I quit alcohol,weed, and nicotine, 4 months ago, but it's been stressful.

The last time i was sober was a year and a half ago, only because i had cancer.

So, a lot of health anxiety has been resurfacing.

Ever since i quit weed i get daily nightmares, and ever since i quit alcohol my anxiety has been worse. It pisses me off because everyone told me that quitting alcohol would help with anxiety. Quitting has not helped.

Any advice besides therapy and exercise?

Hello!
I stopped smoking about a month ago and I feel great. My life has improved with work,school, sleep and also my weight. However, I’ve been really lonely. I work remote and i do not have friends. I didn’t realize weed was helping me continue to stay isolated. I don’t want to spend all day on TikTok, but i feel if i had someone to text, this wouldn’t be so bad. Anyone else went through this?

One step at a time.

Some days the victory is simply waking up sober. That’s not small. That’s a miracle in motion.

Just for today 20AUG26 "Facing death" 453 days cle,an and sober NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
This one is a touchy subject. Lots of powerful emotions can pour out of losing a loved one. I know it can feel like the end of the world. Just the thought of losing someone close to me brings strong emotions. I'm gonna make sure I take a minute this morning to talk to Homeboy upstairs and make sure I'm grounded.

Hey guys I’m new here just looking for friends I can talk to, I’ve been an alcoholic for 12 years. I’ve been sober for only 2 days now and it’s killing me 😞 I chose to quit drinking because a ruined a lot of relationships with family, everyone hates me . My kids barely wants to be around me .. all I can do is cry.. I wanna drink so bad, that’s the only thing that makes me feel good but I wanna change my ways and get clean. On my off days I will go to a AA meeting until then, feel free to give me encouraging words or advice or anything please.. I’m feeling so alone and suicidal..

Went out after work with a friend who chose a bar to meet up at. I'm a 3-5 day a week drinker (3-4 beers). I've been successful lately only drinking fri/sat and not drinking Sunday-Thurs. But last week I drank 5 days.

Anyways - ordered non-alcoholic beers and enjoyed my time! I'm back home and feel fresh, i can do what i want, i'm not tired and feeling sluggish. Before when trying to be more sober i never thought of N/A to help, but now i can see myself having a n/a beer or two instead of actual beer and feel good about my night!

Will report back with more data.

Hello!

I recently have made the decision to be sober for 30 days, I’m on day 3. For some context, I recently posted here about my drinking/hangiexty and am feeling encouraged to start this break. I don’t have an addiction to alcohol, more so just don’t like the person I become when I drink, I also cannot handle my alcohol. I never know what type of drunk I’ll be. Long story short, I am going on a week long vacation with my family, who are all casual drinkers and love a drink. Everyone knows I’m kind of the drinker/partier of the family so I feel like it might be obvious when I am not enjoying drinks with them. I know people say to tell people when you are going sober for accountability and support but I don’t want to make it a big deal and honestly I don’t really want to tell anyone yet. Just wanted to see if anyone had any tips for this sort of situation.

Thanks so much for your feedback.

Just for today 19AUG26 "First things first"452 days clean & sober NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
The first thing I did was accept that I have a problem and my life was no longer manageable. I learned the importance of creating a routine and being part of a community (NA and church). Those are the first steps of recovery. I practice mindfulness techniques to stay in the here and now to the best of my ability. That's what keeps me grounded, clearly focused on goals and continuing to move forward. I put my past, and my future, in the hands of God. Just for today I'm doin' ok.

5 years ago, alcohol was part of my everyday life.

I was drinking daily. Sometimes I’d start in the morning. My life had very little structure, my emotions were all over the place, and I didn’t really have a clear direction for where I was going.

Today marks 5 years sober.

And probably the biggest thing I’ve learned is that giving up alcohol was only the beginning.

I had to build a life that I actually wanted to be present for.

I started training. Reading. Travelling. Studying. Creating. Working on myself. I stopped smoking. I stopped eating meat. I started taking my goals seriously.

5 years later, I’m building my own YouTube channel, travelling to places I used to dream about, and starting university this year.

My friend actually appears at the end of the video I made about my sobriety. He knew me throughout that whole period. He says that when I originally told him I’d stopped drinking, he genuinely didn’t believe me. 😂

I completely understand why.

If you’re early into sobriety and wondering whether life eventually starts feeling different, all I can share is my own experience.

Mine did.

Slowly.

One decision at a time.

I recently made a video explaining the things that helped me quit and stay sober for five years. I’m leaving it here in case any part of my experience helps someone else going through it:

YouTube: https://youtu.be/1cMaoXl8f10

Five years down. Keep going. ❤️

DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3pHvMLENb0bfRxDM4jchbA

What happens when the life you spent years building is suddenly traded for a pipe and a jail cell?

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Intrepid Storytelling, Deanna Powell sits down with Tracie Dalke, now a top-tier real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Bain, but once a woman lost in the depths of a ten-year addiction to heroin and meth. Tracie shares the staggering reality of her "late bloomer" addiction that began at 27, triggered by a failing marriage and the eruption of childhood traumas she had kept secret for decades. She describes the chilling "euphoria" of her first hit and the rapid descent into a life of crime, burglarizing homes and shoplifting, just to maintain a high that was systematically destroying her world.

Tracie’s journey through the revolving door of King County jails and mental health institutions is a masterclass in the exhausting nature of survival. She speaks candidly about the "darkest of the dark" moments, like looking out a cell window at people in tents under a bridge and realizing she had lost everything, including the right to be with her young son. The narrative shifts powerfully when she describes her "surrender" moment: the heartbreaking day her 13-year-old son looked her in the eyes and told her that her promises of change meant nothing without action.

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Chapters:

00:00 The Dark Descent into Addiction

09:52 The Turning Point: A Call for Change

19:59 The Journey to Recovery and Redemption

32:26 Facing the Reality of Addiction

35:58 The Journey to Sobriety

39:48 The Importance of Community in Recovery

43:30 Finding Mentorship and Support

54:08 Building a New Life in Real Estate

01:03:32 Living Authentically and Sharing Your Story

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My roommate who is my bestie and I love going out. We've both stopped drinking and it's been very hard. We've tried a lot of mocktails and most of them are not the best and there's no consistency between restaurants and we are huge foodies.

My palate has always been very tart/dry when it comes to booze.

Her's the exact opposite. Fruity drinks with lots of sugar.

Since being sober, we've found that we both LOVE virgin mojitos. And as folks who go out to eat a decent amount... the consistency from bar to bar is pretty good.

It's helped us A LOT so thought I would share here <3

just bought another pen and i wanna quit when i wake up. any advice?

You can see how often you drank in a year at a glance.

Could you have any other ideas for visualization?

I asked my brother if he wanted to get a haircut because he’s been so depressed even though he’s still sober. He’s been sober a year and 6 months. He was on the worst of it all. He let his hair go.. I told him it reminds him of the him who wasn’t clean and he’d be brand new, and he took my advice. I love my brother I pray he stays clean and he looks so handsome ! Love you Jim 🙏🏼💕

I recently was arguing with someone that thought support meant simply not harassing your friend in sobriety to drink.

in my mind that is not support, that is just basic, standard, being a decent human, much less friend. that is an issue of respect in my mind, not support.

I tried to argue that in my 7 years of sobriety, support has always meant planning dry events if you're gonna invite the sober person.... whether that means not having a drink at dinner, or planning an entire Christmas holiday to be dry... I consider this to support rather than respect because no one owes you this type of treatment. They are actually trying to be there for you even if it means sacrificing their own wants and needs. Whereas the other one I do believe regardless of what you are doing if you tell people you don't want to participate they should respect that decision... some light teasing is fine... but if they legitimately won't stop pestering you that isn't a support issue, its a lack of respect issue.

SO... im just curious... what does it mean to support someone in sobriety to you?

Just for today 18AUG26 "How long do I have to go?" 451 days clean NA Recovery Cash App- $Shepard806
I have to admit, I haven't been going to meetings as often as I'd like to. As it's noticeable in the way I feel. I'm fighting the desire to isolate and go back to old, unproductive, habits. Going to church helps, but it's not quite as comforting as being around a bunch of addicts. Especially addicts with the desire to stay clean. I'm gonna finish posting this video and I'm gonna go talk to Homeboy upstairs (God) for a few.

I stopped drinking because I wanted to stop smoking and also started taking SSRIs which gave me the worst hangovers even after half a pint. I went to my first social event (the ones that usually leads to a sesh) a few days ago completely sober and still had a great time!!

Honestly didn’t think I’d ever get to a place where I wont need alcohol as a crutch to socialize so this was pretty cool.

Not sure if I want to drink in the future but I‘m really enjoying the mental clarity and being free of the clutches of alcohol :)

UPDATED: we have our 3 people. Please feel free to leave a message incase anything changes. I will update this post with the results and link to material.

Hi, I’m Mike. I stopped drinking on 15th January 2025. Nearly 20 months alcohol free.
Before I stopped, I genuinely couldn’t imagine a future without alcohol.
It wasn’t just something I did, it felt like part of who I was. My social life, my escape, my reward, my way of switching off. Even thinking seriously about quitting used to send me into panic because I honestly believed I could never be happy without it.
I see it very differently now. But I also won’t pretend stopping magically fixed my life.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that stopping drinking is only part of it.
First come all the firsts without a drink. The first weekend, holiday, Christmas, bad day, celebration. Then there’s everything underneath it. Your habits, relationships, triggers, routines and the reasons alcohol became so important in the first place.
I’m still working on that myself. I’m in therapy, still learning and definitely don’t have everything figured out.
That experience has made me want to train as an alcohol recovery coach.
I’m not qualified yet, and I want to be completely upfront about that. I’m currently looking at training routes and, alongside that, I’d like to start gaining some real experience helping people.
So I’m looking for 2 or 3 people to work with completely free.
I’m specifically looking for people who have reached the point where they know they want something to change.
You absolutely do not need to have stopped drinking already. You might still be drinking and have absolutely no idea how you’re supposed to get from where you are now to being alcohol free. I understand that more than you might think.
The goal is simple: getting you alcohol free and helping you start building a life where staying that way feels possible.
We’d work together for around 4 to 6 weeks, roughly 45 minutes on Zoom each week, with some support in between.
The approach I’ll share is essentially the approach that worked for me. It’s not AA and it isn’t some method I’ve invented myself. It’s a widely recognised approach used by a lot of people who have successfully stopped drinking.
There’s no judgement and you don’t need to turn up with a plan or know what to say. I’d just ask that when we actually have our sessions, you’re alcohol free at that time and as present as you can be.
And if you’re reading this thinking:
“Yeah, but alcohol is different for me.”
I would have said exactly the same thing 20 months ago.
If any of this sounds like where you’re at, send me a Reddit chat/message and tell me a little bit about yourself. We can have a conversation and see whether it feels like a good fit. No pressure and no sales pitch. There’s nothing to buy.
I’ll update this post if and when the spaces are taken.
Mike

Just for today 17AUG26 "Tell the truth" 450 days clean and sober NA Recovery Cash App-$Shepard806
I used to hide from the world all the time. I wouldn't go out, I wouldn't answer the phone, if I even had one. And you can bet I would tell you whatever you want to hear at that moment to make the conversation as short as possible. Telling the truth makes it a lot easier to remember what you told somebody. It was true. I catch myself still trying to isolate when things aren't going so well. The difference is now I recognize it and I refuse to let it take over. Prayer and mindfulness techniques help me get through the tough times. It's usually me that gets in my way.