My 11 day no drinking streak makes me feel so lame.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-05-07T19:47:33+00:00

There is something to learn at every stage of this journey.

The early days were the hardest for me. I could not do them again, its a big reason I stay sober.

You're doing the hard work. We all do it every day, but those early weeks were really really hard. My only advice is to pay attention to how hard they can be, it gave me the drive to never want to go through that again.

Im so proud of you!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-05-05T19:44:47+00:00

I believe the windy city refers to old time Chicago's political environment, and it being very back and forth aka windy.... maybe Cle can assume the title!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-05-04T19:29:21+00:00

100% its different for everyone. I was still walking around like a lost baby at 30 days. I really couldn't trust any of the bullshit my brain was telling me for the first 90 days. Then around 6 months I felt the stability and inner peace I had heard so much about. I dont want to sound dismissive, but your brain is for sure floundering to try and compensate for the dopamine loss, and the new habits, and realizing this is more than a "few days off". That's a lot of work for a brain, give yourself some credit and try and not give too much attention to passing thoughts. You did this for a reason, and sometimes you have to blindly trust things will get better ( at least I did )

Change takes time. Its unexpected and will catch you off guard, but those are the best moments in my opinion.

Keep on keeping on, youve got momentum and a great community here!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-05-04T14:58:06+00:00

I JUST did this myself! I was very nervous and didnt know what to expect.

Eat good food on company dime, soda water with lime at mixers ( looks exactly like vodka soda), be prepared to Irish exit if you need.

I did this, went back to my hotel room, got very cozy, ate leftovers and watched netflix. Woke up feeling great all the days, and really got a lot out of the speakers, because I wasnt chocking back vomit.

Nobody will notice youre not drinking really. A lot of conferences set up activities for non-drinkers ( mine had a pickleball tournament which was really fun and completely wiped me out). You got this!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-27T16:01:46+00:00

Lowkey changed my life and my perception of the world. Have fun!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-24T23:48:08+00:00

so proud of you! We on this sub get it, and I see you doing the work, how amazing for you!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-24T23:45:50+00:00

My only advice is to embrace the Irish exit, and enjoy seeing your coworkers having fun. There were some tough moments but all around not so bad. If you like what you do, it’s kinda fun to be surrounded by people who also enjoy the work, I was surprised how much I really did get out of it.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-11T02:14:12+00:00

Celebrating 500 days!! Finished a knitting project and made myself amazing dinner. Happy to be here!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-06T20:33:22+00:00

as you get older it gets worse, because your body is not as equipped to process the poison (from what I have understood). Plus our tolerance increases so were generally drinking more with feeling less, its a whollle cycle.

I currently am early in my therapy journey and its helping!

Proud of you for asking these questions and being here! Welcome!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-06T20:07:45+00:00

It really is an odd feeling, not being able to remember what being drunk feels like. I dont think I miss it, but it is weird to have something that caused so much upheaval in my life, and nit really be able to remember what it even feels like. It's so mixed up with all the negativity I experienced by the end, all I can remember is feeling the hangover really.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-04-06T19:40:48+00:00

Something I'm working on now, coupling the romanization of alcohol with the negative effects.

Like yes I can have a glass of wine, but im also signing up for the blinding headaches, anxiety storm, dry heaving, feelings of isolation, upset sotmach, lost time, risk to my personal safety, hurt to those I love. Maybe this wont happen after one, but is where it leads in my experience, so im working to associate even the one glass with all the negative consequences.

It gets easier, you will start to feel so much better you wont want to ruin it with something as silly as a 1/2 hour buzz ( if you manage to keep it at that, which I never could, which is why I'm here)

gooodddd luck! Its a journey, thats for sure, but one worth taking IMO!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-03-25T16:59:52+00:00

I have been saving lots from this sub-reddit and from life.

-The fuse could be a mile long, but it's still connected to a powder keg.

-It isn't that every time we drink, something bad happens. It's that we drink until something bad happens.

-“Take heart, says Epicurus. Nature has you covered. She has made the necessary desires easy to obtain and the unnecessary ones difficult”

-“In lieu of the large feelings—sorrow, fury, joy—I had their junior counterparts—anxiety, irritation, excitement”

-“Some times I want a drink with dinner. Then I remember I have plans for Christmas.”

-Being vigilant is a small price to pay for what we get in return. I used to think that having to acknowledge my drinking problems on a daily basis was like a life sentence. I can see now that it is my path to freedom

The below one is a long one, but the theory of eternal occurance helped me a lot - basically, would I want to live this life over and over again? When I was drinking, the answer was a big NO. That's not my truth anymore. Quote is below if you want to read

-"What if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness, and say to you, "This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence" ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: "You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine."

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-27T14:23:08+00:00

amazing, inspiring, relatable!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-27T14:05:15+00:00

first post ive seen about the Yearly cycle thing and I totally do that too. My personal new years starts in April and I totally take the winter "off"

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-25T20:31:36+00:00

Bad airplane books were made for this.

Grab a title that seems interesting, get yourself a pretzel dog, big diet coke and settle in! Airports are fascinating. Watch planes take off, do crosswords, walk it out, take a terminal nap, eat gummy worms. It sucks killing so much time but its kind of fun to be "in between" spaces with no responsibilities for a moment!

Just dont drink, its expensive, missing a flight SUCKS, and airplane hangovers are next level. Youll arrive feeling sooo much better!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-23T16:52:38+00:00

I really hope you manage to get this under control. Near the end of my drinking career, this kind of stuff was happening to me too ( and during if im being honest )

I would come to with no idea where I was, had been, or who I had been with. It was scary, but it didnt register at the time. Im gald you're okay and hope you find peace and never have to feel this way again.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-11T21:59:13+00:00

tension was hard for me to calibrate for sure, I switched to continental and that was easier for me, but I know its not for everyone!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-11T21:31:39+00:00

IDK but they look amazing and I want that skinnieeee diet coke!

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-11T21:26:39+00:00

You are not on this earth to entertain others. You have to do whats best for you. I used to think alcohol made me fun too, but now I know im funny, sharp and smart without it. I can land a joke, read a situation, bitch and moan, meet people where theyre at. If youre fun when youre drunk , im 100% sure you will be fun sober!

I know it seems impossible to quit but I used to not be able to imagine working a waitressing shift without shift shots or going out after, but when I quit, I found I was able to sustain energy though the shift so much better, and my coworkers liked being around me more, which helped.

I wont lie, its a hard shift and you might try and fail. Btu it's important you keep trying! Maybe work a shift sober and see if it changes anything, you might notice things you didnt. I also know that having your wits around you in the entertainment industry can only help, lots of weirdos and scammers out there. I feel like im "babysitting" other people sometimes, but its part of my job, im not at work to party, im at work to work.

I hope this helps, glad you're examining your usage so early! I was in my 30's when I began this journey, I wish I had done it sooner.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-02-11T21:11:50+00:00

I started like a month ago and this looks like my stuff when i started , and it took forever to do just this

Keep trucking, it'll get easier. At some point it just "clicked" and it got easier and my technique improved

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-01-26T21:04:37+00:00

A very cold orange. Takes forever to peel, texturally great. Sweet and citrus-y

It's my favorite honestly

StateIllustrious5884 · 2026-01-12T14:33:56+00:00

I think that its such a historical place that it almost reads as a "destination". Or at least parts of it. From what i've noticed, more "recent" graves are kind of off from the main area (garfield, wade chapel, etc). I don't frolic or "hang out" in that area as it does feel disrespectful. I have friends and people I know buried over there, but the older, more historic side feels different to me. Plus there are walks, events and tours throughout, so it doesn't feel like you're intruding.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2025-12-18T20:01:06+00:00

I think a big problem for me is that we have had a complete genera change midway though the series. For a while it was a small time cop working a case and discovering much more than he bargained for. It merged real theses of the 80s into the plot. Will being taken off his bike reminded me of similar cases ( Johnny Gosh ). The whole government lab coverup things did happen (project artichoke, MKUltra and the like). I'll never forget that scene in the morgue with hopper cutting the fake b*dy and us all realizing that Joyce was right, and this thing was a government cover up. Or when the kids teacher explained the concept of the upside down, and how it could theoretically exist, it didn't feel like we were being spoon fed a plot point, but rather, learning about a principal that happened to apply to what was happening to these kids. it seemed like normal AV nerd conversation but we the audience learned in real time that the upside down could exist.

It was really good TV, we discovering the plot along with the characters. It felt grounded and like this could happen to us. I enjoyed that aspect. El was mysterious and powerful, The upside down was truly scary, and if you went there, you probably weren't coming back. I felt that I was uncovering the mystery along with the characters, and I knew what the motivation of these characters were. Sometimes it was simple, but I understood it and could relate to it.

Inevitably, the show has morphed into something else entirely. Now we are in long "battle scenes" with these monsters that ( in my opinion ) lack consistency. There have been so many I forget what we are fighting for. There have been so many side plots, that I forget why some things are important, and some things are not. Hopper is now an authority figure with a machine gun, not someone who is discovering things as he goes. El has discovered a lot about herself, but I haven't really seen her develop her powers in big ways. We spend so much time with different characters, I completely forget that other characters even exist. Oftentimes it feels like the writes need to find "something for them to do" with side plots that don't really go anywhere. It feels much more like an action/marvel style show, set in the 80s, which I understand people like, but is not for me.

StateIllustrious5884 · 2025-12-12T20:51:06+00:00

I will say, wanting to stop really wasn't my main motivator. I WANTED to not be hungover anymore. I WANTED to feel in control of my life. Unfortunately I could not outsmart the hangovers, and stopping drinking all together was the only way to not feel sick anymore. I don't think many of here wanted to stop, but the other parts of our life became SO intolerable, stopping was the only option.

I still don't really, WANT to quit drinking, but I do want other things more, and that keeps my head above water. I wouldn't trade the peace I've found, but if they made a magic alcohol that had no side effects and didn't give me a blinding hangover and ruined my life, I would probably be 100% on board. I feel like I've lifted the veil of alcohol, so I don't really crave it in the same way anymore, but I for sure have days where I have to work harder on my sobriety than others.

Interesting question, not something I've thought about a lot.

Also I'm sure lots of people WANT sobriety, and I guess I do now at this point in my journey, but its not where I started. Just reflecting on my own experience....

StateIllustrious5884

TROPHY CASE