icandoallthings

So, a lot of you that are further along seem to ask, "what is your plan for quitting?" I'm wondering if you advise a long-term plan or if you're asking what the plan is to not pick up that first drink today?

My plan for tonight is to take the laptop upstairs to my room and begin the Setting Captives Free course. I'll probably take an anti-anxiety med my Dr. gave me (which makes folks drowsy I guess) and just hang out with my daughter. I already promised her the special time together so I can't back out on my plan without disappointing her (which I just don't do - ever - thank you Jesus!). I think this plan will keep me out of the kitchen which is where I find myself standing at 8:00 when she goes to bed battling with myself over that first drink. I figure if I'm already in bed rather than watching TV it will help.

ANY thoughts or advise, personal experience welcome please

Every day has been my first day for the past two weeks but I give in and hang out with my drinking husband. Tonight he won't be home. I feel like having that first night under my belt will be huge...

ScottFromWI

Eveyryone's plan is different. But if you can figure out a plan to stay sober today, that's just as good as any. Sounds like you have one for today, right?

To me "having a plan" means reading on SR, every day. I don't always have time to write but i always read. Seeing others and hearing about alcohlism on a daily basis helps me remember why it's so important to me to stay sober.

For some, having a plan involves physical meeting like AA or outpatient/inpatient programs. If you find you need extra help and accountability in early sobriety, you might want to follow one of those as well.

MythOfSisyphus

Yeah, by "a plan" we just mean 'how will you change what you've been doing?' If we could easily resist the urge or control it there'd be no need for SR. For me my plan was AVRT and making a Big Plan to never drink again and never change my mind. For many the plan will include going to a doctor or ER, or some type of treatment facility. It can be dangerous to quit cold turkey, but either I didn't know that at the time or I was too sick of drinking to care. I remember thinking if withdrawals kill me then I will just die, then. It's better than continuing to be a drunk. That's not the recommended course of action, though!

jkb

People asked me that when I first joined and I had no idea what they were talking about. Then after a while I realized I needed a plan to deal with cravings, with emotions, with situations when others were drinking, and on and on... so I made a plan. At first it was just "I will not drink no matter what happens." Actually that is still a huge part of my plan but, it is evolving....

Br00ksie

For me, having a plan means doing everything in my power to stay a step ahead of my Alcoholic Voice. This means becoming familiar with my triggers and having an alternate plan of action (i.e. calling someone, reading SR posts, exercising, etc.)

This also means staying away from people and situations that will increase the likelihood that I will drink, or if avoidance isn't an option, doing everything in my power to stay strong in my resolve (usually this means calling my sponsor, another recovering alcoholic, or attending one or more AA meetings).

I have found that the network of recovering alcoholics that I have built and continue to build has helped me back away from several ledges!

Finally, "they" say that when you give up one habit, it is a good idea to replace it with another, more productive one. I have joined a gym, learned how to knit, have taken a couple of sewing classes, and have gotten more into cooking which gives me something to do other than think about picking up.

It takes time. The better you get to know yourself and your triggers, the more effective your plan will become! Good luck and hang in there!

Anna

In the early days, I hadn't yet found SR.

I walked a lot and read a lot of spiritual, recovery books. I began to find a purpose in my life and a reason for myself to stop drinking.

After a few years, I found SR, and I am still here.

wakko

My plan included

1. going to a doctor to get a basin on my health
2. enrolling in outpatient therapy
3. educating myself on alcoholism and its treatment
4. going to AA daily
5. establishing a network of sober friends
6. getting a sponsor
7. having a dry house
8. not going anywhere where alcohol was present

Dee74

Initially, a plan was simply 'what it will take for me to not drink?'.

Later on I widened the plan to include 'what it will take for me to not drink...and be happy about that'

D

escapist

I don't know if I actually had a plan. The first few weeks were living in the minute. I couldn't plan to take a shower much less come up with a stay sober agenda. I spent A LOT of time here. Hours. It has been almost a year. I do not go out with people who drink while socializing. I have yet to sit down with someone who is drinking. I don't "PLAN" on that.

freshstart57

Our goal is to become non-drinkers. For me, a plan for sobriety needs to include a bunch of the stuff that non-drinkers do. That includes hobbies, activities solo and with friends, volunteer work, exercise, and new habits and pastimes for good mental hygiene. This list of activities that non drinkers do seems to be a lot more fun than stuff that alcoholics do.

But the first thing, the very first thing, was to decide to never drink again. Irrevocably, unconditionally and permanently.

pinkdog

Hi Icando, Make a plan of what you will do instead of hanging out with someone who is drinking. Avoid temptation. The main thing is don't drink. Plan other things to do instead. Very best wishes to you.

Itchy

I planned and failed, planned again and failed and then realized that plan was not going to work. So I decided I needed a new plan and decided to detox in a hospital for a week and I did. Then I added everything available to me here locally as well as reading and posting here. Then In addition to counseling and my doctors support as well as family and friends I added AA for just the first three months.

I was willing to do whatever it takes to become unconditionally sober. From reading here and seeing the folks who relapsed locally it seems lots of folks are really just quitting until they feel better physically, and have convinced themselves they want to start back because they can handle it now. As if . . .

ejackson

Great question, because I never really understood before when someone would ask, "OK, what's your plan?"

Now I see what that means, for me. To me, it means not just claiming, "That's it! I'm quitting drinking!" but answering the question, "How?" It's the "how" part that will distinguish my new behavior from my old behavior. Or, at least, that's my plan.

Amajorityofone

After almost fourteen consecutive months of sobriety, my plan remains childishly simple.

The only thing I have to do, is not drink today.

That's IT!

Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about next week. Don't worry about next month and don't even think about next year.

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."

-Henry David Thoreau

tangningsheng

1) have some inspirational messages and a note that beeps every morning. Really keeps me in check for the day
2) Check into this site for updating 24 hrs and reading some new threads or just checking in,sometimes I stay on for long sometimes just a quick check
3) go for a run outside and then off to the gym
4) read newspapers online( I am in china with my wife who is chinese,so I like to listen and read news podcasts
5) study chinese
6) then help cook dinner. I have finished my work contract for a couple of months in between teaching jobs and can't start now because my wife and I want to go to america for a visit. She has never met my entire family.
7 Then usually relax with my wife and go for a walk before bed

LadyinBC

Yup, this is exactly what I needed to do. I needed to change something because not changing anything and doing nothing over and over again, just wasn't cutting it. For me I had to work on a whole lifestyle change.

First thing I did was see a drug and alcohol counsellor and he sent me to daytox. It was a 4 -6 week program. Best thing I did as I wasnt working at the time and it gave me something to do and some good tools to use to help me in recovery.

I needed to open my mind and learn how to do things over again. Of course all this didn't happen overnight and in the beginning the only thing I could focus on was one day at a time and just staying sober. That was really my first goal. I swear by one day at a time. It saved my sanity.