Tired, frustrated, tired....only day 5
 

I have absolutely no motivation for anything. But I did walk the dog. Now I'm tired, feel very lazy, a little frustrated that I just want 1 cold IPA. I've been fighting the urge for 4hrs now and it's not any better which makes me angry and depressed. It's only day 5. It's only 4pm, I don't have any more naps to give even though I feel fatigued. I can't relax!

Absolutely perfectly "normal" in early sobriety.

I was all over the place emotionally for weeks after I quit.

Hang on. Find something to do. Take a long hot shower, watch a movie, eat! If you have ice cream or sweets in the house, eat them! It will get better. Drinking will make it worse and you may not make it back the next time.

So early in recovery, you can expect to feel up and down for a while. Stay sober and it will get better. :)

I will say the same: early sobriety is a mess no matter what.. you just have to get through it, however you can without picking up a drink.. it's not easy, but it's worth it.

Distraction was - still is- often my friend.

Podcasts? movies on youtube? Binge watching a new or old series on Netflix?
Clean? Laundry? . . . I make a daily to do list with, usually, 7-10 things on it - today is:
1 Devotional/SR/BB read/HALT/Richard Rohr email devotional (this is on the list every day, for the morning)
2 Stretch
3 Run
4 Calendar- return to Target?
5 Grocery
6Labs - check records - calcium??
7 Meet [sponsor]

Lists help me. I like referring throughout the day and crossing things off.

Hang in there. It will get easier.

Just like the insanity of alcoholism to dangle the promise of "one" beer in front of us. Just one will make you feel better. If you could drink just one IPA, you wouldn't be trying to get sober. You can't drink one. That's why you are here.

Stop entertaining the idea of drinking and the urge will fade.

Lazy days are good, but if you are getting cravings you may need to plan something to do, even if it is binge watch a series in Netflix.

I had to schedule my evenings for a while. I just hit the six month mark, and the cravings are a lot less frequent, but whenever the thought of drinking pops into my head I do something/anything else.

Another thing I have started doing which we read on SR all the time is play the tape through. If I decided to have one glass of wine, I know there would be a second, third... And I will wake up feeling lousy the next day. I would guess the same is true for you with the IPA.

Hang in there, it is worth it!

Ah the early days, a place to never ever return to once you truly leave it behind. Hang in there, it does get better you just have to allow yourself to make it there. Those chains can truly be broken if you keep the locks off long enough.

I have to agree with the others. If my choice was 1 IPA or 0 IPA's I would chose ZERO, because 1 would just make the cravings worse. I'm here because my "off button" was broken and after 1 drink all bets were off on what the total would be at the end of the day. The cravings are difficult to deal with in early sobriety but they do get better, so stick with it! :)

Day four was my worst by a mile...hang in there. It will get easier.

Distraction and ice cream. Also read everything you can get your hands on about people who have gotten sober, those stories always work for me.

You can do this!

Thank you!
 

I wish I had time to reply to each one of you. You have no idea how much you all truly helped me get through this tough day! I did take your advices and it got me through. It's been so tough. Thank you so much!!💜

getting sober was the hardest thing I ever did.
staying sober has been easy.

keep fighting. it will get easier.

I should have said reading!! I am a huge reader, of all stuff. Even at the beginning when I could hardly concentrate on a few sentences, this was a big distraction tool for me. And I have stacks of recovery books, memoirs (love them) and a couple of workbooks (one is DBT, the others are AA step books I am starting with my sponsor this week). Those last ones came later but - cooking magazines or whatever floats your boat are super in the beginning!!! And you are online- so there's that option too, for all kinds of reading material.

I agree with August, I have rekindled my relationship with books. As a teen, I loved reading and wouldgo through tons of books each month. I'm trying a book a week right now, just look at lists of books and start checking them off the list. Hang in there, you can do this, never pick up that first drink!

Reading Dry right now. Fantastic read! So helps to hold that book and sit back.

I didn't have the concentration for reading. I couldn't take anything in. I spent my days hanging out with other alcoholics in the AA rooms. Just having people to talk to who were going through the same thing was a big help

You need to distract yourself, go to a movie, walk, clean your house, read and post on SR...something but don't just sit and think. For me the first week was the worst, it got better after that. And don't fall for the "one beer crap". It's your addiction talking. We both know it's not going to be just one beer. Hell, I could actually drink one beer on occasion but soon would be back to my pattern of too much too often. Google AA meetings. If you have never been to one it might be interesting. Go strictly as an observer, a field trip.

I looked into "magic" herbal supplements. I'm not a big believer but some say they help even if it is a placebo effect. Alcohol washes out vitamins. I do think supplements help. A little vitamin B might help get you moving.

Lots of truth and wisdom here. I felt the same about getting and staying sober. Harder at first; easier later. Much easier to stay sober. :)

Herbal Medicine: Natural Medicine For The Recovering Addict

I don't think a little B or C would hurt. As for jelly fish tentacles or eye of newt who knows?