13 Nights Sober is my Best Record
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 16
13 Nights Sober is my Best Record
Tonight will mark the longest I've been sober in ten years. I've tried to quit drinking many times before, but I never made it pass seven days without relapsing. Now I'm at 13 days and though I feel proud of myself I'm still very tempted to drink.
It's Saturday morning, I'm off today and tomorrow, and the only thing I can think to do is drink. But I know that the moment I pick up a beer I won't stop drinking until I have to be back at work Monday morning. I'll likely feel like sh*t, my throat will hurt, I'll have a headache, and my boss will again smell what I've been doing all weekend.
I remind myself of these negatives, and it helps to a point. Sometimes the cravings just come on too strong. What's gotten me through so far has been an absurd amount of snacks and sugary things. Soda, cookies, Doritos, peanut butter cups, pizza....if giving up drinking means I'll gain a few pounds then that's someting I'll have to accept.
At least I'm over the first few days, which were the absolute worse, especially the insomnia. I didn't sleep at all for the first three nights. When I did sleep, I'd have terrible nightmares and wake up screaming. It's like that everytime I try to quit. It never gets better, so I know I don't want to go through that again.
It's really helped reading everyone's stories here. I'm glad I found you guys. My urge to drink has subsided for now. I'm drinking a soda instead. Thanks.
It's Saturday morning, I'm off today and tomorrow, and the only thing I can think to do is drink. But I know that the moment I pick up a beer I won't stop drinking until I have to be back at work Monday morning. I'll likely feel like sh*t, my throat will hurt, I'll have a headache, and my boss will again smell what I've been doing all weekend.
I remind myself of these negatives, and it helps to a point. Sometimes the cravings just come on too strong. What's gotten me through so far has been an absurd amount of snacks and sugary things. Soda, cookies, Doritos, peanut butter cups, pizza....if giving up drinking means I'll gain a few pounds then that's someting I'll have to accept.
At least I'm over the first few days, which were the absolute worse, especially the insomnia. I didn't sleep at all for the first three nights. When I did sleep, I'd have terrible nightmares and wake up screaming. It's like that everytime I try to quit. It never gets better, so I know I don't want to go through that again.
It's really helped reading everyone's stories here. I'm glad I found you guys. My urge to drink has subsided for now. I'm drinking a soda instead. Thanks.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Maine
Posts: 33
Good morning One Spark. Three words - DON"T DO IT! It's not worth. There are so many things you can enjoy this weekend by NOT drinking. Watch tv, go for a walk, read, listen to music or a radio talk show, do a cross word puzzle, get the crayons out and color (no kidding, I'm a middle aged adult and I love coloring!), talk on the phone, reach out for support (you did that here - good job), play scrabble on your phone/computer, you get the idea. Can you go to a meeting or something? You don't have to talk - just sit and listen. The stories and people are an inspiration and they have so much experience to share.
Picking up that beer will get you no where. You know that. 13 days is a good run. Keep building on it!
Picking up that beer will get you no where. You know that. 13 days is a good run. Keep building on it!
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: California
Posts: 87
Today is my day 10 so I am close to where you are. I am using a similar technique which is when I have the urge to drink I talk myself out of it by thinking of all the negatives that will occur. I also take the advice of so many on this forum which is formulating a plan to keep me from drinking especially when I have a lot of free time that would normally involve drinking.
Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Oxnard (The Nard), CA, USA.
Posts: 13,949
Urges can be uncomfortable to have, but you can choose not to act on them. When an urge comes on a health distraction can help. Reading recovery literature can change the direction of ones mind off the urge and onto learning healthy behaviors. It works for me.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: California
Posts: 377
At 2 weeks, your mind will still be all over the place with its way of thinking. The physical part of the detox process is over. From here on out, it most likely will all be mental obstacles you will face.
As you said, you will constantly be thinking about drinking. Its like you can't do ANYTHING without drinking...I mean thinking about alcohol! It sucks I know! That voice is a SOB for sure! It's very devious. It will try to convince you that drinking is ok, and it will justify it in some way. Well, I can promise you that voice is full of sh*t! Don't listen to it! I am quite aware this is easier said than done, but everyone sober right now has been exactly where you are. Every single person here can relate.
If I can offer any advice it would be to live and breathe this website. Read it cover to cover!!
Also, stay away from anything alcohol related. If that means going out of your way to avoid driving past your favorite liquor store in order to get home, drive the long way then. If you got your alcohol from the supermarket, have someone else do the shopping for a little while. If thats not an option, shop somewhere else for food. Its the little things really, but the little things are what sets us off. Just walking past your old bottle opener might trigger a chain of mental events that could be extremely dangerous to staying sober. So if you relate something to drinking, avoid it like the plauge! For now anyways. Over time, things like I mentioned above will be meaningless. But RIGHT NOW they dangerous.
One last thing. Remember why you wanted to stop in the first place. Pound that into your brain when that voice comes around. And I mean POUND IT HARD! You wouldn't be here if there wasn't a reason. Don't ever let that voice tell you different. Know that being sober is far superior than any drinking. I PROMISE YOU THAT! I am 7 and a half months sober, and it feels GREAT! The way my body and mind feels now is unexplainable. The bottle of vodka I drank nightly NEVER made me feel like how I feel today. The constant hangovers, embarrassments, anxiety, lying, selfishness, mental obsession etc etc have all been traded in for clarity, massive energy, happiness, self confidence, and much much more. Trust me its sooooooooo worth it.
Stay strong my friend! Being sober will change your life! I promise you that!
-Ryan
P.S. I too ate a butt ton of sweets when I got first go sober, and I never was a candy eater before. I think its our bodies just craving sugar because there was so much of it in alcohol. So eat up!!!
P.S.2. Also check out www.xa-speakers.org click speakers, AA, single speakers, and download some of those files to listen too. That REALLY helped me when I had an urge to drink in the beginning. Heck, I still listen to them today. Theres loads of speakers to listen to
As you said, you will constantly be thinking about drinking. Its like you can't do ANYTHING without drinking...I mean thinking about alcohol! It sucks I know! That voice is a SOB for sure! It's very devious. It will try to convince you that drinking is ok, and it will justify it in some way. Well, I can promise you that voice is full of sh*t! Don't listen to it! I am quite aware this is easier said than done, but everyone sober right now has been exactly where you are. Every single person here can relate.
If I can offer any advice it would be to live and breathe this website. Read it cover to cover!!
Also, stay away from anything alcohol related. If that means going out of your way to avoid driving past your favorite liquor store in order to get home, drive the long way then. If you got your alcohol from the supermarket, have someone else do the shopping for a little while. If thats not an option, shop somewhere else for food. Its the little things really, but the little things are what sets us off. Just walking past your old bottle opener might trigger a chain of mental events that could be extremely dangerous to staying sober. So if you relate something to drinking, avoid it like the plauge! For now anyways. Over time, things like I mentioned above will be meaningless. But RIGHT NOW they dangerous. One last thing. Remember why you wanted to stop in the first place. Pound that into your brain when that voice comes around. And I mean POUND IT HARD! You wouldn't be here if there wasn't a reason. Don't ever let that voice tell you different. Know that being sober is far superior than any drinking. I PROMISE YOU THAT! I am 7 and a half months sober, and it feels GREAT! The way my body and mind feels now is unexplainable. The bottle of vodka I drank nightly NEVER made me feel like how I feel today. The constant hangovers, embarrassments, anxiety, lying, selfishness, mental obsession etc etc have all been traded in for clarity, massive energy, happiness, self confidence, and much much more. Trust me its sooooooooo worth it.
Stay strong my friend! Being sober will change your life! I promise you that!
-Ryan
P.S. I too ate a butt ton of sweets when I got first go sober, and I never was a candy eater before. I think its our bodies just craving sugar because there was so much of it in alcohol. So eat up!!!
P.S.2. Also check out www.xa-speakers.org click speakers, AA, single speakers, and download some of those files to listen too. That REALLY helped me when I had an urge to drink in the beginning. Heck, I still listen to them today. Theres loads of speakers to listen to
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Arizona
Posts: 44
Congrats on 13 nights sober.......You don't have to listen to your sick addicted brain anymore, just remember your brain is sick and it needs time to heal and the only way for it to heal is if you don't have that drink. It's like anything sick, needs time, so give it the time it needs to heal. Do you have any meditation DVD's or Eckhart Tolle videos. How about going to an AA meeting today and tonight, if they work for you?
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,438
Hi OneSpark
I drank for years - the last five of them I drank daily - it took me a while, more than 2 weeks, to change my mindset - sometimes it was pretty hard going.
The people here really helped tho...and as I stayed sober, I slowly began to sort a few things out and put a bit of distance between my old life and the new one I was building.
If cravings are a particular problem you might find some useful reading here:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
You can do it OneSpark - welcome aboard
D
I drank for years - the last five of them I drank daily - it took me a while, more than 2 weeks, to change my mindset - sometimes it was pretty hard going.
The people here really helped tho...and as I stayed sober, I slowly began to sort a few things out and put a bit of distance between my old life and the new one I was building.
If cravings are a particular problem you might find some useful reading here:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
You can do it OneSpark - welcome aboard
D
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