Topic: What happened when I stopped drinking for a month – 30 days no alcohol.

Notes:  

• What is it like during the first 30 days of sobriety?
• Terry:
  • Almost died during detox, was just thankful to wake up and be sober
  • There were a lot of things he had to do, but didn’t have the energy to really do much during that time
  • What he wanted out of sobriety was to get through the negative consequences & be serene
  • Experienced mood changes as during alcoholism all of his emotions were pushed down
  • Your personality may change once you’re sober
  • Had to take life and everything very slow
  • Did have trouble sleeping, took some time to get better for both Marcus and Terry
• Marcus:
  • Thought that right out of rehab everything would be perfect/better and that was not the case
  • “Don’t wish things are different, wish they were better.”
  • First 30 days were a little mundane & anxiety was through the roof
  • Nothing is about you – you just think it is
  • “This happened to me” mentality
• You’re just one of 8 billion people in the world – look at this in a positive way
• In the first 30 days you have to learn to cope, have strength and find solutions to deal with difficult situations that don’t involve alcohol
• A lot of drinking is social pressure, especially on holidays
• Living near a place that has a lot of alcohol doesn’t mean you have to go
• You need to create a support group/culture that supports you being sober
• Sign up at TalkSober.com and you can be a part of more intimate meetings that go into more detail on sobriety topics on Friday’s.