reddit-stopdrinking

A quick call-out to the best thing about /r/stopdrinking; the cameraderie among drunks.

Good advice about how to connect with people without the crutch of alcohol

Step 1: I'm fucked Step 2: There might be a way out of this fucking mess Step 3: Decide to level the fuck up Step 4: Take a good hard look at how fucked up I am Step 5: Tell someone else about all the fucked up stuff I've been through Step 6: Prepare to stop being such a fuck up Step 7: Try to stop acting so fucked up Step 8: Make a list of everyone I fucked over Step 9: Swallow my fucking pride and tell them I really fucked up, except when doing so would fuck them harder. Step 10: Keep an eye on my fucked up thinking and behavior Step 11: Chill the fuck out sometimes Step 12: Help the next poor fucker that walks through the door

offtherocks has got this shit down to a science. Bonus for a pic of the actual 24/7 worksheet.

"I had the epiphany that this alcoholism shit is not about fucking alcohol." Wise words from BGstop on quitting and getting into the program.

After stopping drinking, I have seen a lot of social anxiety surface, and then disappear after confronting it, but even more interesting is the interactions I'm having with people are so much more positive. Looking back on these two months, I have really realized that I had been feeding my social anxiety with alcohol, and had been really leading some very shallow relationships. Stopping drinking has removed that mask, and has allowed me to delve much deeper into my own personal relationships.

May I offer something that has helped me? When opening up about your sobriety, I have found that people usually gauge their response to how you are acting. For instance, if you simply said 'I do not drink', confidently, without hesitation, people are less likely to even respond and just move on. If you kinda him-haw, 'Well.. .uh, actually.... I don't drink anymore', it is much more likely to turn into a bigger deal.

Scared about going to a meeting? Ayarton had some pre-conceived notions about what an AA meeting would look like, and was delighted to be completely wrong.

qqwpq from a year in: You can learn from your mistakes.

Actually, today I feel like every AA'er has the rebuttal to everything everyone ever says in every meeting. Somebody's down in the dumps? They need to focus on gratitude. Somebody's experienced some sober joy? They're on a pink cloud. Somebody's sorry for the damage their alcoholism has done to them and their loved ones? They need to stop wishing for a different past. Somebody's proud of the time they've achieved? They need to know that a drunk is just around the corner. We alcoholics are apparently all wrong, all the time.

StupidWasteOfMoney could have been reading right ouf of the Big Book with this insight. I probably shouldn't mention that to him.

It's a bit like getting a glass of water barefoot, but the floor is covered in broken glass from all the bottles you smashed while wasted the night before. The objective couldn't be easier, but the wreckage in the way and the pain and the effort involved in accomplishing your goal seems insurmountable in your weakened, deluded state.