On July 19, 2015, I attempted my first-ever, honest-to-goodness quit. I lasted through the beginning of September. Had I stuck with it, I’d have over a year by now. But I still had some lessons to learn in the time between then and now. The following is a blog post I wrote not exactly one … Continue reading 1-Year Sober Retrospective: “Loving Sober”
On July 19, 2015, I attempted my first-ever, honest-to-goodness quit. I lasted through the beginning of September. Had I stuck with it, I'd have over a year by now. But I still had some lessons to learn in the time between then and now. The following is a blog post I wrote exactly one year … Continue reading 1-Year Sober Retrospective: “Temporary”
I got divorced in 2015, at the age of 25. At that point, I had been drinking daily (and often heavily, full of regret) for almost 5 years. The pain I felt when my husband first told me he was no longer in love with me - a mere 11 months after tying the knot - … Continue reading Day 28 Alcohol Free: The Divorce
Sometimes, even with the strongest conviction to quit drinking and stay quit, temptation will hit you in the gut like a bag of bricks. For me, over the past couple days, I've been letting myself get irritated, agitated, and frustrated without establishing a way to get my emotions back to a calmer place. I've gotten upset about: … Continue reading Day 27 Alcohol Free: Get Lonely
If you get to know me at all, chances are eventually, you’ll learn how much I love ghosts, ghost stories, and anything that has to do with the paranormal. My favorite shows growing up were Are You Afraid of the Dark, Scariest Places on Earth and Ghost Hunters. I loved Goosebumps and Scary Stories to … Continue reading The Ghost of Drunkness Past: Guilt
Over the past 6 years of my drinking career, up until now, I made several quit attempts that, surprise surprise, ended up failing. I would start out on my day 1, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (okay, no, that's not true, I was probably very hungover) ready to take that next big step toward achieving my goal of health, … Continue reading Sobriety is a Baby Bird
Today is my three-week "soberversary". I woke up tired, but not hungover! I biked the 8 miles to work in the cool, Midwestern summer morning, my legs strong and my concentration focused on the road in front of me. I felt good. I broke a decent sweat riding in and my energy was up, even … Continue reading Day 21 Alcohol Free: The Illusion of Okayishness
Note: I wrote this on my second day of being sober, July 10, 2016. Also, adult language in this one (as evidenced by the title). Much of my young adult life has revolved around the idea of putting up facades in an effort to keep those closest to me from knowing, or understanding, the depths … Continue reading The Case of the Girl who Didn’t Know What the F?#% to Do
20 days! Woo! That means tomorrow I’ll get to celebrate three weeks (three weeks!) of being alcohol free. I might try to bike into work, and then treat myself to something nice afterward. Maybe ice cream, or a steak? Manicure time? A clear head to get some work done on my final papers for summer … Continue reading Day 20 Alcohol Free: You Don’t Have to Be Good
So in a lot of the reading I’ve been doing, such as in This Naked Mind & online resources, I’ve read that alcohol has the capability to literally rewire the way your brain works. Here are a few things I've pulled from various websites about the effects of alcohol on the brain: “After months or … Continue reading Day 10 Alcohol Free: This is Your Brain on Alcohol
okayishness 