thislonelygirl

I thought it would be an uplifting and fun post to talk about what it is you or someone you know who struggles with addiction and what motto you tell yourself or they do to get through it.
I started a motto with my acoholic husband whom struggles daily with this progressive disease. The motto which I had started is "warrior,athlete,warden!"
Meaning to push forward and take control of your life. I also compiled qoutes of famous athletes and warriors as well as prison qoutes to go along with it.
To be an athlete-you sweat,you train,you do
to be a warrior- balance,perserverance, dedication
to be a warden- self control,understanding,dealing with the chaos.
To break free of addiction like break free of the chains of ones self and striving for the person underneath and to surrender to recovery.

What do you tell yourself when you crave? What gets you through a rough day? What did you hold onto during recovery?
All of you are warriors . Yall are hard working athletes and everyday Yall warden your
lives.

lilyrosemary

nothing profound...but "theres a much better life without alcohol"

onlythetruth

It's a done deal for me now, but when I was new to this my mantra was nothing more than a repetition of my decision:

"I will quit drinking or die trying".

I discovered that I wasn't willing to die to satisfy a craving!

thislonelygirl

It doesn't have to be profound. I think that by you going through recovery it /you in itself is in fact is profound because it worked for you and thats awesome! Thanks for the posts . Excited to see what others say as well.

Thepatman

I am

MycoolFitz

Mine our just the reugees I say anout 10 times a day. I takr refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma the Sanga. May my heart be fillled with loving kindness,may I be safe from danger, may addiction no longer rule my life. Om, shanti, shani, shamt. Amd add may I nedver harm another living being.

foodie1

Thanks for the thread tlg! When I crave I tell myself, "Just do it today. When you wake up tomorrow, if you still want to drink, then you can." I've been blessed to not have any cravings outlast that mantra. But if/when one does, I'll repeat the exact same mantra, "Just do it today..."

MegTheRunner

When I think of drinking, crave a drink (or 10), or get angry I can't drink I think about the bad things I'd done when I was drinking. I think about those I pushed away and fought with, and I think about someone so special to me yet I may never speak to that person again bc of my drinking. I remind myself that a sober day/night is better than a drunk one and that this is my norm now. Then hopefully the hard time passes and life moves on.

dox

I have a choice. That's what I heard in meetings and kept reminding myself several times a day. If I choose to drink today, I am limiting my future choices.

And I like the freedom I now enjoy. I used to have to work quite hard for it; cling to it. But now the right choice is second nature to me. And, yet I have to remember my first nature which is to use things to change the way I feel: to drink. Short-sighted, that is.

~dox

hypochondriac

The most common thing which happens to me is that I start thinking 'what's the point?'. If I've been having a bad day sometimes nothing positive can get through to me and I start wanting to drink... so I ask myself... 'What's the point?'... and I genuinely can't think of any point to drinking. It has no real positive benefits to it at all. Even when I think that I want to, just to block out a bad day, I know that that serves no purpose and that I'd be better of having a bath or watching a trashy film. There is no point to drinking.

Jeni26

I can still feel the pain of my relapse if I bring it to mind. I don't often because life is good and getting better every day.
But if I ever find those sneaky thoughts returning of drinking, even if they are just whispers, I deliberately focus my brain onto that evening in May when I sat outside in my garden with a bottle of vodka. I allow myself to feel the desolation and utter misery of my life then. It can still hurt.
I only allow my thoughts to linger there for minutes, then I compare it to where I am now. The awesome journey I'm taking, the things I am learning about myself, the joy I'm finding in the little things, the freedom from anxiety.
The whispers that lie disappear. It happens every time.
I'm never going back x

2granddaughters

I always start my day on my knees and asking my H.P. for help.

All the best.

Bob R