r/Sober

I’m almost 13 months sober and my boyfriend of roughly one year is also sober (for 7years). It’s easy to stay sober in most ways because there’s no reason to drink around him. But I notice I’ve lost my whittyness my confidence in many ways even though I’ve lost over 30 lbs and look healthier. I go to the gym 5days a week… but I just feel empty.. idk if it’s the loss of alcohol but I’m just sad and bored…I’m sure if I started drinking again my relationship wouldn’t work and I love him so much. He’s so wonderful.. I can’t lose him.. but i feel like I’ve lost myself and my happiness and hope. Also turning 30 in 2 weeks.. which doesn’t help.. I just feel like my life has no life to it anymore.. I just feel so stuck.

My boy died nine weeks ago. I was able to stay away but I finally had a drink the night of his service. Been on and off since then, but I’m on day four in a row. At 45. But tomorrow I start new. No more. I need to honor him.

Hello, my name is Erick. I am not sure about rules of this reddit but regardless i wanted to share my name and share that I am going sober. I realized that drugs and alcohol has been doing more harm than good to my relationships. I realized I can’t be those people who can have fun and return to normal in a couple of hours. I just can’t. I apologize if anything I am sharing is against the subreddit but I just need to share. I can not live anymore hiding my pain and struggles with substances. I simply do not enjoy anymore. I went out with friends tn and we pregamed and I don’t even remember showing up to the venue and that pains me. My best friend said that I was distraught when I got there and I don’t even remember. He said I only showed emotions to him and no one else in the group. Either way, I regained consciousness but I don’t like this feeling anymore. I never thought I would see the day I wanted to go sober but today I do. I’m sorry if i broke any rules sharing but I just needed to share.’

It’s almost scary to look back on even as short as 90 days and see how absolutely defeated and helpless I was. I am soooooo grateful to be here!

Things I’ve noticed
-Better sleep
-More energy
-More motivation
-Better stress response
-Less anxiety (and feeling of impending doom)

Can’t wait to see where else it goes. I’m just so happy for my kids, because I wasn’t even half of the mother I was supposed to be.

Have a good day!!!

Very American post ik haha but proud of everyone in other countries as well. It’s not always the easiest on holidays but i hope you’re all still having a nice night! And tmrw will not be lost :)

Here’s the thing about slip ups - even just a couple of drinks: it’s not just the self-criticism, or the guilt - it’s the depressant drug alcohol in your system that darkens your views of life in general for a few days. Living this now.

same old, same old, yada yada, "i thought i could moderate it this time". cue 5 day coke bender, 5 cans of beer a night, all the rest, fk sake man. The thing is i hated sobriety. I hated addiction, i fought tooth and nail to get myself out of that situation and then i hated sobriety, and now i'm back in that rut and i hate it again. i just hate myself, and that's where all my self-destructive behaviours stem from and until i fix that i'll always be a knife's edge away from trying to escape myself with chemicals. fking hate having to admit this, thought that this 'second go' at drugs would work, just obviously hasn't. fk sake

Wanted to come on here and say I am proud of everyone who stayed sober today and fought any urges they may have had. Today was a difficult day for me but it’s over now and a new day begins. Happy Sunday and stay safe!

Today, on the day of my country's 250th anniversary of its declaration of independence, I celebrate ten years to the day since I chose to have my last drink of alcohol. That was one of the greatest moments of my life in retrospect (which, funny enough, happened to simultaneously be one of the worst moments of my life at the time). But just like the U.S. then had to fight for many years to win the war against the U.K. to really become independent, I really wasn't truly free until I then won my war against weed and quit that more than five years later, and so for almost five years I have been absolutely sober.

My life has been completely transformed. Everything has changed. Now I run my own business and live my dreams. I am free.... free from the substances that controlled my life and held me down. From hangovers. From morning-after guilt and shame. From permanent stoner brain fog stupidity. From the chains that held me down. From geographic constraints.

Quitting drinking was so, so hard.... but it was a thousand miles toward freedom. And I didn't fully get there until I quit weed, which was equally as challenging, in different ways. But this party boy for decades did both. I can't freaking believe it.

Ever since then my life has felt like I have been flowing down a river in mid-current.

You can do it. You can achieve this. You can take the first step. And you can reach freedom and independence.

I'm sorry for my exuberance. I try to be humble, but it's been one decade since my first step and I am so happy and grateful and in disbelief. As my country celebrates 250 years since it took the first steps toward freedom, I am celebrating ten years since I chose to begin my own journey toward independence.

Happy Independence Day.

I'm only 2 days in to sobriety from weed. (I know it's not typically addictive, but for me it's gotten really bad, and it has taken over my life). I've been smoking non-stop for the past 5 years.

I really can't shake the boredom and depression that comes with being sober.

I have so much time now, that I don't know what to do with myself. Life feels incredibly overwhelming at the moment.

I've tried reading, studying and learning new topics I'm interested in, watching new tv shows, and exercise; but right now, it just feels like nothing makes me happy. I've noticed that especially in the evenings, from 7p onwards when I'd usually smoke really heavy, I get very depressed and my cravings are super strong.

What do you guys normally do to stay busy during this time? I know it's very early on, but I'm already starting to feel irritated and bored. Does anyone have any advice?

Thank you so much in advance!

6 years sober. Me and my lady had a falling out. Went to an extended stay with my cat. Started drinking immediately. Didn’t even think about it. My family wants me to come over and sober up and stay with them until my new apartment is ready. I can’t seem to stop now that I’ve started.

It was 3 days ago. Am I still screwed? Also this is not a joke, I'm suffering triple withdrawal from different substances so that was my motivation.

This is a very sincere question. I don't drink anymore I stopped about four years ago cause I was getting older and it just didn't feel good anymore. But I have this friend who I see like maybe once every other week. We go to museums and out restaurants and things like that. This week, and other weeks I've noticed I feel like he smells like alcohol. But not like he just drank but like I can smell it on him he also has had to go to the doctor for different things that he has told me were diverticulitis. My question is can alcohol exacerbate diverticulitis. Also I'm trying to convince myself that what I'm not smelling on him as alcohol when I know it is. He's older and I'm worried and I don't think I can bring it up. And mostly makes me feel sad though because he's drinking and hiding it if I can smell it on him

Hi All,

I’m going to refer to myself as 113 days sober, but I understand if some of you may have differing opinions come the end of this post. Honestly, I don’t know if I even fully believe I’m sober anymore. Long story short: I have begun swallowing mouthwash (with alcohol). Even during the worst of my active addiction, I never drank/swallowed mouthwash. Everything else, sure… and that still makes me cringe a bit. Then a few weeks ago, I just swallowed it. I wasn’t in a bad mood, I wasn’t looking to feel intoxicated. There was even alcohol around me, which I could easily have stolen and drank in secret. That’s the thing that’s tripping me up- there is *no* desire to consume alcohol or find ways to get it. There’s just me occasionally swallowing mouthwash without any thought behind it in the moment. The moment after? I ask myself why I did that, and question if my sobriety is at risk. Now, I have taken the appropriate step to mitigate this pattern: I threw out the mouthwash w/ alcohol, and only have NA in my home. I’ve told my therapist about this, but I’m not ready to bring it up at AA. Tbh I don’t think I would handle it well if someone flat out said “you’re not sober anymore”. I like to think I could cope, but I don’t want to give myself an inch to turn back to the bottle when there is currently zero desire to do so.

I guess I’m wondering if any of you have experienced this in between state. No desire to drink, happy to be sober, yet doing things that arguably go against sobriety.

I'm curious to hear from creative folks. Ups and downs. I felt like shit for a while but ive slowly found it easier to illustrate with colors and even try clay. How has sobriety affected your art?

I’ve read many posts over the years about new sobriety and all the energy and how great people feel in early sobriety. It’s the opposite for me. I feel like garbage. I’m very flat and exhausted all the time.

Does it get better??

A few years ago, I had a trip to Japan planned. At the time, I had stopped drinking, but I was incredibly anxious about it. I kept thinking, “What if I want to try sake? What if I want to try Japanese beer?” I even asked this community for advice.

The overwhelming response was, “Don’t do it.”

I wish I could say I listened.

I ended up drinking again. More than “just one.” Eventually, I had one of those moments where I realized I was done. I was tired of what alcohol was taking from me, and I decided I didn’t want it in my life anymore.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m back in Japan.

This time, alcohol hasn’t crossed my mind once. I’m not thinking about sake or beer. I’m thinking about enjoying the temples, wandering through neighborhoods, drinking great coffee, eating amazing food, taking long walks, and simply being present.

That realization hit me hard.

If you’re early in sobriety, it can feel like you’re giving something up forever. But in my experience, that feeling doesn’t last. Over time, the cravings fade. The mental space that alcohol used to occupy gets replaced by living your life. It becomes… normal.

It wasn’t a perfectly straight path for me. I had slips along the way. But each time I learned something, and I kept moving forward.

The benefits have been so much bigger than I expected—not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and financially. Life feels lighter. I enjoy experiences more because I’m actually present for them.

If you’re struggling today, whatever stage you’re in, I just want to say: keep going. Even if you’ve stumbled. Even if today feels impossible. It really does get easier, and there is a life on the other side that’s richer than you can imagine.

I wanted to share this because this community helped me more than you’ll ever know.

Thank you all.

So now ive been trying1 half a glass a week to stop getting withdrawals it works a bit but then the whole day i feel sick and guilty cant be with and without i hate myself for that i thought it would be easy now i cry myself to sleep unable to live with the guilt of failure everyone i know says "you dont have a problem because its been a year" i know i hated every second i can barely get out of bed anymore i dont see the point of it anymore

Today I’m 4 months sober from smoking weed. I’ve smoked since I was 19 years old without any breaks and as I got older and more stressed with life I used it as a crutch to not feel, I used to vape multiple times a day just to get by. It was my tool for escapism. One day I decided to just quit cold turkey. Today I feel so many different emotions but the main one being proud. What we are all doing here isn’t easy but it’s so worth it. I’m proud of you all in this journey of sobriety.

For the people that were obsessed with drugs and thought that it would be impossible to ever get sober, how did you do it? What changed? I’ve been doing drugs since I was 14 (31 now) and I’ve been sober for 10 months. Do things change over time? I’m so desperate to get a high or to get drunk. I’m hanging in there but life feels so boring without drugs. I appreciate a different perspective. Thanks.