Tips for staying sober and clean

[paulg]

Here are my tips for staying sober;
Top Tips for People Recovering from Alcoholism and Other Addictions - Associated Content
Feel free to add your own.

[Rad44]

5. Recovery is something to be enjoyed and not endured. Life free from addiction can really be so fantastic. Amazing things can happen and being sober means that you can appreciate the simple things.


I have a morning ritual to make fresh Coffee. It is like the Japaneese Tea Ceremony. Very formal with precise movements (even though I made it all up). I measure and grind a precise amount of French Roast Coffee Beans (from Starbucks) and brew them with bottled water in a French Press or Automatic Drip Coffee Maker. Splenda and Sugar Free French Vanillia Creamer complete the experience. It's to die for.

I figured if I had dangerous and unhealthy rituals to purchase, conceal, and consume inordinate quantities of alcohol, I should replace them with a healthy and uplifting ritual of my own making. The Morning Coffee Ritual.

[paulg]

Rad44, that really is a cool idea.

[Bamboozle]

I do rituals, too. What I do now is shower twice a day and really take good care of my skin.

I found that it's important to have at least one hobby. Mine is photography. I love it.

[paulg]

I think that hobbies are one of the great gifts of sobriety. It is one of the first things that alcohol takes from us.

[coffeenut]

I enjoyed this! Thanks!

[gtinney1]

O.C.D. seems to be related somehow with addiction. I try to use it in constructive ways and to make fun of it instead of letting it make me angry, like when I get a word repeating over and over in my head I claim it as "the word for the day" and sort of laugh it off. It lightens what could otherwise be viewed as torment.
By the way, the French press is the best way to brew coffee in my opinion. What makes coffee bitter is too much contact with boiling water. I saw an interview on a local news program with the owner of Community Coffee, New Orleans' gold standard coffee, and as he illustrated his own personal brewing tecnique he said that after about two minutes of brewing the bitter acids will be released. That's why a large pot of coffee often turns out bitter no matter what tricks you try to make it not bitter. Want a good pot of coffee? Put the same amount of coffee in your filter -if you're using a drip type coffee maker - that you usually use for a full pot, but only put about four cups of water in the reservoir of the coffee maker. While its brewing have a tea kettle heating on the stove. After the coffee is finished brewing add more hot water directly into the pot, not though the coffee grounds, and adjust to taste. That's the trick to making a good strong cup of coffee that's not bitter. Try it. You will probably want to thank me afterwards. I prefer using the French press. You should actually pour the water onto the coffee at just below actual boiling temperature (to avoid releasing the bitter oils). After pressing my coffee I pour it through a clean coffee filter into my thermal pot. This filters out the sludge which I believe is probably not good for one's circualtory system. I know this sounds like an awful lot of hassle for a cup of coffee, but we take our coffee seriously down here in New Orleans.
To me there's no better way to start the day than with a good cup of coffee and some quiet time in prayer and meditation with my loving God. Don't leave home without it.

[liquidfireangel]

staying sober can be fun in its own way... i dont do "rituals" or any of that bullshit, but it is nice to wake up and not have a headache, not feel like puking, and not feel like my brain has been put in a blender... and not have an ashtray taste in my mouth

[gtinney1]

Oh, did you drink from ashtrays too? I thought I was the only one who did that!
(Just kidding)
I was at a party once where a guy sat down on the couch next to me and when he noticed this big ashtray full of butts on the coffee table he said, "Umm, peanuts!" and grabbed a small handful and tossed a couple into his mouth and started chewing on them. You should have seen the look on his face change with every chew he took, until he finally spit them out on the floor. Now THAT was funny!
Imagine how his next morning must have been. Course he was tripping on acid, so his brain was probably frappe'd, and no telling what other tastes he had acquired before the night was through. I wonder whatever happened to Eddy?

Humor is good. The humor went out the train window a long time ago in my addiction. But now I have some pretty funny sobriety stories, if ya' have a sick sense of humor.

[notofeudalism]

Good list. Thanks

[tammy711]

Recovery is...

• When you're really stressed and tired the first thing you think about is taking a nap or going to bed a little earlier.
• When you're agitated or bored and the first thing you think about is a run or a long walk.
• When you're furious and angry at someone close to you and the first thing you think about is stress management and breathing exercises to calm you down.
• When you're so excited and happy about your latest accomplishment or accolade that the first thing you think about is calling your mom, siblings, or close friends to tell them all about it.

[PrimalScream]

I really liked those...I especially liked the one about not waiting to hit rock bottom because rock bottom is death...so true. I always thought (and still do actually) that I have a few more years of drinking and getting high in me...but I also think that if I try and see how many more years I have left doing that I will die trying...or at the very least end up with liver disease or any number of other terrible things happening. It's better to get out before you hit rock bottom, I think.
Thanks for sharing.

PS
I liked your list to Tammy...all very true.

[littlefish]

Thanks for this great thread! This is an excellent idea: change our perception of sobriety from negative to positive. I think I viewed sobriety that way in the beginning: I sort of had the "bite the bullet -this- is- something "not fun" that- I- have- to- do mentality.

When, in truth, I never really questioned that thought, it was essentially a subconscious thought that influenced my choices without me really being aware of it.

When I really examine where that thinking is coming from, it is not true at all. Sobriety has proven time and time again to be the positive state, while relapsing and my former drinking has always been negative.

I also find it intriguing that positive moments in sobriety sows the seeds for even more positive moments. I passed a flyer on my way to my home AA group in the basement of a church. It was for yoga classes.
So, this morning I am going to the first yoga class, which will be held in the same room where I have my AA meeting!