Surviving Early Sobriety: What Does Getting Sober Feel Like?

I finished eighth grade and started high school in 2004. I didn’t have many friends and was very shy. But, I made friends with some older people.

I never really felt like I had a choice in social situations or the people I was around. I couldn’t really sort through who I actually wanted to be around because I felt like I was just along for the ride and I wasn’t really in charge. When you’re an alcoholic and you’re not sober, you feel trapped. It was just one blackout after another, messing up relationships, apologizing for things.

Sober Story: Bob

And it was pretty much that way for 10 years. I look back and am amazed at how long I was OK with settling for that life. I couldn’t sleep without passing out into unconsciousness — which was now happening early in the evening — only to awaken in the same state of withdrawal again. I managed to crawl in the dark to huddle over the commode. I rationalized that the vomiting might be due to food poisoning.

I was blessed with an extremely good memory. I did not need to study very hard for tests to ace them. By my junior year, I was taking all honors classes and easily passing them, putting me near the top of my class. I had one influential mentor, my physiology teacher, who encouraged me to pursue an education in the sciences, perhaps medicine. My friends were all band members who partied like me.

Sober Story: Rosie

I want to meet my Maker with clear eyes and a straight soul. And, here I am.I will tell you that one of the things that help me get by is knowing a lot offavorite musicians who have gotten sober later in life. I am not the only one in my sixties trying to get my life straightened out. 2012 to 2013 were my hardest drinking days. My son would leave Friday night and spend the weekend with his grandparents. I took this as the time to drink until I threw up or blacked out.

My hands would sweat so much that I could barely don sterile gloves. I was fortunate at that time to primarily be supervising three highly skilled fellows training in our practice any involvement on my part. I couldn’t wait for the workday to end so I could get to my car and have a good dose of alcohol from the bottle under the seat.

Sober Story: Carla

I clearly remember three distinct thoughts. My relationship with my wife, both emotionally and physically, was absent. I was unable to participate in any kind of family activity, especially if it interfered with my drinking. My family would watch inspirational stories of sobriety TV in one room and I would be in another drinking to oblivion. If I watched a movie with the family, it was unlikely I would remember any details of the movie the following morning. I began a friendship with another woman during this time.

It is estimated that up to 80% of those who find long-term sobriety had at least one relapse along the way. Some people experience many setbacks before they find lasting recovery. Your intentions may be good, but it takes more than willpower to avoid having a relapse. Sobriety means not being under the influence of a substance. However, the word is often used in different ways in different contexts. Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence—never using the substance ever again.

Sober Story: Mark

It’s about you learning how to regrow relationships and care for other people, including yourself. I can’t tell you how many messages I got in the beginning from people who told me how I’ve inspired them to maybe not get sober but to live their best life. Or telling me that they’ve had family members who have died from this or are struggling, and when they see me succeeding with it, it gives them hope that their family member or friend can succeed. Being sober doesn’t mean your life is over.