No thanks. I’m not a drinker

Posted on by

I am at the year and a half sober mark today. It crept up on me. I feel amazed that I have been sober for this long and that I feel that it was an excellent decision. I don’t think too much now about whether I should drink or not. I originally thought I would go sober for a year and then see what happens. That decision to remain sober is strong. I like myself better this way. That is enough.

Words are important. How we word something can make a difference. I don’t like the term alcoholic. I believe the word chains alcohol to the person and focuses on the past rather than the future. It is not a positive word. It has so many negative connotations that it is whispered or spoken with shame most of the time. I really don’t like it. It’s not how I look at myself.

I drank. Now I don’t. I’m not a drinker.

Cleaner. Clearer. Simple. Positive.

Sober as a world of difference.

28 thoughts on “No thanks. I’m not a drinker”

  7. Huge congratulations to you. I’m with you on the team ‘alcoholic’ … it was never helpful for me to describe myself in that sense. I was addicted to alcohol and I broke the habit by not drinking it. I found it brought me far more happiness than I ever felt drinking over the past few years. So now I don’t drink. Great post. ❤️😘

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  8. First, congratulations on your year-and-a-half! Awesome!

    As to the rest, about words and whatnot, I tend to think a lot about words. I sometimes wish I didn’t. I can tell you this, whether they matter or not completely depends on how I’m willing to take them. That’s really all that matters because if I’m doing recovery right, what somebody else thinks (or says) shouldn’t matter in the least. What matters is that I keep “my side of the street” clean. Nice post, and thanks for getting me to think this morning!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks Jim. You my friend are inspiring with your cycling. I love how you are so active in your recovery literally. To be honest I can’t keep up with your mileage. It’s awesome. I read and feel I’m on your shoulder being carried along against the wind.
      I have taken that and chosen walking. I am challenging myself to walk every day in June.
      As Nick Reeves mentioned being sober brings clarity. Clarity is a wonderful word. Clean.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  9. Congratulations. I have also stopped drinking I have been sober for 10 months although I have had many ‘sober times’ I had never thought about the word alcoholic like that. I guess going to rehab that word is just stuck to me. Maybe I will rethink how I refer to my drinking or none drinking I mean. I’m new to the world of blogging trying something new

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • Thanks. Blogging and private writing helps to get your thoughts out and find clarity. The sober community is very caring and supportive too. Welcome.
      I hesitated to write this post because I thought it might rub some people the wrong way. Glad I did.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  10. Way to go and congratulations on a great decision. I agree with you about the word alcoholic. It’s a negative term used by people to place “problem drinkers” in a different category than themselves so they can create separation and not have to question their own drinking. At any rate, your wording is perfect and is a phrase I also espouse: I used to drink and now I don’t. No category. No story. Just facts. I like myself much better this way also. 💕👍🏻

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply ↓

  11. Congratulations Limetwiste! I have been finding the idea of stopping drinking creeping up on me of late. I’ve pretty much always drank, never to any degree where my life is controlled by alcohol – allowing a dozen or so days off work in thirty plus years due to hangovers – but I pretty much have a drink every day; it’s a tidal effect that builds up over a season. I stopped for 6 months a couple of years back (why I returned I don’t recall, but it’s insidious, isn’t it). I have pretty clear memories of that time – not so much of difficulty or temptation, but of heightened creativity, clarity and a sense of … kindness?

    Living alone and particularly so these last few months of the plague it has been a routine; once my writing, or however I’ve spent the hours, is done; once the sun slips over the yard arm and I’m preparing dinner and preparing for the evening ahead, I can generally finish a bottle of wine. To some that would be outrageous and to some that would be average… but, of late, I feel that a time for a reboot approaches. So, thanks for these admirable posts. Stay Free. x

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply ↓

    • Huge congratulations to you. I’m with you on the team ‘alcoholic’ … it was never helpful for me to describe myself in that sense. I was addicted to alcohol and I broke the habit by not drinking it. I found it brought me far more happiness than I ever felt drinking over the past few years. So now I don’t drink. Great post. ❤️😘

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

    • Thanks Nick.
      The decision is yours to make. Covid19 doesn’t make it easier. You talk of routine. Drinking is just a habit within that routine.
      Yes clarity is a word I have been thinking on lately. There is so much more clarity with being sober. Clarity is a great word. Creativity… working on that. Kindness, yes absolutely, to self and others.
      I prefer myself sober.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply ↓

Leave a reply to limetwiste Cancel reply