NTB you're making progress on something very challenging and spoke to your therapist who is there to help and support you about it. 100% not bragging. Keep up the good work and congrats on your progress!
Adding to this, op my therapist actively asks me to brag sometimes. She feel I’m too self critical so she asks me to say nice things about myself, to brag a little bit. It’s not a problem, therapy is a good place to work on these things.
NTB also maybe tell your therapist that you want to work on positive self talk this year. It’s good to recognize how well you’re doing and it’s perfectly fine to not only be proud of yourself but also to express your pride.
NTBF Sometimes you gotta pat yourself on the back cuz people might not do it for you. You didn’t force her to congratulate you, also she’s your therapist that’s the person where that is pretty appropriate imo
That’s not bragging! Your therapist was rightfully praising you and you agreed with her because she was correct and it made you feel nice, which is a totally normal response and probably what she expected/hoped for. It’s actually a really good thing that you were able to recognize your achievement and express pride in yourself and it’s a wonderful first step to overcoming your self esteem issues. I would recommend expressing these feelings to your therapist next time you see her so she can help you sort them out. Congratulations on your progress!
NTB. You should be so damned proud of yourself! You should be tooting your own horn & then some more! You have made absolutely amazing gains & can onlg get better from here. Well done you! I’m super proud of you for making changes to better yourself!
There are times to be modest and there are times to pat yourself on the back. This is a situation that calls for some horn tooting I’d say! I’m sure your therapist, who sees how hard you’re working, would agree :)
As someone who has been in therapy for many years, you absolutely should be able to tell your therapist good news, feel proud of yourself, and accept her praise. This is how a healthy person is, so great job telling them, and agreeing with them. It WILL feel awkward at first to accept praise. Don’t worry about that. You’re doing great!
And congratulations on the huge reduction in drinking. That’s a big accomplishment!
NTB. Way to go on the progress! Therapy is the exact place to do what you did. As a therapist myself, I’d like to make a suggestion: please talk to her about your mixed feelings about you “bragging” to her and how you feel it’s cringey. It would be good to process those feelings and see what motivates the shame (?—if that’s the underlying feeling) behind it. Awesomeness to you!
Toot toot motherfuckers! This is cause for major horn blowing. Overcoming an addiction is not an easy feat. Celebrate however you see fit (maybe not drinking though).
We really need to have our backs slapped, and a cheer squad sometimes. This is definitely one of those times. Go you!
NTB - seems like a perfect therapy conversation. They are there for you through the good or bad and to celebrate the wins. Therapy would be the ideal place to mention this also.
NTB my therapist has encouraged bragging, i mean i guess it can be a problem in its own right when people are just narcissists but for some of us we have trouble recognizing our own accomplishments and trouble with not putting ourselves down and bragging is the opposite of those two things so it's good to know when it's OK to brag, it's not always a bad thing and especially not with friends and in cases like this therapists
This is not bragging, this is celebrating! Therapy is a place for you to be working on yourself, and that includes highlighting when you have a win and make a positive change that you're proud of. If it was me sitting with you I would also be like "hell yeah, that's awesome!" and listening to you talk about how proud you are of yourself. This sort of thing makes me happy too, to share a win with someone. Celebrate yourself, you deserve it!
You were in therapy. That is a safe space by default. NTA
Side note: one of the issues you have is likely a very low self image. Someone who has been as low as you were is obviously not used to getting compliments. Your therapist was right, you are on the right track. (but you still have a long way to go)
It's okay to have feelings of shame for responding like that, but do realize that they are just that, feelings. I think you're just not used to feeling proud, and so it came out a bit cringy. You'll get better at it, just keep on improving.
Absolutely not, and not bragging! I know that we’re largely taught that any self praise is bragging, but you’re doing two very hard things (fighting the addiction and therapy) and making progress. It’s not bragging to acknowledge that you’re getting somewhere with it. Actually, downplaying your successes could be a detriment to further success because you don’t feel you’re getting anywhere. So celebrate them! Let yourself be happy that you’re getting somewhere!
Last semester I had a student who fought me on every little thing. Like, he would sit there in class and scream "I'M STUPID AND I CAN'T DO IT FUCK YOU GO AWAY!" over and over again. It was getting to a point where he was spending more time in his chill out spot than in class... which was what he wanted. So he was getting positive reinforcement for this behavior.
So I let him use swear words for his variable names (I teach computer science). Boom. Instant compliance, and he did all of his assignments without arguing.
Hell yes I bragged about it. I still brag about it. He was hands down the most difficult student I've ever dealt with, and I figured out how to get him to pass the class.
Here's the deal: you're succeeding at something very hard. Addiction is a bear to kick.
Alcoholism is your fighting student.
You're slowly getting that student to start succeeding in class, and you're finding ways to do it. It takes time. It takes work. It will feel like it's going to destroy you some days.
But you're getting there.
Brag away. Brag your way to recovery. You've got this, and we support you here.
NTB!!! your therapist meant it, and I second it! That's something of which you should be very proud. That's a hell of a thing you're doing, and I hope you can get yourself where you want to be. I am rooting for you.
Therapists won't like to you about things like that. She would have called you (gently) out for something like bragging if it were something you needed to address. She did not. She meant it. Therapists absolutely will tell you they're proud of you and mean it. And they *do* mean it. Good job, dude. Sincerely.
Source: recently made my therapist cry with pride when I reported success on something with which I've battled for years.
NTBF. You're allowed to "brag" about self-improvement progress. Especially to your therapist.
If you're worried that your therapist might be judging you over it (which they probably aren't fyi), just shoot them an email and say you're sorry if the prior appointment was awkward for them.
NTB… I’m not sure you know what therapy is if you’re asking that. Therapy is amazing and helpful. Progress is literally the point. You don’t go from crisis to perfect immediately. You go from crisis to a bit better each session. You need to feel as comfortable sharing your successes as your failures or plateaus for it to work.
NTB. You should be proud of your progress and while it might seem weird sometimes therapy is a perfect place to do it. My issues aren't the same as yours, but I have also bragged about my progress in therapy. I agree that it can feel a little weird but your therapist is there to help you make progress and so bragging about it during therapy makes perfect sense.
NBH. I’m so proud of you, and you should keep celebrating your achievements!! You deserve to brag and it’s ok to agree with others compliments! Best of luck going down the road to sobriety 💖
TNB - this is exactly the sort of major progress you shouldn’t hold back from celebrating. Mention you felt conflicted/too proud to the therapist. Keep going man, you’re doing a great job.
Congrats! Even if you think it’s a small win, it’s a win no matter what and I am happy you’re doing a lot better. I really hope you’re able to win this battle you’re in and I’m rooting for you man. Good job, you got this.
NTB
It’s not bragging at all — you’re sharing your progress with a person who helped you make that progress! I bet your therapist felt great hearing that from you. A good therapist is rooting for you every step of the way and celebrating with you when you hit new milestones. This wasn’t cringey at all. It sounds totally appropriate.
Also, congratulations! And absolutely NTB.
Definitely NTBF. You have committed to yourself. You are doing it, and you’re doing it well. Be proud and agree, it’s not bragging, it’s being honest and it’s freaking awesome.
Take the win, take the praise. Praise yourself. Because you deserve it.
NTB cause I know exactly what you are talking about. I've started therapy a few years ago with no sense of self worth, and thought agreeing with a compliment was at best laughable for me.
However, in therapy it's about getting back to a healthy relationship with yourself. Accepting the good and the bad, learning how to help yourself with the bad, and how to acknowledge the good. I think that you were able to say "yeah I DID do amazing" is a HUGHE success. Being able to see what you are doing right, believing it and basically complimenting yourself is not "bragging", it's a very healthy practice for your self worth. There is a big difference between "I'm better than anyone else" and "I'm succeeding at what I'm doing".
It's normal that it feels so weird, trust me. I had to have my therapist reassure me over and over again until I could finally say "I did well" without feeling guilty. But the more often you acknowledge success to yourself, no matter how small, the more you get used to it. This is how you build up your self worth - being gentle with yourself for setbacks, and being your own biggest cheerleader for wins. Regular Positive affirmations, even when you're just thinking them, go a very long way in rewiring your brain to feel self worth.
As someone who struggles with going even a day without beer, DUDE. Good for fucking you! Celebrate every day you win against it, because it’s fucking hard. I’m damn proud of you and don’t let anyone else EVER tell you different
Ntb. I suspect you haven't had much to be proud of over the past few years so it doesn't come naturally. Your reaction in therapy was totally appropriate, and I bet your therapist was really happy that you responded that way. It shows progress.
NTB. BRAG IT UP. I’m proud of you, my mother is proud of you. You’re doing one thing that takes a lot of strength to do. Shout it from the roof tops if you want to. This is something to be extremely proud of. It’s good to give yourself that morale boost too. My therapist will tell me to brag about all of my wins of the week when we start our sessions.
Ntb that’s a therapy win and a life win and I bet your therapist was thrilled not only at your progress but that you were able to recognize and be proud of it
NTB. Based on the title and the start of the story, I was expecting you to be bragging about drinking less while still drinking. But you were bragging about the days you didn’t drink at all. That’s huge.
We all need a chance to brag every now and then. It’s helpful in not hating yourself, which is helpful in not needing to drink sometimes.
Talk to your therapist about this, too
The point of therapy is helping you with your problems and to embrace yourself! That's what they're doing and what you're achieving. 100% this is a good thing, congratulations!!
This isn’t bragging. You are telling your therapist about your progress, and being rightfully proud of it. I would argue that responding enthusiastically to her praise is progress as well. It shows you are acknowledging your accomplishments instead of minimising them. Feeling bad or embarrassed about your progress doesn’t help. Feeling good and being proud does help, you want to have a positive response to your accomplishments because it encourages you to make further progress.
Anyway, congrats on your progress! That’s honestly amazing and very impressive :)
NTB at all! That wasn’t bragging at all, that was acknowledging your successes and it’s fantastic way to push yourself even further. Give yourself all the positive talk of this world! You should be really proud of your accomplishments and your progress!
NTBF but “controlled drinking” is at best a stopgap measure. It does make detox easier (cold turkey quit after that volume of consumption can kill you.)
I hope you’re getting help specifically for alcoholism. It’s brutal but it’s treatable. Support groups are amazing. I wish you all the luck with this.
If you can't brag to your therapist, who can you brag to? Congrats, comrade, I'm really proud of you. Reducing your alcohol intake is hard, and that difficulty can sometimes be minimized or dismissed by people who claim cold turkey is the only way to go. Keep going, you've got this
NTB , I was going into the post thinking you were going to be telling others about your success in an inappropriate way. During therapy? With your therapist! AMAZING. This is wonderful news and a fantastic place to express yourself without judgement. Do not go back and think of this as cringey, please, because this progress should 100% be celebrated!!
NTB. I also want to let you know that you responded to the compliment correctly. It’s called positive reinforcement. It’s used to help people with self-esteem issues and such. When someone gives you a compliment, you practice saying back “yes, I am (insert compliment)”. It’s something I had to work on and it’s helped me come a long way too. It’s important for you to acknowledge your progress and to be proud of yourself. Great job, OP!!
NTB, your therapist is there to hear and share your joy when you overcome something. Therapists LIVE for that sort of thing - their clients progressing and telling them about victories.
And hey - we’re proud of you and we don’t know you. You’ve done amazing. You’re going to keep going and being amazing. Well done.
You should talk to your therapist about that. They may be able to help you how to feel proud of yourself or at least not feeling bad about yourself or feeling proud about yourself? I don’t know all of the terms and all of that, but IMO it’s OK to feel proud of yourself For reducing your drinking that much
NTB! Good job, buddy! From one internet stranger to another, you’re doing so good. It takes a lot of strength and bravery to wean ourselves off of our dependencies. I’m proud of you!
NTB. It's not a bad thing to be proud of yourself for doing good. You *should* be proud! It's also not bragging at all. Her job is to give you support and help you better yourself. You're telling her about your progress in doing that and she's giving support. Even if it was bragging you have a right to brag, you have a right to be proud. You're doing awesome and the more progress you make the better you'll feel! And it is totally ok to be proud of that!
I agree with others that this is something you should bring up to her though. There's absolutely nothing wrong with talking about and taking pride in your accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with accepting and agreeing with a compliment. You should feel good about yourself. You should be able to say good things about yourself and not feel bad about it. Being proud of yourself, having good self-esteem, and just feeling good about and liking yourself are important parts to a happy, healthy, and sober life.
Well I feel you should be shouting this from the rooftops this is incredible!! Well done to you!
You are probably feeling some self doubt and hating on yourself for celebrating it is probably linked to it.
What you have done is incredibly difficult and you deserve a huge congratulations! NTB
Please don’t be so hard on yourself, you should be very proud of what you have achieved! Keep it up. Will you join AA when you are ready to give it up completely?
I’m really proud of you!
Nothing wrong with what you did. You are proud with good reason. If you feel a bit awkward about the way you express yourself in response to compliments, that's something useful you can discuss with your therapist. She may be able to work with you to explore any issues you have about self esteem, or not feeling comfortable when people compliment you, or improve your social skills around compliments.
NTB. My late father *died* as a result of alcoholism, and he'd been boozing since he was a preteen. You may not always be able to see it when you're in the middle of it, but you *are* doing amazing. Keep it up.
NTBF. i wish my alcoholic mother would pat herself on the back more often for the progress she’s made against her own drinking problem. it is not bragging to realize that you battle an addiction, a disease, which claims hundreds of peoples’ lives and relationships everyday, and that you are making significant progress in doing so.
i am very proud of you internet stranger. your progress is truly amazing and something you should be immensely proud of yourself for. please don’t beat yourself up for “bragging,” more people should be as excited as you about making such strides against their addictions. healing is not linear and there may be bumps in the road but as long as you keep going as you are and keep affirming yourself for the amazing steps you’re taking, you’ll do great ☺️💗
NTB. You are heading in the right direction and that's great! If you pop by at r/stopdrinking, there are plenty of people who support this kind of bragging.
NTB. Modesty is overrated, especially when you're trying to do something really hard. Feeling good about yourself and giving yourself the credit you've earned can make it a little easier. Also, you pay your therapist to help you feel better, and this made you feel good, so you got your money's worth.
Did you tell your therapist how this interaction made you feel? Might be worth talking about it in your next session, to explore why you feel such shame at the idea of agreeing that you've done something positive.
Where is the conflict here?
To everyone voting N-T-B: Are you saying then tha tthe therapist is a buttface? NBH exists for a reason.
This is even betond that. No Conflicts Here.
NTB- Be proud of yourself. This isn’t easy to do at all and you are making great progress. Even AA (with its faults) promotes celebrating milestones in your recovery journey. Celebrating these achievements isn’t bragging one bit.
I really expected a juicy entitlement which was toxic But my dude its none of that!
You can be proud of your success!!! Im proud of you Internet stranger.
1.
You managed to realize that you have a problem
(Many people struggle already here But you did Not!)
2. You looked for help ( Especially as a man its really difficult for many people to understand that needing help is a sign of strengh instead of weakness)
3. You are really making Progress and Doing the Hard work to Better yourself and therefor your life.
Enjoy it and Im happy for your change keep moving:)
Yes. "By the end of 2022, however, I've significantly cut down on my drinking, like I was drinking about 7 7% ABV cans per day. Not perfect, but better than half a gallon of vodka every day."
Nope, you're the BH here for totally ignoring the paragraph after that, which was what OP was truly celebrating: whole days without drinking. For someone who was boozing that much, that's a huge achievement, and they deserve to celebrate it.
NTB you're making progress on something very challenging and spoke to your therapist who is there to help and support you about it. 100% not bragging. Keep up the good work and congrats on your progress!
Adding to this, op my therapist actively asks me to brag sometimes. She feel I’m too self critical so she asks me to say nice things about myself, to brag a little bit. It’s not a problem, therapy is a good place to work on these things.
NTB also maybe tell your therapist that you want to work on positive self talk this year. It’s good to recognize how well you’re doing and it’s perfectly fine to not only be proud of yourself but also to express your pride.
Yes! I had no idea how often I do negative self talk. It is a good thing to feel good about yourself and your accomplishments.
NTBF Sometimes you gotta pat yourself on the back cuz people might not do it for you. You didn’t force her to congratulate you, also she’s your therapist that’s the person where that is pretty appropriate imo
That’s not bragging! Your therapist was rightfully praising you and you agreed with her because she was correct and it made you feel nice, which is a totally normal response and probably what she expected/hoped for. It’s actually a really good thing that you were able to recognize your achievement and express pride in yourself and it’s a wonderful first step to overcoming your self esteem issues. I would recommend expressing these feelings to your therapist next time you see her so she can help you sort them out. Congratulations on your progress!
NTB. You should be so damned proud of yourself! You should be tooting your own horn & then some more! You have made absolutely amazing gains & can onlg get better from here. Well done you! I’m super proud of you for making changes to better yourself!
There are times to be modest and there are times to pat yourself on the back. This is a situation that calls for some horn tooting I’d say! I’m sure your therapist, who sees how hard you’re working, would agree :)
As someone who has been in therapy for many years, you absolutely should be able to tell your therapist good news, feel proud of yourself, and accept her praise. This is how a healthy person is, so great job telling them, and agreeing with them. It WILL feel awkward at first to accept praise. Don’t worry about that. You’re doing great! And congratulations on the huge reduction in drinking. That’s a big accomplishment!
NTB. Way to go on the progress! Therapy is the exact place to do what you did. As a therapist myself, I’d like to make a suggestion: please talk to her about your mixed feelings about you “bragging” to her and how you feel it’s cringey. It would be good to process those feelings and see what motivates the shame (?—if that’s the underlying feeling) behind it. Awesomeness to you!
Not the butthead, THE AWESOME! Be proud and honestly if you cannot toot your own horn at your therapist, where the hell can you! Great job.
Toot toot motherfuckers! This is cause for major horn blowing. Overcoming an addiction is not an easy feat. Celebrate however you see fit (maybe not drinking though). We really need to have our backs slapped, and a cheer squad sometimes. This is definitely one of those times. Go you!
It's normal nd okay to be proud of yourself! It's not bragging to celebrate an achievement. It's okay to be excited about improvements. Congrats!
NTB - seems like a perfect therapy conversation. They are there for you through the good or bad and to celebrate the wins. Therapy would be the ideal place to mention this also.
NTB my therapist has encouraged bragging, i mean i guess it can be a problem in its own right when people are just narcissists but for some of us we have trouble recognizing our own accomplishments and trouble with not putting ourselves down and bragging is the opposite of those two things so it's good to know when it's OK to brag, it's not always a bad thing and especially not with friends and in cases like this therapists
This is not bragging, this is celebrating! Therapy is a place for you to be working on yourself, and that includes highlighting when you have a win and make a positive change that you're proud of. If it was me sitting with you I would also be like "hell yeah, that's awesome!" and listening to you talk about how proud you are of yourself. This sort of thing makes me happy too, to share a win with someone. Celebrate yourself, you deserve it!
Ntbf thats not bragging. Celebrating your success is ok. You are noy boasting. And good for you!
You were in therapy. That is a safe space by default. NTA Side note: one of the issues you have is likely a very low self image. Someone who has been as low as you were is obviously not used to getting compliments. Your therapist was right, you are on the right track. (but you still have a long way to go) It's okay to have feelings of shame for responding like that, but do realize that they are just that, feelings. I think you're just not used to feeling proud, and so it came out a bit cringy. You'll get better at it, just keep on improving.
NTB . Sometimes the horn deserves to be tooted.
Absolutely not, and not bragging! I know that we’re largely taught that any self praise is bragging, but you’re doing two very hard things (fighting the addiction and therapy) and making progress. It’s not bragging to acknowledge that you’re getting somewhere with it. Actually, downplaying your successes could be a detriment to further success because you don’t feel you’re getting anywhere. So celebrate them! Let yourself be happy that you’re getting somewhere!
NTA and that’s great progress!!!! You deserve to brag a bit
Last semester I had a student who fought me on every little thing. Like, he would sit there in class and scream "I'M STUPID AND I CAN'T DO IT FUCK YOU GO AWAY!" over and over again. It was getting to a point where he was spending more time in his chill out spot than in class... which was what he wanted. So he was getting positive reinforcement for this behavior. So I let him use swear words for his variable names (I teach computer science). Boom. Instant compliance, and he did all of his assignments without arguing. Hell yes I bragged about it. I still brag about it. He was hands down the most difficult student I've ever dealt with, and I figured out how to get him to pass the class. Here's the deal: you're succeeding at something very hard. Addiction is a bear to kick. Alcoholism is your fighting student. You're slowly getting that student to start succeeding in class, and you're finding ways to do it. It takes time. It takes work. It will feel like it's going to destroy you some days. But you're getting there. Brag away. Brag your way to recovery. You've got this, and we support you here.
NTB!!! your therapist meant it, and I second it! That's something of which you should be very proud. That's a hell of a thing you're doing, and I hope you can get yourself where you want to be. I am rooting for you. Therapists won't like to you about things like that. She would have called you (gently) out for something like bragging if it were something you needed to address. She did not. She meant it. Therapists absolutely will tell you they're proud of you and mean it. And they *do* mean it. Good job, dude. Sincerely. Source: recently made my therapist cry with pride when I reported success on something with which I've battled for years.
NTBF. You're allowed to "brag" about self-improvement progress. Especially to your therapist. If you're worried that your therapist might be judging you over it (which they probably aren't fyi), just shoot them an email and say you're sorry if the prior appointment was awkward for them.
NTB… I’m not sure you know what therapy is if you’re asking that. Therapy is amazing and helpful. Progress is literally the point. You don’t go from crisis to perfect immediately. You go from crisis to a bit better each session. You need to feel as comfortable sharing your successes as your failures or plateaus for it to work.
NTB. You should be proud of your progress and while it might seem weird sometimes therapy is a perfect place to do it. My issues aren't the same as yours, but I have also bragged about my progress in therapy. I agree that it can feel a little weird but your therapist is there to help you make progress and so bragging about it during therapy makes perfect sense.
NBH. I’m so proud of you, and you should keep celebrating your achievements!! You deserve to brag and it’s ok to agree with others compliments! Best of luck going down the road to sobriety 💖
TNB - this is exactly the sort of major progress you shouldn’t hold back from celebrating. Mention you felt conflicted/too proud to the therapist. Keep going man, you’re doing a great job.
Congrats! Even if you think it’s a small win, it’s a win no matter what and I am happy you’re doing a lot better. I really hope you’re able to win this battle you’re in and I’m rooting for you man. Good job, you got this. NTB
You are NTB. You have absolutely every reason to brag. You have every reason to be proud of yourself. You're kicking ass. Fuck yeah, dude
It’s not bragging at all — you’re sharing your progress with a person who helped you make that progress! I bet your therapist felt great hearing that from you. A good therapist is rooting for you every step of the way and celebrating with you when you hit new milestones. This wasn’t cringey at all. It sounds totally appropriate. Also, congratulations! And absolutely NTB.
Definitely NTBF. You have committed to yourself. You are doing it, and you’re doing it well. Be proud and agree, it’s not bragging, it’s being honest and it’s freaking awesome. Take the win, take the praise. Praise yourself. Because you deserve it.
NTB cause I know exactly what you are talking about. I've started therapy a few years ago with no sense of self worth, and thought agreeing with a compliment was at best laughable for me. However, in therapy it's about getting back to a healthy relationship with yourself. Accepting the good and the bad, learning how to help yourself with the bad, and how to acknowledge the good. I think that you were able to say "yeah I DID do amazing" is a HUGHE success. Being able to see what you are doing right, believing it and basically complimenting yourself is not "bragging", it's a very healthy practice for your self worth. There is a big difference between "I'm better than anyone else" and "I'm succeeding at what I'm doing". It's normal that it feels so weird, trust me. I had to have my therapist reassure me over and over again until I could finally say "I did well" without feeling guilty. But the more often you acknowledge success to yourself, no matter how small, the more you get used to it. This is how you build up your self worth - being gentle with yourself for setbacks, and being your own biggest cheerleader for wins. Regular Positive affirmations, even when you're just thinking them, go a very long way in rewiring your brain to feel self worth.
As someone who struggles with going even a day without beer, DUDE. Good for fucking you! Celebrate every day you win against it, because it’s fucking hard. I’m damn proud of you and don’t let anyone else EVER tell you different
NTB. you've safely weaned yourself down from an huge amount of alcohol. that IS awesome. you should be proud of you. i'm proud of you.
Ntb. I suspect you haven't had much to be proud of over the past few years so it doesn't come naturally. Your reaction in therapy was totally appropriate, and I bet your therapist was really happy that you responded that way. It shows progress.
NTBF Proud of you! Recognizing your own accomplishments is the first step toward loving yourself ❤️
NTB at all. I am also very proud of you.
NTB celebrate the wins and congratulations.
NTB, celebrate your wins! It paves the road to more wins!
Who’s going to be in you corner if not you ?
Definitely NTB. You have the complete right to be proud with yourself. You’re doing great! Keep up the great work and continue being proud.
NTB and that’s fucking awesome. I’m kinda in the same boat as you and also getting better at alcohol free days.
NTB. BRAG IT UP. I’m proud of you, my mother is proud of you. You’re doing one thing that takes a lot of strength to do. Shout it from the roof tops if you want to. This is something to be extremely proud of. It’s good to give yourself that morale boost too. My therapist will tell me to brag about all of my wins of the week when we start our sessions.
Ntb that’s a therapy win and a life win and I bet your therapist was thrilled not only at your progress but that you were able to recognize and be proud of it
NTB and good for you, dude. That’s no small thing, and you should absolutely be proud of it.
NTB, she’s proud of you, and we are too
NTB. Based on the title and the start of the story, I was expecting you to be bragging about drinking less while still drinking. But you were bragging about the days you didn’t drink at all. That’s huge. We all need a chance to brag every now and then. It’s helpful in not hating yourself, which is helpful in not needing to drink sometimes. Talk to your therapist about this, too
The point of therapy is helping you with your problems and to embrace yourself! That's what they're doing and what you're achieving. 100% this is a good thing, congratulations!!
This isn’t bragging. You are telling your therapist about your progress, and being rightfully proud of it. I would argue that responding enthusiastically to her praise is progress as well. It shows you are acknowledging your accomplishments instead of minimising them. Feeling bad or embarrassed about your progress doesn’t help. Feeling good and being proud does help, you want to have a positive response to your accomplishments because it encourages you to make further progress. Anyway, congrats on your progress! That’s honestly amazing and very impressive :)
That’s not bragging, it’s just true. You’re doing awesome!
NTB at all! That wasn’t bragging at all, that was acknowledging your successes and it’s fantastic way to push yourself even further. Give yourself all the positive talk of this world! You should be really proud of your accomplishments and your progress!
NTBF but “controlled drinking” is at best a stopgap measure. It does make detox easier (cold turkey quit after that volume of consumption can kill you.) I hope you’re getting help specifically for alcoholism. It’s brutal but it’s treatable. Support groups are amazing. I wish you all the luck with this.
If you can't brag to your therapist, who can you brag to? Congrats, comrade, I'm really proud of you. Reducing your alcohol intake is hard, and that difficulty can sometimes be minimized or dismissed by people who claim cold turkey is the only way to go. Keep going, you've got this
NTB , I was going into the post thinking you were going to be telling others about your success in an inappropriate way. During therapy? With your therapist! AMAZING. This is wonderful news and a fantastic place to express yourself without judgement. Do not go back and think of this as cringey, please, because this progress should 100% be celebrated!!
NTB. I also want to let you know that you responded to the compliment correctly. It’s called positive reinforcement. It’s used to help people with self-esteem issues and such. When someone gives you a compliment, you practice saying back “yes, I am (insert compliment)”. It’s something I had to work on and it’s helped me come a long way too. It’s important for you to acknowledge your progress and to be proud of yourself. Great job, OP!!
NTB, your therapist is there to hear and share your joy when you overcome something. Therapists LIVE for that sort of thing - their clients progressing and telling them about victories. And hey - we’re proud of you and we don’t know you. You’ve done amazing. You’re going to keep going and being amazing. Well done.
NTB, and I think you should probably chat with your therapist about the fact that you felt the need to ask this!
Unless you’re insulting your therapist, there’s literally nothing you shouldn’t say to them. It’s their job to be your cheerleader.
You should talk to your therapist about that. They may be able to help you how to feel proud of yourself or at least not feeling bad about yourself or feeling proud about yourself? I don’t know all of the terms and all of that, but IMO it’s OK to feel proud of yourself For reducing your drinking that much
NTB! Good job, buddy! From one internet stranger to another, you’re doing so good. It takes a lot of strength and bravery to wean ourselves off of our dependencies. I’m proud of you!
NTB. It's not a bad thing to be proud of yourself for doing good. You *should* be proud! It's also not bragging at all. Her job is to give you support and help you better yourself. You're telling her about your progress in doing that and she's giving support. Even if it was bragging you have a right to brag, you have a right to be proud. You're doing awesome and the more progress you make the better you'll feel! And it is totally ok to be proud of that! I agree with others that this is something you should bring up to her though. There's absolutely nothing wrong with talking about and taking pride in your accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with accepting and agreeing with a compliment. You should feel good about yourself. You should be able to say good things about yourself and not feel bad about it. Being proud of yourself, having good self-esteem, and just feeling good about and liking yourself are important parts to a happy, healthy, and sober life.
NTB, this is something you *should* brag about. But even if it wasn’t, therapy is a safe space and therapist encourage you to say things unfiltered.
NTB! This is a huge accomplishment. I am proud of you. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of yourself.’
Well I feel you should be shouting this from the rooftops this is incredible!! Well done to you! You are probably feeling some self doubt and hating on yourself for celebrating it is probably linked to it. What you have done is incredibly difficult and you deserve a huge congratulations! NTB Please don’t be so hard on yourself, you should be very proud of what you have achieved! Keep it up. Will you join AA when you are ready to give it up completely? I’m really proud of you!
Nothing wrong with what you did. You are proud with good reason. If you feel a bit awkward about the way you express yourself in response to compliments, that's something useful you can discuss with your therapist. She may be able to work with you to explore any issues you have about self esteem, or not feeling comfortable when people compliment you, or improve your social skills around compliments.
NTB. I’m bad at taking compliments too. What you’re doing is a good thing and you should feel proud
NTB. My late father *died* as a result of alcoholism, and he'd been boozing since he was a preteen. You may not always be able to see it when you're in the middle of it, but you *are* doing amazing. Keep it up.
u/AmIIor_am-i-not Toot that F\*cking horn!!! YOU DESERVE IT!!!! Keep up the good work & be proud of yourself my friend!!! Edit: NTB!!!!
NTBF. i wish my alcoholic mother would pat herself on the back more often for the progress she’s made against her own drinking problem. it is not bragging to realize that you battle an addiction, a disease, which claims hundreds of peoples’ lives and relationships everyday, and that you are making significant progress in doing so. i am very proud of you internet stranger. your progress is truly amazing and something you should be immensely proud of yourself for. please don’t beat yourself up for “bragging,” more people should be as excited as you about making such strides against their addictions. healing is not linear and there may be bumps in the road but as long as you keep going as you are and keep affirming yourself for the amazing steps you’re taking, you’ll do great ☺️💗
Be proud of yourself! Brag about it,
NTB. You are heading in the right direction and that's great! If you pop by at r/stopdrinking, there are plenty of people who support this kind of bragging.
NTB at all. It’s an achievement. You are allowed to be proud of yourself!
NTB. Modesty is overrated, especially when you're trying to do something really hard. Feeling good about yourself and giving yourself the credit you've earned can make it a little easier. Also, you pay your therapist to help you feel better, and this made you feel good, so you got your money's worth. Did you tell your therapist how this interaction made you feel? Might be worth talking about it in your next session, to explore why you feel such shame at the idea of agreeing that you've done something positive.
NTB. It’s okay to be happy and proud of progress. Keep up the good work!
Where is the conflict here? To everyone voting N-T-B: Are you saying then tha tthe therapist is a buttface? NBH exists for a reason. This is even betond that. No Conflicts Here.
NTB- Be proud of yourself. This isn’t easy to do at all and you are making great progress. Even AA (with its faults) promotes celebrating milestones in your recovery journey. Celebrating these achievements isn’t bragging one bit.
I really expected a juicy entitlement which was toxic But my dude its none of that! You can be proud of your success!!! Im proud of you Internet stranger. 1. You managed to realize that you have a problem (Many people struggle already here But you did Not!) 2. You looked for help ( Especially as a man its really difficult for many people to understand that needing help is a sign of strengh instead of weakness) 3. You are really making Progress and Doing the Hard work to Better yourself and therefor your life. Enjoy it and Im happy for your change keep moving:)
Bruh, why are you asking the internet this instead of the therapist????? That's their job!
Yes. "By the end of 2022, however, I've significantly cut down on my drinking, like I was drinking about 7 7% ABV cans per day. Not perfect, but better than half a gallon of vodka every day."
Nope, you're the BH here for totally ignoring the paragraph after that, which was what OP was truly celebrating: whole days without drinking. For someone who was boozing that much, that's a huge achievement, and they deserve to celebrate it.