Hi Zen, it's going well. Thanks to the Campral I have not had a moment of anxiety and only a couple of slight cravings since I quit on 12/23. I have two more weeks of the IOP. I'm focusing on a healthy diet and will hopefully be in an exercise routine/join a gym by the end of the month. I pulled out my mindfulness meditation CD's and try to do the breathing meditation at least once a day. So I'm really trying to build a balanced recovery program. I have really enjoyed the SMART meetings in my area and will be making them the foundation of my recovery program. I haven't checked out the local LGBT meetings, but one of the SMART meetings I went to this week about half the people there were G/L.
I have also been planning the weekends in advance since I got sober to make sure I have a strategy to deal with the free time so that I don't fall back into a boredom trap that has in the past led me back to drinking. But I realized recently that a major difference between now and my attempts to quit in the past is that I don't resent the fact that I can't drink. In the past I kind of had a self-pity attitude that life was unfair because I had to quit drinking. This time around I'm happy to be sober and I actually have a happy vision for my future. That change is huge for me and I think it's a good foundation to build a sober life going forward.
Thank you for your concern and for asking for an update.