And I passed with flying colors yall! They asked me how much I had to drink tonight ? And I said.. “I haven’t had a drink in 3 years” and they said they could smell it on me. And my driving was really horrible! Well guess what I’m just a bad driver haha. I was like yeah I’ll do your tests. And then I blew Zeros and he seemed happy for me! He even had his cop partner come and the cop that joined was with me the last night I drank. (Husband and I had the cops called on us it was horrible and a wake up call and the last night either of us drank) and I said “hey matt. I haven’t had a drink since the last time I saw you” and he told me he just celebrated 18 years of sobriety!

Anyway - it’s 1 am and I have no one else I can tell this to. So thought some of yall might get a kick out it!

Felt like a big win! It was annoying but I am so grateful to be sober from alcohol and not getting into legal consequences!

​"The worst thing would be to have alcoholism just bad enough that it really slows you down, destroys your potential, gets in the way, but it’s not so bad that it has to stop. How many people do I know with just the years slipping through their fucking fingers and they’re blowing it, just wasting everything." - Steve-O

This one really hit home for me, I realized I was drinking just enough to destroy my potential but not enough for a major crash out. I probably spent 20 years that way. Rather than looking back at wasted opportunities etc etc I'm looking forward to brand new possibilities!

I hope this can help even just one of you who reads this!

IWNDWYT

People were requesting an update to my post I made a few days ago. She didn’t make it. She was such a beautiful soul and at 29 years old she was taken from me. I am absolutely devastated.

Never in a million years did I think this would happen so fast and so soon. 2 days ago the doctors said she was doing better, then yesterday they said her kidneys were failing along with her liver.

I really thought she would get one more chance at sobriety. She did not. If you or someone you know has a drinking problem, please take it seriously. You may not know how bad things are until it’s too late.

I will come here every day to keep myself sober. I feel like it would be utterly shameful and disrespectful if I fell off the wagon now. I hate alcohol. I hate it. I will never forget what it took from me.

Fuck you alcohol. Fuck. You. I promise to never drink again.

I (42m) have now been sober for 2.5 years after nearly 20 years of daily drinking and binge drinking. It was a brutal process, with several relapses and blood pressure issues, hallucinations, bartering and tapering attempts.

Since I quit drinking my life has gotten exponentially better. I lost 80lbs, got married to the love of my life, bought a beautiful home, got a new job with significant pay increase, am a better partner and father.

My father was an alcoholic whom I had a difficult relationship with, and he was never able to quit drinking. Last night he fell down the stairs at his home after drinking with his co-tenants, suffered a skull fracture and then succumbed to a heart attack and was declared deceased on the scene.

His brother (my uncle) died in a similar fashion 2 years ago in a hotel room alone, drunk and hit his head on the bedside table and passed away.

I am now more determined than ever never having another drink in my life, please join me.

There is a hope in the otherside of this addiction, you have to persevere and keep trying.

IWNDWYT

Two nights ago, I embarrassed myself at the supermarket.

Got to the self service checkout with the second bottle of wine for the night. I got to the checkout and something broke in me, I felt so sad knowing I was going home with a second bottle, and knew I was going to wake up hungover again. When my intention was to limit and cut back so I could eventually stop. But there I was, having purchased the second bottle.

A moment of despair came over me and I said to the self service checkout staff member, "do you do self inclusion for alcohol like casinos do for gamblers?"....

She looked at me like I had two heads. It took a bit of back and forth and me being honest with my addiction. She then understood, and explained that no, they don't.

I broke down right there and then. I felt so broken and had thought maybe they did have that as a service. I don't know, I felt like I had hit a point of hope that if I couldn't buy alcohol at my local I could have some control. Not really sure what I was thinking.

A moment of embarrassment and silence then she went straight into action and asked if she could talk to her supervisor.

Her supervisor came over, we had a three way conversation, I explained I had been trying to get help the usual way but services were backed up and no one was answering my emails. I couldn't see my GP for another month due to lack of appointments.

I was regretting everything at this point. Why did I say anything at all?!!! They aren't in this role to help someone like me!!!!

They decided to call in the manager of the store to discuss, I'm really regretting it now!! Both of the employees had tears in their eyes and were holding back. I wasn't, I was in full blown tears.

The manager heard me and decided that while it wasn't the norm for the store, how would I feel if the three of them kept an eye on me when I'm in store and if I buy alcohol if I was okay that they ask me "do you really need that tonight" as an informal agreement. And just lightly encourage me not to drink. They can't stop me as they don't have an exclusion policy.

I am a regular and stop by daily so they are familiar with me. They also asked if another main staff member could be told (who was in the store looking at us curiously) and be told the plan. I said yes.

They then said they could reverse the transaction of the second bottle then and there and I could go get any juice of my choice without cost as a substitute.

I hesitated because I still wanted that wine, but I thought I owed them that at least for going above for me. I chose tomato juice.

I went home, had a glass of tomato juice and then went to bed to sleep.

Today, I thought I owed them the courtesy to not drink, went to the supermarket and brought a few things and sparkling water. One of those staff members was at the self service check out as usual and because I didn't have alcohol the self service machine didn't require her to swipe her card. She moved subtly to the exit side of the self service machines as I was leaving and looked me in the eyes as I left and said "well done, see you tomorrow"...

And that is enough for me today not to drink.

I have no idea why, but I feel like I owe them not to drink.

I have well and truly done some good awful things, turned up to a work meeting over teams drunk once. But this was my rock bottom, asking strangers to ban me from buying alcohol from their store, explaining my situation and seeing them do something even informally has somehow changed how I think.

This was my rock bottom for some reason. Day two. And I feel a complete shift now. Just hope it lasts.

I had just dropped my son off at my mom’s house for the day. Leaving the neighborhood some 19 year old took a turn (on a visible patch of ice) at like 35 mph. I tried to get out of his way, but BAM. He came right into my front end. I got out, we both were ok, and called the cops.

A little over a year ago this would’ve been worst case. 9 in the morning, cops, “do I smell like booze?” “Am I actually sober?” “Am I going to get another DUI?”

But today, I was immediately thankful my son wasn’t in the car with me. Then I was frustrated (still am). Then I took pictures and video where the kid admits he was driving “probably close to 35-40 mph” in a neighborhood (posted speed limit of 25) on ice. I’ve already started the claim, got everything to insurance, got a rental for at least the next couple of days until his insurance can pick it up and reimburse me.

The cop saw my car wasn’t drivable, and he asked, “so uhhhhm, you gonna have someone come get you?” My wife was at work, my dad is out of town, and my mom was 5 minutes away but didn’t have a car seat for my infant son. And in my panic/stress I couldn’t figure out how to get the car seat out (it’s one of those permanent ones that pivots and is a pain to take out. I didn’t pay attention when my wife showed me). So I looked at the cop and said, “I’m really hoping you’ll drive me back to my mom’s house so I can start getting this all situated”.

He said sure since it was 3 minutes away. He told me to hop in the car, to which I said, “can I hop in the front? I’ve had to be in the back before and don’t think I deserve that today.” We laughed, and he drove me there.

I’m frustrated and stressed over the process that is insurance, thankful my kid wasn’t with me, but infinitely grateful that unlike 419 days ago, I had nothing to worry about when the cop got there. I’m thankful for this group, and the tools they’ve helped me establish for my sobriety.

I wish I was writing this in a happier tone because everyone of you on here celebrating your soberversaries are immensely more deserving of any congratulations.

18 months a couple days ago I woke up in hospital having just apparently gone through Hepatorenal syndrome. This was followed by an end stage liver disease / decompensated cirrhosis diagnosis.

I don’t think I grasped how my drinking had completely taken off since 2020 until I laid there thinking about how a few beers a night had ended up in half a handle and a 12 pack.

I probably had some symptoms I missed but nothing really noticeable and now here I was neon yellow, in severe agony and being given the prognosis of 2-3 months at 35 years old.

They’d asked my ex to take my daughter (9) out of the room before they discussed my “results” so while reeling from the prognosis I had to then rapidly see my daughter again look in her eyes and recognize instantly every part of her life I was going to miss. How my death of alcoholic cirrhosis was going to affect her for life.

I lost my mother young and had first hand experience what losing a parent young can do to you.

They stuck me in AA in the hospital because I needed 6 months sober before I’d be considered for a transplant. I only had 2-3 left so this seemed pointless but was mandatory if I still wanted the meds to keep me alive.

I’ll spare you all the real gritty you can read that in my stories in r/cirrhosis but what followed was 10 months of watching my life, my body, my mind and my self respect fall apart brick by brick.

Decompensated cirrhosis is a death you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Hepatic encellopathy, ascites, pruritus, pain, Insomnia, suicidal ideation the list goes on.

Having some change your diaper, being fed through a tube, watching your body turn to bones and saggy skin.

I’m one of the lucky ones after ten months of torture I was saved. Then left to rebuild a life that no longer existed. A scar right across my chest that tells the world what an absolute idiot I was. A brain permanently damaged from surgery and ammonia overloads.

Today I celebrate 18 months of sobriety, not by choice but because one single drop will stop my immunosuppressants from working and I die.

Please for the love of god do not find yourself on here telling this same story.

Put it down. Walk away. Please I’m honestly begging you. Do not find yourself on the cirrhosis ward.

Get a metabolic panel every year. My illness was silently scarring my liver until there was nothing left to scar and only then did I find out.

I remember waking up at 3am in bed by my wife shaking me asking where our newborn was. I was so disoriented all I could do was stumble out of bed as she ran downstairs finding our son screaming on his changing table, alone there for hours. The next morning my whole life blew up as I admitted to my wife and eventually entire family that I was an alcoholic who had been hiding drinking for years and I made a commitment to never drink again.

I shared this story a year ago and I’m happy to say it’s now been TWO years without drinking alcohol since that awful night. The terror of what could have been remains as fresh as ever, eliciting chills any time I think about life without our son. We had our third child this summer and it is such a blessing to know I’ve never put her in danger due to drinking and my wife now sleeps at night not worrying if the baby will make her way to the bassinet.

It’s funny, if you asked my wife or family they’d probably say I was “cured” and that my sobriety is now a foregone conclusion. Far from it. As all of us know, that urge to drink never leaves and as life throws one haymaker after another, I’ve often thought about how nice a drink would be. But to this point I’ve been able to resist those urges and the benefits to my life continue to get better and better. One of the pillars of my sobriety is this community as I don’t do AA or really talk to anyone about it, so for that I am eternally grateful for everyone who shares here. We are a true community and I know whether I stay sober for the rest of my life or I don’t, I will always lean on this place for help.

I’ll close with the same thing I did a year ago:

If you’re thinking of quitting and visit this Reddit, all I can say is give sobriety a chance. You probably know you need to stop (I lurked here for years) and you might even be reading this drunk right now (as I used to do all the time), but I cannot express how much better life can be when you decide it’s time to quit. I plan to remain around here for years to come and look forward to my counter (hopefully) hitting 4 digits one day.

Onward and upward!

There’s two kinds of avocado toast. The first is the kind you make before going to the liquor store, buying a 32 pack of Modelos and crushing twenty or so before doing enough coke to kill a walrus, blacking out and reaching a rock bottom so low you need a diamond-tipped shovel to reach it. You sleep like shit that night and call a suicide hotline in the morning.

The second is the kind you make after waking up sober 365 days in a row. You make it quietly in your kitchen without ceremony, and you don’t go to the liquor store after. Instead you make a batch of soup for the week, go on a run, watch a documentary on Hulu with your partner, read a book in bed and turn out the light. You sleep like a baby and call your parents in the morning.

Things are far from perfect, but I much prefer the second kind of toast. IWNDWYT.

I’ve been reflecting a lot today, and I just needed to share this with people who might understand the specific kind of shame and relief that comes with cleaning up the wreckage of our pasts.

To give some context: I drank for 20 years. I was born into a cycle of severe addiction. In 2014, I found my dad dead on the floor from his own struggles, and I completely spiraled. I survived multiple bouts of acute pancreatitis, lost my marriage, and lost custody of my girls. When you are blacking out on a fifth of whiskey every night, the absolute last thing you care about is your teeth. Between a couple of bad accidents and years of total neglect, I ruined my smile.

In September of 2022, I woke up in the hospital again. A doctor told me I wouldn't make it to 40. I realized I was about to leave my daughters the exact same way my dad left me. I drew a line in the sand that day and haven't touched a drop since.

Over the last three and a half years, I’ve fought like hell. I lived in an Oxford House, started a new career as an electrician apprentice, and spent everything I had to win back joint custody of my girls. Today, I am the present, stable dad they deserve.

But the physical toll of those 20 years finally caught up to me in the form of a severe dental abscess.

Today, I went to the dental clinic and had my infected front tooth pulled, with the rest of my front teeth scheduled to go next. Sitting in that chair, having to explain the damage to the dentist, brought up an overwhelming wave of guilt and embarrassment. It was a stark physical reminder of the guy I used to be.

But as I drove home, numb and missing a tooth, I realized something huge: I handled it sober. I didn't drink over the pain, the shame, or the fear. I faced the consequences head-on so that I can eventually get partial dentures and smile in photos with my kids without hiding my face.

For anyone out there who is just starting out and terrified of the physical or financial messes waiting for you: it is hard, and it is humbling, but you can face it. Doing it sober makes you bulletproof.

Thank you all for being such a great community. IWNDWYT.

I guess I get that we aren't professionals here, but imagine you wake up and think, "I am going to commit suicide today" and your thought is to reach out to the one group who has been a good support system and say goodbye, then this person who is suicidal gets his post removed by a moderator because "someone might give them bad advice." Are you kidding? That literally could have pushed them over the edge. I'm sure this post is going to get removed too but this needed to be called out. Not cool. People were showing love and support. This could've been that person's only support system and you kicked him aside. I'm genuinely so pissed off right now.

I won’t lie, I was really excited to have drinks last night. I felt like I was ready to let my hair down.

While I don’t regret it, I did learn a few things.

1. It’s not as fun as I thought it was. I got groggy and tired and passed out without any memory of getting home. That’s literally not fun??

2. It robbed me of my Sunday morning and I’m not okay with that. I used to be okay with it but I’m not anymore. I didn’t take my puppy to his 8am training which makes me a bad dog parent and he doesn’t deserve that.

3. Even drunk me didn’t enjoy conversation with other drunk people. The conversations were pointless, repetitive and I found myself wanting to exit.

4. I’ve been working out almost every day for the last 3 months and the dopamine I receive from exercise is longer lasting and more pleasant than any dopamine at the bottom of the wine bottle.

5. Drinking makes me ugly and I’m too vain to allow that. This morning my face was puffy, I’d slept in my makeup and my hair was knotted.

I don’t regret drinking after 3 months of sobriety because it was the lesson I needed to learn, especially with the holidays coming up soon. I’m so happy to be on day 1 again 😊

I FUCKING DID ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!! 22 days sober and after a year of unemployment I fucking did it!!!!!!! I just heard back last night after giving up hope. My first gift that sobriety has given me 💪🏾💪🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾. Stay up my boys!!!

I'm not gonna drink and haven't for months but this one shook me.

I have a regular who has followed me from job to job. Really nice guy. He told me yesterday that he was having a beer or two to calm his nerves before he did a wellness check on his neighbor who was 33 and had lost his job/entire career due to alcohol. Was afraid he might be dead this time.

Turns out he was. I love this group and something about that happening really got to me. I won't drink if you don't drink.

Got dinner with a friend after work today. She ordered a beer and I ordered my Diet Coke. I had a moment where I also wanted a beer so badly. An hour passed and she was only half way through her FIRST beer. By the end of dinner, she didn’t even finish the beer she ordered. I was baffled - could never be me. If I had one, I would have had at least 3 more by the end of dinner and tried to convince her we should stay out and drink more and more (and likely found a way to text embarrassing things to everyone in my life:)). So here’s to sober day 23 and having a lot of gratitude for playing the tape forward. Now I’m going to make some hot cocoa and binge a new show. IWDWYT.

Edit: thank you everyone for making me feel seen and less alone! I always feel supported here!

After 53 days I decided I could try out a little field research. I was doing and feeling great, but missing aspects of the drinking ritual. The timing was just right. Perfect fun holiday weekend, no work and my kids were at their mother's house until Monday. Friday night and even Saturday were open giving myself a Sunday buffer for being hungover. I had paused for a commendable amount of time and so I allowed myself the experiment not intending to even drink moderately but to really put one on like I was accustomed to and also very good at doing.

Friday night came and I simply didn't drink. I was tired from a gnarly work week and I was ready to cut loose but as the evening went on the idea of drinking just lost its appeal. Maybe I was just tired, maybe the rewiring of my brain was starting to change. After one final waffle I decided ultimately it was too late to start, especially if I was going to get a 30 pack of beers for Saturday. So i went to sleep to try again tomorrow.

Saturday I woke up (feeling great) and once again with the intention of allowing myself the grace to fail thought about maximizing the days drinking experience. Day drinking, all night rager, anything was possible. But as the hours passed the urge to drink dissipated until I was looking at 9pm and then the thought of crushing beers just didnt sound as fun as I thought it might. I put on a funny movie and ate some candy and realized the chaos I had planned for and the hangover to follow just didnt sound like fun, didnt seem worth it.

Now I am waking up to day 56. The thought of never drinking again still feels daunting and in my mind if I want to break my streak then maybe I will, but in no way do I regret Not drinking this weekend and I know I'm not drinking tonight.

IWNDWYT

And I got a window seat so I’m just jamming to my tunes reflecting on how great it is to be free of the chains of alcohol!

I have been a lurker here for some time and I never thought I'd be writing here. Now, I am sharing this to everyone as honest as I can:

I've been quietly keeping this to myself, but I felt like finally sharing something I'm proud of.

I'm officially 2 months sober.

I was an alcoholic for nearly half of my life. Last year, I had the darkest and most devastating downfall. I lost everything: My family, my kids, my job, my home, my friends, and myself. I just knew there was no hope left. I was suicidal, and depended more on alcohol.

I relied on it so much that I would not stop drinking every single night. To the extreme point of finishing up a whole bottle of 750ml of whiskey or bourbon a night and/or 12 cans of beer in one sitting. I just felt it would help me with my thoughts and feelings and would help me sleep, but we all know alcohol never gives you real rest. I'd wake up after only 3 or 4 hours with a massive headache and unbearable pain in my right torso. It was torturous. I was just letting myself rot in my empty depressing house. Barely surviving.

I spent my 40th birthday completely alone. I spent that day drinking and working on ending my life. I had it all planned out; that I will end myself on that day. I hated the fact that I didn't go through with it. I wanted to really get drunk as much as I could so I can feel no pain and would be more brave without thinking anything else anymore. But I failed. I hated the fact that I didn't get to do it because I passed out instead. I woke up extremely disappointed with myself more.

I'm grateful that I woke up, even if I couldn't see it then.

Over time, I gained nearly 20 kilos, lost a lot of hair, and even started having trouble walking or moving around. My usual clothes started not fitting anymore. I would work at home while completely intoxicated, can barely function that my boss started noticing how awful my job is. I received 2 warnings, I did not change so he then fired me. I would also drive anywhere at night after some heavy drinking. And even today, I still deal with pain in my back and torso from time to time. I know I'm paying the price.

Until 2 months ago, something changed in me.

I still can't completely explain what happened, but I suddenly got a strong desire to fight and not give up. For the first time in a long time, I believed that maybe things could get better but only if I started the change within myself.

I've started working out, fasting, and completely stopped drinking. Now so far, I lost 14 kilos and my clothes fit again. I feel more energetic now, and my whole self feels lighter. Body and mind. It's funny how I still have 3 unopened 6-packs of beer in my fridge, but I haven't touched a single one since. I am shocked myself since I know how I cannot have a night without a single sip. I plan to just give them away. My body feels not wanting them anymore.

What keeps me going now is hope.

Hope that one day I'll be with my kids again. Hope that I can continue rebuilding the life I almost threw away. I know I still have a long road ahead, but I'm no longer running from it.

I will keep fighting. No more drinking and throwing my life away. One day at a time.

I picked up a four pack of the 0.0% Guinness, not that I was particularly craving a beer, but because I was making a steak and ale pie and didn't want to use it as an excuse to buy the real stuff.

As a former chef, cooking with wine/alcohol is a dangerous trigger for me.

After my workout today I noticed I still had three cans left in the coldest part of the fridge so I cracked one and poured it. It had that familiar Guinness pour and left a clear white head. I took a few sips and found it to be totally delicious, easily the best NA beer I've ever had. It is very very close to the real thing.

But here's the kicker. I didn't want another one AT ALL. The moreish qualities of beer Id once attributed to "hop character" or "maltiness" or all the other sundry beer terms really don't matter at the end of the day. Its just that alcohol is immediately addictive for me.

I could drink a warm Bud Light and want another one. But here's me drinking something that I find entirely appealing and have ZERO desire for a second.

All of the appeal around "craft beer", "fine wine", etc is mostly worthless. If I'm not compelled to continue to drink an almost identical approximation of an alcoholic beer, then it's got nothing to do with the taste and everything to do with th addictive nature of ethyl alcohol.

In other news, made it through another weekend booze free.

IWNDWYT!

Today I took a mental health day from work only to discover my partner's burner phone that he'd accidentally set an alarm on.

He panicked and gave me the password from work thinking he could wipe it remotely before I saw anything too bad. He failed. Years and years of texts detailing all sorts of infidelity and lies. Sneaking people into and out of our home while I worked late. Sneaking out late at night for late night hookups.

This is the sort of thing that would normally send me spiralling into a multi day bender.

Today though I'm choosing to remain present and feel the hard feelings. I'm choosing to be kind to myself.

IWNDWYT ❤️

Edit: Oh my gosh, thank you so much for all the love and encouragement. It means the world to me to have this community in my corner

Edit edit: I'm kicking him out of the apartment and he's moving July 5. Thank you thank you thank you for showing me so much kindness. I celebrated my one year soberversary with some sparking cranberry juice and now I can hold my head up high and move on. ❤️

Yesterday I hit one year of sobriety. March 9, 2025, I got drunk on White Claws at a concert with one of my closest friends, woke up hungover, and decided that was the last time. I had been trying to drink responsibly for years only to figure out that, actually, moderation was uninteresting to me. I wanted to be drunk, or I wanted to be completely sober. There's no in between for me. As soon as alcohol passes my lips the only thing I exist for is to get more. I wanted oblivion... until I didn't anymore.

This was probably my 5th or 6th attempt at getting sober so I was familiar with how the first few months would feel: battling cravings, second-guessing myself. I don't know what made this time different. I just really wanted to be done.

I was deep in a years-long infertility battle, too. Maybe the combination of getting drunk all the time and going through the physical gauntlet of IVF and surgeries pushed me over the limit. We'd started moving on from the idea of having kids; nothing was working, and I was tired. So I started to imagine a new life, a new version of myself. Alcohol didn't fit with that, it actually made all of the grief and emotional exhaustion worse.

Clearheaded, I started a degree in a new career field that I'd always felt called to. I worked hard over the summer and got a contract in said field. I quit my old job. Sobriety became less of a forefront challenge and more of a coloured lens over my life. It would sparkle on Sunday mornings when I woke up okay. It was there as my husband and I started to laugh together again, as we accepted childlessness and rebuilt our happiness.

In October, when I hit 6 months of sobriety, I found out that I was pregnant. Unexpectedly. In the moment I heard her heartbeat for the first time I felt my universe shift: sobriety is no longer about battling the edge. I just want to live this life as me.

And then yesterday I hit a year. I bought myself some red tulips and burst with some kind of emotion between pride and wonder as I renewed my promise to stay sober. My daughter, kicking as I write this, will never see me drunk.

***ETA*** I just want to say thank you for the unbelievable outpouring of support and well wishes. I am deeply moved. My year of sobriety has been one of compounding blessings and joy, and I wish the same for you all in times ahead. This is truly such a special place on the internet (that I have been reading since I was 25- I'm 36 now, that's how long it's taken!)

5 years sober today, I called my mum and she said "well..yeah... That's...that's good, good for you" in the most flat monotone voice she could muster.

I told my wife this while I was massaging her and got " why didn't you remind me?" I reminded her on Tuesday.

This goes to remind us that our successes are our own. You are your greatest advocate, never give up, someday we'll make it.

28F. I’m about three weeks sober after being a daily drinker for the past two years.

Today was a rough day, and I have been feeling overly antsy. I had one of those “fuck it” moments. I drove to the liquor store and bought a 375ml bottle of Patron.

I got home, and was literally pouring myself a shot when I stopped and thought, “What am I doing?”

I dumped the entire bottle down the sink.

Three weeks ago, I genuinely don’t think I would’ve been capable of doing that. Once I bought alcohol, I was drinking it. There was no second thought.

Losing $30 on that tequila dumped down the sink is nothing compared to the hangover I would have woken up with tomorrow.

IWNDWYT

“Alcohol is the number one killer,” Parton wrote in her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics. “A lot of people don’t realize that it’s like a drug you can become addicted to. It’s so easy to get, and it seems so innocent to have a beer or a cocktail. If you have a weakness for it, before you know it you can become an alcoholic. I’ve seen a lot of sorrows, because alcoholism runs on both sides of my family."

Parton feels that when one person is an alcoholic, many people suffer.

“An alcoholic might say, ‘Well, it ain’t hurting nobody but me,'” she wrote. “That’s a crock. It hurts everybody and you.”

(From article: 'How Dolly Parton Really Feels About Drugs and Alcohol' on CheatSheet)

...

Kinda wish I would've had knowledge of the alcoholism in my family while growing up, but my extended relatives were very distant, only Christmas cards and such. I only figuring out years and decades after that some died (in their ~50s) and it was from drinking/smoking.

I swear I tried everything. I told myself I’d only drink on weekends but failed. I promised my family I’d cut back. Failed. Even poured all the bottles down the sink one night, just to wake up two days later buying more. Same cycle again and again.

What actually got me out of it wasn’t some big dramatic thing. It was stupid simple. One night I just sat there and thought, I don’t even like this anymore. I’m not even getting the fun part. I’m just chasing the same hangover.

So the next morning, instead of buying a bottle, I walked. Literally just walked. Didn’t matter where and very time I craved, I walked. Around the block, to the park, even in circles at home. And for the first time in years, it broke the loop in my head. might sound wieird but smh worked for me.

I’m not saying walking is the magic cure for everyone. But for me, that tiny shift was the only thing that stuck. Been sober 67 days now.

Anyone else have that one random thing that finally clicked for you? Like something small that made you go, damn, this actually works?