Whether you're on it, off it, or somewhere in between
I used to LOVE drinking in airports, especially when I flew alone. And it wasn’t just because it calmed my jitters about hurtling through the sky in a metal tube suspended 31,000 feet above the ground. While it definitely helped with that fear, it also made me feel connected to other people, but in a […]
I set out to write about my experience at inpatient detox, hoping it would encourage or inspire people to go to detox if they were considering taking the leap. However, after having written a draft, I was fearful my story would dissuade someone from going — because my experience was not great. So, I tossed […]
Many times throughout my drinking career, I tried to sober up, and each time I had the dilemma of when to tell people. It was really nobody’s business but my own, but for whatever reason, I felt the need to tell people right away. Maybe I wanted to hold myself accountable, or perhaps it was […]
When I decided to get sober, I sought help from a recovery program to help me stop drinking. Based on countless “whiteknuckle” attempts at sobriety on my own, I realized I could not do it alone and I needed help. In my desperation, I decided to give a recovery program a try — even though […]
I knew my relationships were going to change when I got sober, and once I learned I could live life without alcohol, I became less focused on drinking or not drinking and more focused on my personal growth. I did not want to be a dry drunk, so I knew that I had to make […]
For anyone with alcohol use disorder, quitting drinking can feel like a daunting prospect. While early recovery can be uncomfortable and it may seem like progress is slow, the healing begins as soon as the drink is put down. Aside from heavy hitters like lower risk of cancer, heart, and liver disease (and for some, […]
The thought of getting sober petrified me, so I continued drinking for a long time to avoid a horrifying unknown. How would I live without alcohol? I couldn’t imagine life without it and I was convinced that my life would be over if I gave it up. But that’s what being addicted to a substance […]
The vast majority of my close friends and family knew that I suffered from alcoholism, for obvious reasons. So when I sobered up, I heard “I’m proud of you” a lot. And while my family and friends meant it as a respectful acknowledgment of my accomplishment, it always felt patronizing and dirty to hear early […]
When I first learned that meditation was considered a key tool for staying sober (especially if you follow a 12-step program), I thought I was doomed. I grew up in New York City. I’ve always felt comfortable in chaos. Silence scares me (or it used to, at least), so I was none too eager to […]
So you got sober, and now you don’t know how to relax. I didn’t know how to either. If you are anything like me, my substance was involved in every facet of my life. Whatever my mood and whatever the occasion, I drank. So, once the alcohol was gone, I was completely lost. Not only […]
When people first get sober, they often ask, “when will I feel better?” This is a very logical question because when people don’t feel good, they obviously want to feel better. And almost always, early recovery doesn’t feel good and people want to feel better right away. Unfortunately, there’s no straightforward answer to this frequently […]