Pros and Cons of getting sober

[lifelessheap]

I have the same problem. Life is so boring when I'm sober. Fuck.

 

[Deleted member 506663]

So as alot of you guys know, I was really bad off on drugs and alcohol for a long time. Now that i've managed to get the most sober time of my entire life under my belt (62 days). Shits weird.

I'm sitting here trying to figure out what the fuck to do with myself like normal. Feel like ranting

Obviously I was ready to make a serious change in my life, with two medical detox's this year, one 30 stay stay and rehab, a really bad relapse, and just a rollercoaster ride of trying to change my life for the better.

A little over two months ago I said fuck it, and with $4000 to my name, I spent $3200 to go detox myself from alcohol for one week. I was living in basically a trap house with cocaine dealers, i told them i'm gonna go.. found a place, called my mom to come pick me up.. and said my goodbyes to my friends and that lifestyle.

Detoxing wasen't hard. The place I found this time around put me on a pretty good dose of valium and I just chain smoked cigarettes the entire time going to these little group meetings frequently throughout the day. Had pretty bad shakes and insomnia but that went away after about a week.

This time I didn't go right back to my old ways like I did earlier this year.. I moved into a sober living house with other sober people, used the last bit of my money to rent a room and quickly found a job.

Turns out when im not wasted all the time, good things happen. I instantly got promoted and was self sufficient within weeks. Now i've got about 2 grand to my name even after paying rent and i'm already looking to move on my own again. i thought I lost my girlfriend, but she has stuck with me through all this which is pretty much crazy considering the shitty things ive done and said to her.. and put her through. I guess I got a good one.

So now i'm sober for over two months, im doing really well at work.. I dont wanna kill myself anymore. And I sleep like a baby again

But life is fucking dull. Movies suck, the internet sucks, sex even is hard to get into. Every time I try to play music every note feels flat, I don't know what in the hell to do with myself when i'm not working. I'm eating out of boredom. I chain smoke to a fault. I don't really enjoy much of anything yet.. I cut ties with pretty much all of my friends because we basically just drank together. I go to AA meetings out of boredom.. I actually prefer doing that over just sitting around watching TV or something. Shits kind of difficult to be honest

Basically, getting sober is fucking weird.

Maybe, develop a spiritual (use your own word/phrase) path...make your world larger...outside the 5 senses. Learn some way to still the mind and keep some moments of being comfortable in your own skin without having to have diversion. For 30 days, everyday, do something of service to/for someone without anyone knowing it's you. Can be anything, real world or virtual...being of service without ego involved. Living an authentic life is the best first action in any remedy, it seems.
These are versions of things I've found helpful at times. None of it may work for you but I'm pulling for ya!!

 

[j123]

Pros: Recover from hangover
Cons: You're not drunk anymore

Pros

Save money

Cons

Lives boring

How did I know you were gonna be in this thread....

 

[hohner]

The obvious con is less anonymous sex with random degenerates.

 

[fungi]

So as alot of you guys know, I was really bad off on drugs and alcohol for a long time. Now that i've managed to get the most sober time of my entire life under my belt (62 days). Shits weird.

I'm sitting here trying to figure out what the fuck to do with myself like normal. Feel like ranting

Obviously I was ready to make a serious change in my life, with two medical detox's this year, one 30 stay stay and rehab, a really bad relapse, and just a rollercoaster ride of trying to change my life for the better.

A little over two months ago I said fuck it, and with $4000 to my name, I spent $3200 to go detox myself from alcohol for one week. I was living in basically a trap house with cocaine dealers, i told them i'm gonna go.. found a place, called my mom to come pick me up.. and said my goodbyes to my friends and that lifestyle.

Detoxing wasen't hard. The place I found this time around put me on a pretty good dose of valium and I just chain smoked cigarettes the entire time going to these little group meetings frequently throughout the day. Had pretty bad shakes and insomnia but that went away after about a week.

This time I didn't go right back to my old ways like I did earlier this year.. I moved into a sober living house with other sober people, used the last bit of my money to rent a room and quickly found a job.

Turns out when im not wasted all the time, good things happen. I instantly got promoted and was self sufficient within weeks. Now i've got about 2 grand to my name even after paying rent and i'm already looking to move on my own again. i thought I lost my girlfriend, but she has stuck with me through all this which is pretty much crazy considering the shitty things ive done and said to her.. and put her through. I guess I got a good one.

So now i'm sober for over two months, im doing really well at work.. I dont wanna kill myself anymore. And I sleep like a baby again

But life is fucking dull. Movies suck, the internet sucks, sex even is hard to get into. Every time I try to play music every note feels flat, I don't know what in the hell to do with myself when i'm not working. I'm eating out of boredom. I chain smoke to a fault. I don't really enjoy much of anything yet.. I cut ties with pretty much all of my friends because we basically just drank together. I go to AA meetings out of boredom.. I actually prefer doing that over just sitting around watching TV or something. Shits kind of difficult to be honest

Basically, getting sober is fucking weird.

Crims,
your nervous system was used to obscene amount of stimulants. It was burnt out.

Now, nervous cells do recover, albeit very slowly, and the brain has a beautiful feature called plasticity.

The taste for life will come back, very slowly butt surely. It takes time to again start enjoying sex and music and the weather and other shite.

Meditation and contemplating help. It helps rewire your brain back to "normalcy". Normalcy here is not a judgment, but a description of the bell-shaped curve in terms of brain sensitivity to stimulants.

Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin are natural "drugs".

They may not be as potent as something you've tried in the past, however they are potent enough and give the cleanest high.

Re-learn to enjoy them. Takes time, but it's worth it.

If you feel like you need to chat, pm me.
I'll give you some relaxation/concentration exercises.

Hang in there, Bud!

 

[Jack&Cat]

Crims,
your nervous system was used to obscene amount of stimulants. It was burnt out.

Now, nervous cells do recover, albeit very slowly, and the brain has a beautiful feature called plasticity.

The taste for life will come back, very slowly butt surely. It takes time to again start enjoying sex and music and the weather and other shite.

Meditation and contemplating help. It helps rewire your brain back to "normalcy". Normalcy here is not a judgment, but a description of the bell-shaped curve in terms of brain sensitivity to stimulants.

Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin are natural "drugs".

They may not be as potent as something you've tried in the past, however they are potent enough and give the cleanest high.

Re-learn to enjoy them. Takes time, but it's worth it.

If you feel like you need to chat, pm me.
I'll give you some relaxation/concentration exercises.

Hang in there, Bud!

This may be the best post I've seen on this site. I hope everyone struggling reads this.

 

[ramsiN]

done a few recoveries off of opiates for a couple years. this last time was really it for me, to the point i hate getting stoned on any and all drugs and never liked alcohol anyways so i been sober about 18 months. i always tell ppl, especially when they're coming off of opiates, prepare for at least 1.5-2 years of readjusting to life which is just as bad as the withdrawls. its like broken down in sections, at first you spend alot of time just trying to find shit to pass the time with so you dont do drugs, this is miserable and in my case i found joy in nothing. 2nd phase is starting to feel like a useless cunt and wondering if going back to drugs would just be better off, and no matter what no body can convince you other wise, you just dont know what to do with yourself. after some more time passed of me feeling useless, and relapsing with other drugs here and there just to feel something again but feeling even more miserable while on them i finally said fuck it, took some sort of charge of my life in the form of being as healthy as possible and find some sort of happiness again but nothing in life is the same and i recognize this, and it sort of bums me out so i continue like a fucking god damn zombie waiting to die so one can finally fucking rest.

 

[Jack&Cat]

done a few recoveries off of opiates for a couple years. this last time was really, to the point i hate getting stoned on any and all drugs and never liked alcohol anyways so i been sober about 18 months. i always tell ppl, especially when they're coming off of opiates, prepare for at least 1.5-2 years of readjusting to life which is just as bad as the withdrawls. its like broken down in sections, at first you spend alot of time just trying to find shit to pass the time with so you dont do drugs, this is miserable and in my case i found joy in nothing. 2nd phase is starting to feel like a useless cunt and wondering if going back to drugs would just be better off, and no matter what no body can convince you other wise, you just dont know what to do with yourself. after some more time passed of me feeling useless, and relapsing with other drugs here and there just to feel something again but feeling even more miserable while on them i finally said fuck it, took some sort of charge of my life in the form of being as healthy as possible and find some sort of happiness again but nothing in life is the same and i recognize this, and it sort of bums me out so i continue like a fucking god damn zombie waiting to die so one can finally fucking rest.

Respect

 

[MoparOrNoCar]

Yes?

Thread just reminded me of the conversation we had yesterday

 

[Drain Bamage]

Thread just reminded me of the conversation we had yesterday

Oh yeah. Sorry I'm friggin' out of it today. I need to catch up on this thread.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Well done bro.

At least for me sports is the thing that keeps me away from all vices and shitty thoughts so I canalize everything there.

Be it kickboxing, riding my bike or lifting weights. It's like a drug for me.. but a healthy one.

 

[Plissken]

You're too used to using alcohol to help enntertain you so your brain needs time to re-wire itself.

 

[icffedor]

Seems like withdrawal's tough going? Drink plenty of tap water the night prior. Apparently the fluoride helps but that could be a wives' tale.

Withdraw from weed? Melatonin helped me sleep and appetite was back to normal after a week, tough to stop but not worth my job, is why i don't get hurt at work lol. If i do another company will pick me right up, thats the beauty of working in a union

 

[minute bull]

Withdraw from weed? Melatonin helped me sleep and appetite was back to normal after a week, tough to stop but not worth my job, is why i don't get hurt at work lol. If i do another company will pick me right up, thats the beauty of working in a union

Yeah, seemed like you were touchier than usual.

 

[A Very Serious Cat]

Try hobbies until you find something you enjoy. Start working out to give yourself motivation to stay healthy

 

[HARRISON_3]

Pros:

• easier to keep weight off, get in shape, stay in shape, put on muscle
• Don't have to worry about what you said/did the night before
• Same goes for checking your phone/text logs. Oof
• Save money
• No hangover-physical or mental
• Better work performance

Cons:

• Less unpredictable fun
• No drunken hookups with randos

(talking strictly booze)

 

[90 50]

Well done bro.

At least for me sports is the thing that keeps me away from all vices and shitty thoughts so I canalize everything there.

Be it kickboxing, riding my bike or lifting weights. It's like a drug for me.. but a healthy one.

I have an addictive personality, I’ve never done drugs, thankfully.
I’ve had severe problems with alcohol. I’ve never been an “alcoholic” like I had to drink non stop, but I’ve had issues where I’ve had problems In my life and if I drink, I drink to black out drunk everytime.
I could go two three weeks without drinking. Open a beer and drink until there wasn’t any beer left.
I went almost a year without a single drink. I had one or two here and there with the neighbor working on our yards etc but months apart and never more than two at a time.

I was going through severe withdrawals, but not from drink or drugs , but from adrenaline.

I have always been active and a competitive person. I had to sell my race boat to put my ex in rehab from opiates.

I was in withdrawals from adrenaline; and I’m still feeling it.
I had the urge over and over to buy a bike, a race car or another race boat and actually thought about calling some old people I know and seeing if I couldn’t get another fight booked.

I’m at the adrenaline withdrawal point where at 44, I’m looking for openings for a kickboxing or mma fight.

I know I’m almost two fucking decades out of my prime and when I was “good” but need the “rush” I’m missing.

I’m close to getting a 185 fight in my area. I’ll get my ass wasted I’m
Sure. If it gets booked, I’ll make sure to post before hand I’m getting back in the ring/cage and let y’all know so you sick fucks can come see my old ass suck.







but power is the last thing to go, y’all might see me Ko a fool!!!mm

 

[90 50]

I wrote a paper in English , in tenth grade an one of the subject of choice was a about getting high.

at the time I didn’t understand my addiction fully like it had come to light recently. But it was defintily for shadowing.

I talked about after school every day getting higher and higher etc etc. I wish instill had it and could post it here but it was good.
And the last few lines said,

as much as I try , I will never get high enough. Every time i hit the next gear, and hit the turn better and better and the line is better and better

I hit the gear , I lay on the throttle and I hit the jump harder and me and my bike get higher every time. And I will always chase that feeling, trying to get higher everytime.

 

[bobStash]

S

But life is fucking dull. Movies suck, the internet sucks, sex even is hard to get into. Every time I try to play music every note feels flat, I don't know what in the hell to do with myself when i'm not working. I'm eating out of boredom. I chain smoke to a fault. I don't really enjoy much of anything yet.. I cut ties with pretty much all of my friends because we basically just drank together. I go to AA meetings out of boredom.. I actually prefer doing that over just sitting around watching TV or something. Shits kind of difficult to be honest

Basically, getting sober is fucking weird.

I peruse Sherdog for MMA and shitposting threads. Your post resonated with me. You are a good writer. Your last paragraph is the truth. I have been an alcoholic for 20 years and when I dont drink, the hardest part is the boredom. Evenings and nights are especially hard for me. Without alcohol, I dont know what to do. I can work more, but I get tired of working (I do computer stuff and can work as much as I want).

I dont have any advice as I am drinking as I am writing this. I wish I did not drink but life is boring and bleak and mundane when I dont drink. Its like this when I drink as well, but moreso when I dont drink. Its like time slows down. I am 41 now, with a family, and all I do is work and do family stuff. I read alot and you are a good writer as you write from a place of truth.

If there is any advice I can give you, maybe write more. I will read it.

I wish you luck and know how hard things can be. I don't have any encouraging words of advice other than I like how you write and would like to read more.

 

[Oeshon]

It's a problem I've never had luckily. I go on some big benders and have some weeks where I go hard, but I can also turn it off like a light switch and do a month sober no problem.