day 1 of sobriety
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: northamptonshire
Posts: 3
day 1 of sobriety
Hello, i have been wanting to give up smoking and drinking for a while and only seem to manage a little while before the strong urge comes and i start again, i too have to smoke when i drink and i dont smoke otherwise so its really annoying to go 4days without either, then the urge is so strong i think i deserve a pack of 10 and half bottle whiskey any advice anyone?
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,476
Hi Marie,
Welcome!
I moved your post to a thread of its own so you could get a proper welcome.
The urges don`t usually last too long and you can get through them by distracting yourself and doing something else. Getting through the urges gets easier as time goes by.
Welcome!
I moved your post to a thread of its own so you could get a proper welcome.
The urges don`t usually last too long and you can get through them by distracting yourself and doing something else. Getting through the urges gets easier as time goes by.
at peace
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: KCMO
Posts: 166
Hi Marie, congrats on day one! I just about got my 4th day licked..so I'm a newbie sober person (if their is such a thing). I smoked last summer and went three months without drinking. Smoking was something to fall back on. I went from quitting smoking to quitting drinking and had a tough time doing both at once. Think of as many reasons you can to quit both. I bet you can come up with so many reasons it isn’t funny. I found exercise to be a big help to come clean because it's a new positive habit replacing the old bad habits or try a new hobby. Something you never tried before and just immerse yourself in it. I've heard you have to train and reprogrammed your brain into a different habit. It may take a while but if you stick with it...you will forget about your old destructive habits...good luck!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Buzz-free Zone
Posts: 1,372
Originally Posted by marie1956 
...i too have to smoke when i drink and i dont smoke otherwise so its really annoying to go 4days without either
Marie, when I read what you said above, I thought it meant that you only want to smoke when you drink. So if you don't drink, you don't have the urge to smoke?
Regardless, giving up either/both is a big, positive step and is usually easier if done in smaller, more manageable time increments. Rather than think, "I can NEVER drink or smoke again for the rest of my life" think "I won't drink/smoke for today." Hell, I used to say that I wouldn't drink/smoke for the next HOUR. It's helpful to set achievable and realistic goals.
When I got sober, I really wanted to stop drinking (after many attempts playing the 'control' game, etc.). It was my time to stop and I knew it and I wanted the physical and emotional pain to end. However, I wasn't ready to stop smoking.
I was seeing a LADAC (lic. alcohol/drug abuse counselor) who suggested I get a handle on one addiction before I attempt stopping another. That suggestion worked wonders for me. I didn't want to compromise my sobriety by trying to attempt stopping both at once.
Everyone is different. Either way, you're both in great company here at SR. Look forward to hearing more from you!
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: northamptonshire
Posts: 3
Hi thanks for your message you wrote what i had been thinking, i used to draw a lot and have got all my art stuff back out and have decided to exercise more when the urge gets too strong. its so hard isnt it and not sure why i get stuck on day 4 all the time, im determined to get past that, i suppose taking one day at a time is one of the answers to that.
Follow Directions!
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Fredericksburg, Va.
Posts: 9,730
Welcome to SR marie. If I may I would like to pass on what my Dr. told me in regards to quitting drinking & smoking at the same time.
He told me that quitting either was very difficult, he told me that I should first handle the biggest problem I had which was my drinking & that once I was solid in my sobriety then stop smoking.
Well I quite smoking on my 1 year sober date & I doubt very seriously if I could have stopped both at the same time. I am in AA & I used the same AA program I used to stop drinking to stop smoking. I have been sober for a little over 3 1/2 years and smoke free for 2 1/2 & can honestly say that today I could care less if I ever drink or smoke again thanks to the program of AA.
Think about it, if you try the same thing over & over & over again getting the same results every time.... Is it not time to logically try it a different way?
Which of these 2 can kill you the quickest & bring you many possible problems, smoking or drinking?
Which of these 2 can kill you and OTHERS smoking or drinking?
It is extremely rare to hear about some innocent person being killed by a SMOKING driver!! Drunk drivers killing innocent people happens sadly way to often.
As already suggested, take it one day at a time, one hour or even a minute at a time.
When the urge used to hit me the hardest I would tell myself that no matter what I was not going to drink that day, but I might tomorrow, of course the next day I would wake up making the decision based upon the prior days success to not drink that day no matter what!
He told me that quitting either was very difficult, he told me that I should first handle the biggest problem I had which was my drinking & that once I was solid in my sobriety then stop smoking.
Well I quite smoking on my 1 year sober date & I doubt very seriously if I could have stopped both at the same time. I am in AA & I used the same AA program I used to stop drinking to stop smoking. I have been sober for a little over 3 1/2 years and smoke free for 2 1/2 & can honestly say that today I could care less if I ever drink or smoke again thanks to the program of AA.
Think about it, if you try the same thing over & over & over again getting the same results every time.... Is it not time to logically try it a different way?
Which of these 2 can kill you the quickest & bring you many possible problems, smoking or drinking?
Which of these 2 can kill you and OTHERS smoking or drinking?
It is extremely rare to hear about some innocent person being killed by a SMOKING driver!! Drunk drivers killing innocent people happens sadly way to often.
As already suggested, take it one day at a time, one hour or even a minute at a time.
When the urge used to hit me the hardest I would tell myself that no matter what I was not going to drink that day, but I might tomorrow, of course the next day I would wake up making the decision based upon the prior days success to not drink that day no matter what!
Worn out by booze
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: London, England
Posts: 205
I find the first 4 to 5 days the hardest. By day six you'll be feeling loads better. It may not seem like it now but it does get a lot better. For me the biggest challenge during withdrawal is patience. The biggest challenge post withdrawal is stopping myself having a drink once I feel normal again.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 20,458
Welcome Marie......congrats on your choice.
I'm also newly sober on Day 18...all I can tell you about my experience is that by day 4 i cried from sheer relief of being able to stop....and each day has gotten a little bit easier as I form new habits...I am actually looking FORWARD to my 3rd sober weekend, and finding a lot of JOY in being able to do things I couldn't enjoy when I'm drinking.
an added bonus is that physically I LOOK better, my face is not red and the bloating is pretty much gone.
I'm also newly sober on Day 18...all I can tell you about my experience is that by day 4 i cried from sheer relief of being able to stop....and each day has gotten a little bit easier as I form new habits...I am actually looking FORWARD to my 3rd sober weekend, and finding a lot of JOY in being able to do things I couldn't enjoy when I'm drinking.
an added bonus is that physically I LOOK better, my face is not red and the bloating is pretty much gone.
at peace
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: KCMO
Posts: 166
Marie, someone mentioned earlier that trying to quit both smoking and drinking at the same time is much more difficult than trying to quit one at a time. I absolutely agree. If I were to concentrate on which one to quit first it would absolutely be drinking. I quit drinking last summer for three months but continued smoking. Then I quit smoking and began drinking again. I haven't smoked in 7 months so now I'm trying to stop drinking again (end of fifth day)...whew.. Maybe someday I'll get this sorted out. Just trying to give you an accurate account as to where I'm at and how I got here. Like I said, immerse yourself into your art hobby like you never have before and give exercise a try...You can do it!
P.S.-It isn't impossible to do both at once, as I know someone who did just that and has been dry and smoke free for 7 years...
P.S.-It isn't impossible to do both at once, as I know someone who did just that and has been dry and smoke free for 7 years...
Go ask the Multivax
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,481
"Marie, someone mentioned earlier that trying to quit both smoking and drinking at the same time is much more difficult than trying to quit one at a time".
I agree with TomW. You're taking on a lot of change drinking, smoking, art and excersize? Might be a recipe for disaster. Baby steps. ;-)
I'm an artist too. I stopped drinking and started up with the art again. Found me an AA art buddy and we'd work together two times a week.
I agree with TomW. You're taking on a lot of change drinking, smoking, art and excersize? Might be a recipe for disaster. Baby steps. ;-)
I'm an artist too. I stopped drinking and started up with the art again. Found me an AA art buddy and we'd work together two times a week.
blarg
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 17
Marie - I zeroed in on a word you used ... "deserve". It almost sounds like you were thinking that relapsing was the reward for abstaining.
I'm trying to think, for myself anyway, that the reward for not drinking and smoking is being alive and having at least a chance at being happy - truly happy - one day. I am 100% sure I have zero chance of that if I am drinking. I've put myself back and forth through it enough times that I'm satisfied that this is one thing I know with certainty.
I'm trying to think, for myself anyway, that the reward for not drinking and smoking is being alive and having at least a chance at being happy - truly happy - one day. I am 100% sure I have zero chance of that if I am drinking. I've put myself back and forth through it enough times that I'm satisfied that this is one thing I know with certainty.
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