12 years sober today

https://www.reddit.com/r/stopdrinking/comments/1j7j2l9/12_years_sober_today/

created by jomu1074 on 09/03/2025 at 22:07 UTC

625 upvotes, 46 top-level comments (showing 25)

Today I have 12 years sober. I type this from a hotel room in Kyoto Japan. Since getting sober, I’ve fixed my credit, bought a car, bought a house, met a wonderful person and got married, traveled to Europe and now to Japan, and joined a charity organization that I used to dream about being a part of. When I was drinking I would sit on a bar stool and talk about those things but never do them. Today I can do them all. My life is incredible. It was difficult, there were and are challenges. But I know how to face them without alcohol now.

Comments

Comment by Prevenient_grace at 09/03/2025 at 22:32 UTC

45 upvotes, 3 direct replies

Congratulations on Your Sober Solar Circumnavigations!

We have same date!

Comment by lickitandsticki at 09/03/2025 at 22:29 UTC

35 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Congratulations. You should be very proud.

Comment by RodneyHooper at 09/03/2025 at 22:37 UTC

12 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Awesome ! That’s so inspiring !! Enjoy Japan !!!

Comment by Quiet-Section203 at 09/03/2025 at 22:40 UTC

10 upvotes, 0 direct replies

どうもありがと Mr. Roboto!!

Comment by baronmunchausen2000 at 09/03/2025 at 23:06 UTC

10 upvotes, 0 direct replies

The urge is very strong today, and this is exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you.

Comment by Interesting-Wafer920 at 09/03/2025 at 22:43 UTC

8 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Incredible job congratulations! Truly an inspirational story. I’ll be one year sober next month and I am still not feeling 100% yet so reading this gave me a tremendous amount of hope. Thanks for sharing.

May I ask how old you were when you quit drinking ?

Comment by TriptowK at 09/03/2025 at 22:30 UTC

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

That is amazing! Congratulations!

Comment by ScubaSteve-O1991 at 09/03/2025 at 22:37 UTC

7 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Congrats!!!! I just got past my first year sober recently and this post is very inspiring!

Comment by Low_Peanut2644 at 09/03/2025 at 22:37 UTC

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Fantastic post, gives hope to the rest of us. Alcohol really does just suck the life out of you. Thank you, enjoy Japan, never bin but here it is amazing. IWNDWYT

Comment by Okeydokeydept at 09/03/2025 at 23:02 UTC

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Hell yes!!! Thank you for the inspiration!

Fixing my credit was a huge weight off my back. I look forward to achieving some of these milestones for myself. Great work!

Comment by DragonSurfers at 09/03/2025 at 22:56 UTC

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Bang! What an inspirational post. Congratulations on all your success and willpower!

Comment by Doozwa at 09/03/2025 at 22:40 UTC

9 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Congratulations! Day 2 for me. I hope I get to that 12 yr mark!

Comment by micowywa at 09/03/2025 at 22:58 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Very cool. Congratulations

Comment by Spare_Answer_601 at 09/03/2025 at 23:05 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

My Inner Hero! congratulations 🎉 IWNDWYT

Comment by Comfortable_Hunt7040 at 09/03/2025 at 23:10 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Congratulations!

Comment by cumbierbass at 09/03/2025 at 23:12 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

How wonderful, congratulations!

Comment by vanetti at 09/03/2025 at 23:24 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

What a beautiful story! IWNDWYT!

Comment by Outrageous-Intern278 at 09/03/2025 at 23:31 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I wanna be you.

Comment by stanley_jentz at 09/03/2025 at 23:34 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Thanks so much for sharing! This really resonates. Part of the reason I finally quit drinking was recognizing all the opportunities with my daughter and wife, as well as professionally, that I missed because I was too busy looking for my next glass of booze.

Sadly, I’ve recognized this before, but I’d always pour myself another drink to drown the sadness.

That’s what makes post like yours so inspirational as well as resonate. While we can’t make up for lost time, we can be our better selves going forward if we are honest about the hold drinking had on us.

Thank you for posting this today. I’m still early in my sobriety and have a lot to work on. I was tempted to drink this weekend, but you have inspired me to stay the course . . . .