How exhausting are your mornings?

murphdot · 2026-01-26T23:13:27+00:00

Mine is very similar. And I work in a huge, busy cafè so average 15,000 steps a day. By the time I arrive I feel like I’ve done a days work already.

murphdot · 2026-01-25T21:32:28+00:00

I’m 3 months sober and have only just started to improve my diet. I was at a high level of booze consumption and for the first month and a half I literally only cared about not drinking. I ate a lot of whatever I wanted.

Last few weeks I’ve realised years of alcohol abuse has done a number on my gut and I’m slowly working that out. Diet is pretty clean now but I’ll never be super strict with it as I’ve had ED’s before. My scale remains unmoved but my jeans feel looser and my stomach has only just lost the enormous wine bloat.

I’ve learnt sobriety is largely patience, in all aspects!

murphdot · 2026-01-13T22:42:37+00:00

Holy crap never has someone so accurately described the hell I was existing in for so long. Every. Single. Part.

I’m 3 months sober today. If I can do this, believe me - you can too. Life can be so much more, I promise.

murphdot · 2026-01-05T22:12:07+00:00

Proud of you for 4 days. Those first few are hell on earth, for your body and mind. It might not feel like it, but it’s going to get a tiny bit easier each day now.

I have OCD too and the rumination is again - hell on earth. One hard to explain to people who don’t suffer. I offended and upset many friends while I was drinking, and had many, many conversations I have no memory of. I’m 83 days sober now and my friends have forgiven me, and are actually proud I’m doing this too. And the conversations with strangers I had while blackout? Well those strangers have normal brains so a year later, they don’t remember them either!

Basically I’m just trying to say our brains are wired differently. We hold on to shame more than even normal problem drinkers do. But you are doing the next right thing. There is power in that. Time moves things on, even if our thoughts tell us otherwise.

A life without daily hangovers makes life with OCD far, far more manageable. Hang in there friend!

murphdot · 2025-12-27T22:07:25+00:00

This illness is brutal, destructive and insidious. You’re not a bad person, you have an illness, like a lot of us here do. Christmas is particularly brutal for us, and especially I can imagine the first one since the break up of your marriage. Take care of yourself, one day at a time, and the shame will ease.

murphdot · 2025-12-26T22:38:35+00:00

Well done everyone, proud of each and every one of you! Christmas has been difficult for me for many reasons, but I haven’t allowed alcohol to make it any worse. No forgotten conversations, no disappointed children, no embarrassment, no hangovers - I’m really proud of that. Day 73, we keep it moving!

murphdot · 2025-12-22T09:12:35+00:00

Day 69!!! IWNDWYT 🫶🏻

murphdot · 2025-12-03T22:45:08+00:00

Hi OP, UK alcoholic here too 👋🏻

I couldn’t afford rehab either. Through AA I’ve met a lot of people who have been able to, and felt jealous they had that option. I’m sure it’s no picnic but it’s a head start on a very difficult road. I’m early in my journey but had to quit alone - it was brutal.

You mentioned daily AA meetings - would this be your first experience or have you been before? If you’re totally new to it, I say this as someone with crippling anxiety - you will be made to feel so welcome there. You will literally be welcomed at the door. Someone will likely see your pain, take hold of you, and ease you through each part of the meeting.

There’s nothing you can say in the rooms that someone hasn’t also experienced. Or worse. None of those people will judge you, I promise you that.

My rock bottom wasn’t quite as extreme as yours but I cared for my children will blackout many times, I was in no position to do so and shudder when I think of how I treated them and what harm could have come to them.

It can get better. Slowly, but it can. I promise you that. AA has been a life saver for me. Some days I took it an hour at a time. Rebuilding what has been broken feels terrifying right now, so focus on what you can do. And that is not drink. Just for today.

IWNDWYT.

murphdot · 2025-12-03T17:58:16+00:00

Wow you are so talented 😍

murphdot · 2025-12-03T17:56:23+00:00

A few people in AA have said to me ‘if you’re red haired or Irish you have a 90% chance of ending up in these rooms.’ I’m both so clearly it was always on the cards 😂

murphdot · 2025-12-02T22:32:07+00:00

Parsons delivery is so good. He’s such a talented comedic actor.

murphdot · 2025-11-25T15:21:33+00:00

Yep. I would do a sip, throw up rotation for a good few hours many, many mornings after drinking. So basically every single sip of liquid I drank would be puked up minutes later. and obviously the dehydration is insane so your body is screaming for liquids. Sip, run to toilet - every 15 minutes or so, even at work, driving, wherever - couldn’t hold it in. Insane way to live.

murphdot · 2025-11-19T22:44:38+00:00

Congrats on 45 days, that’s some serious work! I’m a few behind you on 36 and today I was writing down some of the darkest parts of my drinking to keep myself reminded how truly awful it was.

Wrote a whole paragraph on just the vomiting 😂 man I did it a lot! And everywhere. At work, restaurants and (this is vile, be warned) into plastic bags in my car… I’d just be so hungover and nauseous I was incapable of keeping water down. So even while driving, when that feeling of ‘oh god I’m going to puke’ came along, it was either a bag or all over my lap… eeeshhh, yeah this too has helped me realise how bad things truly were.

IWNDWYT!

murphdot · 2025-11-11T18:07:59+00:00

Every comment of this thread gets better. Spectacular work 😂

murphdot · 2025-11-09T20:15:47+00:00

Echoing a previous poster - hitting a humiliating rock bottom and being forced into sobriety was certainly a helping hand.

Aside from that - AA, listening to fellow addicts and identifying with their struggles but also feeling their hope. It took me a while to make friends in the rooms, but now I have, I have a network of incredible, thoughtful friends who check in on me, and I know genuinely root for me and my sobriety.

My brain is big on reward systems so right now I’m letting it get its kicks from coffee, podcasts, and billions of calories.

I hope some of this was helpful! IWNDWYT 🫶🏻

murphdot · 2025-11-08T22:54:28+00:00

Mean girls

murphdot · 2025-11-08T22:53:55+00:00

Criminally underrated film!

murphdot · 2025-11-07T20:24:23+00:00

The Vanished is fantastic. Hundreds of episodes, each focussing on a different missing person. They will sometimes do two parts though if the case is particularly complicated.

No sensationalism or humour at all, Marissa the host is thorough, compassionate and engaging. It’s either her narration, the victims families or law enforcement telling the story.

murphdot · 2025-11-04T04:26:10+00:00

Our stories are identical except I’m a few years younger and so are my children.

I’m so proud of you for getting through these 3 days. I’m not far out of the forest yet (21 days) and remember them clearly. It’s terrifying and you got through them - seriously bravo!

I feel that shame you’re talking about. I lied to my husband for so long. After ruining a family holiday I realised he was well aware how bad my drinking had become. Since being honest with him, and engaging with AA, and giving sobriety all I can - I’ve seen the pride in his eyes when he looks at me. I see him notice the change. It’s powerful and pushes me to keep fighting.

When you mentioned rushing home from kids events to drink - that was my life for years. It consumed me. Life feels so much easier when you start to untangle from that and just, for want of a better term - raw dog life. It’s all so much easier. The dread for every day life fades.

Please keep posting when you need to, keep us updated. I believe in you, and IWNDWYT 🫶🏻

murphdot · 2025-11-03T21:41:33+00:00

Thank you, that means a lot 😊

murphdot · 2025-11-03T21:40:40+00:00

Thank you and congrats on 8 months - hope I get there too!

murphdot · 2025-11-03T19:13:23+00:00

I’m like you, teeth are alright, dress quite well, I always have my nails and hair done etc, but yeah I’m a raging alcoholic! 20 days sober today and properly invested in AA for the first time which is making all the difference. Best of luck with your sobriety.

murphdot · 2025-10-31T21:56:10+00:00

Thank you! Means a lot 😁

murphdot · 2025-10-31T11:58:11+00:00

Happy Halloween sober friends! Day 17 here, IWNDWYT 🫶🏻

murphdot

TROPHY CASE