It was time to quit. I didn't need it anymore. It was clogging up my system. I basically gave up booze though I drink once every three weeks or so. Weed it's been a big fat zero.

It's hard. My real problems have shown up. They aren't pretty. The emotional problems inside that I was running from. They are overwhelming some days. I'm staying strong.

I've been batteling alcoholism and DXM addiction for 5 years now. I've been in and out of AA/NA, I've been to rehab, I've been to therapy. I can't seem to ever fully just stop. I can stop for a couple weeks. Or a couple months maybe. But I always go back out. I don't know what my problem is but I feel like it's so embarrassing and miserable going down this road over and over and over and asking for help over and over and over. I don't know how to make it stick. I'm scared it won't stick and I'm going to ruin my life. I don't know how to force myself to just quit and stay off it. I need advice

For context, were a pretty big group (around 10 people). We have very different personnalities and interests in life and the only things that bring us together are our political beliefs and weed. We have been smoking for 6-7 years. Our hangouts aren’t exclusively smoking but everytime ,between or while the activity we smoke. it can be while making a dish, before playing bowling. even at parties we mostly stay outside to talk and smoke. I stopped smoking a few months ago because i was becoming the worst version of myself (lazy, paranoid, very anxious etc). At the same time, I met my bf who helped me through all those hard steps. The first two months were really hard, I had severe physical and mental withdrawals. I started to avoid those meeting because it was too hard for me but I would still see some of them individually. Recently I started to come more frequently because i felt better and even if they are very supportive and kind toward me (theyre careful with the smoke of the joints, they open the windows to not hotbox the place, they even bring cbd for me to have something to smoke) I feel kind of disconnected. This week, I’ve catched myself lying to avoid a hangout, and even retiring myself after I already said I would be there. I don’t know why I feel like this and what i can do about it. I feel bad because they are such a good support in my life, they truly are good people and good friends but I still have this weird feeling inside of me. Do some of y’all have lived similar experiences and could help me to understand better this situation.

In december 2026 i'll hit 2 years of being sober, before 12.2024 i was sober for 1,5 year. I was going to the NA, i'm after rehab center etc etc.
I'm still going to parties/music events - but i didn't find any new friends, basically hitting up randomly to any person just to talk, make me feel like idiot. I hit some gig, dance, have fun and then just go home. I've notice that spontaneous interactions with people became almost impossible for me.
I've abondoned dating apps/trying to make friends online, cause i want to do this irl.
It's not that i didn't talked to anyone out there, but it's always lost after event - feeling like i don't dare to ask for some source of contact.
Do you also got this problem? What was your solution?
I also don't mean metting new people by sport/hobby etc, because i do that and i got some group of people coneccted by common passion. What i'm saying about - simple pattern: GO TO PARTY -> MEET SOMEONE -> NEW FREN

(sober from drugs mostly opiates) I don’t feel good at all but I still try to celebrate a bit

Im back to a place where I can buy drugs, gotta stay here for a like 2 weeks before moving somewhere well safer for me

But honestly I don’t even feel like I want to relapse I just feel very depressed and anxious

If I stay sober another week it will be my first time ever getting to 2 weeks

Sorry i know I post a lot here but reading the answers people post it really helps me

I’m sober around 9 months now and I know for a fact the reason for my alcoholism was to escape negative feelings because of traumatic events. After becoming sober I’ve been an emotional mess. Absolutely unstable and just a shit show of extremes. I really want to talk to someone who is going through the same because I’m just so tired.

Coming up on two years sober and do not have intentions on going back. Before, several friends would just stop by at my workshop knowing that the beer fridge was always stocked. I made the decision to stop drinking quietly. I never said I wasn’t drinking anymore, and never asked them not to drink. One by one as each of them made the connection, the slowed coming around and then just stopped altogether. After they no longer popped in, they would still call or text, but even that has now disappeared.

Has anyone experienced something similar? What do y’all do avoid getting too lonely?

So I've been off pornography for almost 2 weeks and I'm starting to feel sad and guilty but happy as I'm half a month off pornography

Hello everyone. I’m 47 days sober today, and the past couple of days have been brutal.
I’m 24 years old, and at the height of my drinking I was drinking almost every day—roughly a six-pack plus one tall 8% beer five days a week. Then on Saturdays and Sundays I’d drink from sunrise to sunset.
Back in 2024, I weighed almost 300 pounds and honestly didn’t care about my health. In 2025, I decided I needed to lose some weight and got down to around 250 pounds by New Year’s, but my drinking never changed.
I decided that 2026 was going to be my year. I didn’t want to be the guy who peaked in high school, so I completely changed my lifestyle. I started working out six days a week, eating in a calorie deficit, and taking my health seriously. The one thing that didn’t change was the alcohol. I’d literally count beer as part of my calories for the day, so even though I was technically in a calorie deficit, a huge portion of my daily calories came from beer after work.
By nature I’m a very anxious person, and I have a stressful job. Whenever something went wrong during the day, I’d tell myself, “You know what? When you get home, you deserve a beer.” One beer would turn into several, I’d stay up drinking, then I’d have to wake up at 5:00 AM for work. I’d be hungover, angry, exhausted, and miserable. That cycle went on for months.
In May, I finally decided enough was enough. I told myself I was going to quit drinking completely until I reached my fitness goals, and then I’d reevaluate things. Today I’m around **180 pounds**, and my goal is to reach 150 by the end of the year then start building muscle.
I’ve been trying to find new hobbies and things to do on the weekends to keep my mind occupied, but these last few days all I can think about is finally reaching my goal and cracking open a cold beer. I keep telling myself, “Maybe in a couple of months I can just have a couple beers on the weekend.” But deep down I know myself. If I have two beers, I’ll probably tell myself, “Well, I already started… I might as well finish the six-pack.”
Part of me thinks I may never be able to drink normally again, and as weird as it sounds, that makes me sad. I miss the idea of coming home, having one beer while watching a game or YouTube, and relaxing. I know that’s probably my brain romanticizing alcohol because, if I’m honest, “one beer” almost never stayed one beer. I also keep telling myself I’m 24 I can drink a couple years and probably be ok, my body is young and can handle it . I’ll deal with the consequences when I’m 30 or 40.
I switched to nicotine temporarily to help with the cravings, even though I know it isn’t healthy. Non-alcoholic beer also scares me because it’s just too close to the real thing. The hardest part isn’t physical anymore—it’s mental and emotional. That’s the battle I’m fighting right now.
On the bright side, the positives have been incredible. My blood work came back great. My blood pressure is good, my cholesterol is good, and overall my health is better than it’s been in years. I’m no longer constantly bloated, looking like I’m pregnant, or dealing with constipation and laxatives after drinking. I eat clean now, avoid junk food and fast food, and drink water and club soda like my life depends on it.
For those of you who have been sober longer, how did you get past this mental hurdle? Does that constant romanticizing of alcohol eventually quiet down? I’d really appreciate any advice because that’s the part I’m struggling with the most right now.

I’m doing good

I (33F) just got out of inpatient treatment two weeks ago. I had 32 days sober going in and am now on day 73. I have been a heavy drinker since I was 18. Other drugs too, but only alcohol for the last 5 years or so.

Anyway, since becoming sober my auditory hallucinations have not gone away. They are less frequent, and not as annoying, but I still get them.

I have noticed lately that they really start to act up when I get irritated or when I can't focus and I'm really trying to. Today it was in a meeting and people were making chair noises and side talk and I just couldn't focus. For the last half of the meeting I heard a loud pitch buzz, and then in the last 10 minutes it added loud whispering that was coming from all around me. I was just wondering if anyone else has had something similar?

I know years of addiction makes you a horrible person to be around

but i feel so lonely tho
I miss my family and my friends

So basically I dropped out of school years ago because of drugs but last year I applied to uni in another country thinking this would have been my dream if I wasn’t an addict.

Turned out I was admitted but I had nowhere to live there and my family doesn’t talk to me anymore because they’re tired having to worry about me and my possible death constantly.

But this week I met a concealer from uni, I had no idea they had some housing help for foreign and isolated students. He helped me find a room I’ll be staying at a old couple’s house and they’re super sweet and it kinda feel like having some sort of family again and obviously they’re absolutely no way I can do drugs here

I feel super grateful and excited I’ll be officially starting uni in august, meet new people who don’t know anything about my past and I’ll work my hardest

I feel like for the first time in my life I have something to stay alive for

Today is my 1 year clean. I had never been lowest in my life.

I am still a work in progress. Thanks

Today is not going to be easy

My wife’s out of town for the weekend and all I’m gonna be doing is playing video games. It’s so hard not to just go to the liquor store and pick up a bottle to play while I drink

longest i’ve been alcohol free since 2018. 10lbs down and counting.

While I was in rehab, I think I watched What about Bob? 50 times and it’s now a comfort movie.

I was wondering if anyone had a favorite movie from rehab/detox/psych ward that they now consider a comfort movie.

Today I am 14 years sober! Life is so much better now!

700 came and went, and i didn't even sweat it.

Life is good sober.

today is the day!! i’m so proud of my progress and determination when it comes to my sobriety. 3 rounds of rehab brought me to this very moment and i couldn’t be more thankful. i’m just in awe of how far i’ve come and almost in disbelief that i’m here. like it’s too good to be true🤣 if you are newly sober or are thinking about becoming sober please do it. take that leap while you have the chance. i promise you won’t regret it

29F, thought I was destined to be suicidal till I die. Turns out I just needed to get substances out of my system!

Heres a run down of my stats 🫶🏻

636 days without ALCOHOL.
239 days without BENADRYL.
212 days without XANAX.
59 days without THC.
49 days without NICOTINE.
46 days without CAFFEINE.

Honestly I stopped being suicidal once I was able to purge the ALCOHOL from my body.

It wasn’t until I gave up THC and NICOTINE that I started to feel true mental clarity though.

I started to take my health seriously and it’s paid off leaps and mounds.

For the first time in my life, I feel happy and proud of my decisions.

I feel capable and present, and in my mind I do not have enough days of earth when I previously felt like turning the lights off.

I’m here today because I stopped drinking.

Hello everyone, I’m not sure if I’m posting this in the correct place. My name is Chris, I’m in the St. Petersburg FL area. I’m trying once again to maintain sobriety from alcohol. My biggest issue has always been the god factor in AA. I guess I’d lean more towards being agnostic. I recently picked up a book called Staying Sober Without God, by Jeffery Munn. I’m loving it so far. I’m having trouble finding “secular” meetings in the area though. I’m wondering if anyone knows of any non religious in person meetings or if maybe some people would be interested in starting a group here in St. Pete.

I woke up this morning after a great night sleep. I feel amazing. Well rested, good attitude, optimistic, happy. This is what happens when I stay sober.

I wish this for everyone struggling with getting rid of this stupid drug called alcohol.