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Doubts or confidence?

Old 07-08-2003, 03:14 PM
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Doubts or confidence?

Hey everyone,

I have been sober now for over 2 months. And to tell the honest truth, I have to say it's not been as hard as I THOUGHT it would be. I had a tremendous and horrific time going through detox - enough so, that even the smell of alcohol NOW makes me sick to my stomach. How could I now hate something I once loved so much? Am I being nieve since I've only a baby when it comes to my length of sobriety? I'm not meaning to sound overconfident or anything, because that's the first thing I don't want to become. But, I always expected that my love for alcohol would just contiune on and on. Now, I view it as an enemy, and I can't stand the thoughts of drinking it anymore.

Have any of you felt this way? What about you guys that have been sober for long periods of time? Does it ever become easy to let yourself get a little too overconfident in your sobriety? How do you handle it? I'm ok for now, but what about in the future when something really traumatic or stressful presents itself? Will it be so easy then? I hardly think so. Any comments are welcome.

PianoGirl:skiptrip:
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
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Old 07-08-2003, 04:20 PM
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Congratulations

on your 2+ months, way to go!

I am a recovered alcoholic who adheres to the AA program as a way of life.

Since I found recovery....many adverse situations have come up...and I did not consider drinking over them.

My God removed my obsession to drink when I was 6/7 years sober. It has never returned. I should have asked Him sooner!


I am sober and serene...
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Old 07-08-2003, 04:39 PM
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I am confident and comfortable with my sobriety today.

However,overconfidence can lead to cockiness and complacency both of which are potentially harmful for me, because I can find myself doing and saying things I ought not to be doing and saying.

Recovery for me entails a profound mental change in my attitude and my ideas about drinking.

Where once alcohol was my greatest friend and lover it has now become something that I will have nothing to do with.

Today I am able to put alcohol in it's correct place.

I no longer hate or despise alcohol and I no longer regard it as my foe.....it is simply something that I will never be able to safely use again.
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Old 07-08-2003, 06:47 PM
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Hi PianoGirl, I am just about at the 2 month spot myself. By the way that is great. I have had some
time in the past so maybe I can help. I have also had somewhat of an easier time this time. However , I know this will pass. At this early stage we begin to feel better healthwise and this early reward can be decieving. I have had trouble later on when I felt so good I thought I was cured. I went back out and drank. Each person is different depending on the situation. The best I can advise is to keep working and enjoy the good times. Remember both good and bad things happen in recovery. After all that is called a normal life.
I think they call it a pink cloud we get on and off of during our recovery. Keep up the good work. Don W
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Old 07-08-2003, 06:59 PM
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Congrats on the 2+ months! I'm heading up on my 2 months now (I hit 2 months on the 18th) so I'm even more of a newbie than you.

I feel that alcohol is my enemy, but I crave it nonetheless during triggering times. I'm riding a rollercoaster re alcohol, my newly returning feelings, etc. etc.

Sometimes during my scant almost 2 months I have hopped on that pink cloud and gone for a ride. ONly to come crashing down when stressed. Sometimes I feel great and solid, but I know that I will have my down periods, and I'm always prepared at this time for them.
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Old 07-08-2003, 07:23 PM
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Re: Doubts or confidence?

PianoGirl, without knowing much of anything about you other than your words below, all *I* can say is THANKS! You've about summed up my feelings when I first signed onto this site this evening.

Your tag is PianoGirl, interesting only in that I had tried incorporating my love for guitar in my board name.

We're about on the same DETOX schedule.....it's been close to 3 weeks for me. The first week plus was a complete horror! I'm sure I don't have to paint the picture for you but rest assure, I'm one tryin' my damnest to achieve, perhaps, the same goal(s) you are.

I guess the only thing I can contribute from MY perspective is that, you must stay strong and put blinders on whenever confronted with any sort of negativity.

Your sobering friend in NJ.....

Originally posted by PianoGirl
Hey everyone,

I have been sober now for over 2 months. And to tell the honest truth, I have to say it's not been as hard as I THOUGHT it would be. I had a tremendous and horrific time going through detox - enough so, that even the smell of alcohol NOW makes me sick to my stomach. How could I now hate something I once loved so much? Am I being nieve since I've only a baby when it comes to my length of sobriety? I'm not meaning to sound overconfident or anything, because that's the first thing I don't want to become. But, I always expected that my love for alcohol would just contiune on and on. Now, I view it as an enemy, and I can't stand the thoughts of drinking it anymore.

Have any of you felt this way? What about you guys that have been sober for long periods of time? Does it ever become easy to let yourself get a little too overconfident in your sobriety? How do you handle it? I'm ok for now, but what about in the future when something really traumatic or stressful presents itself? Will it be so easy then? I hardly think so. Any comments are welcome.

PianoGirl:skiptrip:
 
Old 07-09-2003, 06:01 AM
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My counseler told me the other day, that with the disease of alcoholism, that no matter how confident we might feel, that alcohol bottle never leaves us. It's always sitting there on a shelf in the back of our minds somewhere waiting to resurface if we let it....

So, I guess it's good to always remember that too. Keep yourself aware of how you're feeling, and any triggers that can cause you to start craving it again. That way we don't become too confident in ourselves and get blindsided by something unexpected. Learning to deal with my anxities by other expressions besides drinking (such as classical piano), has also been a big help to me over the past few months. It's a great way to get rid of stress - pounding away on a piano!



PianoGirl
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Old 07-09-2003, 07:51 AM
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Sounds to me like you have a good counsellor,PG
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Old 07-09-2003, 10:32 AM
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Hi there PG,
You wrote:

"My counseler told me the other day, that with the disease of alcoholism, that no matter how confident we might feel, that alcohol bottle never leaves us. It's always sitting there on a shelf in the back of our minds somewhere waiting to resurface if we let it...."

Smart counseler! S/He's a keeper. Listen and learn.
I've been sober 9,700 days! That is a fact that I'm sure of and as of right now, about the only thing I'm sure of.
I'm confident of a couple things though. 1)AA works if I work it. 2)God will help me if I ask Him. 3)I can't get drunk if I don't pick up that first drink. 4)If I do today, what I did yesterday, I'll be ok.
I'm still a baby in AA only because I can get just as drunk just as fast as you can if I pick up that drink and I can never forget that. Time in the program is important because people like me can show people like you that AA and God will do the job IF we do the footwork.
What I'm not confident about and I hope and pray I never do get confident about is that I CAN EVER SAFELY DRINK ALCOHOL AGAIN. I keep it real simple. Every so often I re-read page 21 (I think) in the Big Book about "The Read Alcoholic." That's me!
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