How I am staying sober today and forever.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 22
How I am staying sober today and forever.
I have decided that I need to quit drinking. That is a fact (you can read my first post). Alcohol just cannot be a part of my life anymore. It just doesn't work.
Already my mind is saying "just one last drink" "a goodbye drink" etc...stupid thoughts. Last time I tried to quit drinking I thought I'd order myself my favorite drink and have it as a goodbye drink as a sort of ceremony of quitting. I thought it would be a way of making official...preempting my addictive voice that would soon say "you know...you never had that goodbye-drink." That's right. I actually thought that drinking another drink would help me quit drinking. How stupid! Even if I did have that "goodbye drink," I would have some other thought instead to make me want to drink.
My mind is already beckoning for a "goodbye drink"...this time I am calling BS on that voice and making the decision to not drink. I like that
. Just need to keep doing that over and over again.
Already my mind is saying "just one last drink" "a goodbye drink" etc...stupid thoughts. Last time I tried to quit drinking I thought I'd order myself my favorite drink and have it as a goodbye drink as a sort of ceremony of quitting. I thought it would be a way of making official...preempting my addictive voice that would soon say "you know...you never had that goodbye-drink." That's right. I actually thought that drinking another drink would help me quit drinking. How stupid! Even if I did have that "goodbye drink," I would have some other thought instead to make me want to drink.
My mind is already beckoning for a "goodbye drink"...this time I am calling BS on that voice and making the decision to not drink. I like that
. Just need to keep doing that over and over again.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,442
My 'last hurrahs' never worked out well.
They almost always meant a few more days, weeks, or once, even a few more months of drinking.
You know what drinking does for you. This time won't be different
You've decided to change your life - run with it Colton - start now
D
They almost always meant a few more days, weeks, or once, even a few more months of drinking.
You know what drinking does for you. This time won't be different
You've decided to change your life - run with it Colton - start now
D
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 184
Stay strong Colton!! Break your current routine a little and shake things up a bit. It helps to fight the urge to drink if you aren't doing the same ol' things that you were doing while drinking. I've found this to be the best advice, especially in the beginning of the quitting/staying quit cycle.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Midwest
Posts: 450
I think you're making a great decision to not go for the goodbye drink. I had myself fooled into thinking I'll have a goodbye drink....well it turned out that I had 10+ goodbye drinks every single night for months. It's so easy to fall into the trap of "one more day won't hurt" mentality
~sb
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MD
Posts: 15,967
In my early days of not drinking and when I heard that in my head, I would tell it, "maybe tomorrow I'll have that drink, let's try not to drink today." It has worked for about 9 months now....I don't have to say that anymore, but in the beginning, it was necessary.
Adventures In SpaceTime
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 5,827
Originally Posted by sugarbear1 
In my early days of not drinking and when I heard that in my head, I would tell it, "maybe tomorrow I'll have that drink, let's try not to drink today." It has worked for about 9 months now....I don't have to say that anymore, but in the beginning, it was necessary.
@ Colton
I hope as your sobriety moves forward you have more resources at hand than just saying no to drinking. I tried just saying no, with nothing else working for me, and it worked until it didn't and drunk I got yet again. Check out the forums here -- plenty of recovery examples to think on how to make use of for yourself. The way to sobriety is a wonderous journey.
Best.
Self Recovered with AVRT
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 108
Yup. To not drink (when one is addicted to alcohol) is a great thing. I think of it like it is my own little garden of goodness. I am always pulling weeds. Those weeds never seem to stop intruding, so I have to tend to it every day. The cool thing is that the garden yields such wonderful fruit, even unexpectedly.
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Vashon WA
Posts: 1,035
I can't even remember what my last drink was but I'm pretty sure it was a good beer. I remember my last hangover. It's been over a hundred days since then. That alcohol voice is a crafty SOB but he doesn't usually have much to say when I'm enjoying not having a hangover. You'll love it. Quit now. Use whatever tools you need. I like SR, it's all that I've used to stay sober. Everyone is different. Whatever it takes to just not take another drink.
instant
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Australia
Posts: 5,711
Colton
I found reading the Big Book very helpful, also doing the online course on AVRT was invaluable.
I found it was really rough for a good while. Finding a way to stay committed is vital. I loved the daily support thread I joined.
I found reading the Big Book very helpful, also doing the online course on AVRT was invaluable.
I found it was really rough for a good while. Finding a way to stay committed is vital. I loved the daily support thread I joined.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Maryland
Posts: 259
Try everything and see what works for you. Read about different methods, the big book, and anything you can relate to that has a story of recovery. Clapton's autobiography had a big impact on me in the early days of not drinking.
Good luck,
Good luck,
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