because i know i have a lot of potential. That's also why the alcohol has been so hard to give up, because i have a lot of faith in myself. A dual edged sword.

One other reason i gave it up, is the changing city bar scene. It may be just me, but i just feel like it's changed a lot the last 10-15 years. Back then, you could go out, people got drunk, you could socialize and people were more social in general. Nowadays, it seems like people are more scared somehow. Most people sit by themselves, with 2-3 associates, have a few drinks, and won't socialize with anyone. Nobody dares to be social, get real drunk or have real fun. And also, you get thrown out for nothing. I've been thrown out after just 2-3 beers, and i can drink a bottle of whiskey and still not look very drunk at all. It's getting ridiculous. It's like if you're a slight outcast, you won't fit in. It's just my experience really.

I've given the advice to a lot of people asking for help, to become their own psychologists. And i've taken that advice myself. I must have written hundreds and hundreds of pages of self-reflection thoughts. That is probably the best advice i can give. Start writing your thoughts down. Ask yourself questions; Why do i drink? Why do i want to stop drinking? Can i drink without getting depressed and injuring myself? What would it take for me to be able to stop drinking completely?

Start the self-dialoguing process. That is real personal growth. And i can also say, i taught that myself, no psychologist taught me that. I am actually quite disappointed in that process, it felt very clinical and less humane. There were one-offs though, some are very competent. But it always felt like when i started talking about the real issues, they sort of diverted the conversation away from it. And that always bugged me.

So what's changed for the better? So many things. I am VERY much more productive! My apartment is cleaner, neater. I cook and clean every day, the kitchen is no longer stacked with a heap of dishes for days on end. Garbage does not pile up and need to be emptied. I have built specialized shelves for my apartment, taking up woodworking as a hobby, a dream i've had for years. It feels really good to accomplish these things. My motor skills has absolutely improved, i react faster, i move faster, do things faster. I have more confidence. Even started guitar practice now again, very ironic, i've sometimes played while drunk, which is veeery much fun ^^ but it's stopped with that. You never get real practice in to get real good at it, because you always wait until you're drunk, and then it doesn't always happen anyway.

So there are a LOT of positive things with the sobriety!

It does take a lot of discipline. You basically have to convince yourself to do ANYTHING it takes to stay away from alcohol. My best technique when i am very stressed is to simply just lie down on my bed, and lie there until my body and mind has regulated itself. Like meditation. That is something you can rely on. When you do that, you will feel better in 2-3 hours time. It always works.

An at least halfway healthy diet is important, our bodies need healthy food. If you need junk food, try to make it yourself, it gets healthier that way. I do drink alcohol free beer, but didn't do that for the first year. I can control that. Only drink tea, coffee occasionally and just boiled and tempered water.

So that's it for now i guess ^^ There were sooo many times i thought; I'll never be able to quit. I will die an alcoholic and miserable and never get any of the dreams i have fulfilled. Now one is at least started, and the other is well on the way. It takes years. You have to think not just the next week or month ... but the rest of your life. That's how deep the decision must be. I worked on it for 6 years before managing to make the decision, telling myself i have to quit, trying every strategy there is. No stategy works - there is just making that decision because it's basically about life and death. Some people can drink, be happy and control it. Others can't. It's as simple as that, at least to me.

I think I just like the idea of having something like a little treat and that it doesn't have to be alcohol, stocked up on Magna peach iced tea when it was on sale, definitely worth it lol

Just for today 29AUG26 "Don't look back" 462 days clean and sober NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
Hard to move forward when your looking back. I've found that grounding techniques help me keep from sitting in the past. I ground myself, at least, a couple times a day. Whether it's just paying attention to my breathing or doing a body scan. I also like to just look around and name random items I can see, a long with their color. I can't allow rumination to consume me. I am focused on the here and now, just for today.

Today marks 3 years since I quit drinking, or in other terms...

3 years since I stopped actively working towards the grave

3 years since the 3-day long hangovers packed with suicidal levels of anxiety

2 years and 7 months since I met my wife, who thankfully never knew me as a drinker

3 years since I stopped running from the feelings around my dad and only sibling's early deaths from alcohol

And most importantly

3 years of paving this new path.

I met my wife when I was about 5 months sober. We met at work, really when she came in with her resume. She came over with another coworker after close, she stayed the night, and we stayed by each other ever since.

Because it wasn't just my drunk ass causing problems and starting fights. It was my drunk ass who kept himself in such a low vibrational state that I couldn't be myself. Couldn't connect with another person. Couldn't just simply not lie.

But once the alcohol was out of the picture, I could do all of it, and I am grateful every day that this fish wound up in my net. She is everything I ever dreamed of, and everything I was told to be delusional for thinking even existed. In fact, I am writing this from the living room of the house we bought, after living across the US and moving countries after we got married.

I am posting today not to brag, but to show how many beautiful and unexpected things can manifest into your life when you just take the plunge. Obviously easier said than done, and it took years to do it, but hopefully this gives some insight to what can happen when you do.

Hoping all of you are well, whether its day 1, day 10,000 or if you're still on the wall. Come on in, the water's fine!

I quit drinking August 12th to support my partner and now just have a chronic sense of anxiety and discomfort in my solar plexes- meditation, breathing, exercises I can’t chill! Is this normal?

Quit drinking about 4 years ago.

I found that the friends and connections i had are all so empty or shallow now.

You don't get invited as often anymore... because you are "boring" now.

Does anyone else experience this and how do you feel about that?

Thanx