In my early 30s, I became a health nut. Then I started drinking and everything fell apart.

If you're sobercurious and interested in quitting alcohol for a specific time period or forever, you may be wondering how to get started. The obvious answer is "quit drinking", but the real answer is more complicated than that.

If you’re among the sober-curious, you might be wondering what it feels like to detox from alcohol. Regardless of what you’ve heard, here are some real answers from real people who are in recovery and have conquered that first week of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Now you have a voice in your head that says you shouldn’t stop. Many times that voice doesn’t show up until you’re ready to stop. Why would it bother you if you’re merrily drinking along? That’s your alcohol voice. It doesn’t want you to stop drinking, so it starts talking to you.

Sometimes “normal” gets you everywhere. Day 100! I made it, and I’m really proud of myself. I’ve only been here once before in my attempt to sober up.

Instead of having a superhero group of friends and hunky husband swoop in to support you in your sober recovery, you’re going to get a few other responses when you tell people you’re not drinking or getting ready to quit.

I heard, “Bad circulation be healed in Jesus’ name.” I looked down at my toes because that specific phrase stood out to me. And then I felt the slightest, subtlest warmth in my shins. It started to move toward my toes…

I’ll use these sober tools as needed. Because I’m not drinking today.

After I had kids and started feeling like my life was going faster than I wanted it to without seeing many of the results I had expected, I escaped in alcohol.

I ate an entire pint of ice cream. It made me so tired I feel like I could go to sleep for the night. Being sober doesn’t mean you’re suddenly going to make good choices about everything, but it’s one step in the right direction. You can take other steps when you’re ready.