You are welcome Trisha ... would love to get to know you better and about your sobriety ... how 'bout post'n a little more often??? ... I'm sure you have a lot to offer ...



Love ya and God Bless,
Pappy

Oh Trish, quite the opposite, ... if you need help ... just explain what you're go'n through and ask us how we got through it ... we'll help you any way we can ... and if you need to talk to another lady, for special discussions on men, then use the PM section(private messaging) to talk woman to woman ... I know a few here I can suggest you talk to if you need help there ...

There are folks who have posted for years on here and have been unable to stay sober--they are never turned away. Please do not let that stop you. You need support now. I doubt there is hardly anyone who is an alcoholic that has been able to stop drinking on the first try. And truth be known, it has probably taken several times. Me, for one. And I am not naive enough to think I have this thing licked. I had over two years of sober time. Maybe that is not a long length of time to some. For me, that was huge when I had reached the point where I didn't think I could go without drinking for one day, or even one hour of one day. After I had some sober time, I thought I was done. Apparently, I was not.

I had to stop going by places that sell alcohol. When it was unavoidable, I didn't even look in the direction of the place. In grocery stores, I avoided the wine/beer aisles. I refused to go in restaurants that sold alcohol for quite a while and when I was able to go after I had some sober time, I still didn't go to places considered "bars" or even those that had a bar to sit at in them, because they were considered my seating preference. And by that time it wasn't so much that I was afraid I would take a seat next to the bartender, it was because of the painful memories I had of the many times I did and the history I had of what happened after I had a few. I really didn't want to relive them.

I had to stop beating myself up. I drank. I used it as an excuse to keep doing it. Alcoholics drink. I'm normal for an alcoholic. I am not a bad person. I am not a failure. I don't want to succumb to it and give up though because of it. I'm an alcoholic and it is not okay for me to drink and sink down into that Hell hole anymore. For me, staying sober each day requires a willingness on my part to change habits which I had for years....not hanging out with old drinking buddies, turning down invites to parties/events where alcohol is served. And when my stress level is going to be higher than usual (like you were saying with your job), I have to be extra diligent to do what I have to do to make sure I don't turn to a drink to help me cope with whatever it is going on in my life. I don't let my fear of what people think keep me from staying sober. I let my fear of myself help keep me sober. I can and will destroy myself if I don't stay sober. Prayer and trusting in a loving God who, unlike people, will never let me down and always be there for me, is helping me and is what is going to help keep me sober TODAY.

Good luck to you, Trish. However, staying sober isn't about luck. It takes strength and courage and when you have decided that you are tired of letting alcohol control you and you want to have more control over your precious life, you will have the desire to stop drinking and figure out what you need to do to make that happen.

Oh Trisha, ... ltr (leavetherest) IS one of the ladies I'd have referred you to ... for PM's ... she has the experience to help in areas that bother you most ... don't hesitate to work with her ...

-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Monday 28th of March 2016 12:13:04 PM

Ha! ... sometimes this site becomes that little voice in your head that helps you make the right decision ... all we desire here, is to help those struggle'n to know what to do next ... and it IS important to take the right steps IF you really want to recover ... alcohol will make your life miserable until we decide we've had enough and are will'n to change ... recovery was way beyond our expectations when we first began ... all we needed to do is take a few simple steps ... and WOW, life has become way more than we ever expected it to be ... Patience ... and do'n the next 'right' thing ... that's all you need besides the 'desire' to stop ...


Love ya,
Pappy