What happens when you go sober after alcoholism - in 12 photos

Keith Urbowicz is a former alcoholic, and now a viral image.

He posted two pictures side by side, showing just how different he looked after only seven months sober. He called it 'My Sobriety'.

"I was floored at the comparison so I posted them on Reddit," Urbowicz told indy100.

It's mind-blowing looking back on how I looked. Like, that's what I was used to. I was always afraid to look in the mirror in the morning.

Posted on /r/stopdrinking and /r/pics subreddits, the picture was accompanied by his story.

Screenshot / Reddit / Keith Urbowicz (ghostbackwards)

The picture has received around 6000 comments in just four days.

"I have had about 100 direct messages of people reaching out for help," Urbowicz says. "I've also gotten texts and emails from people I haven't seen or heard from in years."

The picture has really made complete strangers open up to me and the online community to their problems. I feel fortunate. It's been a very positive experience.

Here are some of the comments:

Beardleyness: "My favorite thing about seeing someone get sober is how full of life their eyes look. Congratulations man, stay with it."

JeffVanWonderin: "POWERFUL words that hit home with me. Congrats on your time sober and thank you for uplifting me along my road which currently stands at 55 days. I needed this tonight more than you know. Please keep posting. I look forward to reading more of your insights."

Frangipani_c: "Congratulations on your achievement. I'm so proud of everyone on here."

Mercylovegrace: "Anytime you feel the urge to drink, whip out these pictures [...] I don't go to AA, but I think this is better than any chip."

Below are five similar picture composites demonstrating visible changes after sobriety.

At first it would appear that most of the physical transformation is due to weightloss, rather than giving up drinking.

However, alcoholism is often associated with poor health, bloatedness, junk food, a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise or caring for oneself.

So it's logical that giving up drinking would go hand in hand with improvements to health, ability to exercise and a more balanced diet.

It's also logical to assume that recovering from alcoholism might entail a heightened self respect and confidence, reflected in their appearance.

Eight and a half months

Picture: Reddit / brittsuzanne

One year

One and a half years

Picture: Composite: Reddit / dr_dan_is_sober

Four years

Picture: Shane Watson

Five years

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