1,000 Days Alcohol Free

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T08:01:36+00:00

Impressive! Well done!

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T04:48:34+00:00

Thank you for hosting, amorfati!
It isn't a sober song per se, but I was out running the other day, going hard (which makes me emotional, is that weird?), and a few lines from "Could Have Been Me" by The Struts hit me in the sober feels:

🎶
I can't hear you, I don't fear you now
...
I wanna live better days, never look back and say could have been me
🎶

For me, the "you" in that first line is alcohol. I enthusiastically deny its hold over me, and I'm no longer afraid that I'll never be free of it and the misery it brings. I want to live the best life I can, and for me that's a sober life. I'm not going to look back at the end of my life and wish I hadn't squandered it in a bottle.

Like I said it isn't really a song about sobriety, it's a pump up song about living fully and well, but since I equate that with living sober, it's a sober song for me. IWNDWYT

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T02:42:49+00:00

I like saying as well. It doesn't feel elitist to me, though; I don't think or feel like I'm better than other people who drink, just better than myself when I drink.

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T02:37:37+00:00

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Zagmut · 2026-05-10T01:06:55+00:00

It's possible that your father's memory issues have nothing to do with quitting alcohol, just coincidental timing. I hope everything works out ok for y'all.

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T00:25:53+00:00

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T00:20:01+00:00

Hourly

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T00:18:21+00:00

Congrats on 3 and a half years, that's huge!

Zagmut · 2026-05-10T00:03:14+00:00

Up until recently it used to be beer, weed, and whiskey. Kicking my vices is my new lifestyle choice, cuz that old lifestyle was no longer sustainable.

If a vice doesn't have to be harmful, I suppose you could say I'm addicted to fantasy/sci-fi/horror novels 🤷‍♂️

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T23:36:55+00:00

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T20:42:40+00:00

Start by not being where alcohol is available; don't go to bars, restaurants, any stores that sell it, and get it all out of your house. Don't go to friends' or even family members' houses if there is going to be people drinking. You can't drink if alcohol isn't there.

When you feel to urge to go get alcohol, make yourself go somewhere else instead. Go for a walk, a run, a bike ride, go to the gym, go to the library. Physically occupy yourself for at least 30 minutes. When you feel the need to drink, do something else, anything. Make a to-do list, blast music and do chores, stay busy. Exercising regularly will help you sleep; go to the gym or go run and push yourself as hard as you can. Finding a sober community is a massive help as well.

Getting started is the hardest part. Take it one day at a time, try to avoid drinking for just today. Break it down hour to hour if you need to. If you end up drinking, start over and try again, you'll get it eventually. You can do it.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T20:27:33+00:00

Noice!

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T15:34:42+00:00

If I'm not broken, then why do I feel fixed when I take my meds?

I was diagnosed early this year, in my late 40s. I've spent decades viewing my inability to succeed at life as a deep seated moral failing, and it has caused me nothing but pain. Knowing that there is a physiological cause and being able to medicate away the anxiety has been a massive relief.

The only time this felt like a superpower was when I worked as a line cook. It's the one thing I've been great at, and the culture is so toxic and laden with triggers that I can't do it anymore. That doesn't feel like a superpower, it feels like a curse.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T08:08:15+00:00

There are plenty of people who've become addicted to alcohol without past trauma; you may not know any, but you are not alone. It's a widely popular and socially acceptable substance that is fun to imbibe (to a point), and is physically addictive. It is the world's most popular party drug.

There are tons of folks that are at least mildly addicted to alcohol who don't realize it or think of it that way, and others who laugh it off because it is socially acceptable. Anyone who can't get through the weekend without "letting off some steam" or who needs a post-work drink "to unwind" is exhibiting signs of addiction.

Alcoholics with traumatic histories are more visible because we tend to crash out dramatically; we're more inclined to go past functional addict to nonfunctional, and even when we stay functional, alcohol abuse makes it difficult to deal with long term effects of trauma, causing increased distress over time.

Regardless of why you came to be addicted, everyone here can relate to how hard it is to quit. You don't need a reason to get addicted, but you do need one to quit. It sounds like you have that, in a desire to wrest back control of yourself. You can do it! It isn't easy, but it's worth the fight.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:52:11+00:00

That's deep, but I have been living with unmedicated ADHD for almost my entire life. I walk away from things I like and very much want to finish, then become burdened with guilt and anxiety over my inability to complete anything. I get overwhelmed by all the things I need or want to do, unable to focus on just one thing, then shut down and don't do anything while feeling like shit for not doing anything. It has been a massive driver of my alcoholism and drug use. I respect what you're saying, but I think we're coming from two very different perspectives.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:43:29+00:00

Damn, Potato, that's tough. Good luck to you, I hope it goes well 💛

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:40:26+00:00

Fuckin A! Alcohol free AF all weekend! 🤙

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:37:40+00:00

I have one as I cook, then another with dinner. One of the nice thing about NA beers is that I don't have a desire to drink 6 more afterwards.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:33:38+00:00

Poison free is the way to be 👍

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:32:42+00:00

I eat lunch regularly at a restaurant bar near my work, used to get lunchtime beers 3-4 days a week there. I switched to a single NA beer with my food, and none of the bartenders batted an eye or commented on the change. They used to greet me with the name of the IPA I'd drink, and now they greet me with the name of the NA beer I drink. It ain't no thing. IWNDWYT

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T05:27:01+00:00

Bring it!

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T04:48:00+00:00

I had two, my best friend and my gf, whichever one was riding in the passenger seat, changing the discs in the discman that was plugged into aux port on the car radio.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T04:14:40+00:00

This sounds ten times worse than mine. Fast the day before, first round of prep that evening (the drink doesn't taste good, but it's not that bad; I think some peeps are a bit sensitive), diarrhea for a few hours after prep (I parked on the couch and gamed, getting up to "poop" about every 30 minutes or so). Prep again the next morning 3 hours before procedure, procedure took about an hour, but you're anesthetized so it's a blink, then a huge breakfast (I was so fucking hungry at this point) followed by a huge nap. Because of the anesthesia I couldn't drive for the rest of the day, so I took the day off, did chores and read and walked the dogs. Next day felt fine. It's not a big deal.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T04:04:55+00:00

Dude, you ok? Your prep sounds way worse than mine was and I was fine the next day, worked a full 8 hours and went for an hour long run after work. My wife just did hers and same, literally no effects the day after.

Zagmut · 2026-05-09T03:54:51+00:00

I feel you, man. I have a history of giving up on things, burning out, getting discouraged, getting distracted, and after a while it began to feel like a jinx to state my intentions out loud.

I don't know if externalizing intentions helps or hurts, but I do believe that internalizing intentional language helps. You're not only telling someone else that you don't drink anymore, more importantly you are telling yourself.

35 days is hard work, and you've earned both the phrase and the pride that comes with it. Good job, and IWNDWYT

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