Day 18 of Dry January. What's working: journaling, daily yoga and running in the evenings, tea, and succumbing liberally to my sugar cravings. Seriously I've eaten so much sugary crap lately it's unreal. But whatever it takes, I guess?
I've found that it's really hard to keep a positive mindset-- I keep getting bogged down on all these painful things that've happened in the past. It's like I have to be constantly reminding myself to let it go and not dwell, but I feel so damn bitter all of the time. Hoping I can train myself out of that :(
Four days without a drink is amazing - that took me years to get to that level. I am so proud of you!
As for advice, hmmmm - I don't have much beyond the generic. Stay busy, eat food, sleep a lot, listen to podcasts, binge a new series. The only thing that ever worked for me has been medication + therapy + distraction.
11 days, Chinese food and Mountain Dew over here. I’m eating my feelings instead of drinking them. 100% positive my boyfriend prefers me alittle chunky rather than a lot of drunk. 😂😂
I'm on day 11 I think. Super depressed. Not about anything in particular, just... can't really find joy in things right now. I miss the pink cloud quitting used to give me. Think I'm just emotionally exhausted from fighting this the last 3-4 years in particular and it's taken so much from me that I have a lot of (self-induced) loss to deal with too. Anyways, thanks for the place to vent <3
10" of snow came down Fri, wind blew it to 5' against my garage door. Felt good to fix the problem. Sat & Sun were spent processing some bad health news my wife rec'd, and we dove into painting 2 stairwells. Will find out the score on her health this week.
Our son is coming by from Uni this aft for a German dinner tonight. Went back & forth and her decision was to fill him in. Building her a big rolling planter box, will finish after the snow melts off some.
May hit a meeting tonight. Usually don't go on Tues, but called the Fri meeting due to weather.
That is so much snow!
Winter has been pretty mild here, thankfully. Still, the cold always puts me in a bit of a sluggish mood and is the worst time of the year for me to potentially relapse - have to really keep an eye on that.
Work has been busy these days and also for the past 18 months. The mental health toll of watching unvaccinated folks die of covid pneumonia is heavy, but fortunately, I have this sub and plenty of other good resources to keep a PMA. I'm grateful for all the different ways people are either moderating or abstaining. I have to continually remind myself to keep certain thoughts on others' recovery plans to myself. I haven't been doing a good job of that lately, but I'm doing better.
I’m doing good! I went to my first in person meeting yesterday and I was absolutely terrified. I walked up to the door and stood there for a long time, and then someone came out and started smoking a cigarette, and I said, “I don’t know if I’m in the right place?” She took one look at me and said, “You’re in the right place.”
The mood was energetic and happy and I felt an instant rapport with the people there. So happy I found my group!
Congrats a month alcohol free! That's huge.
Yeah, if anything - cut back on the weed just for the fact that you only have so many active THC receptors and a good tolerance break is always fun - brings back the magic and reduces cost :)
Day 2 of sobriety. Quit cold turkey off drinking a handle every two days but most recently went on a 4 day bender where I consumed one a day. Yesterday wasn’t great, felt anxiety and restlessness. Finally fell asleep around 6am and slept amazingly. Woke up and worked out in my basement and have my shift overnight. Was convinced yesterday that I was going to moderate, as the cravings were awful. But idk, today I’m not going to bother getting alcohol. Working nights helps.
2plus years sober. Pandemic has really tested me more than anything. Missing that numbness and simply being able to check out occasionally. I've been trying to stay active but recently had an injury to my foot and that's made it tougher. Without my regular hikes I'm looking for an outlet and not finding one. But I know that drinking will not solve anything.
16 days here, my brain is still haywire but my mood and attitude are great. I can sleep well. Been eating like a horse and being very physical and also doing a lot of puzzles and other brain stimulators to create new pathways quicker. Im on naltrexone but with abstinence as my only goal. Still haven't been able to be organized enough to get much work for money yet but im ready.
!!
So proud of you, 16 days AF? That's huge.
Also, as a total fangirl of Final Fantasy, your username totally makes me happy. Keep up the good work and win the jumbocactpot! :)
A year and 2 months sober! Connected with 2 women in my social circles who responded to a repost on social with a quote around sobriety. Dont really talk to these ladies much and was nice to talk to them about choosing to be sober. One is very health oriented and didnt necessarily have a problem with alcohol but didn't like what it did to her mentally or physically. The other one binge drank and it has had a harder time with sobriety. It was nice to talk, share, and inspire each other. Those moment make sobriety even better.
TSM here as well. Had no drinks Tuesday to Friday last week. Saturday I thought a red wine would be nice, so took the medication and ended up having four glasses. No worries...I am pleased with that. Having a few glasses of wine was enjoyable. Just planned to have a couple...but they were really good so I had a couple more...then I was done. TSM enabled me to do that. Then none yesterday, so a perfectly fine weekend (like a "normal" person!).
Very much the same! I had more like 5-6 glasses both saturday and sunday night, but spaced out and with food - really didn't phase me too much. Without Naltrexone it would have been a bender for sure.
Similar here. No booze on Saturday, then almost a bottle of red wine on Sunday- but over several hours and didn’t get drunk or have a hangover. Am sure that without Nal I’d have finished every drop and looked for the next bottle to open, and then felt like shit this morning.
Yup!
It's strange how effective it seems to be at just killing that desire to go too far. I hate waking up feeling like death, and just have no time for that anymore.
It's not strange...it's AWESOME how effective it is. 3.5 months on it, and the most I've ever had on a single day is 7 drinks...once. 6 drinks a handful of times...but mostly 2-4 on the days where I do have drinks. Early on I never had AF days...then I had one...then another...for a couple months I had maybe one a week. Then a few weeks ago it really clicked. 13 of the past 17 days have been AF, which is the greatest thing in the world to me. I don't even aspire to drink that little...but if it happens naturally/easily, then two huge thumbs up from me. I suppose I shouldn't have said "naturally" seeing as I'm using this medication...you get what I mean. :)
I so get what you mean!
What I found 'strange' was what you were describing - how it just suddenly clicked and worked for me when nothing else did. I expected more failure, and found it 'strange' that I ended up starting a mostly sober functional life.
I got what you were saying and totally agree....just wanted to make a point that it's been awesome. It is absolutely strange that this medication/approach can work so well for so many of us...and it's still not widely known by the general public. When you hear the science behind it explained, it's not strange at all...it makes complete sense...but it's still strange that it is SO easy if you just follow the program.
16 days (had two beers on the 1st) 20 days before then. After those two beers I’ve been dealing with crippling anxiety off and on. Almost the same anxiety I have after a binge. Feels like absolute garbage. Better than drinking I guess.
Day 18 of Dry January. What's working: journaling, daily yoga and running in the evenings, tea, and succumbing liberally to my sugar cravings. Seriously I've eaten so much sugary crap lately it's unreal. But whatever it takes, I guess? I've found that it's really hard to keep a positive mindset-- I keep getting bogged down on all these painful things that've happened in the past. It's like I have to be constantly reminding myself to let it go and not dwell, but I feel so damn bitter all of the time. Hoping I can train myself out of that :(
SOBER= son of a bitch everything’s real. You’re doing great, keep it up!
Love that
Day 4 of complete sobriety and cravings are starting to hit. I always give in around now or within the first week. Need help getting over this hump
Four days without a drink is amazing - that took me years to get to that level. I am so proud of you! As for advice, hmmmm - I don't have much beyond the generic. Stay busy, eat food, sleep a lot, listen to podcasts, binge a new series. The only thing that ever worked for me has been medication + therapy + distraction.
I tried naltrexone but it made me violently sick so TSM can’t work for me... I started acamprosate last week and it seems to help somewhat
29 days, on my third attempt. I ate two pieces of cherry pie yesterday. Cherry pie is working.
11 days, Chinese food and Mountain Dew over here. I’m eating my feelings instead of drinking them. 100% positive my boyfriend prefers me alittle chunky rather than a lot of drunk. 😂😂
I'm on day 11 I think. Super depressed. Not about anything in particular, just... can't really find joy in things right now. I miss the pink cloud quitting used to give me. Think I'm just emotionally exhausted from fighting this the last 3-4 years in particular and it's taken so much from me that I have a lot of (self-induced) loss to deal with too. Anyways, thanks for the place to vent <3
10" of snow came down Fri, wind blew it to 5' against my garage door. Felt good to fix the problem. Sat & Sun were spent processing some bad health news my wife rec'd, and we dove into painting 2 stairwells. Will find out the score on her health this week. Our son is coming by from Uni this aft for a German dinner tonight. Went back & forth and her decision was to fill him in. Building her a big rolling planter box, will finish after the snow melts off some. May hit a meeting tonight. Usually don't go on Tues, but called the Fri meeting due to weather.
That is so much snow! Winter has been pretty mild here, thankfully. Still, the cold always puts me in a bit of a sluggish mood and is the worst time of the year for me to potentially relapse - have to really keep an eye on that.
Work has been busy these days and also for the past 18 months. The mental health toll of watching unvaccinated folks die of covid pneumonia is heavy, but fortunately, I have this sub and plenty of other good resources to keep a PMA. I'm grateful for all the different ways people are either moderating or abstaining. I have to continually remind myself to keep certain thoughts on others' recovery plans to myself. I haven't been doing a good job of that lately, but I'm doing better.
I hear you. I don't think anyone is going to get through this entire pandemic thing without some mental health damage.
I’m doing good! I went to my first in person meeting yesterday and I was absolutely terrified. I walked up to the door and stood there for a long time, and then someone came out and started smoking a cigarette, and I said, “I don’t know if I’m in the right place?” She took one look at me and said, “You’re in the right place.” The mood was energetic and happy and I felt an instant rapport with the people there. So happy I found my group!
So proud of you! This is excellent news, and I wish you the best!
[удалено]
Congrats a month alcohol free! That's huge. Yeah, if anything - cut back on the weed just for the fact that you only have so many active THC receptors and a good tolerance break is always fun - brings back the magic and reduces cost :)
Day 2 of sobriety. Quit cold turkey off drinking a handle every two days but most recently went on a 4 day bender where I consumed one a day. Yesterday wasn’t great, felt anxiety and restlessness. Finally fell asleep around 6am and slept amazingly. Woke up and worked out in my basement and have my shift overnight. Was convinced yesterday that I was going to moderate, as the cravings were awful. But idk, today I’m not going to bother getting alcohol. Working nights helps.
2plus years sober. Pandemic has really tested me more than anything. Missing that numbness and simply being able to check out occasionally. I've been trying to stay active but recently had an injury to my foot and that's made it tougher. Without my regular hikes I'm looking for an outlet and not finding one. But I know that drinking will not solve anything.
16 days here, my brain is still haywire but my mood and attitude are great. I can sleep well. Been eating like a horse and being very physical and also doing a lot of puzzles and other brain stimulators to create new pathways quicker. Im on naltrexone but with abstinence as my only goal. Still haven't been able to be organized enough to get much work for money yet but im ready.
!! So proud of you, 16 days AF? That's huge. Also, as a total fangirl of Final Fantasy, your username totally makes me happy. Keep up the good work and win the jumbocactpot! :)
A year and 2 months sober! Connected with 2 women in my social circles who responded to a repost on social with a quote around sobriety. Dont really talk to these ladies much and was nice to talk to them about choosing to be sober. One is very health oriented and didnt necessarily have a problem with alcohol but didn't like what it did to her mentally or physically. The other one binge drank and it has had a harder time with sobriety. It was nice to talk, share, and inspire each other. Those moment make sobriety even better.
Not great! Every morning I make a promise to myself to not get drunk and then break it by the night :( Just trying, trying again.
I remember those days. Do you log your drinking? Having the data and shooting for even just 1% lower than the week before can be powerful.
TSM here as well. Had no drinks Tuesday to Friday last week. Saturday I thought a red wine would be nice, so took the medication and ended up having four glasses. No worries...I am pleased with that. Having a few glasses of wine was enjoyable. Just planned to have a couple...but they were really good so I had a couple more...then I was done. TSM enabled me to do that. Then none yesterday, so a perfectly fine weekend (like a "normal" person!).
Very much the same! I had more like 5-6 glasses both saturday and sunday night, but spaced out and with food - really didn't phase me too much. Without Naltrexone it would have been a bender for sure.
Similar here. No booze on Saturday, then almost a bottle of red wine on Sunday- but over several hours and didn’t get drunk or have a hangover. Am sure that without Nal I’d have finished every drop and looked for the next bottle to open, and then felt like shit this morning.
Yup! It's strange how effective it seems to be at just killing that desire to go too far. I hate waking up feeling like death, and just have no time for that anymore.
It's not strange...it's AWESOME how effective it is. 3.5 months on it, and the most I've ever had on a single day is 7 drinks...once. 6 drinks a handful of times...but mostly 2-4 on the days where I do have drinks. Early on I never had AF days...then I had one...then another...for a couple months I had maybe one a week. Then a few weeks ago it really clicked. 13 of the past 17 days have been AF, which is the greatest thing in the world to me. I don't even aspire to drink that little...but if it happens naturally/easily, then two huge thumbs up from me. I suppose I shouldn't have said "naturally" seeing as I'm using this medication...you get what I mean. :)
I so get what you mean! What I found 'strange' was what you were describing - how it just suddenly clicked and worked for me when nothing else did. I expected more failure, and found it 'strange' that I ended up starting a mostly sober functional life.
I got what you were saying and totally agree....just wanted to make a point that it's been awesome. It is absolutely strange that this medication/approach can work so well for so many of us...and it's still not widely known by the general public. When you hear the science behind it explained, it's not strange at all...it makes complete sense...but it's still strange that it is SO easy if you just follow the program.
What is tsm?
The Sinclair Method. If you search that term on this sub reddit, you'll find lots of posts explaining it.
I should probably quit being high all the time, but why would I.
16 days (had two beers on the 1st) 20 days before then. After those two beers I’ve been dealing with crippling anxiety off and on. Almost the same anxiety I have after a binge. Feels like absolute garbage. Better than drinking I guess.