ElegantlyWasted

Need to take take GF to the Office. Just had a flash that I'll be by myself at home for the rest of the afternoon, there are two or three bottles of wine laying around the house and It would be so nice to just "relax" for the rest of the day... Melt away from the short term pains and stress of life if only for a couple of hours... Twisted Evil Mind... I will not give in. I know If I ignore you and am proactive your powers will diminish and eventually be but a silly little whisper that I shall laugh at gently at instead of rage against....

GroundhogDay

Not having wine in my house is an important part of resisting temptation. Of course, if it got strong enough I would just go to the store and buy some. Oddly enough, the 1/2 bottle of vermouth I have isn't even remotely tempting.

Busby56

I hear ya, Elegantly Wasted...I actually had to pour all the alky in our house down the drain for the times I find myself at home alone and would be most tempted. Unfortunately, there's a liquor store about a half mile from our house, and it's an easy walk or bike ride. The hardest thing for me is to resist heading over there and grabbing a bottle for a "quickie" when nobody's around. Just thinking about it makes me want to run over there....so let's talk old cars RIGHT NOW to get my mind off of it...

aasharon90

I agree with not having the temptation of
alcohol in the home especially in very
early recovery. Even with yrs. sobriety
for me, I wouldn't place that temptation
near me because of how cunning, baffling
and powerful it is.

Everyday is a guessing game as to what
my triggers are towards my H.A.L.T. -
hunger, anger, loneliness, tired would
be and all it would take is for one if not
all of them to tick me off and if alcohol
was nearby, I could not think straight
and pick up a drink and die.

At least if any of those things in life are
not taken care of emmdiately then I do
have time to pick up the phone to call
someone in recovery for help, drive to a
meeting, say some prayers, anything but
drink.

That'a what HALT mean....to stop, have time
to think before we react and do something we
will regret.

ElegantlyWasted

Thanks Sharon; you really know how to hit it so that it sticks and resonates. I did and posted here. Love it... "HALT". I did and posted here. OK so I'm back home all by myself (head on straight) and am going to bust out the rest of the day job searching. I so don't want to keep any Booze in the house, but the wine is technically GF's as she bought it the other day for a Girlfriend get together. It's weird; she knows I have quit, also has admitted to having issues herself and drank to the point of having at least a buzz Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. I know its really not weird it just the way addiction works I didn't create it, I cant control it, and can't cure it. I know she'll get mad at me if I dump it out. Any ways; sorry for rambling and thanks for posting, you guys are helping me keep it straight... Funny how people with like vices are attracted to each other and create a weird circle of dysfunctional rationalization.

Grungehead

From past experience I have found that it doesn't matter if I am alone or not and it doesn't matter if there is alcohol in the house. There are 2 other people in the house who both drink in moderation (like normal people lol). I don't think it's fair of me to ask them not to keep their beer/wine in the house. I'm the one with the problem not them.

Plus I know that if I really want to drink nothing will stop me from getting alcohol, it's just to easy to get, hide, etc. I know I am going to have cravings and I know they will pass. If they don't pass quickly enough the best thing I can do is to wind the tape forward before I act. The best thing I can do is call someone before I act. The best thing I can do is go to a meeting.

When I quit smoking I carried a full pack of cigarettes with me at all times. I wrapped a bunch of tape around the pack so if I wanted one it would take me awhile to get it open and I would look like a fool in the process lol. I did this so if I had a bad craving it bought me some time for the craving to pass, and if someone offered me a cigarette I could say no thanks I have my own.