I'm 17 years without alcohol, 16 without "le drugs", and 15 without smoking. I still have issues in my life and challenges to solve but wow, all of those would be harder and more numerous if I still behaved like I used to. I had a fairly short period of massive excess and had a few lucky moments of clarity which resulted in me quitting it all one after another. My partner and I have been together since just after I quit drinking and I am really glad they never had to see me being my worst self.

My biggest takeaway is it really does get easier with time. The hardest times were within a short time of quitting. The longer I sustained the more ingrained the change became and now I would be stubborn and resist any sort of backslide.

Pretty good

The week was pretty eventful given it was the 4thof July. But since I got sober 5 years ago I was able to get my PTSD mostly under control.

So this 4th of July (much like the last 4) I didn't spend it drunk and an emotional wreck on the verge of a panic attack.

Getting sober was hard, but absolutely worth it.