Drug and Alcohol Addiction: Before and After Photos and Stories

I clearly remember three distinct thoughts. As I sit here writing this story, a counter on my computer desktop indicates that I have been sober 2,105 days, one day at a time. However, what amazes me about this time is that it is 25,000 times the duration I could go at the end of my drinking career without having the need or the craving to have alcohol. Finally, three years ago, everyone around me was concerned, work dried up, income decreased and I was about 30 lbs underweight.

I got a job I really wanted and then I got fired. So when I got sober, it gave me self-esteem, it gave me worth, it gave me a purpose. I didn’t know that I had so much potential to help people. At sobriety success stories first it was difficult, but now it’s just become my life. I don’t think I even really liked drinking — it just seemed to make things a lot easier. And it seemed to make things more fun for awhile.

months sober

Sometimes, just knowing their stories makes taking one day at a time easier. If you feel you have a problem with drink or drugs and that the time is ripe to follow in the footsteps of these stories of sobriety, you don’t need to make the journey alone. Alcohol wasn’t really a part of my story until senior year of high school when I started drinking with my friends on the weekends. Looking back now, I can see that I always drank to excess. I was always the one who had to try to drink the most.

It felt like one day I woke up and I was in the house by myself. They became very successful and I just kind of felt out of place. After seventy days, I was discharged and was soon able to return to work under a monitoring contract with PHS. I quickly joined AA and obtained a sponsor.

‘I awoke after another blackout binge-drinking night and realized that I’d written a suicide letter’

In my 20s, I’d describe myself as “a happy buzz, but a sick drunk” when turning down a drink socially. After having kiddos, my tolerance/processing was such that even a small glass was having that effect on me, and quitting was a pretty easy decision. I came to a place where alcohol was detracting from my life more than it was enriching it, overall. Plus, the thought of quitting made me feel defensive, and I didn’t like that.

Shortly this led to nearly daily drinking or smoking marijuana, which at times was easier to obtain. Despite my increasingly frequent substance use, I excelled as a student. I prided myself on never missing a day of school. I attended all my classes and did my assignments and readings. I was blessed with an extremely good memory.

What to expect in the early days of your sobriety.

I learned to be patient and live in the present. I’m more motivated and never have felt so determined to remain sober. Going through this https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-alcohol-affects-your-kidneys/ program has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Shame is having negative beliefs about yourself and your self-worth.

However, we’d love if you would please consider supporting our journalism with an Indy Maven membership. Turning down a drink is about the only thing I do that requires a follow-up explanation as to why I’m declining, unlike being offered a snack or a glass of water, for example. Typically the follow-up comes from a place of kindness, but it puts the nondrinker in a situation where every time they’re offered, they have to decline and then also justify why. Scottsdale Recovery Center encourages those struggling with addiction to reach out sooner rather than later, regardless of how severe you think your addiction is or isn’t.

Is Our Way Of Life In The United States Completely F*cked Up?

Despite wearing a seat belt, the injuries from the impact left her paralyzed. Gary V came in to see me for a client interview, and no sooner had he sat down than I suspected he was under the influence of some drug. He tried to discuss the circumstances of his arrest, but his slurred speech made it almost impossible to understand him. I finally told him to leave and only come back if he was sober, and wanted my help in staying that way. The best place I’ve found to redirect my whole life.

• Choosing recovery close to home means your support system is just a few miles away.
• If I watched a movie with the family, it was unlikely I would remember any details of the movie the following morning.
• These Soberlink reviews and stories were submitted by real people who have used Soberlink.

With our help, you too can rise to the top just like the celebrities you read about above. But it all starts with you, contact us today. Hollywood heartthrob Bradley Cooper has also fallen victim to addiction. His abusive tendencies were due to underlying depression and suicidal ideologies, and he used alcohol and painkillers to escape the dark thoughts that often clouded his mind. Real Recovery is the best choice in all regards. Their facilities are amazing, the amount of work and money the owner puts into his properties is unmatched.

Dan’s Story – A Father Celebrates One Year of Sobriety

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.

Because again, rationality is out the window. This stereotype keeps people who are struggling in denial because they don’t “fit that picture,” a picture that is totally inaccurate to begin with. This false characterization is perpetuated by mainstream media, so no wonder it’s so pervasive.

Every year since, I’ve taken breaks from alcohol. In August 2020, three months after my dad died, I set a four-month goal and surpassed that. My latest alcohol-free stretch is 70 days.

• All that’s left is pain and a compulsion to keep using — this is how all addiction works.
• I bought and own my 2-bedroom apartment in New York City.
• “I’ve been on a winding journey trying to find my way in the world since I was 17.

“After moving from Texas to Florida at age 15, I was naturally searching for new friends. Drinking seemed to be my ticket into the ‘cool kids’ crew. Mixed with just the right amount of curiosity and boredom, this quickly led to binge drinking and using harder drugs. By the time I was 21, I was addicted to alcohol and cocaine. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

In my experience, quitting alcohol cold turkey rather than cutting back or limiting intake made everything much easier, odd as that may seem. When I’m at a bar (yes, I still go to bars) or at the grocery store, there is no decision to be made, no internal dialogue. I’m not tempted, there’s nothing to consider, because it’s a tenet of my lifestyle that I don’t negotiate. Author Holly Whitaker talks about this in her book “Quit Like A Woman,” which might be the best thing I discovered from all this, by the way—such a powerful, eye-opening book.