Earthsuit

read many posts where the beast tries to keep you from hitting that beautiful number 7... any advice welcome please!! i had no idea how hard this would be, and i am a strong willed person. dang.....

Dee74

I think it's important to realise that you're in control earthsuit - if you want to make a week and you're determined to do whatever it takes, then you will

my advice don't make the Beast, AV or inner addict a bogeyman...and don't paint yourself as weak or as a victim...

you're in charge here. Your addiction needs you...it needs your arms and legs, it needs your say so to get drunk.

don't...give the go ahead.

D

DylanS

Hey ES - today was day 6 for me and, though I hadn't heard it would be, it kinda was a hard one. Insomnia (from opiate w/d I guess), anxiety, feeling that fractured agitation...went to a 6:45 a.m. meeting, took some Passion Flower (natural herbal help for anxiety/agitation) and the day just moved along.

It sounds like you're doing AVRT and they don't, as I recall, purport that support is necessary but IF you're so inclined, support seems to help a lot of us immensely. It's pivotal for me. You can post here - a lot of folks, including myself, spend a LOT of time here giving and getting support, you can visit the chat-room if it gets dicey for instant support, call a friend who won't judge, who'll be supportive, etc.

You CAN do this. It helps me to think about waking up the next day sober or hung over/oxy-toxic and determine consciously which reality I want to keep moving toward.

Hang in there.

artsoul

The further you get from the last drink, the stronger the sane part will get and you'll be able to see the difference.

It's back and forth for a while, though. Mood swings are common, too. I spent hours on this forum at a time. Sometimes, all I could do was get through the next ten minutes sober. The thing is:it won't be this way forever - promise! Remember that you're healing in every area: body, mind and soul.... and healing isn't always as fast as we'd like.

You have to challenge the AV. Think about how you want to feel tomorrow. Think about what happens when you drink, and instead of fantasizing about the "good" feeling like the AV wants us to do, follow it through to the next day and the next and the next. It's not what you really want, so stay strong - you can do this!

Earthsuit

i know i do need support i just am not drawn to the AA model... day at a time thing... i would rather just forget about the drink and move on, not be reminded about it daily... kind of like if i tell you NOT to think about a pink anaconda, what are you naturally going to think about? does tht make sense/ i have family, friends, church and all of you guys... and God... shouldnt that be enough? thank you all so much! ES

DylanS

Sounds like you have a good support system in place, already - that's great.

But now I'M thinking of d*mn pink snake....heh heh.

Dee74

In essense, all of us are trying to not drink.

Whatever beliefs or model of support you choose to maintain that - whether it's AA, AVRT, SMART or something else...whether it's one day at a time or I will never drink again - is up to you

D

artsoul

I know what you mean, but as I see it, we're already obsessed with pink anacondas........ we've identified with the AV and (unfortunately) it's not just thoughts of a drink. It actually makes drinking sound like a good idea.

I think that's where the support comes in, at least for me, and I needed a lot of it in the beginning. I think it's an individual thing, though. If you find yourself struggling, then you know you need to reevaluate things.

Congrats on 6 days!!!