My wife and I are going to try and quit vaping this weekend. For an added motivator, if I fuck up I will come back to this thread and publicly shame myself. I have a trove of compromising images with me and various world leaders getting spicy in positions not legal outside of parts of Oklahoma. Never good to have a secret trove of anything.

These will all be made public. I will lose my dignity and my mortgage and my congressional seat but I'm willing to risk this to get rid of this incredibly dumb habit.

rsmurphy wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2024 6:28 pmThis past Feb. 19 was my second month being alcohol free, and I'm soon to be coming up on my second month of no smoke, tobacco or otherwise. I've also been going hardcore on intermittent dieting since I gave up the giggle juice last December.
...Going to the gym helps, as well as feeding my creativity, writing songs, jamming, etc.

I think it's safe to say that the healthy activities you are doing play a big role in the ease you are experiencing with sobriety. You seem to be taking a wholistic approach to recovery, which is the way to go. Just *not drinking* isn't enough. Fucking good for you, man!

rsmurphy wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2024 6:28 pmNot to make light of how difficult quitting can be, but so far it's a lot easier than expected.

Cleaning up is really not as scary as our addiction tells us! We talk a lot about how hard it can be to quit, but I don't think we talk enough about how easy sobriety is compared to drunk life. So many problems solved themselves when I got sober, and I started feeling good very early on, not just in a "pink cloud" way but in a "I am no longer being poisoned" way. Sure it can be challenging to maintain the willpower not to take just a little drinkywinky here and there at the beginning, but it's nothing compared to the pain of hangovers, withdrawal, regret and shame.

ChudFusk wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 4:31 pm Sure it can be challenging to maintain the willpower not to take just a little drinkywinky here and there at the beginning, but it's nothing compared to the pain of hangovers, withdrawal, regret and shame.

not to mention the mental labor of trying to keep track of all the lies and excuses. When boy scout-types say things like "honesty is it's own reward," I realized this might be what they mean; that the phrase was coined by someone having not been truthful in their life and finding how much easier it is to move forward unburdened by what might be minor transgressions to others but weigh you down like a sack of bricks.

Yesterday was 5 years booze free. I didn't even celebrate or really remember until my mom reminded me. I knew it was coming, and thought I should do something to commemorate, but then the day arrived and it was just another day. Which it was....just like the 5 years of days before it.

Was talking with the guy who does most of my tattoos the other day, who I also call a friend, and he mentioned he had 18 years sober. I knew it was a while, but I guess I had it around 12-15 years for him, so I replied something about how it was amazing, which he kinda shrugged off. "It's just like every other year now. It's not really special, I'm just me." He's ~45 years old.

He's right though, it just eventually becomes normal. Going to shows and not drinking, totally normal. Holidays, parties....it's just all normal not to drink. Even watching people you used to drink with get hammered while you're out with them...it's just kinda a thing that happens now and doesn't really make me think about it. I'm just me, this is me now.

5 years sounds so long, but it seems like nothing. Life can be wild....

That's awesome Frankie99. You wouldn't happen to be En Esch from KMFDM? Because he just celebrated the 5 year mark. Anyway congratulations!

Fuckity fuck fuck fuck, I'm here again w/ mister bee double oh zee ee. Gonna reread this thread now.

jfv wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 2:18 pm Fuckity fuck fuck fuck, I'm here again w/ mister bee double oh zee ee. Gonna reread this thread now.

I don't know what this means specifically, but be kind to yourself in any case. Falling off the wagon is built-in, I think. It's something that happens, and it's how you respond to it after that I guess. Just be good to yourself the next few days and don't dwell on it.

Isaac wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 3:52 pm

jfv wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 2:18 pm Fuckity fuck fuck fuck, I'm here again w/ mister bee double oh zee ee. Gonna reread this thread now.

I don't know what this means specifically, but be kind to yourself in any case. Falling off the wagon is built-in, I think. It's something that happens, and it's how you respond to it after that I guess. Just be good to yourself the next few days and don't dwell on it.

Thanks for the kind words. Just realized I was kind of fishing for someone to respond by not telling the story. Sorry about that.

I spastically alternate between 1) abstaining, 2) thinking I have it under control, and 3) knowing I don't have it under control. Last night/this morning I went from 2) to 3). The good and bad news is that it was at home and only my wife was there to see it happen. Guessing I'm about to do 1) for a while.

I've actually done some things that have worked. I do not drink hard liquor or wine anymore. High ABV beers still cause trouble, unfortunately. I really like them.

Congratulations to everyone on your years, your months, your weeks, your days, your minutes.

I hit 7 last week, and like fm Frankie99, I forget until my folks remind me. After 5 years it's less of a big deal, but still worth noting.

I'm in grad school to become a counselor. Hoping to focus on substance use support. It's funny what a little time will do for you.

I committed in the original give it up thread on the last version of the board. Made a lifelong, endless friendship that day. What a cool place this is.

GuyLaCroix wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 10:55 pmI'm in grad school to become a counselor. Hoping to focus on substance use support.

Awesome! I've been a clinical mental health counselor since 2021 and have some experience working with substance use disorders; AMA.