First new year in sobriety / recovery - please give me some encouragement

Hi @Nooyead i just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing? It was on my posted threads.

I have no idea whether it’s a good idea but I watched four good days last night on Netflix and it was really good. About a woman’s journey to rehab from heroin.

The ending is good.

Well done OP

Just wanted to add to the chorus of praise in your direction OP.

My father is an alcoholic & I lost a partner to alcoholism at only 51. My oldest friend is largely managing sobriety after 30 years of drinking. I'm tee total - seen enough of the damage it can do - but I know how hard a battle it is for some people. It's a battle more often lost than won unfortunately, which underscores just how well you've done.

Pat yourself on the back, & please keep going, not just for those who care about you but for yourself - you deserve a good life. Join me in the fresh lemonade tonight if you like - I love its sharpness 🍋

I hope 2025 is fantastic for you 🙂

OP, I’m in awe of you. Overcoming addiction is just about the hardest thing to do, I think, and if you’ve made it to ten months, then you’ve got the power within you to keep going.

All love to you for 2025.

Wops added one twice,sorry,!

21 years sober here,around the World there are thousands upon thousands of us not drinking alcohol tonight.

The first year is hard,look how far you have come,nothing is worth drinking over.....nothing at all.

I have been a member of AA since May 2003 and not had a drink since my first meeting.

Sitting here alone tonight,there are loads of marathon meetings on Zoom,just thinking of checking one out.You can sit and listen,no need to have your camera on.

Adding some meeting details for Zoom,we are not a secret society,contrary to what some people think.

Well done on your sobriety - it's a huge achievement and you should be SO proud of yourself! There will be wobbles and difficult moments along the way but just remember why you stopped drinking and now you are facing each day clear eyed and clear headed! You are amazing and brave ❤️

I think it's nice to treat yourself with nice nonalcoholic drinks on special occasions - I like schloer or J20 in a nice glass with lots of ice. Treat yourself to whatever makes you feel good, you deserve it!

You have got this. You've done so well.

You are doing well OP you don’t need alcohol to celebrate.

Hope the next year is good for you.

I’m 24 years sober and I still remember how brutal the first year was. You’re doing brilliantly, take it an hour at time and the urge to drink will pass. Just remember how far you’ve come.

I felt like an imposter for a long time when I stopped drinking (after turning a delightful shade of yellow) and had to rediscover who I was without the alcohol and it turns out that I’m actually quite a nice person after all.

Be gentle with yourself but most of all hold your head up high and celebrate how far you’ve come x

@Nooyead I am sober too this evening. Just for today, as those in recovery tend to say. But this is my 10th continuous sober New Year’s Eve.

I am proud of you.

What are you doing to help your ongoing sobriety? I am not asking to trip you up. But you mention not talking about the depths to anyone. Sobriety and recovery can be very different things. Putting down the drink is an achievement. Putting the work in to overcome what made you drink is ongoing. Keep sharing and as another poster said I can still play the tape forward. It’s a common AA phrase.

Love to all the sober sisters out there.

Well done! I’m coming up to 2 years sober myself. It may not feel like it now, but you’ve done some incredible work to get this far.

Two things I would say, just focus on getting through tonight and into tomorrow. Christmas and New Year really are a time when it feels like we’re missing out and it’s easy to get massive FOMO. But come tomorrow when it’s all Dry January and detox and groaning about the week long toxic come down from the festive period, YOU will be the one who is all smug and ahead of the game. The FOMO will disappear and you’ll feel so grateful for these 10 months.

There’s also so much great Dry January content out there. Obviously aimed at people who are just giving up or are only doing a month, but I think January is a great month to absorb it all and refresh your commitment to sobriety. And it’s so much easier for you because you’re already doing it (everyone else is also a good reminder of why you don’t want to go back to those early days - they’re shit!).

The second thing, do you have a sober community? If not, now’s your time to find one. It makes a real difference having sober friends and real people to talk to about all of this. I like Bee Sober but there are lots of groups you can find on Facebook or Instagram, or there is AA if that’s your thing.

Huge kudos to you op, you're doing incredibly well and should be very proud of yourself. There will be difficult days, there will be temptation, but you can do this. Another one feeling very proud of you right here! xx

It gets so much easier, the frustrations at not being ‘able’ to drink stop coming back or if they do they are more fleeting. The feelings of anger and thinking I wasn’t that bad (spoiler, I was) stop. Life just becomes easier, easier to navigate because the guilt and the shame and the parts of the days you don’t remember no longer exist. The constantly having to be perfect to make up for being an alcoholic is unsustainable and just impossible. I love that I no longer automatically think I am the person who is wrong in any minor disagreement purely because I am hungover and full of anxiety. I like who I am now which was such a unattainable concept before.

You have SO got this.
In two short hours it's next year and you are going to start that year full of vitamins from that juice instead of regret and hungover embarrassment. What am amazing gift you've given yourself.
10 months sober is incredible work. I hope you feel suitably proud.

Wow! You’ve done amazingly 🙏 It makes sense that this time of year is a struggle/trigger. So just take it hour by hour, the night is nearly over, go to bed now if you want, cuppa tea and a book for a bit. Before you know it it’s 2025 and you made it.
I wish I had your strength ❤️

10 months is amazing! well done!!

Christmas is SUCH a hard time for anyone in recovery and look at you, you've only gone and got through your first one you little trooper!

Just look how strong you are - you're clearly going to smash 2025 xx

You can wake up tomorrow full of regret and sorrow, or you can wake up tomorrow thinking "thank fuck I gritted my teeth and hit thru it".

New Year's is shit. It's just another Friday, think if it that way.

OP nobody ever woke up the following morning, wishing they’d drunk the night before. Plenty have woken up the following morning wishing they hadn’t.

The first year of quitting anything is the hardest. Just imagine how fantastic you'll feel next year going into your 2nd year sober, or 20 years from now going into your 21st year sober. Future you is thankful for the work and willpower you're showing. You are capable. ☺️

Well done! Proud of you!! What a gal 😊