Joiner

Anyone there?
Today is day 13. I have been nervous all day and would LOVE to have a few beers. This is hard!!!!!!!

susanlauren

Joiner,
Every so often I have the thought to drink. But I know it is just a thought and I don't have to act on it. What I do is distract myself with some other activity. Clean out a drawer or a closet. Scrub out the oven. Mop the floor. Take a walk around the block. Make a phone call to a friend. Do something. Do anything except take that first drink. Early sobriety IS hard. It does get easier the more sober time you get. Hang in there. And hang out here. Do you have a program of recovery?
Susan Lauren

Anna

Yes, absolutely it's hard.

But, get through it today/tonight, and the next time it will be easier.

Dee74

Hi Joiners

I found this page recently - I found it interesting and akin to what I did myself - maybe you may get something out of it

Surfing the Urge: Dealing with Cravings
Overcoming Life's Obstacles: Urge Surfing to beat addictions and cravings

D

least

Early sobriety can be a rough road sometimes, but it does get better. And each time you resist the urge to drink the addict voice gets a little dimmer until after some time you'll barely hear it at all. Distract yourself. Do anything but drink. I used to walk my dogs when I had cravings. They loved all the walks...

And now that I'm sober I walk them a lot just because I can!! I'm no longer drunk or sick or isolating. I'm a human being again.

Stick with it. It's worth the effort.

SSIL75

I am having luck with detaching from my cravings (which are rare now, thank goodness). So in your example I'd say something to myself like "I had a crappy day. I feel nervous all day and I want to drink. Disappointing that urge has come up again but it'll pass. I'll enjoy my____ (movie/hot chocolate/fresh sheets on the bed) tonight and tomorrow will be better".

As an alcoholic I got so used to really acting like a 2 year old and indulging my every whim. But the truth for me is that some days are crappy and that's OK. Not every bad moment warrants an apocalyptic reaction. Sometimes an early night is enough.

On to a better tomorrow!

maimai

First of all congrats on day 13!!!!!!!! Every day is an accomplishment... I am really proud of you...

Hang in there, read and post often and know that you are not alone!

(((hugs)))

JoeCree

What i've done is realized that life isn't particularly fun "all the time". For the past long while I have been someone who has not taken boredom very well. INSERT - addiction of choice here. (for me it was smoking).

I would smoke at every possible time to take care of the boredom, and obviously developed an addiction thereafter. There are actually no triggers per say, only that throughout the day you get the boredom thing come back which makes you think more and more.

Don't confuse being bored with needing to drink. Instead you need to relearn how to live where accepting that drinking is not a part of life, and that boredom actually is. I happen to have a very happy personal life, so "wanting" a drink during the personal life rarely happens anymore.

But during my "work" day, man, the ups and downs the boredom - some people call this stress and maybe it is. I now call it boredom. Just because I have to give a presentation tomorrow in front of 100 people doesn;t mean I am curing cancer - 99 of those people don't even listen to what I say - they too are bored. All people think about is to get home - I'm just relearning how to compartmentalize my day; into sections of boredom followed by more boredom during work. Then happy moments with personal life again

You\re not going to miss out on anything. Trust me, the world keeps going round and round - there's no secret answers, especially if you drink. FInd solace in something, anything... then learn that the rest of the time is simply filled with motions from day to day. Life slows down a bit, maybe become more boring.... but being human is also being very resilient - you will learn happiness in life again without drinking. Just different, that's all"

least

Thank you SSIL, well put and so true. My 'inner two year old's" tantrums are best ignored.

artsoul

It takes time for the mental obsession to fade and it's not comfortable, I know. Many times I had to spend an hour or two just reading posts until the feeling went away. Also, remember to eat.

The time will go by and your mood will change. Think about looking forward to the morning (without a hangover). Good for you for posting!!

Joiner

Still sober. Thank God! I was not bored. I deal with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. In the past I would drink to help with the anxiety. But I didn't!!!! Now it is day 14. Yeah!!!!
Thanks for the support!

Kablume

Good job Joiner walking through it sober. Congrats on 14 days!

JoeCree

Hi Joiner - sorry, I wasn't implying your depression was boredom - just offering an alternative idea to why drinking "triggers" may pop up.

slipperyknot

Congrats on day 14!! I really liked this thread, it gave me some great insight into dealing with stress, the urges are going to come and when they do be proactive. I really liked the article on urgesurfing, great mental picture. Thanks!

Dee74

congratulations joiner

D

artsoul

Way to go, joiner!! 2 weeks is awesome!

(note to Dee: that was a GREAT article you posted on this thread - thanks for that!)

mrsfray

Welcome Joiner! Glad to have you here on the boards, and congrats on your 14 days, that is awesome! Dee the article was great!

wpainterw

O.K. Do anything to divert yourself. Watch TV. Take walk. Eat something you like. Go to a meeting and talk about how you feel. Don't look ahead more than one day. Stick with it. This is the hard part. You can do this. And if you do it right you'll never have to go through this again. The nervousness will go away. It's your body trying to tell you what to do. Don't listen to it. It's not your friend and if you give in to it you'll just be back where you were. Good luck. All the best.

W.