Trying To Sober Up

[Guest Drew]

well, i'm back. i'd been going to AA for a little while but then i started to work overtime and have no spare time. AA seemed to help. i was sober for about a week, but then that kind of went down hill. i'm really trying to not drink and i have 4 days sober at this point but it's hard. i've been kind of depressed lately and of course when i'm depressed i drink. but i'm trying, i'm really trying...it just never seems to work...

oh well, we'll see what happens.

[Guest CharliTo]

I'm sorry that I'm replying so late

I just hope good luck... My mother used to be a depressed alcoholic, for most of the time when I grew up, which left a stark impression to me when I was young.

I really think it'll be great if you can deal with your depression... it's usually a good factor that will slow down your judgment... I really hope you can go to the AAs more...or have someone to talk to. You can always find me ok?

*hug*

[Guest Robin/bobbi]

You might try to go back to AA and not work Overtime. You just replaced one thing for the next. Turning into an workoholic is like isolating with a good reason. But, is it?

Your getting paid to be inside the four walls of work instead of learning how to be you in the real world. so you get paid.. but that GOD awful lonliness is kicking your butt!!!

at least with AA you wont be alone for long.......

[Guest Drew]

You might try to go back to AA and not work Overtime.

i really wish i could, but i really need the money and my job doesn't pay too well even with overtime.

[Guest CharliTo]

I hope you're doing well with being sober still yet Drew *hug*

I know you're a hard working man, but make sure you take care of yourself k....

[Guest cerise]

I am in AA and have been for 20 months now . Not only have stayed sober but I was able to deal with my gender issues with my sponsor .

Had I stayed out there using I would still be carrying around this stuff that when brought out into the open was really not a big deal , or certainly not what i thought it was .

My female side is alive and well and I am not going to bury it again . I used pot for years to take away my urges of what was inside me and then used alcohol to make me forget that I was male .

It's hard to explain but now I am at last content with my male parts and able to live as much as I need as a woman to be happy .

As far a AA goes the only advice I give is Take care of yourself and put your sobriety first . The rest will follow .

Other than that the best reason to go to meeting is when you don't want to .

Chow from Vancouver .

[Guest mia 1]

Well Drew there is a lesson to draw from. P.M. Cerise and learn from her. We could all learn from that girl. Congrats to you Cerise, and you too Drew for sharing I know you want to get sober........................Mia.

[Guest bronx]

Drew-

I've been fighting the battle of alcoholism for some time now and I know how you feel. I relapsed a few times puting other things in front of my sobriety. I know you need the money but you need to have a clear and steady head also. I have done the same in the past. About two years ago I put making money and other things ahaed of my sobriety, I stopped going to meetings and talking to people. I slowly started to isolate and try to rationalize that one will be okay. It was never okay for me. I slowly started to lose things and myself. The day that I started to work step 1 in my life and started to attend meetings again I started to get everything back and then some. But not in my time on my higher powers time. If I'm correct your in NY. Well I'm from there and I got sober there and I know that there is ALWAYS a meeting going on. I suggest that you get a meeting book and see what you can find. If you need to travel to bronx, brooklyn, queens, whatever you can make a meeting. NA also has meetings going on all the time. One thing someone told me was to chase my sobriety like I chased my beer.

Alll said out of love,

Angel

[Guest AniStacy]

Hey Drew!

Your circumstances are not the best but you speak like you have no choice in the matter.

I'm sure it feels like you have no control or no time but I want to tell you!

You are your own boss! no amount of money or no job can ever take away your right to choose.

There is never too little time! its all about priorities; Important before the unimportant.

Now having said that here's your choice... your health or your job?

Because whatever choice you make; the other is going to dissapate.

You need time to sober up and help and you can't get that if you're working overtime.

I leave you with a quote from one of J.K. Rowling's best selling books:

Harry Potter: I was supposed to be in slytherin, the sorting hat wanted to put me there.

Dumbledore: Ah, and why didn't it?

Harry Potter: I told it not to.

Dumbledore: Ah and Harry it is our choices that make us who we are.

We are all with you in this tough time

<3 Stacey

[Guest Drew]

well, i guess i had gotten so wrapped up in other things that i forgot about this topic

so far i have been sober for three and a half weeks! ...lol, i'm quite happy with myself.

and thank you all for responding, it's nice to know that there are supportive people somewhere

so, so far so good. i'll keep you updated.

thanks

Drew

[Guest Ashlee]

Good for you Drew!

3 1/2 weeks, then 2 months, then 6 months, then a year, then....well, just keep adding them up!

Keep up the good work.

Ashlee

[Guest jennysober]

Hi, my name is Jennifer and I'm an alcoholic, 3 years clean and sober by the grace of my Higher Power and the help of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. I just registered and I'm not sure how the forums here work yet, but I wanted to put up an introductory post.

I'm also MTF, but I identify my gender as Female, not TG. I'm living the life I believe I should always have lived, which is as a woman.

I'm a member of AA in my local area, and in my "new" life I do not reveal my gender history; I am rigorously honest in my recovery, but I am not recklessly honest, and I am aware from events in my early transition of the type of abuse and discrimination I would receive if I were open about my history. By the grace of God I had a very successful transition and am accepted entirely as I appear, which is as a young attractive sober woman whose primary purpose is to stay sober.

I stated transition in 2003, and had SRS over 3 years ago. I honestly believe that I could not have remained sober wihout having put transitioin behind me first. I'm only speaking from my own experience of transition and recovery.

However it would be nice to have a place to disuss AA and sobriety in a safe forum where I can be honest about my history, without fear of discrimination, as from time to time my thinking can affect how I feel about myself in my role as a woman. My head can sometimes tell me that I'm not worthy of the love of a Higher Power becuase of transition, that I should never have transitioned becuase that was my self-will and was perhaps not God's will for me. Heavy stuff!

But then, my head can tell me a lot of things, and 99% of them are wrong! Such is the nature of my disease!

Kind regards to all,

God bless,

Jennifer

[Sally]

Hey Drew,

Just keep stacking up those days, weeks, months and years - you are doing great and we are proud of you.

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest cerise]

3 and half weeks is huge Drew and welcome Jennysober .

I feel that at the very least my Higher power wants me to be happy and that for means that I have to accept myself as who I am and acknowledge what makes me happy .

Like yourself the beginning of my recovery was the beginning of my transition . I will not be going for SRS for various reasons but understand how important transition is to recovery '

[Guest amie]

I know watcha mean about the numbing power of alcohol.

I used to drink a lotlot!

When I was in Vegas, which was just the worst place I could've possibly been at the time, I drank my pain away on a regular.

Or at least I tried. After a while it stopped working.

I would get drunk and get to thinkin' n' all 'bout my situation and it rilly served to worsen the whole thing a lotta times.

Somehow, It finally dawned on me that I'm screwin' myself over.

When I needed a lucid mind to deal with this thing, I was intentionally tryin' to cloud it.

Duh!

But yeah, Congrats on bein' sober 4 that long. Keep on keepin' on!