I got tired of being sick and tired. In the last couple of weeks I've made some really big changes. Moved away from my hometown, got sober, stopped talking to people in my life who were alcoholic/addicts/toxic. Got a house that has a backyard for my dog in a quiet neighborhood. Started therapy, started going to AA meetings and got a sponsor. My goals are to continue to work on mental health and start some kind of physical fitness. After years of a very unbalanced life, mainly devoted to poker alcohol and drugs it was time. The feeling of being alone and craving alcohol sucks but overall this is the first time in my life I've felt alive with any true peace. Someday down the road I hope to look back on this thread and see the goals I want to achieve.

Good for you man, I’ve been sober a little over five years now and AA helped (and continues to help) me immensely with that. Feel free to reach out via PMs if you want to talk.

What kind of physical fitness stuff are you thinking? This forum has a lot of good stuff on lifting weights, although it’s recently shifted to a lot more cardio, which is probably good too.

Good luck. I tried to be an alcoholic in my 20s but never had the guts or the commitment required.

I'd be interested to hear more details of your story if you're willing to share.

There's a podcast you might like called The Mental Illness Happy Hour. The host is a recovering alcoholic, and dog person. The show covers a wide range of mental health topics. It's been a great help for me.

Thanks for the support man, glad to find other people on here that are willing to reach out. Five years great good job, that gives me a lot of hope. On day 6 sober again because I relapsed on beer last week. But not giving up. Goal is to lose some weight, I've gotten pretty fat over the years. Just got a treadmill off Amazon been walking on it a couple times a day. Been doing lots of Zoom meetings everyday doing the deal one day at a time one moment at a time.

Thanks for the good luck, I really need it. Little bit of my story. Been drinking since age 16. Was introduced to hard nasty stimulants at 18. Stared using benzos to deal with the come down. On and off the stimulants for years and years. Haven't touched stimulants for a couple years now. Have 3 DUI's, 2 misdemeanors and one that was a felony because I crashed into a car and hurt someone. Had to go to jail for awhile on that one. Been to rehab a couple times to avoid prison. Alcohol has been my biggest problem black out drinker at times. Don't remember what happens wake up in jail many times. That's about all I want to share right now. And dealing with mental health that I went on and off the meds many times. Thanks for the podcast just googled it and will check it out tonight.

Good luck on your journey! This community is great, ask away any questions you have. What dog do you have?

hello and good luck. hopefully this thread provides additional support, feedback, and accountability for yourself.

on mental fitness: i can't really prescribe advice here, but i can relate to almost anything in this department as I too take things one day at a time, just for different reasons.

on sobriety: i was pretty drunk between 2001 and 2010. I'm that guy that can drink all night yet remember everything that happened the next day. i still have a beer or a shot now and then, but i really only get drunk 2x a year on christmas and new years eve. for me it was a social thing where i drank to have fun with other drunk people, but i let it creep into my every day life and let it dominate my after work and weekend plans. then i had a falling out with my best drinking buddy in 2008.

on physical health: the combination of boredom, loneliness, and nagging injuries(see my log) caused me to desire change. i started light weightlifting(basically just bench press and overhead press), and decided i needed to inform myself on good weight lifting practices. came to the health and fitness forum and browsed the faq. found starting strength was the recommended program for beginners.

ten years later, 50 pounds heavier, hardly ever have more than 2 drinks, still mentally unstable(and will always be) but i manage. my specialties include picking things up and putting them down, among other things.

i was never an accomplished weightlifter, but i fulfilled my goals of getting stronger and repairing nagging injury and preventing future injury. i still do some weightlifting in the driveway in the spring and fall(basically my programming is to pick the bar up, squat x 5 however much i can powerclean up to 3 times, overhead press whatever i can for 3x5, and i mix in pushups. also some important bodyweight stuff, particularly back bridges, get mixed in too.

so yeah, idk what's right for you. but i can relate to the desire to change for sure.

also, this:
and pics pls. ty

was really hoping for more action here, as the theme of this thread is relevant to my interest.

its ok to fall off, as long as you get back up.

theres no judgement here except for the extreme trolls that get shunned quickly. we dont care how drunk you might have gotten recently. we dont care if you woke up in a strange place with your pants around your ankles, again.

lol jk, but seriously i think you put in the effort thus far in this thread for good reason and this is where accountability comes in. not accountability to us, but to yourself.

Then that's great! I've been in AA for over 13 years. This is definitely progress. I go to an atheist / agnostic AA meeting in Orlando and another one online. AA is coming around (finally). Of course, it's still incredibly difficult for us in traditional meetings, but at least we are making progress.