I second Lofty's question ... run, Frances, RUN!
<-- Frances is superwoman!
Aww, that's too bad, Mirage.
It would have been nice to meet you. But I understand. (and there's no way I could deal with staying any longer at my sil's house ... she kinda drives me nuts. We're about as diametrically opposite as could be.)
That's GREAT, Aussie! Did last night go any easier for you?
I am finding that (even though I'm only into this 3 days now) so far it's gone much better than the past few months. Maybe these anxiety meds really do help? Or I could just be in the honeymoon phase, too. Either way, abstaining has been less frantic this time than the past few months.
My doctor also told me about an anonymous therapy website that she learned about at a conference at the Mayo Clinic. It's actual therapy with a doctor, either in group or individual settings, but all online with screennames instead of real. There is a cost, but I haven't checked it out yet to learn what that is. She thought I might get something out of it. Any thoughts? It's called "Second Life" ... and alcohol therapy is just one of the options they offer. Have you heard of it, Dee? At her MD conference, they were told that those using it have been unusually successful.
We decided to skip church this morning to go see Breaking Dawn. Yay! I can't wait! Our pastor would have a fit, as he thinks those movies (and the Harry Potter ones) are bad, but I disagree completely. So we're going. I'm such a rebel.
So this week my meeting topic is on stress management, and I've been googling jokes and light stuff to open with (I like to get them laughing right off the bat when I can). I thought I'd share a few, for your reading enjoyment. I'll just choose a couple for the meeting, but they're funny so I thought I'd share with you all.
Stress is when you wake up screaming and realize you weren’t asleep.
I’m not tense. I’m just terribly, terribly alert.
Most stress is caused by three things: family, money, and family with no money.
“Stress: The confusion created when one's mind overrides the body's basic desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it.” – unknown
Therapy is expensive. Popping plastic bubble wrap is cheap. You choose.
The Non-Stress Diet:
This diet is designed to help you cope with stress which normally builds up during the day.
Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit
1 Slice Whole Wheat Toast, Dry
8 oz. Skim Milk
Lunch
4 oz. Lean Broiled Chicken Breast
1 cup Steamed Spinach
1 cup Herb Tea
1 Oreo Cookie
Mid-Afternoon Snack
Rest of the Oreos in the package
2 Pints Rocky Road Ice Cream
1 Jar Hot Fudge Sauce
Nuts, Cherries, Whipped Cream
Dinner
Loaves of Garlic Bread with Cheese
Large Sausage, Mushroom & Cheese Pizza
3 Milky Way or Snickers Candy Bars
Rules For This Diet:
1. If you eat something, and no one else sees you eat it, it has no calories.
2. When drinking a diet soda while eating a candy bar, the calories in the candy bar are cancelled by the diet soda.
3. When you eat with someone else, calories don't count as long as you don't eat more than they do.
4. Foods used for medicinal purposes NEVER count. Example: hot chocolate, toast, and Sara Lee Cheesecake.
5. If you fatten up everyone else around you, then you look thinner.
6. Movie-related foods do not have calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel. Example: Milk Duds, Buttered Popcorn, Junior Mints and Tootsie Rolls.
7. Cookie pieces contain no calories. The process of breaking the cookie causes calorie leakage.
8. Late-night snacks have no calories. The refrigerator light is not strong enough for the calories to see their way into the calorie counter.
9. If you are in the process of preparing something, food licked off knives and spoons have no calories. Examples: Peanut Butter on a knife and ice cream on a spoon.
10. Food of the same color have the same number of calories. Examples are spinach and pistachio ice cream, mushrooms and white chocolate.
11. Chocolate is a universal color and may be substituted for any other.
And I'm definitely closing with this one. It's not funny, but it's really worthwhile. I'll be delving into some deeper coping mechanisms, so this is a powerful last thought:
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” –William James