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03-24-2020, 01:01 PM

# 21 (permalink)

Notch8

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Join Date: Dec 2019

Location: Pennsylvania

Posts: 374

Again, thanks for the encouragement. Lots to process, for sure.

03-24-2020, 06:15 PM

# 22 (permalink)

Gottalife

12 Step Recovered Alcoholic

Join Date: Apr 2012

Location: New Zealand

Posts: 6,613

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notch8

Thanks for the encouragement. Your post gave me a lot to think about. Getting beyond three weeks seems near impossible to me as it only ever happened once. I'm wrapping up day 5 now, so I did survive a four-day weekend.

Much to ponder....

My last bender came at the end of three weeks sober and I remember thinking how will I ever get three weeks again. It is a helluva long time, like 21 whole days! Somebody said "one day at a time", so I began to just concentrate on today, and stopped counting the days. Before I knew it, my sponsor called to tell me I had made three months - unbelievable!!

There was more to it of course, whether you need to do what I did will depend on whether you are as alcoholic as I was, and what kind of result you are willing to settle for. There are options like reducing the number and severity of relapses, white knuckling, or finding some other way just to improve your situation. Many will settle for second best, it is still better than what they had.

None of that was good enough to attract me. I wanted to get right away from the misery and get the best life possible, and I was willing to do anything to that end. And that is what I got.

03-25-2020, 09:44 AM

# 23 (permalink)

Sohard

Member

Join Date: Oct 2017

Posts: 1,283

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notch8

Again, thanks for the encouragement. Lots to process, for sure.

Still not drinking I hope? You can do this. Do it in honor of all the people who are sick on respirators and in medically induced comas who would do ANYTHING to be healthy right now. You have that opportunity to be healthy right now. All you have to do is not drink. Do it for them, if it helps you. It might be very hard, but it’s not as hard as what they’re going through. Each day you make it through it gets microscopically easier, even if you can’t tell this in the short term. You’ll be able to see this clearly a few months out. Do it for them, if it inspires you, then later you can move to doing it for yourself. Whatever works.

03-25-2020, 10:15 AM

# 24 (permalink)

saoutchik

Join Date: Jan 2015

Location: London

Posts: 16,203

Hang in there Notch.

03-25-2020, 02:28 PM

# 25 (permalink)

Notch8

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Thread Starter

Join Date: Dec 2019

Location: Pennsylvania

Posts: 374

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sohard

Still not drinking I hope?

Hope. Day 7 today, believe it or not. Trying hard not to let my guard down. I think I may have lost that "chemical" smell that used to drive me nuts. The night sweats have basically gone away. I'm working some heavy hours at my job, so I have to be on my toes right now.

03-25-2020, 03:59 PM

# 26 (permalink)

Sohard

Member

Join Date: Oct 2017

Posts: 1,283

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notch8

Super! That’s the way to do it. Day by day. And I’m so happy for you that the night sweats have basically gone away. You’re HEALING. Don’t rip off the scab and drink again. Keep healing. You’re doing this! I SWEAR to you it gets easier. Drinking now would be so exhausting and hellish. You’ve just done the hardest part. Now keep going. If you keep swimming through the waves you get to a place where the water is finally calm and beautiful. I promise you.

03-25-2020, 06:53 PM

# 27 (permalink)

Dee74

Administrator

Join Date: Apr 2007

Location: Australia

Posts: 211,443

congrats on a week Notch8

03-26-2020, 01:24 PM

# 28 (permalink)

Notch8

Member

Thread Starter

Join Date: Dec 2019

Location: Pennsylvania

Posts: 374

It appears the evenings are still strange to me. I think I'm not eating enough. I've taken to making a smoothie as a post-dinner snack, and then it seems I feel better. Maybe my blood sugar is tanking?

03-26-2020, 01:45 PM

# 29 (permalink)

Sohard

Member

Join Date: Oct 2017

Posts: 1,283

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notch8

You could definitely be right about the blood sugar. I had a milkshake every evening for the first few months when I quit drinking. It helped. There was just a lot going on with the evenings, at least for me. There were so many triggers to make me want to reach for a drink. So I just felt off every night. And it stayed that way for four or five months. And then...it felt normal. It almost hurt for my brain to get used to not drinking at night. And it felt wrong. Like walking backwards or using my left hand. I mean, I hadn’t not drank at night in 25 years. No wonder the evenings now felt so strange to me, right? Your evenings will likely be strange to you for a long while. But again, you ARE healing. And there are a lot of different stages to healing. But they’re all headed in the right direction. 💛

You are doing this!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏