And I am ending it. The people who know about it know what it is. Alcohol. As I type this I am buzzing. But as of twelve o clock today I did not drink and do not plan to anymore. ANYMORE. Whether my higher power is a doorknob, mlp, or maybe, the one I actually chose...my friends, both online or offline, I shall not drink anymore. I realize something. Back when I was 12-16...I had a gift. Ammunition if you will. Though I did drink on occasion, I was brilliant. Beyond smart. As years came on so did real life. Chaos, pain, misery, hatred of what I was becoming....I drank more and studied less. I forgot what I had learned, and my once photographic memory became like sands in an hourglass. I lost friends and family to both drugs and alcohol. Now, I cower in the power of the booze and I once called myself cool. Losing both online and offline friends to this curse...I no longer call myself neither smart nor a man. I quit the sauce. I mean it.

Frodlex :
mrfe :
sonicmcmuffin :

You three I think I hurt the most.
I humbly apologize and hope that with time, you three and many others can forgive me......

Good luck, man. I wish you the best. This may be unsolicited advice, but if you ever lapse back into it, that doesn't mean you've "failed." If that ever happens, the fact that you "lapsed" in the first place means that you have made progress. I hope this brings you happiness.

This is my 1000th post, so clearly this is an important topic Id like to address.

All the best, man. Perhaps putting reminders around your home to not buy alcohol could prevent you from giving in. When I quit smoking weed for 3 years I made a point of throwing out my bongs and pipes and grinders and lighters. It was a really uncomfortable thing to do because there were so many memories attached to them. Its easy to remember the times you enjoyed, but there were also times where you struggled and were filled with regret. I made a lot of questionable decisions when I was high or wanting to get high that I clearly wish I hadnt made. Looking back I often think "what the hell was I thinking when I did that?".

Your struggles to remain sober will suck, no doubt.  You will have a 10 day window where you are ready to snap, but after that it gets easier and easier. Once you adjust your daily routine and get used to it, youre perfectly fine. I often found myself in situations where my mind went to "this would be the perfect time to smoke weed", but when that happens you must remind yourself of how bad things got and how not worth it all was. You dont want to hurt anyone close to you. I know that I did and it took a long time to patch those relationships up. I often thought about smoking weed throughout the day and even when I dreamed. I dont think that will ever go away, but it will happen less and less often.

You may find that some of the things you used to do arent very fun when you are sober, so you will be adjusting and readjusting your daily routine until you find something that sticks and you are comfortable with. You will probably try doing things that you didnt like to do when you werent sober, but make so much more sense now. Perhaps you could get into reading, writing, building things, cooking; something different that you enjoy.

For me, the past remains and it wont ever go away, but its important to learn from mistakes that were made in the past to help form a better version of yourself. For the most part I have resorted to the person I was before I started to smoke, but some little habits here and there still remain. You will have temptation no doubt; you will have reminders of good and bad times from your past, but you must know that things will only improve as you move forward in life. 

It is important to distract yourself at the beginning of this new journey called redemption. Keep your mind and your hands busy in order to not feel the need to do something bad. It is a tricky thing to master because you will be annoyed and frustrated at a lot of the things you try to do to keep yourself busy, but as you try new things, you will figure out what works best for you, and then you will eventually accept your bright new reality. Its all going up from here manic. Be strong. You have support around you from people who care about you because we only want the best for you. If you ever feel like breaking down and giving in, just talk to one of us and you will cool off and manage your temptation. Just know that the support will always be there because everyone want to see the best version of you because you matter to us.

You will be fine.

manicman66 : This is going to be tough, and honestly, I do think you are going to cave in every once in a while but if you are really determined, as time moves on, it willl become easier and with all of us here, you will have all the support that you can have during this journey and we wish you all the best. 

Value vs Cost. All that you need to think about, and I'm not talking just money here.

Good for you. I wish you the best of luck. While I don't have any experience with addiction to alcohol or other drugs I recommend keeping them away from you at all costs. Don't have drinks in the house, don't go to bars, avoid going to parties if you know that everyone there will be drinking. Again, good luck man.

Be warned, the following post contains what may be categorized as a...

#ControversialOpinion

I think the problem isn't so much alcohol, but how you use it.

Alcohol in moderation is a wonderful thing, and doesn't hurt anybody unless you are stupidly violent or aggressive when buzzed.

My dad is an alcoholic, and I have an addictive personality myself, I get addicted to things like alcohol very easily. I'd probably be an alcoholic myself if I had a steady job and money.

Just be moderate about it, and don't get drunk. There's nothing wrong with having a beer here and there. I don't think there's a need to be this dramatic about it either (came off as kind of dramatic).

If you genuinely enjoy drinking alcohol (which I could totally understand, because I do myself) there's no point forcing yourself to completely quit it... just be smart about it.

legacyme3 :
Not really.
Some people truely have no control when it comes to alcohol.
I know people who are focused, organised, dedicated, but can't apply that to alcohol.
The ones who caked it quits made the better call.
I love alcohol.
One night drinking and I mentally don't feel like drinking for days after.
Equally some people are just bad drunks. Kill joys or aggressive.
It isnt for everyone.

This is awesome, it's always great to hear about people breaking the chains of addiction. Addiction of any kind is terrible but addiction to alcohol is among some of the worst addictions out there and that's why I've never even considered trying it out. I've seen a lot of my old friends destroy their lives with alcohol, weed and other drugs, nothing good comes out of it, literally nothing.

Anyways, congrats on recognizing your problem and taking the steps to overcome it.

bobq : I never knew that about you but that's really great to hear about you quitting weed. I know a few people who smoke it all the time and think they have no problem but really I've seen how much it has destroyed their lives. Congrats to you as well.

Well, I'm happy. I'll start off with that. I'm happy that you've recognized how destructive this addiction has been, and am impressed that you're completely quitting. I know last time you talked about this, about a year ago, you planned to only have beer every once in a while. Well, we know where that got you.

Also, I definitely want to encourage you to stick with your plan. Even simply having a little here or there can cause you to relapse later, so steer clear of it as much as you can. I do trust that you can follow through with this plan though. Prove my trust right.

Davideo7 :
To say nothing good comes out of it is pretty naive, especially considering you have never tried it by your own admition.
The vast majority of people have no addiction to it, and infact it has many benefits.
The economy, relaxation, A social lubricant.
Theres about as many deaths every year from diabetes, with about 2 million being diagnosed every year.
People's diet is frankly worse than their drinking habits.

It's nice to see that when you felt that it was ruining your life, you managed to make yourself take action.

Best of luck in quitting.

I have no experience with getting addicted to a substance myself, in fact I rarely even drink alcohol. One of my younger brothers has been on drugs though. Soft drugs, but still, it cost him a lot too. He got rid of his addiction as well however. He hasn't come into contact with it anymore. He's been tempted, but he had the will to say no, and I'm truly proud of him for that.

So good luck to you. I hope you can get your life back on the rails. It's not impossible, and there will always be people that still care about you even if it doesn't seem so. When your family and the friends you've lost see that you're on the right track and really trying all you can, I hope they'll be able to look behind the past.

manicman66 : It takes a good man to quit. It takes a greater man to admit. This is how you become stronger. Well done.