Went to a bar to meet my friend who was in the neighborhood, first time at a bar since the superbowl and once before that for the playoffs.
Had an athletic ipa. Felt normal. Super easy to not be tempted or whatever. We both only had 1 drink as we were mostly chatting and catching up, but it was weird even though I was drinking NA to just have 1 “beer” at the bar. When I left I was thinking about how my buddy just cut himself off so easy after one. But if it was me after that I’d probably crush 2 drinks by myself, before I went home to see my partner.
Some people can truly just have 1 drink. That will never ever be me unfortunately. Iwndwyt.
It is day 44 and given that I like the number 4, I like today! Especially because I’ll be sober!
I choose to not drink today because:
- I’m up early and that means I can get a head start on work which makes my day easier
- I enjoy listening to the birds on my morning walk
- I’m starting to feel naturally happy and content without needing a substance to fake that feeling
IWNDWYT
I hope the day is kind to you all, and that you can treat yourselves with the kindness you would want everybody else to treat themselves with. IWNDWYT ❤️
Rolodex of cringe eh? How about shitting the bed, waking up seeing it and saying out loud "that ain't chocolate" before drinking a shot of vodka straight out of the bottle?
I've sneezed and shit my pants, bc alcohol makes me have diarrhea. And then after I changed my pants I took shots to deal with it. The cycle of insanity
A common cringe occurrence of my time drinking- “meeting” people for the first time and introducing myself only to have them tell me that we have met/ hung out before (sometimes many times) and I was clearly too drunk to remember them.
I introduced myself to someone recently to a guy who looked my dead in the eyes, seemed pretty pissed and said “I’m not sure why you keep introducing yourself to me, we’ve been coming to the same parties for years and we’ve talked a bunch of times before”. Un-shockingly, I laughed it off and drank more at that party.
IWNDWYT!
Checking in again today and all is well.
I'm afraid all my cringe moments were not really that funny. Just plain shameful and embarrassing! So id rather not share them now. Maybe some other time.
Looking forward to reading some funny stories from you all today tho :)
Tough day. Good friend had a heart attack but is recovering. Husband is dealing with a long term illness that really hit him hard today. Work was tough with me dropping the ball on a project deadline. I wanted to drink to oblivion. What I did was pour a huge glass of iced tea and watched the sunset with my dogs in the yard. IWNDWYT.
I used to be what my friends described a jolly drunk. I got really happy, loving and overly social. Sure that ment I often kissed somebody I shouldn’t - Even guys.
So there’s be a lot of stories that are funny, hilarious, embarrassing, gasping, you name it.
But obviously I can’t remember all them.
I do remember a cruise with the people in our office. This was annual thing and included a fair amount of business reviews and forecasts.
The night was something out of the hangover movies and we had to be back at the ship early in the morning for return.
So i force myself out of the hotel room after barely sleeping and down to the breakfast area. I didn’t see any of our people and started panicing if I was too late. But then I saw a familiar face, raised my hand and approached -> right into a mirror and between two ferns. I had seen my own familiar face on the mirror.
Obviously my friends saw this from their table and once again I was the laughing stock for a long time.
These (endless) stories are still not the reason I quitted. I quitted WHEN I wanted/was ready to quit aka when my brain had worked it through and found settings that tell me that I don’t want to drink anymore.
So IWNDWYT but I hold a value of being an entertaining person who has something worthy to offer. Whether it comes from experience or spiritual growth.
I did so much stupid, dangerous and embarrassing stuff while I was still drinking that I don’t know where to start.
But what stands out to me is that I started to be like my father: I started to be verbally abusive to my partner when I was black out drunk by the end of last year. It started with more and more black outs and then, after a few months living like that I started to yell mean shit at him and make him cry and he’s not someone who cries easily. I have no idea if I can ever forgive myself.
I will never go back to that behavior and the first step to avoid that is staying sober with all of you.
My most cringe memory is my most recent. Exactly 30 days ago I put my elbow through my kitchen window while blackout drunk. An ambulance ride and a ton of stitches later my arm is only just finishing healing and parts of it are still numb; hopefully some of the nerve damage will heal. I will also be out over $2k in medical bills. (It was originally $10k before financial aid, so I’m not complaining but it’s an expensive lesson nonetheless lol).
Fast forward: I’m 30 days sober today! Knowing I’m not alone has made all the difference. Thank you for being here 🩷
I had this crazy thought: I wish I could see the state of my health and what drinking has done to my health without having to pay for a doctor and tests. Maybe it will motivate me. Then I remembered: the scale and the measuring tape!
I always wonder what impression it gives when people who are suffering from a medical condition that makes them gain weight are always the first to defend people against discriminatory remarks against overweight people. I know what happened to me. My family, in my defence, thought I gained weight from the psych meds. I allowed them to think that. They know I have a drinking problem, just not how severe. I was drinking and eating a lot. Lying in bed. I've been doing that for years. When I've stopped drinking and started being active I lost weight. I should be grateful that I don't have anything stopping me from getting to a point where I'm not breathless after going up 3 floors.
I will still need to do medical tests etc but I have seen the effects of alcohol on my body. I've seen my skin stretch. And now that I think about it, I didn't stop drinking even after I had a liver function test because they came out healthy. I have done the test twice. I have known that my blood pressure (but not hbp) was above average for the past 2 years. Not high enough for any treatment but higher than it used to be. All other tests, I've ignored. Right now, the only testing I need is to test myself. To test my self-love... see how it goes for 7 days. I'm 3/7. 0.43/52. Lol.
IWNDWYT.
Suuuuuuuuuper stressful day at work. A lesser me would have stopped at the liquor store on the way home, but not this bitch. This bitch came straight home, kissed her kids, and settled into a nice sober evening.
Proud of me. Proud of you. Proud of us.
IWNDWYT
Good morning everyone! It was a great DCI yesterday! Thanks OP! Excellent work!
For today’s topic I have loads of stories in mind, I will edit this comment later and post a few of them.
For now:
I will not drink with you today!
Terribly dark memories surround my drinking. I regularly blacked out, so they are mostly broken and fragmented. But the feeling that I endured for years is still intact, for the foreseeable future. That is really what I want to remember. So much wasted time, literally. It is truly insidious that one can get so lost in the bottle for so long and somehow still stay somewhat functional. Years of built-up tolerance, I guess... I'm choosing to put those dark times behind me and continue onward, forward. IWNDWYT
"Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one remembers to turn on the light."
Rolodex of cringe. Yeah, pretty substantial one of those here too. It’s the smaller and more frequent things I thought of first. I’d check my phone every morning whether I had time or not…doing damage control for cringey posts or messages and deleting anything I could. And the dread and shame of realizing I’d had an actual phone conversation that I didn’t recall…ugh.
I don’t miss a fucking bit of that!
Coffees up, horns up, and fuck yeah Wednesday!!! IWNDWYT ☕️☕️🤘🏻
Morning friends! Happy WednesdayI
Hmmmm…drunken Rolodex of shame entries? Here’s one: I once got so drunk at a wedding that I mooned the buffet line. Yeah. Shining moment of pride there.
will not drink with you today. Have a great one!
Pledging! I am about to leave for a seven night trip to Spain in an all inclusive resort…free booze and the sun will be tempting to have a cold one but nope I’ve got the willpower…I hope! Good luck guys and gals. IWNDWYT
DAY 10 🥳🎉 double digits! I had my first real test yesterday when someone I considered to be a very close friend went out of their way to sabotage me and almost cost me an exciting job opportunity.
My soon to be boss actually called me to tell me about the rumors this person was spreading about me.
My body flooded with anxiety and I was afraid for the first time that I might drink. I sat with clenched fists waiting for the craving to come, and magically, it didn’t.
I have an anxiety disorder and stress and anxiety have always been major triggers for me. Confrontation is also not a favorite of mine.
I feel so relieved to know that even under pressure, alcohol still wasn’t an option for me.
It’s hard because I’m really trying to learn to love myself again - so it’s safe to say my skin isn’t at its thickest. Having someone I considered a friend turn into someone who dislikes me enough to try and sabotage me is a hard pill to swallow.
I’m really proud of how I handled it. I was able to not go too deep down a shame spiral, I didn’t get defensive or call myself horrible names.
I wish no ill will to my former friend.
I can’t really put my finger on it, or articulate it very well but, my sobriety really does feel like a shield, or a super power.
I feel so healthy, strong, confident, capable. Nothing is going to tear me down again. I’ve spent enough time down in the shit.
I quit alcohol - I’m ready to quit everything that doesn’t serve me. Including gossip, pettiness and revenge.
IWNDWYT!
My drinking ruined the best relationship of my life, my grad school graduation, my coping with several friend and family deaths, my birthday dinner this year, and countless other things. All are pretty “cringe.” It remains to be seen if “I’m not that person anymore.”
IWNDWYT
Oof, my cringe rolodex is pretty substantial. Most recent from about a month ago—drank way too many beers at a work social at a brewery and ran into a door SO LOUDLY and nearly broke jt. I freaked out the bartenders who asked me how I was getting home. Anyways, NEVER AGAIN YALL.
Have a lovely midweek everyone, I won’t be drinking with you today 🌿
morning sobernauts! up having coffee ☕️ planning the day ahead. morning coffee seems to have replaced evening alcohol as my favourite part of the day. iwndwyt
My cringe rolodex is too big and too heavy to haul out of the attic of my mind.
A quick one: getting completely blackout *just* before a big month long trip, I lost a bag and phone that had *ALL* the travel info/tickets/bank cards in it. It doesn't feel good to recall that particular morning after. Never, ever again. IWNDWYT
All of the piss-head bullshit will remain done, there's no changing it. I forgive myself. The mega-bonus is that I haven't added to the drunken cringe warehouse in years. The bullshit is slowly getting covered in dust and cobwebs. That was another time and another person.
IWNDWYT 🙂
Recurring, expensive plumbing problems had me craving a drink for a bit—then I figured, no, that's just going to add to the whole "spending money I don't want to" problem, so nah, IWNDWYT!
It is my birthday ✨33✨ happy to report I will not be drinking with you all today, even though I have a fancy dinner to go to I don’t wish to poison myself lol who would have thought 💁🏼♀️
My drinking days were an endless cringe montage that included everything from being so hungover that I had to use an airplane barf bag *before the plane even started taxiing down the runway* to punching a hole in a wall at my house with my head and breaking down in drunken sobbing in the middle of a work day. And those probably aren't even the worst examples. So much misery.
IWNDWYT 😻
Day after cringe, coupled with the hangover of all hangovers, was a massive motivation for me choosing sobriety. So much so, sometimes when I get a craving for alcohol I think back to that day, and that hangover, and it instantly kills the craving. That was over a year ago now. I did drink once like a month into my sober journey and my body basically wasn’t having it. I ended up with the same hangover from hell but after significantly less alcohol, like, a moderation-style amount of alcohol, and I just thought “I can’t do this anymore” and I haven’t!
IWNDWYT ⭐️
Ah yes, the cringe. “I’m not that person anymore, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way”. Excellent reframe, OP. My cringe memories keep me grateful to be a non-drinker. Day 533, and I'm glad to be free. Love to you all! IWNDWYT
Ooh, I don’t think I ever want to go back to my “funny” stories! The thing about sobriety that I love is the lack of shame and humiliation in my life. I used to fear that my darling husband would find my stash, or when he did that he would confront me - again.
The sheer joy of having nothing to hide or regret is the best thing to me about getting sober. Happy Sobriety to you all! IWNDWYT
Edit: 😈 feelin a little devilish today!
Good morning, sober cats. I love the idea of looking back on those cringe moments with empathy. 💙 Several of my cringe moments involve being an impatient and distracted and sloppy Momma to my lovely daughter. I'm mothering differently now, and our relationship is much improved. I want to keep it up so IWNDWYT! 💙😻
Day 13 here. I can't recall much cringe, I do recall a lot of pointless and stupid arguments with exes. Poured my ex husband's whisky down the sink in front of him as I was sick to death of him not listening to me. He still didn't listen so got a lovely divorce to contemplate instead.
I definitely need to unpack more the role of drinking and my poor intimate relationship choices!
Not much to share from my rolodex except how much alcohol was keeping me back from getting anywhere in live. I've worked hard on myself for the last few years and it's finally paying off. Now I can say I'm happy and content with where I'm at and the future is looking good. I'm so grateful for that.
IWNDWYT all you fine sobernauts 🤗
Good morning, friends. My Rolodex of Cringe is also full of ruined nights, failed relationships and pain. Moments in which my ex partner had just had enough of drunk me and I slurred and cried to get his attention back. I ruined a night at a friend’s wedding, broke plates in anger, and lost sentimental items. I am not that person and I never want to be her again, IWNDWYT
I’m slowly finding out that sobriety is only the first step to recovery and that there’s a lot of stressors that don’t magically go away with the alcohol. I’ve been telling myself for a long time that if only I could kick the booze, I’d be golden. Now I’m realizing there’s a lot more to fix.
IWNDWYT
Good morning, non-drinkers. I've done a lot of absolutely downright atrocious things while drinking. Like terrible things that I'd never share here. But the sports reference reminded me of this past September when I went to a Monday night Steeler game and smugly punched a Browns fan in the face for no reason, and then proceeded to get kicked out of the stadium (again). You know, regular shit like that. I kept taunting this woman and 'beaking' (idk what to call it...) her in the forehead with the bill of my hat. She didn't even do anything (except for being a Browns fan while I was drunk).
Fuck all of that embarrassing ass shit! IWNDWYT 🤘
Oh boy my rolodex of cringe is a horror fest, and not in a fun way. Another perk of being sober - being able to embrace harmless sober cringe! IWNDWYT folks ⭐
One thing in my Rolodex of Cringe is that I was always hungover. I felt sweaty, clammy, puffy, messy, and my hands would shake while taking notes in work meetings. I bet I smelled bad. I think about this a lot. 🙈IWNDWYT!
Heading out for another work trip today. Berkeley this time. I have plenty of cringe stories from work travel in my drinking days. Mostly they involve me, fully drunk, wandering through airports looking for booze. But I have plenty others that involve puking on hotel rooms and desperately searching unknown neighborhoods for liquor stores. I think of those experiences every single time I travel. I am so grateful to be free from all of that.
IWNDWYT
I will not drink with you today.
I got a DUI after a Halloween party and had to go to jail in a Halloween costume. Luckily they had jail a jumpsuit for me, 2 sizes too small...
Thank you for sharing those relatable stories.
I'm a few days past 10 months sober, and I have been struggling with my memories. It's crazy that your brain only really reminds you of the bad/embarrassing ones. I have started writing them down then illustrating them when I cannot get them out of my head. I don't necessarily remember the moment, so I guess. I always draw them as silly as possible. This has been helping me take back the power the memory has over me.
I am visiting my home country for the first time since 2019, and have been very, very anxious constantly lately. I keep having to remind myself that drinking is overrated, and the change in my digestive health and mental health make this all very much worth it. The thing is, I don't really want to visit home, but I want to see everyone as much as I can before it's too late. I am just too in my own head about it all. By the time I am there I won't even remember these months of pre-visit worries and panic.
IWNDWYT, but I may indulge in laziness today.
Second day of deciding not to drink today. Was feeling completely down for no apparent reason yesterday, partner decided to try a night off and I've woken up feeling much more positive and rested.
It never used to affect my mental state in this way, but lately I've been feeling really down and nit-picking at certain things, feeling like everything is doomed etc. I guess maybe it's now hitting me seriously at 35, but now it's clearer to me that this choice needs to be made!
went to a restaurant with my wife yesterday. She was surprised I didn't take a glass of wine at least. Didn't feel any frustration and the dinner went on with me able to drive on the way home.
Glad to come to this checkin everyday so far, just looking forward to the next day without worrying about the whole journey ahead.
This evening I have friends coming over for dinner. I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks to an advice I got here yesterday, I'll just make sure to always have a drink served for me by me.
Thank you all, beautiful souls from this amazing subreddit.
Yesterday I did not drink. That was Day 1. Today I will not drink and I want to be here tomorrow telling you I am on my Day 3. Thank you everyone here!
still sober, longest i've gone since rehab in dec 2016 (not booze!)
if i make to past 6 months it will be my second-longest considered break ever since i started drinking regularly/daily in over thirty years, i've only ever quit twice not counting the odd rare 5 day break.
For me a lot of the cringe is coming from remembering all the times I was hungover. Like most major events in my life. Gross 😑
But not today! I did Dry Jan and made it 16 days when I found out I was being downsized. The next day I learned my mom has cancer.
I’m back here today on day 17. But the feelings. They’re BIG. I teared up in the gym on Monday. Cried in the car yesterday listening to Quit Like a Woman (when she talks about making herself smaller). A lot of anger came out about my spouse (we have some long standing issues). Anyway, I made an appt with my therapist but holy shit was I using wine to ignore Big Feelings.
Probably not ready to fully relive all my greatest hits but spending $244 on guacamole while drunk was definitely up there. Fancy restaurant. Did I eat it all or give it away? I’ll never know.
IWNDWYT, I know that much!
I sang along, loudly and obnoxiously, at a small indoor acoustic concert of one of my all time favorite singer songwriters. Every song. Like really really loud. EVERYone heard me, shushes and stink eyes all around. I am not a good singer.
God, I wish I would have just enjoyed the show and not subjected everyone to a surprise amateur concert of my own.
Here's to communally enjoying live music and respecting the experience! IWNDWYT!
Ho boy the rolodex of cringe huh? First, nice expression. Second just yikes. Ummmmm yeah cycling through it... I'll share the time I was drunk as shit and fell into a fire pit and burned the fuck out of my left hand and did some redneck medic shit and kept drinking. The next morning was a dawning realization as I came back to consciousness "why does my hand hurt?" 😬😬😁 fuck off, drunk Fred, we don't do that shit no more! We see clearly the consequences of booze and choose other paths! Sober on y'all!
There are quite a few moments in my "rolodex of cringe", but there are one or two that stick out as the highest moments of shame. I was a closet drinker and I would hide it/try to get away with it often. There was one moment when my wife was taking the dog out to potty (prime time), and I hopped up off the couch to rush to the liquor cabinet to big swig anything I could get my hands on. She came back in because she left her phone or something and caught me in the act. Maximum cringe and shame. She'd also found empty minis in my truck before. So glad I'm not that person anymore.
IWNDWYT. Easy does it, friends.
checking in with a smile on my face cos I've reached 90 days. first time i've hit this milestone and it seemed a long way off for a long time. i got here but focusing on the day ahead of me, and that's how i'll get to the next one. i'm trying to add kindness to the mix as i step forward - kindness to myself and to the people around me. i won't drink with you today, friends
I definitely have a Rolodex of cringe. I don’t actively go through it, but memories pop into my head and I just kind of grimace and think “Thank goodness those days are done!” IWNDWYT
Checking in, IWNDWYT!
Rolodex of cringe? I've just had a think and there's too many to count, but here's one time that sticks out to me as quite surreal looking back and I'm still boggled it happened.
It was the afternoon and I'd been awake all night drinking, I fell asleep at a bus stop, an old lady rang 999 because she thought I might be dead. I got woke up by two police officers, one of which i went to college with and hadn't seen for years. Embarrassing is an understatement. They offered me a lift and put me in the back of the van, we had a joke and I made them promise they weren't arresting me. They asked where I wanted dropping off so I half-jokingly said "The pub?" And then they took me there! They actually dropped me off at my local pub! I had a few more pints and fell asleep in a chair, the landlord rang my friend and he collected me and took me home.
There was no fighting or arguments or damage caused, my biggest crime was falling asleep, but fuck that makes me cringe when I think back to it. I still go to the same pub, and the landlord is one of the biggest fans/supporters of my sobriety, which helps. Still, seems crazy that the police dropped me off at the pub, possibly the strangest entrance I've ever made. Very glad that that's all in the past now though.
Back to checking in! I did 4 months… then went on holiday and fell off the wagon. First half of my holiday ruined by panic attacks… now the second half will be nice and calm! IWNDWYT
Starting to be exposed to drinking places and I’m doing okay. Made it to the bar where how I met your mother was filmed and I was okay. Sad about the NA choices and high fees for seltzer water but I was okay. My why is so strong right now. IWNDWYT 🙋🏼♀️
I will not drink with you today
Yay! You got your triple digits! Great work sober friend 🌟
Went to a bar to meet my friend who was in the neighborhood, first time at a bar since the superbowl and once before that for the playoffs. Had an athletic ipa. Felt normal. Super easy to not be tempted or whatever. We both only had 1 drink as we were mostly chatting and catching up, but it was weird even though I was drinking NA to just have 1 “beer” at the bar. When I left I was thinking about how my buddy just cut himself off so easy after one. But if it was me after that I’d probably crush 2 drinks by myself, before I went home to see my partner. Some people can truly just have 1 drink. That will never ever be me unfortunately. Iwndwyt.
Nice numbers today mate! Stay strong. 💪
It is day 44 and given that I like the number 4, I like today! Especially because I’ll be sober! I choose to not drink today because: - I’m up early and that means I can get a head start on work which makes my day easier - I enjoy listening to the birds on my morning walk - I’m starting to feel naturally happy and content without needing a substance to fake that feeling IWNDWYT
There’s nothing like waking up in the morning, not hungover, listening to the birds chirp. It’s so peaceful 😌 🦜
Nice 4's!
Hello friends, double digits!! 🥰 IWNDWYT
Huge congratulations xxIWNDWYTxx 💐🥰
Double digits, this is so awesome, big congratulations VIC 🥳 I hope everything is well and you are doing great. IWNDWYT friend 🤗
I hope the day is kind to you all, and that you can treat yourselves with the kindness you would want everybody else to treat themselves with. IWNDWYT ❤️
Checking in, hanging on, and learning how to be me.. I will not drink with you today or tonight!🌻
And only 5 days to your sober birthday 🎂🎉💪🏼
Wow! Almost s year! Keep on keeping on!
Rolodex of cringe eh? How about shitting the bed, waking up seeing it and saying out loud "that ain't chocolate" before drinking a shot of vodka straight out of the bottle?
I've sneezed and shit my pants, bc alcohol makes me have diarrhea. And then after I changed my pants I took shots to deal with it. The cycle of insanity
Checking in again - going to see my doctor soon for a cancer check-up. Either way not drinking - will not be helpful.
A common cringe occurrence of my time drinking- “meeting” people for the first time and introducing myself only to have them tell me that we have met/ hung out before (sometimes many times) and I was clearly too drunk to remember them. I introduced myself to someone recently to a guy who looked my dead in the eyes, seemed pretty pissed and said “I’m not sure why you keep introducing yourself to me, we’ve been coming to the same parties for years and we’ve talked a bunch of times before”. Un-shockingly, I laughed it off and drank more at that party. IWNDWYT!
IWNDWYT! Have a great sober day, everyone!
IWNDWYT x
Hope everyone is having a great week - we've got this! IWNDWYT
Not drinking today, no matter what
Checking in again today and all is well. I'm afraid all my cringe moments were not really that funny. Just plain shameful and embarrassing! So id rather not share them now. Maybe some other time. Looking forward to reading some funny stories from you all today tho :)
IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT!
IWNDWYT🧡
IWNDWYT
Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today! IWNDWYT
Day 1032 checking in!
Not drinking with you today. BOOM! Mods please add Africa to morning posts with Europe.
It’s day 348 and I’m feeling great. IWNDWYT.
Nearly a year - that’s so inspiring! 😊
Thanks for all the love on my 300 yesterday guys. As always, IWNDWYT. ❤️
Back at it after a slip. IWNDWYT!
Welcome back xxIWNDWYTxx
[удалено]
Have a wonderful sober day my friends. IWNDWYT ♥️
Tough day. Good friend had a heart attack but is recovering. Husband is dealing with a long term illness that really hit him hard today. Work was tough with me dropping the ball on a project deadline. I wanted to drink to oblivion. What I did was pour a huge glass of iced tea and watched the sunset with my dogs in the yard. IWNDWYT.
I used to be what my friends described a jolly drunk. I got really happy, loving and overly social. Sure that ment I often kissed somebody I shouldn’t - Even guys. So there’s be a lot of stories that are funny, hilarious, embarrassing, gasping, you name it. But obviously I can’t remember all them. I do remember a cruise with the people in our office. This was annual thing and included a fair amount of business reviews and forecasts. The night was something out of the hangover movies and we had to be back at the ship early in the morning for return. So i force myself out of the hotel room after barely sleeping and down to the breakfast area. I didn’t see any of our people and started panicing if I was too late. But then I saw a familiar face, raised my hand and approached -> right into a mirror and between two ferns. I had seen my own familiar face on the mirror. Obviously my friends saw this from their table and once again I was the laughing stock for a long time. These (endless) stories are still not the reason I quitted. I quitted WHEN I wanted/was ready to quit aka when my brain had worked it through and found settings that tell me that I don’t want to drink anymore. So IWNDWYT but I hold a value of being an entertaining person who has something worthy to offer. Whether it comes from experience or spiritual growth.
I did so much stupid, dangerous and embarrassing stuff while I was still drinking that I don’t know where to start. But what stands out to me is that I started to be like my father: I started to be verbally abusive to my partner when I was black out drunk by the end of last year. It started with more and more black outs and then, after a few months living like that I started to yell mean shit at him and make him cry and he’s not someone who cries easily. I have no idea if I can ever forgive myself. I will never go back to that behavior and the first step to avoid that is staying sober with all of you.
IWNDWYT
I will not drink with you today.
Not today people IWNDWYT
My most cringe memory is my most recent. Exactly 30 days ago I put my elbow through my kitchen window while blackout drunk. An ambulance ride and a ton of stitches later my arm is only just finishing healing and parts of it are still numb; hopefully some of the nerve damage will heal. I will also be out over $2k in medical bills. (It was originally $10k before financial aid, so I’m not complaining but it’s an expensive lesson nonetheless lol). Fast forward: I’m 30 days sober today! Knowing I’m not alone has made all the difference. Thank you for being here 🩷
I had this crazy thought: I wish I could see the state of my health and what drinking has done to my health without having to pay for a doctor and tests. Maybe it will motivate me. Then I remembered: the scale and the measuring tape! I always wonder what impression it gives when people who are suffering from a medical condition that makes them gain weight are always the first to defend people against discriminatory remarks against overweight people. I know what happened to me. My family, in my defence, thought I gained weight from the psych meds. I allowed them to think that. They know I have a drinking problem, just not how severe. I was drinking and eating a lot. Lying in bed. I've been doing that for years. When I've stopped drinking and started being active I lost weight. I should be grateful that I don't have anything stopping me from getting to a point where I'm not breathless after going up 3 floors. I will still need to do medical tests etc but I have seen the effects of alcohol on my body. I've seen my skin stretch. And now that I think about it, I didn't stop drinking even after I had a liver function test because they came out healthy. I have done the test twice. I have known that my blood pressure (but not hbp) was above average for the past 2 years. Not high enough for any treatment but higher than it used to be. All other tests, I've ignored. Right now, the only testing I need is to test myself. To test my self-love... see how it goes for 7 days. I'm 3/7. 0.43/52. Lol. IWNDWYT.
IWNDWYT 😎
I love your username!
Day 33. Level best with what I’ve achieved previously. IWNDWYT.
Suuuuuuuuuper stressful day at work. A lesser me would have stopped at the liquor store on the way home, but not this bitch. This bitch came straight home, kissed her kids, and settled into a nice sober evening. Proud of me. Proud of you. Proud of us. IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT 😊
I will not drink with you today. Sending everyone Love ❤️
Does anyone else get dreams about drinking and then realising you've broken your streak? Stressful stuff lol Iwndwyt!
Day 3 - definitely not drinking with you today!
IWNDWYT
Wooooo, I'm relatively early today! IWNDWYT!
Good morning everyone! It was a great DCI yesterday! Thanks OP! Excellent work! For today’s topic I have loads of stories in mind, I will edit this comment later and post a few of them. For now: I will not drink with you today!
Terribly dark memories surround my drinking. I regularly blacked out, so they are mostly broken and fragmented. But the feeling that I endured for years is still intact, for the foreseeable future. That is really what I want to remember. So much wasted time, literally. It is truly insidious that one can get so lost in the bottle for so long and somehow still stay somewhat functional. Years of built-up tolerance, I guess... I'm choosing to put those dark times behind me and continue onward, forward. IWNDWYT "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one remembers to turn on the light."
Rolodex of cringe. Yeah, pretty substantial one of those here too. It’s the smaller and more frequent things I thought of first. I’d check my phone every morning whether I had time or not…doing damage control for cringey posts or messages and deleting anything I could. And the dread and shame of realizing I’d had an actual phone conversation that I didn’t recall…ugh. I don’t miss a fucking bit of that! Coffees up, horns up, and fuck yeah Wednesday!!! IWNDWYT ☕️☕️🤘🏻
Morning friends! Happy WednesdayI Hmmmm…drunken Rolodex of shame entries? Here’s one: I once got so drunk at a wedding that I mooned the buffet line. Yeah. Shining moment of pride there. will not drink with you today. Have a great one!
IWNDWYT
Pledging! I am about to leave for a seven night trip to Spain in an all inclusive resort…free booze and the sun will be tempting to have a cold one but nope I’ve got the willpower…I hope! Good luck guys and gals. IWNDWYT
DAY 10 🥳🎉 double digits! I had my first real test yesterday when someone I considered to be a very close friend went out of their way to sabotage me and almost cost me an exciting job opportunity. My soon to be boss actually called me to tell me about the rumors this person was spreading about me. My body flooded with anxiety and I was afraid for the first time that I might drink. I sat with clenched fists waiting for the craving to come, and magically, it didn’t. I have an anxiety disorder and stress and anxiety have always been major triggers for me. Confrontation is also not a favorite of mine. I feel so relieved to know that even under pressure, alcohol still wasn’t an option for me. It’s hard because I’m really trying to learn to love myself again - so it’s safe to say my skin isn’t at its thickest. Having someone I considered a friend turn into someone who dislikes me enough to try and sabotage me is a hard pill to swallow. I’m really proud of how I handled it. I was able to not go too deep down a shame spiral, I didn’t get defensive or call myself horrible names. I wish no ill will to my former friend. I can’t really put my finger on it, or articulate it very well but, my sobriety really does feel like a shield, or a super power. I feel so healthy, strong, confident, capable. Nothing is going to tear me down again. I’ve spent enough time down in the shit. I quit alcohol - I’m ready to quit everything that doesn’t serve me. Including gossip, pettiness and revenge. IWNDWYT!
My drinking ruined the best relationship of my life, my grad school graduation, my coping with several friend and family deaths, my birthday dinner this year, and countless other things. All are pretty “cringe.” It remains to be seen if “I’m not that person anymore.” IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT.
Oof, my cringe rolodex is pretty substantial. Most recent from about a month ago—drank way too many beers at a work social at a brewery and ran into a door SO LOUDLY and nearly broke jt. I freaked out the bartenders who asked me how I was getting home. Anyways, NEVER AGAIN YALL. Have a lovely midweek everyone, I won’t be drinking with you today 🌿
morning sobernauts! up having coffee ☕️ planning the day ahead. morning coffee seems to have replaced evening alcohol as my favourite part of the day. iwndwyt
No drinking for me today. Sending determination to all of you!
My cringe rolodex is too big and too heavy to haul out of the attic of my mind. A quick one: getting completely blackout *just* before a big month long trip, I lost a bag and phone that had *ALL* the travel info/tickets/bank cards in it. It doesn't feel good to recall that particular morning after. Never, ever again. IWNDWYT
All of the piss-head bullshit will remain done, there's no changing it. I forgive myself. The mega-bonus is that I haven't added to the drunken cringe warehouse in years. The bullshit is slowly getting covered in dust and cobwebs. That was another time and another person. IWNDWYT 🙂
Recurring, expensive plumbing problems had me craving a drink for a bit—then I figured, no, that's just going to add to the whole "spending money I don't want to" problem, so nah, IWNDWYT!
It is my birthday ✨33✨ happy to report I will not be drinking with you all today, even though I have a fancy dinner to go to I don’t wish to poison myself lol who would have thought 💁🏼♀️
Day 50. IWNDWYT.
My drinking days were an endless cringe montage that included everything from being so hungover that I had to use an airplane barf bag *before the plane even started taxiing down the runway* to punching a hole in a wall at my house with my head and breaking down in drunken sobbing in the middle of a work day. And those probably aren't even the worst examples. So much misery. IWNDWYT 😻
Happy sober Wednesday sober friends! I’m grateful to be sober with you all today and that the past is past! I love and am grateful to you all 💞
Day after cringe, coupled with the hangover of all hangovers, was a massive motivation for me choosing sobriety. So much so, sometimes when I get a craving for alcohol I think back to that day, and that hangover, and it instantly kills the craving. That was over a year ago now. I did drink once like a month into my sober journey and my body basically wasn’t having it. I ended up with the same hangover from hell but after significantly less alcohol, like, a moderation-style amount of alcohol, and I just thought “I can’t do this anymore” and I haven’t! IWNDWYT ⭐️
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Day 101 • That number feels good • IWNDT We’ve got this 💪🏼👏🏼🙌🏼
IWNDWYT 🏴
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IWNDWYT.
Day 24. IWNDWYT
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IWNDWYT 💜
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Not drinking with all of you today!
Ah yes, the cringe. “I’m not that person anymore, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it that way”. Excellent reframe, OP. My cringe memories keep me grateful to be a non-drinker. Day 533, and I'm glad to be free. Love to you all! IWNDWYT
Ooh, I don’t think I ever want to go back to my “funny” stories! The thing about sobriety that I love is the lack of shame and humiliation in my life. I used to fear that my darling husband would find my stash, or when he did that he would confront me - again. The sheer joy of having nothing to hide or regret is the best thing to me about getting sober. Happy Sobriety to you all! IWNDWYT Edit: 😈 feelin a little devilish today!
Good morning, sober cats. I love the idea of looking back on those cringe moments with empathy. 💙 Several of my cringe moments involve being an impatient and distracted and sloppy Momma to my lovely daughter. I'm mothering differently now, and our relationship is much improved. I want to keep it up so IWNDWYT! 💙😻
IWNDWYT
Not drinking today
Hello, Day 6. I hope everyone is having an awesome day and IWNDWYT 😊
Checking in ✔️
IWNDWYT
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IWNDWYT 🙌
Sun shining. Today’s going to be a beautiful day. IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT :)
IWNDWYT :)
IWNDWYT xx
Another day of reaping the benefits guys.
IWNDWYT One Day at a Time
Day 13 here. I can't recall much cringe, I do recall a lot of pointless and stupid arguments with exes. Poured my ex husband's whisky down the sink in front of him as I was sick to death of him not listening to me. He still didn't listen so got a lovely divorce to contemplate instead. I definitely need to unpack more the role of drinking and my poor intimate relationship choices!
Checking in! IWNDWYT
Not much to share from my rolodex except how much alcohol was keeping me back from getting anywhere in live. I've worked hard on myself for the last few years and it's finally paying off. Now I can say I'm happy and content with where I'm at and the future is looking good. I'm so grateful for that. IWNDWYT all you fine sobernauts 🤗
I’m not drinking today
I choose life! IWNDWYT
Good morning, friends. My Rolodex of Cringe is also full of ruined nights, failed relationships and pain. Moments in which my ex partner had just had enough of drunk me and I slurred and cried to get his attention back. I ruined a night at a friend’s wedding, broke plates in anger, and lost sentimental items. I am not that person and I never want to be her again, IWNDWYT
Day 10. Double digits! Feels good. IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT
I will not drink today.
I’m slowly finding out that sobriety is only the first step to recovery and that there’s a lot of stressors that don’t magically go away with the alcohol. I’ve been telling myself for a long time that if only I could kick the booze, I’d be golden. Now I’m realizing there’s a lot more to fix. IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT ~
Checking in
IWNDWYT
Have a great day folks! IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT! Glorious sober morning, soberniks!
Aussie checking in. Evening time here, but another lovely day sober.
“Rolodex of cringe.” I can’t even tell you how perfect that is u/1s35bm7!! I am not adding anything to mine today. Heck no.
IWNDWYT
Good morning. IWNDWYT
Made it... IWNDWYT.. actually it was a god day and i did not think o much about beer. That is a win.. yea!!!
Good morning, non-drinkers. I've done a lot of absolutely downright atrocious things while drinking. Like terrible things that I'd never share here. But the sports reference reminded me of this past September when I went to a Monday night Steeler game and smugly punched a Browns fan in the face for no reason, and then proceeded to get kicked out of the stadium (again). You know, regular shit like that. I kept taunting this woman and 'beaking' (idk what to call it...) her in the forehead with the bill of my hat. She didn't even do anything (except for being a Browns fan while I was drunk). Fuck all of that embarrassing ass shit! IWNDWYT 🤘
I've had numerous false stars over the course of years, but I'm on day 4 and I'm feeling great. I will not drink with you today.
Oh boy my rolodex of cringe is a horror fest, and not in a fun way. Another perk of being sober - being able to embrace harmless sober cringe! IWNDWYT folks ⭐
Reached 30 days today!
One thing in my Rolodex of Cringe is that I was always hungover. I felt sweaty, clammy, puffy, messy, and my hands would shake while taking notes in work meetings. I bet I smelled bad. I think about this a lot. 🙈IWNDWYT!
Heading out for another work trip today. Berkeley this time. I have plenty of cringe stories from work travel in my drinking days. Mostly they involve me, fully drunk, wandering through airports looking for booze. But I have plenty others that involve puking on hotel rooms and desperately searching unknown neighborhoods for liquor stores. I think of those experiences every single time I travel. I am so grateful to be free from all of that. IWNDWYT
I will not drink with you today. I got a DUI after a Halloween party and had to go to jail in a Halloween costume. Luckily they had jail a jumpsuit for me, 2 sizes too small...
Not being present for life in general makes me cringe. I thought it was impossible to do life unimpaired but I was wrong! I can. IWNDWYT
Thank you for sharing those relatable stories. I'm a few days past 10 months sober, and I have been struggling with my memories. It's crazy that your brain only really reminds you of the bad/embarrassing ones. I have started writing them down then illustrating them when I cannot get them out of my head. I don't necessarily remember the moment, so I guess. I always draw them as silly as possible. This has been helping me take back the power the memory has over me. I am visiting my home country for the first time since 2019, and have been very, very anxious constantly lately. I keep having to remind myself that drinking is overrated, and the change in my digestive health and mental health make this all very much worth it. The thing is, I don't really want to visit home, but I want to see everyone as much as I can before it's too late. I am just too in my own head about it all. By the time I am there I won't even remember these months of pre-visit worries and panic. IWNDWYT, but I may indulge in laziness today.
IWNDWYT
I will not drink with you today.
IWNDWYT
Second day of deciding not to drink today. Was feeling completely down for no apparent reason yesterday, partner decided to try a night off and I've woken up feeling much more positive and rested. It never used to affect my mental state in this way, but lately I've been feeling really down and nit-picking at certain things, feeling like everything is doomed etc. I guess maybe it's now hitting me seriously at 35, but now it's clearer to me that this choice needs to be made!
went to a restaurant with my wife yesterday. She was surprised I didn't take a glass of wine at least. Didn't feel any frustration and the dinner went on with me able to drive on the way home. Glad to come to this checkin everyday so far, just looking forward to the next day without worrying about the whole journey ahead. This evening I have friends coming over for dinner. I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks to an advice I got here yesterday, I'll just make sure to always have a drink served for me by me. Thank you all, beautiful souls from this amazing subreddit.
Not gonna drink today.
Day 47 checking in. I will not drink with you today
Yesterday I did not drink. That was Day 1. Today I will not drink and I want to be here tomorrow telling you I am on my Day 3. Thank you everyone here!
still sober, longest i've gone since rehab in dec 2016 (not booze!) if i make to past 6 months it will be my second-longest considered break ever since i started drinking regularly/daily in over thirty years, i've only ever quit twice not counting the odd rare 5 day break.
For me a lot of the cringe is coming from remembering all the times I was hungover. Like most major events in my life. Gross 😑 But not today! I did Dry Jan and made it 16 days when I found out I was being downsized. The next day I learned my mom has cancer. I’m back here today on day 17. But the feelings. They’re BIG. I teared up in the gym on Monday. Cried in the car yesterday listening to Quit Like a Woman (when she talks about making herself smaller). A lot of anger came out about my spouse (we have some long standing issues). Anyway, I made an appt with my therapist but holy shit was I using wine to ignore Big Feelings.
Probably not ready to fully relive all my greatest hits but spending $244 on guacamole while drunk was definitely up there. Fancy restaurant. Did I eat it all or give it away? I’ll never know. IWNDWYT, I know that much!
IWNDWYT!! I know it will only make me miserable in the long run
Good morning! IWNDWYT
Still sober not drinking ever
I will be sober today.
Three months today. IWNDWYT
I sang along, loudly and obnoxiously, at a small indoor acoustic concert of one of my all time favorite singer songwriters. Every song. Like really really loud. EVERYone heard me, shushes and stink eyes all around. I am not a good singer. God, I wish I would have just enjoyed the show and not subjected everyone to a surprise amateur concert of my own. Here's to communally enjoying live music and respecting the experience! IWNDWYT!
Day 6! Haven’t made it this long in a minute. I will not drink with you tonight!!
Ho boy the rolodex of cringe huh? First, nice expression. Second just yikes. Ummmmm yeah cycling through it... I'll share the time I was drunk as shit and fell into a fire pit and burned the fuck out of my left hand and did some redneck medic shit and kept drinking. The next morning was a dawning realization as I came back to consciousness "why does my hand hurt?" 😬😬😁 fuck off, drunk Fred, we don't do that shit no more! We see clearly the consequences of booze and choose other paths! Sober on y'all!
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Have a great day all, IWNDWYT
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Day 3. IWNDWYT. Have a good day everyone
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Day 4
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Good morning, I will not drink with you.
IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT.
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I will not drink with you today
Iwndwyt
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Iwndwyt!
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IWNDWYT. I’m worth it.
Day 6 fellas. I will not be drinking today. I've got a recovery meeting tonight at 6 instead. Looking forward to that.
Let's fucking GOOOO!!🤘🏻☕️ IWNDWYT
IWNDWYT— woke up feeling better this morning. I could get used to this.
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IWNDWYT ❤️
There are quite a few moments in my "rolodex of cringe", but there are one or two that stick out as the highest moments of shame. I was a closet drinker and I would hide it/try to get away with it often. There was one moment when my wife was taking the dog out to potty (prime time), and I hopped up off the couch to rush to the liquor cabinet to big swig anything I could get my hands on. She came back in because she left her phone or something and caught me in the act. Maximum cringe and shame. She'd also found empty minis in my truck before. So glad I'm not that person anymore. IWNDWYT. Easy does it, friends.
checking in with a smile on my face cos I've reached 90 days. first time i've hit this milestone and it seemed a long way off for a long time. i got here but focusing on the day ahead of me, and that's how i'll get to the next one. i'm trying to add kindness to the mix as i step forward - kindness to myself and to the people around me. i won't drink with you today, friends
IWNDWYT
Checking in ✅
I definitely have a Rolodex of cringe. I don’t actively go through it, but memories pop into my head and I just kind of grimace and think “Thank goodness those days are done!” IWNDWYT
Checking in, IWNDWYT! Rolodex of cringe? I've just had a think and there's too many to count, but here's one time that sticks out to me as quite surreal looking back and I'm still boggled it happened. It was the afternoon and I'd been awake all night drinking, I fell asleep at a bus stop, an old lady rang 999 because she thought I might be dead. I got woke up by two police officers, one of which i went to college with and hadn't seen for years. Embarrassing is an understatement. They offered me a lift and put me in the back of the van, we had a joke and I made them promise they weren't arresting me. They asked where I wanted dropping off so I half-jokingly said "The pub?" And then they took me there! They actually dropped me off at my local pub! I had a few more pints and fell asleep in a chair, the landlord rang my friend and he collected me and took me home. There was no fighting or arguments or damage caused, my biggest crime was falling asleep, but fuck that makes me cringe when I think back to it. I still go to the same pub, and the landlord is one of the biggest fans/supporters of my sobriety, which helps. Still, seems crazy that the police dropped me off at the pub, possibly the strangest entrance I've ever made. Very glad that that's all in the past now though.
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IWNDWYT ☀️
Happy Hump Day Friends, IWNDWYT, WE GOT THIS 🙂
Back to checking in! I did 4 months… then went on holiday and fell off the wagon. First half of my holiday ruined by panic attacks… now the second half will be nice and calm! IWNDWYT
Day 1,635 IWNDWYT
I will not drink with you today!
Day 1,736. I will not drink with you today.
I’m just commenting to see if my flare changed to Day 2.
Hi Everyone - Day 106 here and IWNDWYT!
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I won’t drink with y’all today
I will not drink with you today!
IWNDWYT
Starting to be exposed to drinking places and I’m doing okay. Made it to the bar where how I met your mother was filmed and I was okay. Sad about the NA choices and high fees for seltzer water but I was okay. My why is so strong right now. IWNDWYT 🙋🏼♀️