Chy

Moot: [email protected]

Don: Good advice, Weibe it's fair for you to realize that though AA is my choice of recovery there are other options out there you should look into. Maybe Don can email you those links .When I first got sober I was not told or was I aware there were other options. I am happy with my choice but it's good to know what other options are there. I believe that whatever helps you quit and stay sober can come in various ways, for diffrent individuals. ( I do hope you'll give AA a try though)

I've wanted to check into online meetings and I know CarolD has some good links on that. Maybe we can do those together Weibe! I haven't had time to research it though. Let me know if you find one and I'll check with Carol and forward to you.

Hope your doing better, and doing your best to stay cool! Gee no airconditioner, I'd be sitting in the bath tub with cold water!

MootPoint

SMART is free? I'll have to checkit out!

Here are the ones I have personally checked....
http://www.sober24.com/
---------you have to pay to play after your first trial 24 days. I'm too cheap to do so

Here's a good'un. I can't get into their chatrooms cuz I have a wireless router and that is incompatible with their software...
http://www.sobercity.com/index.cfm

Here's a series of them that, for one reason or other, I can't use alot (sighs heavily). These were mailed to me....
....
www.12stepforums.net
www.aarecovery.com/chat.html
www.help101.net
www.alcoholicsanonymous.org
www.sobercenter.com
Moderators........ if this is a no no, pls feel free to delete as needed

Chy.......... pls forward what you get from Carol to me too!

Chy

Thanks for the email Moot. Will forward what I get from Carol as well!

Also wanted to get into SC but had trouble as well.
Take care Moot!

Chy

Hi Weibe,

Hows the reading going? Handeling the heat?
Just wanted to check in to see how your doing. Have a good weekend.

wiebe

Thanks for the links. I took a quick look and decided to take some serious time to check each one out later today. Started reading the big book yesterday and even the prefaces are powerfull. An organization that isn't ridgid and not against anyone or anything except alcohal. Focused. Last time I read it, just the reading almost inspired me to stop. Now I have the encouragement from you on these boards (and that helps more than you know) and maybe soon, an online sponsor and a real membership in AA. Tons of water and sober online! Glad to hear that complete sobriety isn't a prerequisit for AA membership. Hope it works.
Thanks
Wiebe

CarolD

Hi webe...

Try here..they have a essage board...meetings...24/7 active chat

http://alcoholism.about.com/library/...htm?once=true&


and this is also neat..

http://www.paltalk.com/PalTalkSite/

CarolD

Hi Mooty...
I asked and we can post urls as long as they are not commercial.

The links above are what I sent to Chy but I only gave her the names. Sorry Chy!

Sooo..enjoy. Hope they work for you Mooty

wiebe

Hi Carol, I'll check out the link tonite. Ran out of beer a few hours ago and I refuse to get any more tonite. I keep reading about small victories on these boards, and I'm going to have a little one, at least for tonite. We'll see about tommorow, tomorrow. Thanks for all the links and I'll check them all out.
Wiebe

CarolD

all major battles are won with small victories Webe

I was in AA 5 years before I earned a 1 year chip!


I am proof that you gotta keep on trying in order to win.

Drink oddles of water and fruit juices. Take aspirin for aches.

Cheering for you... :shades:

Don S

Hi, Wiebe,
No beer tonight is a great step. I'd suggest making firm plans for how you're going to spend your time--reading about sobriety on line isn't a bad way to spend an evening!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Don S

wiebe

Hi Carol, my girlfriend got me some mineral water stuff, and that helps. The links really seem to need a bit of time to figure out. Working on that, and will post if I find a real online AA link. I still find this internet stuff a bit confusing.
Thanks
Wiebe

wiebe

Thanks Don, there's almost nowhere to get beer anymore except for the really expensive stuff in bars, so my night is already planned. Last night I asked my girlfriend how she'd react to my being cranky and restless, and she said that the last time when I did 20 hours she hardly noticed. So, we'll see. Would love to hit 72 hours, but all I know about is tonite.
Thanks for the post
Wiebe

Chy

Good plan Weibe! It helps to keep busy and keep reading. What? You get cranky and restless! So do I and I am sober!
Gosh I am gonna pray real hard for you to make it to that 72 hours, just try 24 first. When your feeling those cravings pushing you to the bar keep talking to your Higer Power asking him to help you. I do believe he'll listen! Water, water, and fruit or fruit juice to keep the sugar balance *sending you a BIG dose of strength and courage today*

wiebe

Thanks Chy, I think the amounts of water I'm drinking may be contributing to the water shortage here. Stopping without shaking, and sleeping without being hammered to sleep by beer is a big step. The physical part of the battle is resonably under control. Now it's more the pure habit part of it, like my ex-son in law who will probably come by with a bag of beer later, and the places I do work for, who keep a few in the fridge for me. Lots of little things to change, but that will come. The next step would seem to dig around the links I was sent to find a good online AA meeting. The BB is also laying here ready to read. Powerfull book, that one.
I look forward to starting up the E-mail every morning, and read the posts here and in other threads. The feet can't walk to the store while the hands are typing, and it's cool to read stuff from sober people who were once just as heavily addicted.
Take care
Wiebe

Chy

How did you do today? I tried to message you this morning before I left for work to give ya a pep talk about telling son-in-law to not bring ber for you and restock the fride at work with out beer. Baby steps make progress! But my server went down so I hope you did okay today.

wiebe

Everything went well. Thanks. Stopping for a day shows it's possible without terrible effects. Now it's on to the hard work and discipline of doing one day, over and over. To tell you the truth, this heat wave we have here is cooking my brain and heavy concentration on something other than the heat is almost impossible. Like, muggy hard to breathe heat. It really wears people down after a week or so.
Thanks for the wessage, and I'll continue the BB today.
Wiebe

wiebe

Carol, I went to one of those links you posted. Seems to be a cool site. Never really participated in chat sites before.
Thanks, Wiebe

Don S

Congratulations, Wiebe! Your post gave me a big smile this morning.

Extreme heat does sap your strength and reduce your brain function. Keep in mind that alcohol increases the effects of heat...another good reason to abstain.

Stopping drinking can seem hard, but it's not TOO hard. Just some discomfort. With a little planning most of the discomfort can be reduced. In my case it was mostly figuring out when I was likely to really want a drink, and changing my day's plans so I'd be doing something else then. Plus eating and drinking carefully so that hunger wasn't a factor in my desire for a drink.

Planning for urges--what you're going to say to the folks who have beer waiting for you, how to get dinner going earlier when you get home instead of sitting down with a drink--is an important part of breaking the pattern.

Commitment to abstinence, change in lifestyle, and planning and practicing for urges are the three components of successful sobriety. And we all do it one day at a time.

Thanks for posting, wiebe, and talk to you soon!

Don

CarolD

tried chat webe...

after the links were posted

SR opened their chat!!

Go figure!!

wiebe

Hey Don, this morning started with coffee. My girlfriend shot out the door to go and get some cream, and since I wasn't sure of the shaking I drank it with a straw. She saw I felt a bit stupid so she also got a straw and drank her coffee the same way. Think she's trying to give me a hint. Like you say Don, every little chunk of habit changed is a step in the right direction. It all helps. I sort of got the straw idea from one of those chat sites posted by Carol. A guy said he couldn't take a shower for fear of falling, and someone who had the same problem suggested putting a chair in there. Why not if it works? People like us have a problem that there's not always a nice conventional solution for.
Reading the boards and remmembering the BB, I realize with crystal clarity why it has been so hard for me, and people like me, to quit. We haven't hit rock bottom and without a complete physical collapse, won't. I've sort of mentioned this in previous posts, but reading about how bad things got for other people made it crystal clear. I've been on the edge of the cliff for years, but my devious alcohalic mind has always found a way to pull yet another rabbit out a hat in legal ways. My kids used to laugh at that. 8:00 o'clock in the morning there's no money and litle to eat. 5:00 o'clock that day there's food and beer in the fridge. I also unfortunately have the ability to do my work when drunk, not as well, but it goes. My relationships have all suffered, but never by a drastic event that happened when I was really drunk. Sure I've passed out on the floor more than once, but even that has't happened for years as my alcohal tolerance level has increased to a ridiculus level. The only little catch is that my body is falling apart and won't last much longer even at a reduced level of drinking. I've followed many of the handy tips on the boards and tackling the problem by changing one chunk of habit at a time is making good solid progress. I love being able to post little victories here. Don, if you read this, I would like some info on the SMART program I've read good things about both SMART and AA, and maybe a combination of the two will offer a solution. Something like changing habits a piece at a time to stop the actual drinking, and the inspiration of AA to stay stopped. Finding a way to stop and stay that way has become my fulltime occupation. Why not? Until this problem is solved, working towards anything else is useless. Sorry about the length of this post, but posting really helps clarify my thoughts, and the feedback means I'm not working on this in a vacuum.
Thanks for being there,
Wiebe