Where is the PLAN
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: mountain states, Montana and Wyoming
Posts: 246
Where is the PLAN
I see where when one is new to recovery one needs a plan. I have searched high and low for a plan and do not see one posted. I think it would benefit people greatly to have a template for a plan. I understand it is very personal in everyone's life how THEIR plan is applied, but I think people would benefit from a large template of steps to the plan.
I have a financial plan where I know exactly what I need to do to achieve the goals I have set. It is large, but started out as a template which I added to over the years.
I have a diet and exercise plan where again I know what I need to do and not do to achieve a goal. I don't follow it very well, but I add to it daily.
Perhaps this exists, and if it does could someone tell me. I would be happy to put the PLAN together as a template, but I don't have one, and don't know where to start. I know AA is certainly a plan, but I think members on this forum who are successful have idea where they can get newcomers off on the right foot.
Been PM some people IRT a war chest to fight the war of alcoholism and had a lot of success, but I think if people worked together to give options then it would be helpful. I know not everything works for everyone as we are all certainly a diverse group. But being able to pick and choose, or add and subtract would be helpful.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I have a financial plan where I know exactly what I need to do to achieve the goals I have set. It is large, but started out as a template which I added to over the years.
I have a diet and exercise plan where again I know what I need to do and not do to achieve a goal. I don't follow it very well, but I add to it daily.
Perhaps this exists, and if it does could someone tell me. I would be happy to put the PLAN together as a template, but I don't have one, and don't know where to start. I know AA is certainly a plan, but I think members on this forum who are successful have idea where they can get newcomers off on the right foot.
Been PM some people IRT a war chest to fight the war of alcoholism and had a lot of success, but I think if people worked together to give options then it would be helpful. I know not everything works for everyone as we are all certainly a diverse group. But being able to pick and choose, or add and subtract would be helpful.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,460
There are a variety of 'plans' and if you take a quick look around you will find lots of information. There is no one size fits all plan for recovery.
AA, SMART, Lifering, Women for Sobriety are some of the plans.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ormation.html?
AA, SMART, Lifering, Women for Sobriety are some of the plans.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ormation.html?
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
what Anna said!!
But generally, for me anyway, THE PLAN includes these components;
What will I do instead of drinking - SPECIFICALLY?
What will I drink in settings where alcohol is present - Definite and specific alternatives!
What will I SAY to people that doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, when offered alcohol or asked about my not drinking? SPECIFIC, REHEARSED responses
What resources will I rely on to help me honor my choice of sobriety and remember why I made it? (AA, Big Book Study, Calls to a sponsor or friends in recovery, SR posting and reading, therapy, etc).
How often will I do these things?
What will be the signs that I need to step it up because my sobriety is being challenged? How - SPECIFICALLY - will I respond?
What will I say to my family?
How broadly will I discuss my choice of sobriety? Do I need different "levels" of sharing? What specifically will I say for each level?
Service work is important - how will I give back in life? Specific actions.
What new interests and activities will I focus on?
Whether or not I'm "working steps" - what areas of my life need attention (beyond just not drinking) - and what actions will I take?? (e.g. cleaning up debts, making up with people I've hurt, forgiving myself, forgiving others...)
What will I do to cultivate my own sense of spirituality, belief or faith in SOMETHING?
There are probably lots more areas but the bottom line is that when we say "Have a PLAN" - we mean going through all of these types of questions and issues and getting very clear and specific for ourselves on WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
Sobriety means action. It means changing our habits and our ways of dealing with and responding to life. It usually means re-wiring ourselves after years and decades of patterns we've formed.
Just don't drink - that's only the removal of the toxin and the main 'culprit' that got us here. But once that's set aside, the real work begins. Life just doesn't suddenly get rosy and we're cured and move on in bliss and utopia because we stuck the plug in the jug.
But generally, for me anyway, THE PLAN includes these components;
What will I do instead of drinking - SPECIFICALLY?
What will I drink in settings where alcohol is present - Definite and specific alternatives!
What will I SAY to people that doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, when offered alcohol or asked about my not drinking? SPECIFIC, REHEARSED responses
What resources will I rely on to help me honor my choice of sobriety and remember why I made it? (AA, Big Book Study, Calls to a sponsor or friends in recovery, SR posting and reading, therapy, etc).
How often will I do these things?
What will be the signs that I need to step it up because my sobriety is being challenged? How - SPECIFICALLY - will I respond?
What will I say to my family?
How broadly will I discuss my choice of sobriety? Do I need different "levels" of sharing? What specifically will I say for each level?
Service work is important - how will I give back in life? Specific actions.
What new interests and activities will I focus on?
Whether or not I'm "working steps" - what areas of my life need attention (beyond just not drinking) - and what actions will I take?? (e.g. cleaning up debts, making up with people I've hurt, forgiving myself, forgiving others...)
What will I do to cultivate my own sense of spirituality, belief or faith in SOMETHING?
There are probably lots more areas but the bottom line is that when we say "Have a PLAN" - we mean going through all of these types of questions and issues and getting very clear and specific for ourselves on WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
Sobriety means action. It means changing our habits and our ways of dealing with and responding to life. It usually means re-wiring ourselves after years and decades of patterns we've formed.
Just don't drink - that's only the removal of the toxin and the main 'culprit' that got us here. But once that's set aside, the real work begins. Life just doesn't suddenly get rosy and we're cured and move on in bliss and utopia because we stuck the plug in the jug.
Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 383
I agree that you need a plan - we all do. The difference between saying one is done drinking and sobriety is working a plan of recovery. I've heard it said before that I need to work at least as hard at recovery as I did at making sure I had enough booze.
There are many plans out there, but to assist in choosing one, consider making a one-time appointment with a drug and alcohol, nationally certified addictions counselor. In one hour she or he could learn a bit about what you are looking for and make some suggestions as to what might be a good fit.
There are many plans out there, but to assist in choosing one, consider making a one-time appointment with a drug and alcohol, nationally certified addictions counselor. In one hour she or he could learn a bit about what you are looking for and make some suggestions as to what might be a good fit.
Do your best
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 67,047
My plan is whatever happens and mean whatever happens i do not drink
if this is too much to do then somethings not right and ppl need to change
no one is forcing us to drink
if we drink we are choosing to drink
i choose not drink ...
if this is too much to do then somethings not right and ppl need to change
no one is forcing us to drink
if we drink we are choosing to drink
i choose not drink ...
Trudgin
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 6,348
I suppose your template could be questions such as Free Owl's listed. One could then tailor it to there needs. The plan needs to start with one caveat for those of us who are alcoholics with alcoholism;
The header of the template should be
I WILL NOT DRINK ANY ALCOHOL AND/OR USE ANY RECREATIONAL DRUGS REGARDLESS OF LIFE's EVENTS!
AA is not a plan, it's a fellowship.
Their plan is discussed in the first 164 pages of the Big Book with details in chapter 5 - "How it Works". Many programs have been tailored to those trying to recover based on this.
Side note - I live in an area with a well known regional rehab center. Folks from all over the country come here. They go to rehab and rehab sends them to our group by bus. A Big Book is around 10 bucks. Many pay $40-$50,000 for their copy.....
Regardless of the plan it is the EXECUTION of it that matters most. Many people don't get sober because they have too much knowledge and not enough ACTION. Knowledge does not keep one sober........
peace
The header of the template should be
I WILL NOT DRINK ANY ALCOHOL AND/OR USE ANY RECREATIONAL DRUGS REGARDLESS OF LIFE's EVENTS!
AA is not a plan, it's a fellowship.
Their plan is discussed in the first 164 pages of the Big Book with details in chapter 5 - "How it Works". Many programs have been tailored to those trying to recover based on this.
Side note - I live in an area with a well known regional rehab center. Folks from all over the country come here. They go to rehab and rehab sends them to our group by bus. A Big Book is around 10 bucks. Many pay $40-$50,000 for their copy.....
Regardless of the plan it is the EXECUTION of it that matters most. Many people don't get sober because they have too much knowledge and not enough ACTION. Knowledge does not keep one sober........
peace
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: mountain states, Montana and Wyoming
Posts: 246
Thanks guys, this is what I was looking for. I know every group has a "plan", but I am not a big group guy, sort of like to go it alone. A difficulty with this process is many people have many ranges of this disease. Much the same as losing weight. Some people feel horrible when they are 20 lbs overweight and think it is the end of the world and think their problem is as bad as a person who is 400 lbs overweight. I guess though, the 20 can become 400!
No doubt alcoholism is progressive, as I have said before, I used to love to drink, it was fun, I enjoyed every aspect of it and the hangovers were not bad. Made me energetic, talkative, and I was a fun drunk. Now, it is quite different, don't get the highs, drink 8 to 10 drinks and slur and cant think, hangovers are bad, lost productivity for two days instead of a couple of hours, etc. The list can go on for three more pages.
I have a difficult time doing charity work, I mostly center my efforts on widows and orphans. Signed up yesterday to be a behind the scenes guy at a local charity helping feed, cloth and shelter homeless youths in the area. I guess I will haul furniture, clean out places they live, and I am sure endow their food center. Trying to get away with the writing a check and actually get involved with the physical act of helping. I am thinking, and maybe incorrectly, that this is a way to give back to the people who need it the most, helpless victims of alcohol/drug abuse. Few kids want to not have parents.
I will see how it goes. Thanks for the replies and the help. I might check in to a alcohol counselor but fear, and I am right on this one, that it will get into my medical record and screw me and my family worse in regard to insurance.
This week my auto insurance on all my vehicles, my home owners insurance, my umbrella policy all got cancelled. Don't know why, asked the rep and he wont get back to me. No DWI's, tickets, slow payments, or anything, they flat out dropped me and gave me a month for new coverage. I pay the insurance in full for a year at a time. I have to think they somehow found out I was diagnosed with Bi Polar. This coupled with the market selling off yesterday is difficult, but I did not drink and did not overeat.
Normally when the market is up big I drink big, when it is down big I drink big. This time I went to bed early.
Thanks
No doubt alcoholism is progressive, as I have said before, I used to love to drink, it was fun, I enjoyed every aspect of it and the hangovers were not bad. Made me energetic, talkative, and I was a fun drunk. Now, it is quite different, don't get the highs, drink 8 to 10 drinks and slur and cant think, hangovers are bad, lost productivity for two days instead of a couple of hours, etc. The list can go on for three more pages.
I have a difficult time doing charity work, I mostly center my efforts on widows and orphans. Signed up yesterday to be a behind the scenes guy at a local charity helping feed, cloth and shelter homeless youths in the area. I guess I will haul furniture, clean out places they live, and I am sure endow their food center. Trying to get away with the writing a check and actually get involved with the physical act of helping. I am thinking, and maybe incorrectly, that this is a way to give back to the people who need it the most, helpless victims of alcohol/drug abuse. Few kids want to not have parents.
I will see how it goes. Thanks for the replies and the help. I might check in to a alcohol counselor but fear, and I am right on this one, that it will get into my medical record and screw me and my family worse in regard to insurance.
This week my auto insurance on all my vehicles, my home owners insurance, my umbrella policy all got cancelled. Don't know why, asked the rep and he wont get back to me. No DWI's, tickets, slow payments, or anything, they flat out dropped me and gave me a month for new coverage. I pay the insurance in full for a year at a time. I have to think they somehow found out I was diagnosed with Bi Polar. This coupled with the market selling off yesterday is difficult, but I did not drink and did not overeat.
Normally when the market is up big I drink big, when it is down big I drink big. This time I went to bed early.
Thanks
Recovered
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,129
This thread from 2009 contains my plan (post #6). I followed this plan EVERY DAY. It has evolved over the years and looks a little different now, but I STILL follow my plan every single day.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...my-bottom.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...my-bottom.html
Sobriety is Traditional
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Orcas Island, Washington
Posts: 9,057
Here are some tips from the Lake Chelan Community Hospital dual-diagnosis recovery program:
Key Methods of Living Sober
Attend a meeting daily. If needed, attend more in a day.
Participate in the meetings. The more you give, the more you get!
Introduce yourself to another person before or after the meeting. Do this until you know three people to say "Hi" to when you come to a meeting again.
Call two people from the phone list you received. Explain you are new and just want to practice using the phone. Ask about good meetings to attend. Or just wish the person "Happy New Year!"--it might make their day!
Listen to the announcements. Some AA or NA events are just for fun.
Select a sponsor as soon as possible. The person should have at least one year consecutive sobriety and know and practice the program. He/she should be able to guide you through step work and be reasonably available.
Start you day by acknowledging your higher power and ask for guidance. Close your day with gratitude for your sobriety and any other gifts which came your way.
Set aside 5 to 10 minutes a day to read a portion of the big book or NA text. Increase the time as your brain waves begin to level.
Allow yourself time to rest each day. Eat nutritiously on a regular basis.
Take time out when your emotions are on a major high or low. Balance is the goal.
Prayer is the telephone to your higher power. How do you know he won't answer if you don't call?
Ask for serenity from your higher power. The "Serenity Prayer" has saved many.
Call your sponsor or a friend on the phone list when you are out of sync.
Write about your feelings in a journal.
Make a list of the options that help you when you get into the trapped feelings. Make the list when you are feeling free.
Make notes that inspire your recovery and place them in conspicuous places. It might help prevent you from a relapse.
Remember that a compulsion only lasts forever if you give in to it
Key Methods of Living Sober
Attend a meeting daily. If needed, attend more in a day.
Participate in the meetings. The more you give, the more you get!
Introduce yourself to another person before or after the meeting. Do this until you know three people to say "Hi" to when you come to a meeting again.
Call two people from the phone list you received. Explain you are new and just want to practice using the phone. Ask about good meetings to attend. Or just wish the person "Happy New Year!"--it might make their day!
Listen to the announcements. Some AA or NA events are just for fun.
Select a sponsor as soon as possible. The person should have at least one year consecutive sobriety and know and practice the program. He/she should be able to guide you through step work and be reasonably available.
Start you day by acknowledging your higher power and ask for guidance. Close your day with gratitude for your sobriety and any other gifts which came your way.
Set aside 5 to 10 minutes a day to read a portion of the big book or NA text. Increase the time as your brain waves begin to level.
Allow yourself time to rest each day. Eat nutritiously on a regular basis.
Take time out when your emotions are on a major high or low. Balance is the goal.
Prayer is the telephone to your higher power. How do you know he won't answer if you don't call?
Ask for serenity from your higher power. The "Serenity Prayer" has saved many.
Call your sponsor or a friend on the phone list when you are out of sync.
Write about your feelings in a journal.
Make a list of the options that help you when you get into the trapped feelings. Make the list when you are feeling free.
Make notes that inspire your recovery and place them in conspicuous places. It might help prevent you from a relapse.
Remember that a compulsion only lasts forever if you give in to it
Self recovered Self discovered
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
The successful plans we used are as varied as we are. The plans that worked for some simply didn't do it for others.
Here is a collection of members' experiences of early sobriety that showed success.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html
Here's mine.
Hope you see something in these recountings that will help you make YOUR plan.
Here is a collection of members' experiences of early sobriety that showed success.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html
Here's mine.
Hope you see something in these recountings that will help you make YOUR plan.
Trudgin
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 6,348
Originally Posted by herradura 
I have a difficult time doing charity work, I mostly center my efforts on widows and orphans. Signed up yesterday to be a behind the scenes guy at a local charity helping feed, cloth and shelter homeless youths in the area. I guess I will haul furniture, clean out places they live, and I am sure endow their food center. Trying to get away with the writing a check and actually get involved with the physical act of helping. I am thinking, and maybe incorrectly, that this is a way to give back to the people who need it the most, helpless victims of alcohol/drug abuse. Few kids want to not have parents.
It is apparent you have many talents and gifts, I am certain you'll find the best way to use them. For me, moving furniture etc just isn't in my frame of reference. I found ways to get a team together to help with the physical stuff - younger kids and organize their efforts to be more productive!
Endowing is HUGE!!!
Good for you......
Yea, insurance guys....
Having been in that business for a long time, sometimes it's not the risk assessment, it's their book of business that changes. And yes, you should be able to get this answer - no doubt.
peace
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: mountain states, Montana and Wyoming
Posts: 246
Thanks for the advice and suggestions especially cold fusion. Flynbuy: I don't know if this is the right fit, but I cant council people and I own a lot of "stuff". I have found lately one of the biggest problems with people doing things is a lack of "stuff". I bought horse hay today and the guy was to deliver it on a truck and a small trailer. I told him he could use my 30 ft 28000 lb trailer if he needed it. He did not have a truck to pull it so I offered one of mine, I have three. He says my hay is free and he will pay for the rest of the variable expenses.
Anyway, I am finding my way and am very out of touch with how people live and how I can help them. I have too much stuff and would like to use it to help people, as in the past I would only write a check and then have some drinks to celebrate my check writing. Trying to put some "skin in the game". I am not charity driven, I like to help workin' folk, and kids who are in a bad situation not because of what they did, but rather to whom they were born. I am one generation away from being "white trash". My parents were born white trash and worked hard to send their kids to college, then grad school, then we all do what we do. I am never going to forget what my parents did, and I want to help people who want to help themselves.
Thanks, these answers are what I am looking for.
Anyway, I am finding my way and am very out of touch with how people live and how I can help them. I have too much stuff and would like to use it to help people, as in the past I would only write a check and then have some drinks to celebrate my check writing. Trying to put some "skin in the game". I am not charity driven, I like to help workin' folk, and kids who are in a bad situation not because of what they did, but rather to whom they were born. I am one generation away from being "white trash". My parents were born white trash and worked hard to send their kids to college, then grad school, then we all do what we do. I am never going to forget what my parents did, and I want to help people who want to help themselves.
Thanks, these answers are what I am looking for.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Hollywood, FL
Posts: 207
Originally Posted by soberwolf
My plan is whatever happens and mean whatever happens i do not drink
if this is too much to do then somethings not right and ppl need to change
no one is forcing us to drink
if we drink we are choosing to drink
i choose not drink ...
if this is too much to do then somethings not right and ppl need to change
no one is forcing us to drink
if we drink we are choosing to drink
i choose not drink ...
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 776
Originally Posted by FreeOwl
what Anna said!!
But generally, for me anyway, THE PLAN includes these components;
What will I do instead of drinking - SPECIFICALLY?
What will I drink in settings where alcohol is present - Definite and specific alternatives!
What will I SAY to people that doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, when offered alcohol or asked about my not drinking? SPECIFIC, REHEARSED responses
What resources will I rely on to help me honor my choice of sobriety and remember why I made it? (AA, Big Book Study, Calls to a sponsor or friends in recovery, SR posting and reading, therapy, etc).
How often will I do these things?
What will be the signs that I need to step it up because my sobriety is being challenged? How - SPECIFICALLY - will I respond?
What will I say to my family?
How broadly will I discuss my choice of sobriety? Do I need different "levels" of sharing? What specifically will I say for each level?
Service work is important - how will I give back in life? Specific actions.
What new interests and activities will I focus on?
Whether or not I'm "working steps" - what areas of my life need attention (beyond just not drinking) - and what actions will I take?? (e.g. cleaning up debts, making up with people I've hurt, forgiving myself, forgiving others...)
What will I do to cultivate my own sense of spirituality, belief or faith in SOMETHING?
There are probably lots more areas but the bottom line is that when we say "Have a PLAN" - we mean going through all of these types of questions and issues and getting very clear and specific for ourselves on WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
Sobriety means action. It means changing our habits and our ways of dealing with and responding to life. It usually means re-wiring ourselves after years and decades of patterns we've formed.
Just don't drink - that's only the removal of the toxin and the main 'culprit' that got us here. But once that's set aside, the real work begins. Life just doesn't suddenly get rosy and we're cured and move on in bliss and utopia because we stuck the plug in the jug.
But generally, for me anyway, THE PLAN includes these components;
What will I do instead of drinking - SPECIFICALLY?
What will I drink in settings where alcohol is present - Definite and specific alternatives!
What will I SAY to people that doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, when offered alcohol or asked about my not drinking? SPECIFIC, REHEARSED responses
What resources will I rely on to help me honor my choice of sobriety and remember why I made it? (AA, Big Book Study, Calls to a sponsor or friends in recovery, SR posting and reading, therapy, etc).
How often will I do these things?
What will be the signs that I need to step it up because my sobriety is being challenged? How - SPECIFICALLY - will I respond?
What will I say to my family?
How broadly will I discuss my choice of sobriety? Do I need different "levels" of sharing? What specifically will I say for each level?
Service work is important - how will I give back in life? Specific actions.
What new interests and activities will I focus on?
Whether or not I'm "working steps" - what areas of my life need attention (beyond just not drinking) - and what actions will I take?? (e.g. cleaning up debts, making up with people I've hurt, forgiving myself, forgiving others...)
What will I do to cultivate my own sense of spirituality, belief or faith in SOMETHING?
There are probably lots more areas but the bottom line is that when we say "Have a PLAN" - we mean going through all of these types of questions and issues and getting very clear and specific for ourselves on WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO.
Sobriety means action. It means changing our habits and our ways of dealing with and responding to life. It usually means re-wiring ourselves after years and decades of patterns we've formed.
Just don't drink - that's only the removal of the toxin and the main 'culprit' that got us here. But once that's set aside, the real work begins. Life just doesn't suddenly get rosy and we're cured and move on in bliss and utopia because we stuck the plug in the jug.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 4,225
Herradura....I didn't know what the hell I was doing in the beginning. I just woke up one morning and knew the craziness had to stop. I didn't know the term "plan", back then but I had them, even in the beginning. My first "plan" was to download books on recovery that first weekend.
Plan 1. Read, read, read about recovery and get through weekend 1, sober.
One book that resonated....that I've actually seen no one ever mention here apart from me, is "The first 30 days to Serenity: the essential guide to staying sober"
I didn't even know how I was going to get through the first few days. 30 days seemed insurmountable. This book is a bit out there...but format helped me. The writer journals not only his first 30 days sober, but his reflections a year later, where he analyses where his head was at, and what parts are just stinking thinking. I've included a quote and link to the book at the bottom of my post.
Plan 2. Got through my first weekend. Now how do I get through the week?
So that plan involved, shopping for meals, planning ahead so I had food to eat when I got home to fill my tummy and not crave drinking. Bought an exercise bike, a blender for smoothies. Weekends my plan was to see a movie Saturday night, drive the car there (woo hoo!). Stay sober. That was my plan.
Plan 3. Journal each day. Focus on my spiritual growth each day. Make time for quiet relaxation time, down time. Look after my health, mental health. Learn something new. Read more books again.....wow, I can concentrate now! Quell any positive thought of alcohol with a negative one. Learn about addiction. Learn about how to be on guard for the AV.
Plan 4. A refined version of plan 3. I don't crave alcohol any more. My life is full, there's always more work to be done, but I'm happy and healthy.
My advice...Google, be open to other suggestions....be aware your plan can and should (I believe) evolve. Learn about addiction and how it affects your brain, perception and mind. That was a huge one for me. Understanding about eurphoric recall, for example, helped me turn a corner.
Most of all. Your plan, is YOURS. Own it. And don't let people let you think that their way is the best way, or the only way. It's your journey. Best of luck!
-----------------------
“Staying open to the various ways different people stay sober is essential. Don’t be oblivious or fight against ideas that have worked for others.”
Excerpt From: Star, Super. “The First 30 Days to Serenity: The Essential Guide to Staying Sober.” Super Star. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/...k?id=534861280
Plan 1. Read, read, read about recovery and get through weekend 1, sober.
One book that resonated....that I've actually seen no one ever mention here apart from me, is "The first 30 days to Serenity: the essential guide to staying sober"
I didn't even know how I was going to get through the first few days. 30 days seemed insurmountable. This book is a bit out there...but format helped me. The writer journals not only his first 30 days sober, but his reflections a year later, where he analyses where his head was at, and what parts are just stinking thinking. I've included a quote and link to the book at the bottom of my post.
Plan 2. Got through my first weekend. Now how do I get through the week?
So that plan involved, shopping for meals, planning ahead so I had food to eat when I got home to fill my tummy and not crave drinking. Bought an exercise bike, a blender for smoothies. Weekends my plan was to see a movie Saturday night, drive the car there (woo hoo!). Stay sober. That was my plan.
Plan 3. Journal each day. Focus on my spiritual growth each day. Make time for quiet relaxation time, down time. Look after my health, mental health. Learn something new. Read more books again.....wow, I can concentrate now! Quell any positive thought of alcohol with a negative one. Learn about addiction. Learn about how to be on guard for the AV.
Plan 4. A refined version of plan 3. I don't crave alcohol any more. My life is full, there's always more work to be done, but I'm happy and healthy.
My advice...Google, be open to other suggestions....be aware your plan can and should (I believe) evolve. Learn about addiction and how it affects your brain, perception and mind. That was a huge one for me. Understanding about eurphoric recall, for example, helped me turn a corner.
Most of all. Your plan, is YOURS. Own it. And don't let people let you think that their way is the best way, or the only way. It's your journey. Best of luck!
-----------------------
“Staying open to the various ways different people stay sober is essential. Don’t be oblivious or fight against ideas that have worked for others.”
Excerpt From: Star, Super. “The First 30 Days to Serenity: The Essential Guide to Staying Sober.” Super Star. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/...k?id=534861280
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Hi Herradura.
The way you described your insurance being canceled, out of the blue, doesn't sound right. If, as you wonder, that this was due to your insurance company or companies discovering that you carry a diagnosis of bipolar depression, they may very well be in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
I do hope that you get a full and comprehensive explanation.
The way you described your insurance being canceled, out of the blue, doesn't sound right. If, as you wonder, that this was due to your insurance company or companies discovering that you carry a diagnosis of bipolar depression, they may very well be in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
I do hope that you get a full and comprehensive explanation.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 16
Croissant: What you said about the first 30 days being insurmountable rings true. I'm on my first day without drinking. My environment is a sketchy one. I am constantly surrounded by drinkers. That is how I started drinking in the first place. Since I work for a family-owned business and most of the drinking takes place where I live and work, being the only sober person seems overwhelming to say the least.
I've never had very good will power and am scared that since most of my loved ones also drink I won't have the support I need. I guess this is why I am holding on to the "moderation" and gaining "control" idea - that and I do enjoy having a couple of beers socially. Deep down I think I know that is B.S. and I need to just stop completely.
I've never had very good will power and am scared that since most of my loved ones also drink I won't have the support I need. I guess this is why I am holding on to the "moderation" and gaining "control" idea - that and I do enjoy having a couple of beers socially. Deep down I think I know that is B.S. and I need to just stop completely.
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