Just went thru withdrawal after a serious bender, need to get over the hump any advice?

Hi there i am into the forth year of recovery and i can tell you that the first step is wanting to stop for the right reasons not because of being poorly or because of someone else, these reasons get less of a drive the longer you stay sober! its easy asking other people how to get over the hump the thing is my friend you yourself have to find the way to achieve your goal, all i can say to you is i have read books and went to many help groups and still ended up picking up! it wasn't until i realized it was down to choices i chose to drink so i decided to choose not too for myself and the key is you need to be selfish in your journey you need help with coping skills and mindfulness can be a great start but my advise would first of all speak to doctor, get all the tools you will need to keep on the path but please don't expect a magic book or pill there not out there however the tools are weather that be support groups are acupuncture whatever works for you but keep active this is key an active mind will stop you picking up and them thoughts of picking up only last 20 minutes! i promise you life without alcohol is so amazing and so rewarding i'm now lucky enough to enjoy life, i still get urges now and then however i have a life with a family who now also have a life and we enjoy it together and that is the best feeling in the world.

Gary sober 4 years is totally impressive! Mark: if you have hit rock bottom and are fed up then stop! I did 6 years ago and sober since 31st Dec 2011. Drinking was totally out of control. Destroying my health and family life. Wife threatened to throw me out finally. You will feel so much better and be so proud of what you have achieved. Robin

As you will know Robin any period of time away from addiction is good its not going back to it thats the achievement and that becomes everyday, little steps at the start trying not to get to confident as it will always bite you in the ass! i used for 27 years it was my life i knew nothing else, i also like Mark became a recluse segregating myself from my Family and pushing all my friends away but it was all there fault never mine! i became to understand later into recovery how much hurt i had caused people and how many lies i had told over the years because we think we become good at that while trying to hide our secrete, thing is we are terrible lier's and everybody knows what we are up too and they eventually get sick and leave! i am know dealing with the mental health issues that i think made me use to try and block out childhood trauma however i'm dealing with it without substance and the best thing i have my family and that is everything! i wish you all the very best of health and i truly hope you both succeed in your journey, life is so rewarding and i feel my life has just began everything is new i'm going to get the beat out of it instead of sitting alone in my home drinking myself to death!

hi mate, ask your doctor for some lorazepam, it will help thru the withdrawals

Thank you guys for sharing your experiences. I can relate to everything you guys have gone thru and is horrible, scary at times and for me most of all disappointing. I hit rock bottom, get back up and fall back again. This is the most disappointing and painful part, more so than going thru the actual withdrawal. I agree, I have to find a stable coping system, specially when the anxiety hits, that's the worse. I have tried to keep away from medication such as lorazepam as I have kidney issues but I will talk to my Dr. to see what he thinks. If that is not an option I may have to go the acupuncture route.

The one thing that I am is "fed up". I'm tired, frustrated of sitting alone watching t.v. but not paying attention having a drink to postpone the inevitable withdrawal. I don't even know when I am depressed or when I am not. However, If you guys found a way to do it I'm sure I can as well.

Thanks for the advice and we'll see how it goes.