I Was Drinking a Liter of Vodka and Hiding It | Sober Dave

Sober Dave couldn’t imagine going three days without alcohol. Today, he’s approaching seven years sober.

Dave’s relationship with alcohol started at 14 and followed him for decades. What began with heavy drinking eventually became weekends lost to alcohol, hidden bottles, a liter of vodka, passing out, and a life that was becoming increasingly difficult to control.

By his 50s, Dave’s health, relationships and happiness were suffering. Then a friend asked him a surprisingly simple question: would he stop drinking for three months with him?

Dave laughed. Three months sounded impossible when he wasn’t sure he could make it three days.

But something about that invitation changed the way he looked at quitting. Instead of thinking about forever, he made not drinking a daily non-negotiable. Six weeks later, he realized he didn’t want to go back.

In this conversation, Dave and Melissa talk about what finally helped him stop drinking, why changing your mindset around alcohol can be so powerful, and what happens when sobriety doesn’t magically make the difficult parts of life disappear.

Dave also opens up about divorce, heartbreak and learning to sit with painful emotions without escaping through alcohol. Now, nearly seven years into sobriety, he shares why he no longer thinks, “I can’t drink.” He simply doesn’t want to.

For anyone struggling to imagine life without alcohol, Dave’s story is a reminder that you don’t have to figure out forever today. Sometimes you just have to start.

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