We may be anonymous strangers on the internet, but we have one thing in common. We may be a world apart, but we’re here together!

Welcome to the 24 hour pledge! I’m pledging myself to not drinking today, and invite you to do the same.

Maybe you’re new to c/stopdrinking and have a hard time deciding what to do next. Maybe you’re like me and feel you need a daily commitment or maybe you’ve been sober for a long time and want to inspire others.

It doesn’t matter if you’re still hung over from a three day bender or been sober for years, if you just woke up or have already completed a sober day. For the next 24 hours, let’s not drink alcohol!

  • Night Monkey
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    6 months ago

    Does anybody have any insight here? I was drinking every night for months. I decided to just stop last night. I’ve been up for over 24 hours now. I cannot for the life of me sleep. Should I ease out of this and not quit cold turkey? I think I’m dependent on alcohol to even get to sleep. I gotta work my 8 hour shift tonight. I hope I make it. Did any of you go thru something similar? Thanks.

    • ZerlynaOPM
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      16 months ago

      I drank to go to sleep too. The first few days are usually the worst for everyone. Sleep will come! I had the worst cold sweats detoxing. I highly suggest you read This Naked Mind. It explains what alcohol does to your various systems. Eye opening. But again this is the worst. Have you tried a sleep aid (Benadryl, unisom) in the short term?

      • Night Monkey
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        6 months ago

        Thank you

        Here’s what happened with me.

        I got off work and usually the first thing I do is pour vodka mixed drinks until I get nice and sloshed and go to bed. Been doing that religiously for a long time. Probably years. Last night I decided I wasn’t going to drink that night. Just to show myself that I didn’t need that stuff. At first it seemed fine. 3am came, tired, but not ready for sleep so I laid down. Felt like I needed to sleep but I couldn’t…very restless. Every time I did start to fall asleep, I’d wake up and start twitching and breathing heavily. Gave up on that idea and decided to stay up. 8am, still restless, 10am, fail. I started getting ready for work around noon. Took a shower and laid down hoping for a nap, and nothing…same thing. I felt like I was going to lose control of my body. Hard to explain. Like I was being inside of an uncontrollable machine. The anxiety got real bad. My body felt a dull pain constantly. My mind was scrambled. Thank God I found somebody to cover my shift tonight. I absolutely had to have a drink or I would have lost it. My current plan until I can maybe see a doctor or something is to slowly ween myself off this shit. I want to be sober so badly. I know I can do it. I’m just looking for some answers. I didn’t realize how dependent I was on this stuff. I’m probably not as bad as some people but this is the first time I’ve felt like this. I’m.lost and not really sure where to go from here. Is it possible to get on some relaxer medicine or something to get me thru the initial withdrawal symptoms? This is absolutely horrible. Thank you.

        • ZerlynaOPM
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          6 months ago

          There is medicine to help you detox, yes. It takes a few days of hell (2-3) and 9 days to completely eliminate it from your system. Yes. NINE. Absolutely talk to a doctor. Seriously, read the book. Alcohol is a mind fuck.