How i pulled myself out of alcoholism

[desibaba]

I was pretty close to becoming a full blown alcoholic had i continued walking down the path that i was on. It started around jan of 2006 when i bought a new motorcycle and started hanging out with a bunch of biker guys who loved to party.

My drinking a beer here and there had turned to taking shots of jack daniels or else i couldnt fall asleep at night. After that it turned to drinking during the day and evening time as well. I would say the MOST important thing that happened to me during this timeframe was that i met the woman that i would end up marrying. She was extremely nice and caring and strong about her religious beliefs so i knew my partying lifestyle wouldnt be appreciated by her.

So one day out of the blue i simply quit BOTH smoking cigarettes and alcohol at the same time. Now this is completely cold turkey.
At the same time i also stopped associating with the group of friends i had. They were mostly good people and i liked them but whenever i was around them i wanted to drink,smoke and party like before so i pulled myself out of that circle.

So in my honest opinion now that i look back on it is that i can give you three tips that truly worked for me.
1. Stop being around people that drink/do drugs/smoke if you are trying to quit (yes you will miss them but look at the overall picture).
2. Have a truly supportive and caring person in your life who will be there with you for moral support.
3. Dont get scared and start thinking HOW WILL I LIVE WITHOUT AlCOHOL,DRUGS,ETC. Pretty soon when those things are gone from your life you will feel so much better and you will have new hobbies and interests that would probably save you tons of money in the process.

[Sistersteel]

Desibaba
Thank you very much for sharing your experience and offering insightful advice to all who can relate or have been in similar situations. I took out your last statement though. I think it was unnecessary. (This statement has been recently added to my response. I need not have to remind everyone constantly to read the rules before posting. My editing this post was an attempt at remaining cordial and not discouraging you from posting by making reference to rules for the hundredth time. I know you only had good intentions when you shared and were genuinely trying to reach out to others which is why I decided to let it slide and pruned your post rather than pulled it completely. This is the second time you've made that mistake. I chose to be tolerent so as not to discourage you from posting again. I cannot thank you enough for the encouragement you offered to others. However, this was your second time making the same mistake but I chose to be tolerent and simply sencor your reference to using steroids while giving advice on sobriety...i mean..COME ON)

Thank you for posting. I would love to read your sharing more often and please keep coming back!

SS

[TONYT82]

sencor your reference to using steroids while giving advice on sobriety...i mean..COME ON)??? i dont get this part? whats the problem?

[Sistersteel]

sencor your reference to using steroids while giving advice on sobriety...i mean..COME ON)??? i dont get this part? whats the problem?

Did you read the rules Tony dear?