karate

That's what we really drink for .

Exercise releases chemicals ,better than the chemicals released from drinking .

Just a thought .

Carbonized

[QUOTE=karate;4172120]That's what we really drink for .

Exercise releases chemicals ,better than the chemicals released from drinking .

Just a thought .[/QUOTE

I can haul a 35 pound pack on my back all day long and it won't make me feel any better.

DylanS

Hi Karate,

I am one of those folks who needs to exercise. Maybe we all 'need' to but others cope better being sedentary; we're all physical beings, after all.

However, I must also add that I used to be what they call a 'compulsive exerciser', trying to 'fix' how I felt. I was still, unless exhausted, 'restless, irritable and discontent' quite frequently.

So, I agree: exercise is great and, among other things, releases all kinds of good endorphins, helps process and clear out cortisol, assists in neurogenesis, and is a necessary ingredient for a healthy life. But I need to remember that for me, it won't fix my alcoholism (mental obsession and a physical allergy rooted in a spiritual malady).

awuh1

It may not help you Carbonized but it helps a whole lot of other people and there is a ton or research to prove it. The exercise effect

I like the way you put it karate. Stay well.

freshstart57

Mindfulness, or acceptance meditation, is also shown to rewire our brains after active addiction. It is also a powerful force against the next drink. Look under 'urge surfing'.

Meditation and prayer are both effective tools in dealing with irritability, restlessness and discontent.

Onward!

Melbadaze

The best way to change how you feel is to stop from trying to change how you feel.


Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today.

EndGameNYC

"Changing how I feel" is what I was doing when I was drinking.

Carbonized

The day i accept that this is life as it's going to be is the day i put a bullet through my head.

MattyBoy

Exercise and mindfulness have been the two most important things in helping me stay sober . It also goes without saying that this site has been an invaluable source of support!

FeenixxRising

Exercise should be one of the Steps. Nutrition should be another Step. Something as simple as walking 30 minutes a day and cutting out junk food can have a significant affect on one's mood and energy level.

Boleo

"All expectations are seeds for resentments"
(Chuang Tzu)

Boleo

"That which resists - persists"
(Lao Tzu)

Serenity1972

I have to agree with you Karate. I would be doomed without it. I workout for 1 hour prior to getting ready for work (Monday - Friday) and I can't tell you how much it helps me get through a stressful day. When I was drinking I wouldn't workout on Saturday's and Sunday's. I figured it was enough exercise just lifting the bottle to my lips. Now, I take a jog every Saturday and Sunday morning (weather permitting) and the release that I feel is indescribable. This is one of the components that has helped keep me sober on the weekends.

DylanS

Carbonized - man, I relate to what sounds like a lot of anguish in your post.

I think what some folks have found is a way that the emotions are not dominating, not 'driving the bus', as it were. Emotions are good, useful things in their right place. But when they dominate my actions, as they do for so many (not just alcoholics), it can lead to disaster.

Meditation, exercise, programs of recovery - these are aids in helping to (probably in this order for many): reduce the anguish a bit, get support for emotions that are intolerable, work through issues that drive the jagged emotional suffering, and finally, find balance to where emotions are just part of who we are, not a tyrant dragging us through life.

Carbonized

Here's how my day has gone so far.

Woke up more tired than i was when i went to sleep. Wish i could just lay there but have to get up and going before the police come. Got blankets stashed and off to a shelter to shower up. Lug a heavy bag about a mile to the shelter, go in and shower. Been feeling itchy and have a number of bug bites on me. Some feel familier under hot water so it's time for lice check. Check clothes and sure enough, shirt and pants are infested. Toss worn sweat pants away and wear only pair of jeans. Only have a single tshirt so check the seams to get rid of lice then remove eggs as best i could. Put shirt back on as i don't have anything left to wear at the moment. Kill time in shelter. Listen to the worst possible human garbage spout off the most stupidly ignorant subhuman drivel. Head out to the library. Here is where i am now.

I have some clothes in a storage unit but to get to them requires a 10 mile walk.

I bet you anything a six pack would make me feel a whole lot better.

Dee74

very few of us could feel good in the situation you're in Carbonized - but I think you're better looking at ways to get out of that situation, rather than at looking for ways to cope with staying in your current situation, like drinking

D

DylanS

You may be right, Carbonized: a 6-pack might make you feel better. For a while. I don't know where you're at with your 'drinking career', but I was at the point where it made the despair and twisted emotions an even tighter noose and then, waking up next day, it was worse than ever.

Can you get some support? AA turns no one away who has a desire to stop drinking. You can get support, encouragement, and probably a hot cup of coffee, to boot. We humans aren't meant to walk in this world alone.

Carbonized

Here's what i'm doing in a while.

When library closes it's back to camp. It's going to rain tonight so the current location is under a freeway overpass. Will lay out blankets and read, occasionally fantasizing about things that most likely will never come to pass. Nothing else to do. Realize that blankets will pick up lice and that's it. Can't do anything about it. Have to check weather to see if it will allow going to get clean clothes. What i have left now hasn't seen a washing machine in a few months, everything hand washed in the morning shower.

I'm waiting for my ID to show up in the mail. No ID, no work. Even when i get it things will be difficult as i have little energy compared to before i did this sobriety thing. Have to figure out what to get wired on in order to function at the level required. Also have to figure out how to stay passably clean since work means no time to go to the shelters for morning cleanup. Nor can i take a pack to work either so i have to find someplace safe to stash my gear.

Thinking about the nearest AA place. As usual there are problems with the timings and distance amongst other things. If i go to AA, no shower for the day. Know a semi crackhead who goes virtually every day and so am well informed of the bull that passes for meetings. He advises to just sit there and drink coffee and ignoring the most pious bull#^%$ artists. My main hangup is that such people make me want to slam a pipe over their skulls. Will probaly check them out next week anyway.

FeenixxRising

Carbonized, are there any organizations in your location that could help you get back on your feet? Maybe provide some cheap shelter until you're more financially stable? Or at least provide you with some clean clothes and blankets?

Carbonized

Not really. No one these days gives much of a damn about a single male.

Three shelters around here. One is only a day shelter. For a bed, it costs about $50 a week. Even then that's only if you work day shift. The other two have programs but with rally big catches. One will work you 40 hours a week on the premises and give you virtually no time to look for work. If you get a job though, they take a third of your GROSS income. The other is basically going to prison as their program sometimes keeps people on the premises for months. They sometimes hepl out people who have fulltime jobs but once again, only for day shift.

As for clothes? One of them has a line for clothes once a week. Seeing as they let in the females first, they is rarely anything worthwhile left when the men get in. Getting t shirts isn't too much of a hassle with all the "feed the homeless" types around. But good luck getting pants, for instance. Blankets and such? Really good luck to you as they are hard to get. If i dump mine it's back to sleeping on cardboard. Seeing as it's getting cooler at night it's better with whatever blanket you can get. Speaking of cooler, i don't even have a jacket, just a single sweatshirt. Have to make something happen if i'm going to spend another winter outside. Tell you what IF i'm outside for the winter you can damm well bet i'm going to drink as it helps to have a couple to help you pass the night. Sober, no way in hell will you tolerate the sheer misery.