Today is my birthday! It’s the third one since I stopped drinking and I have no regrets about that choice. It’s not always easy but it’s right. I will not drink today!

My anxiety has been steadily building this winter with a lack of strong coping mechanism sans alcohol. I’m taking the time this new years weekend to focus on some big rock self improvement goals that are small enough, actionable, and iterable that I can attain them realistically. I’ve picked up a stoicism daily devotional and I intend to put into practice some version of a bullet journal. Regardless, I’m steadfast that IWNDWYT.

Used to think I had to drink a beer inorder to watch football,l the correct way, thanks to all the marketing around it. Tomorrow I’ll be going to my first NFL game and plan on enjoying 1 NA beer if they have it on offer, and if not I’ll just drink water and enjoy the game and remember every minute of it thanks to sobriety. I will not drink with you today!!!

IWNDWYT!

Still chugging along, Day 11 now. Day three and days 10-14 always seem to be the most likely times for me to relapse and man, last night would have been it if I wasn’t taking daily Naltrexone. I knew I took it in the morning so even if I had beers with hockey last night it wouldn’t have been any fun; I would have just gotten inebriated without the euphoria.

Better living through chemistry I suppose.

edit: and the first thing I did this morning was take that Naltrexone pill

Just saw this community on c/all.

I never had a problem with drinking, tbh. I only drank at all for about 2 years. 2013-2015. Immediately after finally leaving my parents’ house. But for me once I tried weed I never really wanted to drink after that.

I could have all the fun of an altered mental state, but without losing the ability to remember what happened, or a need to vomit, or a need to consume something that’s just not good tasting while pretending to enjoy it so others don’t think I’m the weird one (I’m completely convinced no one likes the taste, everyone only drinks because it was legal when weed wasn’t, and it was barred from a lot of jobs via testing that would pop positive days and weeks (even months with hair) after the high wore off).

That last bit I have a huge rant about, but I won’t bother with it here, for everyone’s sake.

But because of the time of year, after giving it up I still remember exactly when my last drink was. I don’t know that it’s that common to remember the exact date of your last drink outside of a recovering addict.

I very distinctly remember my last drink. It was on New Year’s of 2016. I remember that I had stopped drinking a few weeks before, but the friend who’s house we went to to party didn’t realize it yet, and she had just made my “favorite” drink (frozen strawberry marg) for me. Given that, she was surprised to hear I gave it up, but I did drink it one last time as a goodbye. It was the closest thing I ever had to a new year resolution, so I figured it made sense at the time.

I gave the best man speech as a toast at one of my brothers’ wedding, just a couple years ago, so I took a partial mouthful of the champagne he had to make the toast while everyone was looking right at me. I don’t count that though, as it was pretty tiny and I obviously didn’t get drunk in the slightest.

But as 2024 starts, I do know I’ve been 8 years alcohol free.

I can’t even imagine how it might have gone, as I only drank once a week, but I would get plastered. Blacked out several times (but was with good friends, so no crazy stories). I’m just glad it ended there.

Now the first thing that happens is I forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence when I get really high, but I think that’s a good trade off, personally.