Originally Posted by steve-in-kville
I stopped living like the next trigger, temptation or relapse was just around the corner. And I started living my life for what I am now. No more obsessing over it, no more counting days, no more reasoning with "the voice." The voice has no say in what I do. I do what I do.
Sounds like my plan. I put it behind me and never looked back. Sometimes life is great, sometimes life is hard...and there is plenty I am not in control of-but putting alcohol in my body is something I have complete control over. Leaving that behind for good has been the most freeing thing I've ever done. Lots of people say "never" is too daunting...however, I find quite the opposite. I don't placate "that" part of my brain by letting it think "maybe tomorrow, just not today." No way I'm having that convo every day. I also stopped being afraid and started believing in my ability. I did not want to be a slave to "my recovery" the same way I was a slave to my addiction.
Good for you for tossing fear aside and living. I became a nondrinker almost 10 years ago and I will never go back to who I was before. A plan doesn't have to be complicated to be effective. Lots of us decided that starting to live the way we wanted to was all the plan we needed.
Originally Posted by FormerBeerLover
Not a big fan of some of the recovery "catch phrases" as they can be used to bring some people down. Some people may take my positive, upbeat attitude as me being on a "pink cloud". However, I consider it a by product of my getting sober and loving it. Instead of getting hung up on semantics, I find it much better to focus on results. If the peace of mind that I've found over the past seven and a half years is a "pink cloud", then color me pink
I love your words, formerbeerlover <3
I feel the same way...peace of mind looks pretty pink on me too.
Sidenote...AVRT also has a name for the flood of positive feelings that can accompany the decision to quit. They call it the Abstinence Commitment Effect or ACE, and it is meant to be enjoyed, not feared.