SweatyHands

Thanks for asking Dee. The most important thing for me in re-prioritizing is making self-care mandatory. White-knuckling through stressful periods has always led me directly to a relapse. For me, self-care can look like anything; going to bed early instead of staying up to watch tv, asking for help when I have too much on my plate, logging into an online meeting, calling a friend in recovery, telling my wife that I’m having a bad day, walking my dog, taking a bath, basically anything I can do to slow down when I’m overwhelmed.

I’m also trying to write down every time I think about drinking and every time I catch myself trying to hide my behavior during the day. Seeing this all in writing helps me to see that these thoughts are always going to be with me, but I don’t have to do anything with them when they come up.

I’ve put a lot of effort into getting my nutrition regulated to keep my body as physically resourced as possible. I consulted with a nutritionalist about diet for recovery, and I’m getting back to being on the keto diet.

And for me, setting solid boundaries with people is extremely important. My habit of saying “yes” to everyone to keep people happy just leads to resentment and self-pity, and that is a shortcut to self medicating. Being disappointed with myself is far more dangerous than any imaginary disappointment I think others feel towards me.

And of course, keeping up with my regular therapy sessions is important to every part of my life.