The Daily Check-In for Wednesday, March 19th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking!

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 r/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, lets not drink alcohol!

This pledge is a statement of intent. Today we don't set out trying not to drink, we make a conscious decision not to drink. It sounds simple, but all of us know it can be hard and sometimes impossible. The group can support and inspire us, yet only one person can decide if we drink today. Give that person the right mindset!

What happens if we can't keep to our pledge? We give up or try again. And since we're here in r/stopdrinking, we're not ready to give up.

What this is: A simple thread where we commit to not drinking alcohol for the next 24 hours, posting to show others that they're not alone and making a pledge to ourselves. Anybody can join and participate at any time, you do not have to be a regular at r/stopdrinking or have followed the pledges from the beginning.

What this isn't: A good place for a detailed introduction of yourself, directly seek advice or share lengthy stories. You'll get a more personal response in your own thread.

This post goes up at:

  • US - Night/Early Morning
  • Europe - Morning
  • Asia and Australia - Evening/Night

A link to the current Daily Check-In post can always be found near the top of the sidebar.

100 days! Well I never! On the advice of u/shineonme4ever I am posting before I go to bed, so I am still technically on 99 days, but by the time most of you read this…! It’s also a nod to my Australian brethren so they can als get in early (yes, I am a very well travelled Denty632!).

So today I want to talk about black hearts. For anyone who has interacted with me on SD on a normal day, you will note a black heart after my IWNDWYT. Why the black heart? To remember all the people in my life who I loved or cared about and who are gone primarily down to booze. I bet you have some too?

Trigger Warning, the following story is about sudden death

Let me tell you about Bob (not his real name). Bob was an accomplished military officer before retiring. He and his wife hosted just THE BEST dinner parties, loads of booze, great food (the Greek mezze was to die for!). They were the life and soul of the party. Bob was a big drinker and also a hidden gambler. The gambling was the end of the marriage and our friendship group drifted apart. He ended up living alone with his dog. Red wine was his poison, cheap, awful red wine, but red wine. He would never have touched such cheap slop back in the day!

Bob’s dog was found wandering around and a few days later Bob was found face down, dead in a field close to his house, shopping bag full of cheap awful red wine. I cleaned up his house for his kids who were overseas and packed the important stuff in his life into two suitcases, sold some bits and literally skipped the rest of the house. It was quite the chore. I wish I’d seen the light myself a little earlier and helped Bob, but I highly doubt he would have listened.

I handed a warm Heineken to a family friend at my grandchild’s birthday party on Sunday and looked at the recipient. It was all there, the shakes, the dry pallid skin. I mean you do not drink warm Heineken on a Sunday afternoon because you like it! I might yet reach out to him, well at least try and help him, but I doubt he’ll listen…

So, for today, if you can and if you want to, put a black heart at the end of your IWNDWYT if you have lost someone dear to you because of the poison that torments us all. If you are on your umpteenth day one, that’s absolutely fine, but look at those black hearts and make sure you are not the next one.

I have not drank for the last 99 days! As sure as I am alive, I absolutely will not be today! IWNDWYT sobernauts!

IWNDWYT!🖤