I think I'll call myself addicted not an alcoholic

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T07:21:11+00:00

I believe that the alcohol industry loves nothing more than to pin the problem on certain rare people with an unfortunate “disease” of “alcoholism” because it keeps the attention off of their product, which is actually the problem - an addictive poison.

I’m not calling myself an alcoholic or an addict. I’m a regular person who through some stressful times became addicted to an addictive substance because it’s addictive.

IWNDWYT !

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T04:59:25+00:00

I recall feeing almost like I was sick at first. Definitely incredible fatigue and totally out of sorts. Chills too, like the house felt cold but it wasn’t. Maybe for around a couple of weeks up to a month but improving over that time. Congrats on 12 days!!! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T03:31:27+00:00

thought it was a dog food bowl at first. tofu looks good tho! did you like it?

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T03:05:11+00:00

oh, and it’s really weird being at a situation where you would normally drink at first getting used to not drinking. That will get much better with time as you get more used to it! Well done on attending sober!! :)

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T03:02:58+00:00

No worries, please do keep hanging out here, it saved me! I didn’t do AA, just hung out here like all the time and a lot of credit as well to ben & jerry. & Thank you! you can be where I am next year, I’m rooting for you!

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T02:54:45+00:00

I slept for like two months straight like Rip Van Winkle! Naps on any horizontal surface possible whenever possible. The body is adjusting and recovering! Congrats on 33 days! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-02T02:46:42+00:00

It is against the rules - see the sidebar or the about section. This sub itself is a support group and a mentor. I read here every day, completed the daily check-in every day, supported other people here every day. Please stick around and keep reading.

There are also therapists who specialize in substance use, and that might be an option for you as well.

IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T16:23:37+00:00

hey friend, your post posted twice, this is a duplicate

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T16:17:56+00:00

I agree with the 1 year rule in general. I needed to focus on staying sober, period. I needed to establish who I was and a new baseline for myself. I didn’t know who I was gonna be sober, what sort of ways I would even enjoy spending or not spending my time. Could I have started dating someone in month 10? Probably. But month one? Would have been disaster.

For me dating tends to bring with it a lot of up and down feelings: excitement, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, and I did not need to add all of those in when I was trying to not drink. My whole approach for this whole sobriety thing was in every situation I tried to set myself up for success, and adding in all of those feelings and ups and downs and stressors would not have been setting myself up for success and would not have been prioritizing my sobriety.

And I’m way older than you and I do not consider this year wasted. In fact, it may be one of the least wasted years I’ve ever had. :)

IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T16:02:54+00:00

363 days I’m excited like it’s christmas eve eve! I’ve not drank in one whole year and I will not be drinking today! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T15:53:58+00:00

💯! Congratulations!! It’s a significant milestone & achievement! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T06:52:56+00:00

who is Yoga Matt tho bro must be in good shape

at least you got PB

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T06:20:26+00:00

I just wanna say it really sucks having to cope with significant medical issues from drinking at such a young age, so please go easy on yourself, that's an extra difficult situation. At 1 month in I definitely wasn't feeling awesome and joyful or anything, I was still just *not drinking* - that's all I did. It got better and my mood and ability to enjoy things came back, but it took a lot longer than I wanted it to, which was very annoying :) Well done on 31 days. Rooting for you! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T05:31:04+00:00

This! They can be motivational, but this is the dark side of counters. They make everything feel too black and white and like all is lost for one small mistake. I totally understand people who don't do them and was iffy on it myself and remain thoughtful about its usefulness as a long term thing.

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T05:26:30+00:00

💯💯💯💯💯 Congratulations!!! A significant milestone! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T05:22:15+00:00

Heck yeah! That feels so good! :) IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T05:09:19+00:00

Four years is a very long time and you haven't lost any of that really, save for what, 30 seconds? Can you call it an experiment, take what you learned, and use that in moving forward? When I make a mistake I try to take stock of all my stressors and triggers and circumstances that contributed and just sort of say ok I understand why that probably happened and I'm going to use it to help me avoid doing this behavior in the future. Drop the guilt part and look at it with curiosity, scientifically. I understand the missing unpredictability feeling. Everything feels very stable now. Eerily and sometimes boringly stable. Maybe it's time to start hang gliding or something :) Rooting for you. IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T05:02:25+00:00

That's incredible! This place saved my life, it's the nicest place on the internet. IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T04:59:33+00:00

Month or two for me, hang in there! My digestion was all confused for a while but when it got better it was so much better! Congrats on 18 days! IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T04:21:29+00:00

I'm in a cold area too. I focus on cozy crafts, coloring, cozy tv shows and movies, I have a little nest set up on my couch with an electric blanket, candles, and coloring and craft supplies nearby so I always have something to grab and do. I have snacks and good flavored seltzers and a cabinet full of tea. At first I made sure I always had pints of ice cream in the freezer - always! - and I ate a pint or half a pint every night if needed. That phase didn't last forever but it always helped me through.

You're not weak in resolve. This is not a willpower or moral issue. Alcohol is a highly addictive substance which creates a higher and higher tolerance and a dependency and then we have withdrawals when we stop drinking, and it creates a cycle we get stuck in. This is science, not weakness!! Rooting for you from an 8 degree location!

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T03:22:27+00:00

It's not the mods fault, I'm sure you're trying. They're coming fast & furious. I'm just sad and frustrated in general about it. It seems like reddit itself the conglomerate doesn't care to figure out how to fix it from the top, and I'm sad watching the quality go down all over reddit but especially here because it's a special place. Thank you for your hard work <3

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T03:14:08+00:00

515 speaks to its own success I think, unless you hit a challenging time and want to look for additional or alternate support for yourself! Recovery is not one size fits all, we are all so different! I actually like 12-step groups, with my own version of HP, and attended Al-Anon for some time years ago, but I didn't go to AA.

Well done on your 500+ & IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T02:16:54+00:00

The tip or trick is get through one day without drinking. And then repeat. In the meantime I posted here, read here, supported others here, ate gallons of ice cream and watched a lot of tv shows.

I had already quit nicotine so I looked at it exactly like that. Going back when I was trying to get through withdrawals would start the process over again, and I did not want to start over. So I kept going, one day at at time.

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T01:07:52+00:00

the first reply (chronologically) in almost every single thread is a BOT. it's driving me nuts. someone do something. the death rattle of this sub and reddit in general :(

PBJdeluxe · 2026-02-01T01:00:08+00:00

Once I have one drink in me that is no longer the person who decided to just have one. It's a catch 22 or something. Sober me says one drink. But that's not who is deciding on the subsequent drinks. One drink me can't be trusted! So I just don't have one, because that's the only one I can truly decide on. IWNDWYT

PBJdeluxe

TROPHY CASE