this time

This time it’s different. I tried to quit before, on my own, it never worked. I could do 2 days or 4 or 7 or even 9 days. But never longer.

Until things changed, and I finally opened myself up to asking for some help. I made my first post on this blog…  And because of that, i am TEN months sober today!

no, i don’t think that blogging is itself the solution. I just think that reaching out is key. Do you have to blog to be sober? Certainly not 🙂 Can you get sober alone in your head with your own best thoughts without outside ideas and support? No, probably not.

Shel (day 31): “This time — because of course this is not my first time quitting — something is different. Alcohol is not an option, gone, off the table, thinking the drink ALL the way through when the little voice starts up.  Last time the bottle was always hovering in my peripheral vision… something shifted, and I feel great. Thank you for being there.”

Simpson Sister (12): “I don’t have room in my head for all the thoughts of the past and all the what if’s of the future.  I only have room for the things that will help me stay sober.  I have freed up space in my mind and that has allowed me to devote the time and energy that it takes to fight off the demons in my head.  It’s working.”

PP (10): “Thanks so much for your support.  I don’t know why, but once I committed to the hundred days.. so far, easy. Of course I could be delusional… and I felt a bit scared this morning… knowing how easy it is to go back and I haven’t come very far. But it is a start and it feels good.”

Lawyer Anne (23): “Thanks for creating a support space for the non-joiners of the world :)”

Team 100 update:  56 members. Welcome to new members: Debbie (day 3), KT (3), and Kristi (2). Let’s have cake for: Victoria (40), Terri (120), Erica (92), Shel (31). And me, i’m day 305. My first sober day was july 1, 2012. Amy votes me most likely to be sober at 11 months. Because I am in such good company, i would have to agree.

Belle

I want to put this online, to hold myself accountable. I want to document the noise in my head. I'm tired of thinking about drinking. date of last drink: june 30, 2012

  • Congrats Belle~ you just gave birth to your sober baby after carrying that precious cargo thru so many ups nd downs! Now you can continue on and raise your sober baby! Your an inspiration to many!
    B.

  • Congrats, Belle! Amazing!! You are a huge inspiration to me, and I thank you for all of it!! E

  • I have read your story from a couple of weeks in and have enjoyed the journey so far. Here’s to many more wonderful milestones. Glad to be along for he ride.
    Cx

      • “can you get sober alone in your head without outside ideas and support? No probably not”. That is so so true for me. Those little nuggets of sober wisdom I get from you are making all the difference. I was so tired of being inside my head and arguing with MYSELF why I could drink today, or how I could handle it this time, etc…. With even just one person outside yourself, that changes the dynamic of the argument to 2 vs 1. So far it is making all the difference. thank you, thank you, thank you! Laura xoxo

      • hooray for you! trying to get sober alone reminds me of the Counting Crows song, Perfect Blue Buildings… “How am I gonna keep myself away from me?”

  • Congrats!!! Sober truck, full speed ahead!

    I would have to agree that getting sober, for me, was tied to reaching out because…reaching out helped me to put the problem on the table, look at it, see that it’s not ugly and hairy and unique with fifteen weird legs–it’s just like everyone else’s. It made it less personal, and I think the key to getting a little sober is realizing that you’re not a bad person, or a freakshow. Thanks, Belle, for letting me know how it might and could very well look–fabulous–10 months down the road! Thanks for listening to my rants, both on and offline, and making me feel like I’m not totally insane. 🙂 -DDG