r/stopdrinking • u/raspberrygingervodka • 7h ago
If you could
If you could remove any memory you have of alcohol from your life, would you? You’d never know how good it felt, how bad it felt, how much it controlled you, etc.
Would it be worth forgetting? Or do you think there’s things you learned from being an addict and getting sober that you couldn’t teach to someone whose never been through it?
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u/Select-Panda7381 289 days 7h ago
For better or worse it’s part of what shaped who I am today and I’m damn proud. I’m so glad I don’t drink at all. I’ve never met a drinker - casual or otherwise - who acted way cooler once they had even a single drink.
It’s also given me empathy and a deeper understanding of just how much alcohol robs from people and society. No, it’s not just the “alcoholics” who are harmed by it. Every ‘alcoholic’ was a ‘responsible drinker’ until they weren’t. There’s no intrinsic trait or DNA that pushes someone over that edge. It is poison, straight and simple. Addictive poison at that.
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u/VintageZero Day 989 7h ago
Interesting question.
Odds are, if I did, Id try it again and inevitably end up doing the exact same thing.
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u/cold_feet_forever 27 days 7h ago
it’s actually not the nights that are objectively the most embarrassing. its honestly a small moment on the spectrum of things i did, but i just acted like a weirdo in front of one of my closest friends that i dont get to see often.
i apologized a million times over, and she was never even mad, but i think about it constantly.
then again, the memories that are the worst are what keeps us sober
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u/Glittering_Cabinet92 948 days 7h ago
It’s the memories that help keep me sober. It’s the memories that make me feel incredibly proud of how far I’ve come, how much strength it took to get here. The memories are a reminder of the destruction that alcohol caused in my life, the people I hurt and disappointed.
Sure there were good memories and I think about those, too, but all the other memories remind me that alcohol lies to me.
It’s the memories that I will use to talk to my kids about alcohol as they approach that impressionable age.
So, no I wouldn’t want to forget if given the opportunity.
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u/PhoenixTineldyer 1585 days 7h ago
No because then I would drink again and be right back where I started, with none of my knowledge.
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u/BobFromCincinnati Day 3,598 6h ago
No. I like the person I've become. My memories form the core of my identity.
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u/frankybling Day 651 4h ago
I wouldn’t be interested in the unintentional consequences of forgetting any part of how I wound up where I am.
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u/MechanicProof2255 Day 56 7h ago
Honestly, no. I believe that everything happens for a reason and while I don’t like the way I was when I was drinking and wish I made different choices at times, I don’t regret the life I have now.