melberholtz

I have 30 days under my belt. Didn't think I would make it this far when I started this just a month ago. It was going really easily until last week. I had a couple of days that were tough (stuff going on at work where it was just a knee-jerk reaction to reach for a drink). I would normally go on auto-pilot and just drink. Instead, I went on auto-pilot and didn't drink. What I noticed was that after an hour or so, I had come to terms with the situation and worked through a plan to get through it. Something that I would not have done had I just drank. I made it through those couple of tough days and am feeling stronger then ever now. I'm honestly proud of myself. Still just taking it a day at a time though.

NoFireWater

Melberholtz, that is great news! Congrats on 30 days! Interesting re working out situation sober. I'm finding that too, drinking just postponed things and made dealing with the situations harder. In many ways life is just so much easier with no drinking involved. It's kind of a piece of cake lol We were so used to doing things drunk or hungover it was like going through life dragging a cement weight around. It's not half the challenge without it. Thankfully!

FredG

Congratulations on 30 GroupHug

candi7

You are doing wonderful! You will have ups and downs.. just stay sober and it will get better. One day at a time is the way to do it for sure!

These things helped me soo much in the beginning:

H.A.L.T.
Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired

This tried and true slogan helps us to stay in touch with our feelings and needs. Sometimes the onset of anxiety or a sudden drop in mood can be traced to our having forgotten to eat so our blood sugar levels are off kilter. Sometimes we may be carrying a resentment, or feeling lonely, or we are just too tired. Taking a little time out from our busy day to ask ourselves if we are feeling too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, gets us in touch with our feelings. When we know what we are feeling we can make choices and take the appropriate action to get our needs for food, companionship, or rest, met.

Being too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, are conditions that leave us more vulnerable to the temptations that lead us away from our program of dual recovery. Part of recovery is learning to pay attention to these inner signals and practice appropriate ways to meet our needs and resolve issues in a manner that will enhance our abstinence and serenity.

And

Acceptance (big book pg 417 4th edition)

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.

Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.

The Serenity Prayer (I wore this prayer out)

"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference."

too.tall

Thanks for posting. It's always great to read about success stories.

soberjim

Melberholtz...Thanks for the post! Congratulations!

jim

Mizzuno

You did it! Here's to you and 30 days! Very good.

myhappyproject

Congratulations on 30 days! I'm looking forward to hitting that milestone myself in a week. I so appreciate reading other SR members posts and sharing of feelings and learning new ways to react differently to situations that would have resulted in drinking in the past. It really is a retraining process to catch yourself and choose to react differently. Of course, as soon as you put out in the universe that you are "not" doing something, the universe will send you challenges to test your resolve, it's just the way it seems to work. Taking each one of these challenges with your new perspective is a victory that you should be so very proud of yourself.

Here's to the next 30, and then the next....

IndaMiricale

Love it and well done...

Making it when its hard is what makes you grow.. Its does feel good to wake up the next day and know your sober..

zorah

I am 30 days too. Now 42 days and i'm really up against it. So I admire you for getting this far. It seems an epic struggle doesn't it? Someone told me that it's not really about stopping but staying stopped--and that's what you did. I was also told that it's pretty slippery when you start out and so don't be hard on yourself.

Keep on!


Zorah