cmason249

So.. where do I begin? I am a binge drinker. I have a milestone birthday coming soon, and I am afraid I will celebrate it alone if I cannot stop drinking. I did try AA for a while, and it helped a lot. I think, though, that for me, it was more of a reminder to not drink than a therapy session. It almost seems as though I need to be constantly reminded to not drink. As an example, this last period of not drinking (not going to call it "sobriety" because I am still sick) was about 45 days. The single biggest thing that helped, at least I think, was setting an alarm to go off every 2 hours to remind me not to drink. I know that sounds strange, but I was out of town for a couple weeks recently and had to remove the alarms (couldn't drink where I was). When I came back, it took 2 days, 2 DAYS, before I broke. And it wasn't really "breaking"... falling into the same behavior patterns? Don't get me wrong, I am starting AA again Monday during lunch at work (as this is my biggest "trigger" - lunch with coworkers). Does this seem reasonable to those of you who have made it? Can I do something more? I need a change desperately, for me, for my family.
Thank you all for being here, and for any advice you can give.

Sapling

Welcome to SR cmason249....For myself....Working the 12 steps of AA was the solution...Done as laid out in the first 103 pages of the Big Book with a sponsor. Glad you are here.

Impurrfect

((cmason)) - Welcome to SR! I hope you read around other posts, as you will find you are NOT alone. My method in early recovery was when I thought of using, I'd tell myself "not an option..next" and "next" was a clue to distract myself. Sounds pretty simple but I had to tell myself that a LOT in the beginning. In time, I found myself at "next" without even realizing I'd had a craving.

I have to say, though, clinging close to SR and reading other posts has been a big part of my recovery. No matter what we use/drink, I've found helpful information in a lot of posts.

Hugs and prayers,

Amy

Mark75

yea, that alarm thing is a little outside the norm, it would have made me kinda nuts early on.. but hey... whatever... it... takes...

There will come a time when you won't need the alarm. You can just "be" and enjoy your family.

Welcome to SR!!

Tres

I clung to SR for the first 6 months...posting and reading all the time. At 7 months I started going to AA. Its helped a lot and I feel very at home there.

I like the alarm idea..whatever it takes. I just tell myself that drinking is not an option, end of debate. Look into AVRT also to help calm the addictive voice in your head.

I also drank tons of hot tea.

sugarbear1

Welcome to SR!

xa-speakers.org

Glad you are here!

cmason249

The alarm bit has helped and I will be using it again. It's more about behavior modification than making me not drink. Really it's mostly a way to constantly remind myself of the dangers of that first drink and to make me feel that shame I feel the day after a binge. The place I'm at right now really sucks. I feel like I know what to do and how to do it, but still can't seem to get it done. I do great for a month, maybe 2, then end up puking up bile and sleeping in my car in a rediculous attempt to hide my problem from my kids. I've been reading around the forums and see that it can get better, but I have to say right now I feel pretty hopeless.

Sapling

That's where I had to be to get busy.

cmason249

Thanks for the encouraging words y'all. I really like the AVRT. The whole idea behind it makes perfect sense to me. I WILL one day be an encouraging voice for others and end the shame I live with.

Sapling

Good luck to you...Put the work into it.....It's worth it!