7 things about me for 7 days sober.
Today I’m celebrating 7 days without alcohol which isn’t a massive milestone in itself (I’ve had much longer periods of sobriety before) but regardless, I’m feeling pretty proud of myself.
I haven’t had 7 consecutive days of sobriety for over a year at least, and honestly, I was struggling for a long long time to put the wine down.
As I described in my previous post, I was stuck in a confounding, vicious cycle of drinking a bottle or more of wine at night, then promising tomorrow I’d start over sober only to find myself buying yet another bottle of wine the next evening, and it would start all over again.
Rationally, I knew I needed to stop because I knew it wasn’t healthy or doing me any favours, but something was happening underneath the surface that was keeping me drinking.
In the last couple of months, I’d noticed that there were often days I actually didn’t want to drink, but I would then be overcome by a sense of anxiety at the thought of not drinking which would then lead me back to the bottle store once again. I started becoming more aware of a physical need & pull to keep drinking that wasn’t always there before, and that was a scary realisation for me.
Until this point, I’d always considered myself someone who was more psychologically dependent. I was highly aware that I leaned on alcohol as an emotional crutch - there was no doubt about that - but being physically addicted? No way - that wasn’t me. I wasn’t that far along so I could keep going, right?
Anyway, with all that said, having 7 days sober again feels really good and a bit of a tiny miracle.
Since we are just getting to know each other in this space, to “celebrate” my 7 days, I thought I’d share 7 things about myself:
I just turned 41 in May.
I’m from England originally and moved to New Zealand when I was 13 after what I call a “family trauma” which is definitely at the root of my addiction & mental health struggles.
In August 2024, I moved into my 40ft container home and I absolutely love it. It’s my first home and I plan on buying my own land one day.
I am a cat momma to Oscar and Lucky, and I also am a horse momma to Arlo.
I used to be a voracious reader which I’m aiming to reclaim in my newfound sobriety. Right now I’m starting Sarah J Maas’ young adult series Throne of Glass series.
Whilst I have much respect for AA and sometimes attend their in person meetings, it isn’t really for me so I’m choosing a more holistic recovery path. My favourite online sobriety community is The Luckiest Club and I’m trying to get to at least 3 meetings a week.
I haven’t travelled since before Covid, but my absolute favourite place is Rome, Italy and I really want to return there and see much more of Europe in general.
I’d love to know more about you too. Feel free to drop 7 things about yourself in the comments below. ☺️
