Considerations of Sobriety

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Welcome to today's live where we will be discussing 'Considerations of Sobriety'. MedCircle Host, Kyle Kittleson, shares his own personal experience on why he consumes alcohol, explores the idea of being sober curious while discussing the benefits that come from making the decision to stay sober. Join us in this safe space as we share experiences and other perspectives around the path to sobriety.
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#sobrietyisworthit #sobrietyjourney #sobrietylife

[@GrahmWaters]

I had this same conversation with myself as I turned 37 three months ago. 12 days in, longest sober stretch in years, and just the sleep improvement alone has been really helped me stick to my guns. I'm having a wildly stressful day at work today, and I opened youtube and this was right at the top, so I'll take it as a sign lol

[@echo123.0]

🎉

[@jamesmurphy713]

24 years sober it really is a better life worth living . Today I have a relationship with my own self it is amazing not running from Yourself. You are worth it!!

[@denisepineault825]

41 years totally sober!! It was taking over my life so I had to choose sobriety.

[@beautyandgrit4640]

Of all the pets that I’ve seen interrupt people’s KZbin videos, your giant blue bird has got to be my favorite! 🤩 😹 … to see you be so focused and serious, and then a random wing feather just touch your face from off-screen is comedy gold! Lololol

[@MsPrettyPrettyPlease]

My husband chose to get sober. In the beginning I chose not to drink to be in solidarity with him. After a while (years) of him really being solid in his sobriety I would have a drink here or there. But it didn’t last long. I missed all the things being sober had given me. Sleep, emotional regulation, clarity and my body just felt better all together. It would all be gone for about a week after one cocktail on a random evening. I didn’t initially choose to be “sober” but I definitely do now.

[@blydnhvghn]

540 days sober here 🎉

[@daniellesignorelli3348]

Cutting back or trying to manage the amount of consumption never works and will drive you crazy for life, unless you are an extremely rare type of person

[@buonavitae987]

8 years sober and stopped smoking. Sometimes I miss it, but I love I have learn how to socialize without it (Even though I'm still shy).

[@sherrieh2062]

Another thought…I had a cousin that was diagnosed with chrones when she was about 19 years old. As time went on, it got progressively worse as she paid no attention to diet or what she drank. Granted, this was in the mid ‘70s and medicine for Chrones was still in its infancy at that point in time. But as the years progressed, she became increasingly sicker. She had something like 3 surgeries over the years …each time to take out some more of her colon that died and became gangrenous. When she was in her late 30’s, they took out all of her large intestine and she had to have a colostomy and wear a bag attached to her abdomen. It literally ruined her life. It was messy, sometimes leaked, it smelled awful and she literally went into isolation. So afraid it would leak, burst, etc. at the age of 49 or 50, her kidneys started to shut down and had to go on dialysis. She lived until 57 this way until she was too sick and weak to want to live. She had medical assistance to let her choose her day of dying. Her kids and grandkids suffered terrible trauma at her death but they were all by her side to say goodbye. It takes discipline but she could’ve helped herself alone with better nutrition and watching what she drank &ate. I know a woman who cured herself with ulcerative colitis by diet alone. She’s very well known and wrote a book about it… and many cookbooks . It’s Janet McKee. Google her name for her books and coaching tips. Best of luck…the future sneaks up on you! ❣️

[@TraceB]

Love macaws, they are gorgeous! We had a blue & gold one growing up. I go months without drinking & only do it a few times a year (my birthday, getting a new apartment, vacation). In my 20s & 30s it was every week. I definitely feel & sleep better when I’m not drinking. Respect to everyone who has gone years without it!

[@blydnhvghn]

What a gorgeous bird!

[@elenaw7998]

I don’t drink and I’m totally sober!!!😊

[@jodilynn8559]

Oh my the bird is lovely! I stopped drinking when I turned 30. I’ll be 58 this year. Don’t miss it AT ALL! xo

[@jodilynn8559]

Well actually a really nice glass of Zinfandel still sounds nice:)

[@theadvocate3006]

I consider myself "dry." Drank a wine cooler after I finished breastfeeding for a year "just because." 17 years later and still waiting on another "special just because" moment 😁

[@chrismiller9945]

I'm 25, and I've had this talk with myself maybe 5 times already, with both weed and alcohol. I bounce back and forth. I know it's not what I want for myself. But when I think about what I do want.. I don't know the answer. Most of my answers are trauma responses. I feel like who I was as a kid was lost so long ago, and the person I am today is just built to survive. I've already had my quarter life crisis. I really am not sure where to go from here.

[@misslayer999]

I never drank much, never really liked it and I hated it after it killed my partner six and a half years ago. Instead of alcohol, I knowingly and willingly dove into a daily IV meth addiction. It's what kept me alive when I didn't want to be. I was highly functioning, working 70 hour weeks to try to escape from the pain. Like most addictions, it worked for a while...until it didn't. I've been clean for 11 months now and that's the way I'm going to stay. I have an amazing future ahead of me because I'm doing the work to create it. The pain never went away, and it never will, I just got strong enough to carry it. I'm back in school majoring in neuroscience, and frankly I'm the strongest mother fucker I know😁💪🧠

[@Diva369]

Been Sober for over three years starting at the age of 55. I was so offended by my drunk family who would act like slobs and respond to me with vicious verbal abuse and threats. Even my son would get shit-f@ced too and get very confrontational with me and frighteningly unpredictable. So I had to separate from them in order to protect my sanity, keep my heart from breaking. and find a safe space. Haven't talked or interacted with them for three years. Hard to do, but very liberating and finally felt like I grew up and became my own adult.

[@jstombergs7431]

Im been sober for 22 years

[@LaurieOstroff]

Do it. Over time, it heightens self awareness in ways you'll never experience otherwise. The mental clarity is well worth it.

[@adamadict]

For me its cannabis. I've been getting high since aged 11 and I'm 47 now. Never gone more than a month clean. I have a successful career, beautiful family and home. All is good. I'm a functioning addict....BUT, I am getting 'sober curious' as you say. Who am I really? I want that questioned answered and I feel I need to quit the weed to find out. I'm petrified though. I'm not sure I can actually do it. I'm concerned that I am an arsehole underneath.

[@davidl6757]

28 years for myself. He’ll of a change for the better. Life goes on but you learn acceptance. Things don’t always go your way:)

[@davidl6757]

One more thing, you can resume your previous interests, but they to will change…

[@sherrieh2062]

Frequent drinking is super hard on the liver…it most definitely can cause hepatic cirrhosis. Once the liver get ill, the kidneys are affected. It’s not pretty. My son in law died at 45 from cirrhosis. Very sad.😞

[@Diva369]

Consuming Alcohol regularly also enlarges the heart, which weakens it's effectiveness making it work harder until it just can't keep up anymore. having even just a few drinks a day is carcinogenic. And can cause cancer of the throat, esophaus, stomach, intestines and colon. And there's a direct link involving mouth tissue cancer which includes tongue cancer. Let alone it kills your brain cells, and with more elderly people being diagnosed with dementia, you might not want to carelessly sacrifice the good healthy cells that might've been beneficial in retaining your brain's integrity if or when your brain starts to break down. You'll have more money in your pocket, be insulated from the extra time, financial strain and self-loathing that follows a DUI arrest, less hangovers, less body fat, better quality sleep, and no concerns or worries concerning how alcohol will mix and interact with your prescription meds. At first I would hold a wine glass filled with grape or cherry juice while I was cooking dinner in the kitchen. After a while that familiar association faded off. FYI Alcohol Consumption Disorder is #1 health problem in America. It not only affects the person dependent on alcohol, but their families, their work, their mental and physical well-being, their shame, and eats away their spirituality.

[@Ninjagirl909]

I fell on your video, don’t really know how, but you are so true…and I feel that so many people think the same way. Do we need to be near death😂 to change, does everything need to be so dramatic to make us change?! Thank you for this open and raw live that has brought into a lot of questions about our ways of living life in this world 🌎 ❤❤❤❤

[@brittanymercier1269]

I work for a long-term memory care retirement community. If you were to truly see what it's like later in life to have alcoholic dementia, it would break your heart.

[@leahbrock7992]

I don’t drink but I take part in CBD remedies and micro-dosing so not sober.

[@maypanarts]

4 years sober on the 19th of July! Best choice I've ever made ❤

[@MercedPDF]

Haven't touched alcohol since February 2023. Drank enough since the age of 13 to 35. The downsides overcame the "good parts" as I got older. Recovery after a long night of drinking was a terrible experience. Btw, I used to work on cruise ships. In 6 months, the average duration of the contracts, I had like a handful of days that I didn't drink...

[@journaling.aw.vlog.37]

6:20 amazing also myself 38! 😮 March Baby, been clean since 2012 & no smoking haven't really had a pack of cigarettes since 9 years! Hmm though I am not perfect so there has been a slip, since 2012 but sober amazing.

[@NatureConnection-zn4jw]

I'm here for the bird ❤

[@pisztufilm]

That is a gorgeous parrot! I didn't really listen, I'm here for the parrot 😁 also I don't drink all that much, I'd love to detach from reality but my anxiety doesn't allow😅

[@echo123.0]

One year sober today❤

[@amykyns15]

Woohoo!!!🎉🙌🏼❤️

[@ShannonThor.]

10 years sober!!!

[@annaoeste2470]

The Spire Slide was adorable. 😂

[@sherrieh2062]

I think this was a topic for you today because you’ve made this (by choice) a habit. Has it turned into an addiction? If you did it for dry January and your body rejected it in February, I think it was more a habit than addiction. The big problem was that you decided not to trust what your body was telling you (that it didn’t really want to have it.) if it was an addiction, your body would’ve needed it and you would have HAD to have it whether your month was up or not.

[@soozannah4555]

I've been sober since 2001 - 23 years.

[@mollyt6835]

I stopped drinking mostly because of what alcohol did to people around me. I just can’t partake in being a drinking buddy to people who are ruining their lives because of it. And besides, I feel hungover enough of the time without it!

[@mistypfitzer111]

Also, my family would make anyone want to drink 😂💯👌 lol

[@catherinepraus8635]

Are we related 😂

[@christinabelleh.9802]

Decided to go sober for my partner. And then quit smoking too, because why did I need a crutch!

[@TWILLIE639]

On a cruise ship we start drinking when we wake up lol.

[@soozannah4555]

What if you were sober for one day? What if you were sober for the next day and so on. It's a construction thing, building on one day at a time.

[@soozannah4555]

About visiting your family where everyone drinks, your family would not notice nor would they care. As long as you don't mention it, I doubt if anyone would notice.

[@mrstlc68]

I take Wellbutrin and alcohol and the medication doesn't mix well. It intensifies the alcohol immensely, and I just was tired of feeling like crap the next day. So, I just quit drinking. It sometimes sucks being the sober one around a bunch of people that are drunk, but then I realized how stupid they behave while being drunk. Then I asked myself, was I being that annoying when I was drunk? which , in turn. makes me glad that I am abstaining.

[@goodxvibrations]

I’m a soda on the plane girl 😅 but generally prefer to drink water otherwise.

[@mistypfitzer111]

Omg lol a freaking macaw?! 🤣 i know some sober ppl lol 😅 i definitely encourage & support anyone who wants to or decides 2 get sober 💯👌😆❤️😎 regardless of whether i am personally sober or not lol cuz ik how difficult it is, & i wouldnt wish a life of addiction on even my worst enemy.. i havent drank alcohol in like a couple months cuz it just has no appeal to me anymore 😬🤢 i actually find it rather off-putting 2 me now. I definitely don't want to be around anyone who is drinking tho 😝

[@sherrieh2062]

That’s great! 😎

[@noellegrace2313]

I have a lot to say about AA, and most of it is bad. I just paused at 11:28 after the question of whether AA is for anyone, even sober curious people. I would warn against that. I would say not at all. There is often a really rigid, fanatical mentality there and people will tell you that you're lying to yourself, making excuses, or not ready to "get honest," and you're really an alcoholic. People might be nice at first, but there's a lot of pushy, manipulative, and unstable people who can easily assume a position of power over desperate and vulnerable individuals who are looking for help and don't know much about what is going on there. There is a lot of bullying and pressuring in AA, and a lot of repeating of the same litany. Any qualms or questions are shut down, even if they're legitimate. You are told that you can't trust yourself or think for yourself, and you have no ability to make decisions for yourself. You're told that you should get a sponsor immediately and do everything they say and tell them all your deep dark secrets, which is really dangerous when they're strangers. People have been assaulted and murdered by people in AA. Many convicted criminals are court ordered there, when they might not even need AA, and the public is unaware of this. When you go to AA, you're wrong, and they're right. It can be really counterproductive to be treated like an assumed stereotype who must not have anything valid to say. No matter what trauma or abuse you may have survived in your life, you will get told that you should "look at your part," implying that you're at fault. That is damaging victim blaming and oppressive. The author of the Big Book was a man, arguably a sexist man, who wrote it for other men. People in AA would just argue with me, but that is the truth. The steps are derived from the evangelical Christian Oxford group and the Bible. It basically is religious even though it claims otherwise. Making a moral inventory and asking to have your "defects" of character removed by God is what it sounds like- being shamed and oppressed the same way religion does it. For a straight, white, Christian male in the 1930's, the book as it is written might have applied given their power and privilege, but for many people it is outdated, antiquated, grossly sexist, and does not account for trauma, abuse, or sexual violence at all, whatsoever. That makes sense, though, as Bill W was a "womanizer" which feels like too nice of a term considering how much pain and frustration I went through, never being heard by people in AA. I don't think AA intended to be a cult, but I do feel that people treat it as such with their fanatical behavior. I tried for years to make AA work, I read the big book multiple times from cover to cover, and so many bad experiences stacked up just turned me off finally for good. Even though AA people think AA is the only treatment, it is not! There are plenty of other options! We've come a long way since 1935! The big book is practically irrelevant. I'm happy and free WITHOUT AA.

[@soozannah4555]

I tend to agree with you Noellegrace. There are I've found, a few good actions recommended by AA such as establishing boundaries and discovering your denial threshold. I believe though some folks need the rigorous application depending on the level of their addiction. It is also my belief that every person needs to find their own path, their own way and if sobriety is one of those, so be it. It's a deeply personal commitment however and goes beyond what may be found in most AA literature or recovery homes.

[@noellegrace2313]

@soozannah4555 Thanks! I agree that it goes beyond AA literature and that everyone has to find their own path.

[@cavonblack101]

Committing to things that you know you will be good at isn’t really a commitment……..is it

[@pisztufilm]

Oh by the way, is that why there's always wine at exhibition openings?? Can't think of situations more awkward than those 😅

[@brianvivas2851]

One love

[@soozannah4555]

You don't feel better. You simply don't drink for me it was because what the alcohol did to my decisions I made and what my choices were if I continued with my drinking career. I couldn't drive sober so I would wind up killing someone and would spend a good amount of my life in a correctional institution or... I would die. It became very clear. So I just don't drink. I haven't gone back to jail and I'm still alive. So, I think I made the right choice. But I don't feel better. Life is life. And I love your bird. You are very lucky to have a Hyacinth. I have an Eclectus. I hope you read this even though it's after your broadcast.

[@brianvivas2851]

02= Good life

[@catherinepraus8635]

5 years here long road you have to get to the root of the problem

[@fieviolet6889]

I'm not sober, sorry doctor.

[@sokunthyye9455]

Wow, you've got a Hyacinth macaw 🤩

[@LisaSmith-yb2uz]

Birds are one of the best companions to keep us maintained (and sober) 💞😌👌🦜

[@brianvivas2851]

Judy brackin

[@Diego20529]

Why is an endangered species being used as a prop??? What's the background? Is it a pet? Is it a rescued animal? I am disappointed at MedCircle.

[@ElahehDaisy]

I don't have any friend that drink 🙂 lucky? Probably

[@LightintheDark2056]

👍❤️

[@Cpt.PickHard]

Birb has stolen the show

[@brianvivas2851]

I’m out bro, thanks for the insults peace and a brand new liver

[@brianvivas2851]

Day 3099 0️⃣mota

[@jstombergs7431]

Shit Maj-Britt

[@brianvivas2851]

❤😂😢😮😅😊🎉

[@brianvivas2851]

Liver bad mon

[@brianvivas2851]

Mon

[@wasylhnatiw8576]

Wow. Sober? Occasional drinking a problem? As a “sober” alcoholic of twenty years within a program I can only say you are doing a lot of ignorant damage!

[@soozannah4555]

Pffffft

[@ranna.]

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