seeks

So today I went to meet and greet my new clinical instructor and take a tour of the hospital I will be working at. I get a little anxious before I do things like this; new environment new people etc.

Long story short, it was a great experience! Gave myself ample time to get oriented and everyone was very nice and helpful.

After I was finished and found my way back to the freeway I felt relieved to have that taken care of. The surprise was when I started to romanticize about going and having some drinks because I took care of business and really don't have any obligations tomorrow.

WOW! The more I reflected on it the more a realized it was a pattern of mine. Almost every achievement, large or small, has been rewarded with celebratory drinking. The thoughts passed after about five minutes as my mind filled with other things I wanted to do today and tomorrow.

The take away for me is my triggers can come from very unexpected sources and being aware of that everyday helps walk me through the reality of drinking and not buy into the romanticized idea of it.

Just wanted to get this written down thanks for "listening"!

Aarryckha

Great catch!

Just think, you can come up with better ways to reward yourself now!

Climber122

Just keep replacing those old notions to drink for (you fill in the blank) reason. Every time you observe a craving pass it will lose a little more power. You seem to have made a very important cognitive leap in realizing that "triggers" are just thoughts and have no power over your actual behavior. Ultimately you decide how you're going to spend your day. The beauty is, you can do ANYTHING you want other than take a drink. In fact, the longer you are sober the more the world will open up to you and you will realize what a prison addiction is, even when we thought we were celebrating, happy and free. Sobriety is the greatest freedom an alcoholic can have!