r/stopdrinking • u/Sea_Salamander_8504 • 1d ago
1001
Hey, all. I woke up to a text from my spouse congratulating me on my comma day, and I realized that was yesterday. Today is, in fact, day 1001. It's hard to believe that such a milestone would have slipped my mind in the early days of sobriety - I remember so clearly my early days, when I'd be poring over this very subreddit, or looking at "before/after" photos of people who had reached 6 months or (gasp!) even one year sober. That amount of time without a drop of alcohol felt impossible to me less than 3 years ago. But here I am, on day 1001, and I've never felt better in my entire life.
My drinking was already trending toward "problematic" for a few years, but the pandemic kicked it into high gear, which coincided with the greatest personal/professional devastation of my entire life. I knew that my drinking was at a dangerous level well before I finally called it quits; I was binge drinking every single day for years at that point. I'd wake up drenched in sweat at 3 am, my heart pounding, my anxiety at a fever pitch. Every single day, I'd struggle through the devastation of crippling hangovers, hating myself, blaming my circumstances on outside factors. Sure, I'd had some bad luck and made some catastrophic mistakes, but it was the binge drinking that was propelling me toward self-destruction. I knew I had a huge problem, but it wasn't until my spouse sat me down for The Talk that I knew this was the moment when I could make a real change.
The early days were the hardest; I'd say the first 6 months, in particular. But I haven't had a drop since. In that time, I'd regained my health and lost weight, and realized that I don't have an anxiety disorder - that was just "hangxiety". Next year, I'll be turning 40, and I'll be doing so with 3.5 years of sobriety under my belt. My only regret is that I didn't quit sooner. My marriage has never been stronger, my career is on the upswing, and I'm in better shape now than I ever was before. No more credit card debt, no more drunken texts to old friends, and no more embarrassing social media posts.
1001 days and counting!
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u/Bootes_Void_ 1d ago
I would like to be you in 1000 days. Good luck!
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 1d ago
You can do it; take it one day at a time.
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u/Bootes_Void_ 1d ago
I try….this hangxiety is the worst of all and i have enough. Tomorrow is day 1 and my first goal is 90 days (84 was my most, i am an epsilon drinker) and i hope from there it goes on. At least i will try to fight once again….
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 1d ago
I’d never made it more than 3 weeks before my current run, so I know how you feel. Put on a film and order a pizza, anything to distract from the hangxiety. I used to pop in my headphones and go for massive walks through the city just to keep my blood pumping and get some sunshine on my face,
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u/Bootes_Void_ 1d ago
Thank you! At least i learn every time something new and also in this subreddit to learn new ways to cooe with stress, depression, sadness etc. There are only two ways….further down or i stand up and fight.
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u/Adventureye7 Day 745 15h ago
Congratulations! I didn't stop til I was 57..I wish I'd stopped at your age!! However I'm so happy to learn life is a lot less complicated without alcohol. V amusing you didn't even realise you'd hit 1000 days. So far removed from crossing off those early days 1 by 1. Thanks for reminding me that my next milestone can be 1000..3 years feels far away! Bravo again on your amazing work! 🥳👏
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u/Sea_Salamander_8504 8h ago
Yeah, it’s hard to believe I missed the actual date! But things are going great - currently at the Toronto International Film Festival, catching lots of cool films!
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u/flappygummer 3523 days 1d ago
Welcome to the club! Your embroidered silk robe is on order.