A sober weekend approaches...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Vermont at heart
Posts: 47
A sober weekend approaches...
Thanks, everyone, for your kind words and support the past couple of days! Last night I splurged on some pizza for dinner, and the craving passed shortly after. Now onto Day 5!
In the past 3 years I've only gone one full weekend without drinking, so it will be an interesting experiment this time. My goal is to stay busy. (In a way, I guess it's a good thing there are so many household chores and errands that I've neglected to do during my daily drinking era. There is no shortage of things to do now.) The idea of facing the pile of tasks is a little overwhelming...even mundane things like grocery shopping, cleaning my apartment, laundry, etc, are a struggle to get done. I keep telling myself just do one thing at a time, it won't be as daunting if you break it down. The inertia of drinking made me feel stuck to the point that any action seemed painful or even impossible. BUT....
It doesn't have to be that way now. It's been helping to read posts from those of you are going through the same thing. I'm reminding myself to make this a weekend I can be proud of when Monday morning comes.
Thanks,
Abby
In the past 3 years I've only gone one full weekend without drinking, so it will be an interesting experiment this time. My goal is to stay busy. (In a way, I guess it's a good thing there are so many household chores and errands that I've neglected to do during my daily drinking era. There is no shortage of things to do now.) The idea of facing the pile of tasks is a little overwhelming...even mundane things like grocery shopping, cleaning my apartment, laundry, etc, are a struggle to get done. I keep telling myself just do one thing at a time, it won't be as daunting if you break it down. The inertia of drinking made me feel stuck to the point that any action seemed painful or even impossible. BUT....
It doesn't have to be that way now. It's been helping to read posts from those of you are going through the same thing. I'm reminding myself to make this a weekend I can be proud of when Monday morning comes.
Thanks,
Abby
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 20,458
BL, I could have written your post verbatim back in February.....give yourself 4-5 things to do each day on the weekend...fit in a treat, like a new magazine, or for me it was finding incredible new sheets (on sale)...celebrate your little accomplishments, make a haircut appt, etc. it was great to fold the clothes and put them in drawers instead of living out of the dryer. LOL.
I still celebrate a clean kitchen floor!
I still celebrate a clean kitchen floor!
dopeless hope fiend
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Here. Now.
Posts: 1,021
yep, keeping myself busy with chores and projects was critical at first. I hardly sat down, much less watched tv for the first 90 days or so. Now, at almost 6 months i've finally found myself able to just relax, and rest, without feeling restless, irritable, and discontent. I still keep plenty busy but thankfully can enjoy a good movie, or tv, or just sit on the porch and watch the birds.
It's great to finally feel comfortable in my own skin! It gets better!
It's great to finally feel comfortable in my own skin! It gets better!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 174
I'm only coming up to 6 weeks sobriety, but all I can say is this:
The first couple of weekends will be tough, but every weekend after that you begin to fall into a new routine where alcohol won't even enter the equation. I'm slowly getting there and it really hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be.
Wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings and ask yourself if you wish you had been drinking the night before :P
Good luck!
The first couple of weekends will be tough, but every weekend after that you begin to fall into a new routine where alcohol won't even enter the equation. I'm slowly getting there and it really hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be.
Wake up on Saturday and Sunday mornings and ask yourself if you wish you had been drinking the night before :P
Good luck!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Toronto, ON
Posts: 1,591
BL, there are a lot of similarities in what you described with what I experienced too, and talked about with people on this site. What you said about breaking it down into smaller chunks is basically how I faced the tasks too. (No mountains to climb, and enjoy the changes in small installments as you go. The mountain - or finished prodiuct - will appear later, like if you take pictures and compare with how it was before.) You can create new habits for yourself, and they will probably have a special meaning for you, because they are the things you did to get out of a big, painful mess.
Good post, I am happy you are working on this.
Good post, I am happy you are working on this.
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
Hi Abby - thumbs up on your 5 days!!
I just wanted to say not to get upset if you set out to do a bunch of stuff and find it a little overwhelming. At five days, I had very little energy and my mind wasn't very clear, so be patient with yourself. That's all!! Have a great weekend - you can do it!
I just wanted to say not to get upset if you set out to do a bunch of stuff and find it a little overwhelming. At five days, I had very little energy and my mind wasn't very clear, so be patient with yourself. That's all!! Have a great weekend - you can do it!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Seattle!
Posts: 211
Hi Abby,
Congratulations on 5 days! That's great. I just want to add one more voice to the chorus. When I quit drinking last December, I kept super busy the first weekend here on SR, as well as cleaning the house (the classic), going on a long walk, and buying myself a few albums off of iTunes. It was enough to shake up the usual weekend drinking routine. As each weekend has passed, I've returned to my hobbies and interests and started paying the time to them that I have been neglecting. Now they're taking over, ha!
Congrats on 5 days, SR can be slower on weekends, but read/post here, do something nice for yourself. You can do it!!
Congratulations on 5 days! That's great. I just want to add one more voice to the chorus. When I quit drinking last December, I kept super busy the first weekend here on SR, as well as cleaning the house (the classic), going on a long walk, and buying myself a few albums off of iTunes. It was enough to shake up the usual weekend drinking routine. As each weekend has passed, I've returned to my hobbies and interests and started paying the time to them that I have been neglecting. Now they're taking over, ha!
Congrats on 5 days, SR can be slower on weekends, but read/post here, do something nice for yourself. You can do it!!
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
