tough time
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 167
tough time
Hello, it's me again. almost six months as I said in another post but things have changed. It has been tough these last couple of days. lots of cravings strong ones too!!! Is it something to be expected at six months? Anyway, wanted to get it out of my chest. Thank you very much
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,872
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
Here are some good links, dd.
Stay strong - for you, your Mom and your Grandmom.
You can do it.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
Here are some good links, dd.
Stay strong - for you, your Mom and your Grandmom.
You can do it.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 167
Originally Posted by SoberLeigh 
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
Here are some good links, dd.
Stay strong - for you, your Mom and your Grandmom.
You can do it.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
Here are some good links, dd.
Stay strong - for you, your Mom and your Grandmom.
You can do it.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Cravings can certainly come back at any time, some feel that milestones like 6 months, 9 months, 1 year etc can be more problematic. Either way, they are simply thoughts no matter when they occur...you do not have to act on them. The links provided by SoberLeigh have some great information on how to deal with them - you can do it!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Alice Springs, NT, Down Under
Posts: 195
Originally Posted by ScottFromWI
Cravings can certainly come back at any time, some feel that milestones like 6 months, 9 months, 1 year etc can be more problematic. Either way, they are simply thoughts no matter when they occur...you do not have to act on them. The links provided by SoberLeigh have some great information on how to deal with them - you can do it!
I just don't spend too much time and attention to these random thoughts and most definitely do not act on these thoughts cos they pop up in my head cos I'm not using alcohol anymore which is a natural thing to happen when you quit.
Of course you can start thinking about your "cravings" / thoughts a lot and it will make you go nuts! And make you feel you have to act on them.
You HAVE to see them as random thoughts that have no meaning and move on to other thoughts.
You have been sober for so long now you've had these moments before and survived them.
All said with that
Good luck
Canine Welfare Advocate
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 10,962
I struggled hard at six months too. Then I read about PAWS--post acute withdrawal syndrome. And while it didn't remove the cravings and brain fog, it helped knowing what it was and that I wasn't necessarily on the edge of relapse.
Stay strong, you'll get through this.
Stay strong, you'll get through this.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: New Orleans, LA
Posts: 985
I relapsed at the six months mark last year. I didn't go to a meeting to collect my 6 month chip; drank that very weekend instead...
This year, I had a small dinner party with sober friends at my house on my 6 month birthday. I felt a little bit silly celebrating it formally, but I needed to do that. I needed to reaffirm my commitment. People brought me flowers and such, and I would have felt unethical drinking after receiving their hopeful well wishes...
I'm in my eighth month now, and am pleased that I stuck with it. A lot has started changing within me in the last month or two...
From the sixth to eighth month, my mind has gotten clearer, I've tackled a real backlog of personal financial paperwork and am almost on the other side of it (a source of guilt and shame for me/a deficit), I'm at peace with my friendships and feel that I've reconnected and strengthened some that were drifting, and I've gotten more settled with my singledom (which is another aspect of my recovery). I feel like my recovery has become grounded, and also that some of my internal growth has accelerated.
It has been a valuable couple of months, and I am glad that I didn't miss it!!
Rather than increasing my involvement with AA, I decreased it and put more energy into my community volunteer activities and my work (which had taken a major hit through early recovery). For me, decreasing my "recovery identity" at six months was just right, because I needed to regain some balance with other aspects of myself (I was completely focused on my recovery previously). I know that this is different advice than you will get from many others, who will tell you to double down on your program when you're feeling shaky. Just for me, taking a little distance from the AA community at this point made me feel more settled into my sobriety, gave me more images and possibilities in terms of the "life-long" potential of my sobriety. As long as it was this insanely busy responsibility, it didn't feel like I could maintain it long-term; these last two months felt balanced within my life as a whole, and I've started having images of my capacity to be sober forever and still really enjoy my life (and participate in it!).
So - yes, cravings arise at all sorts of pivotal milestones. We will constantly be confronted by the very real choice we have; any of us can choose to abandon recovery, any day or any time. When I feel that desire, I have to look at the life I am building, and renew my commitment to sobriety. This last time, overcoming that pull was absolutely right for me - I'm glad I powered through....
This year, I had a small dinner party with sober friends at my house on my 6 month birthday. I felt a little bit silly celebrating it formally, but I needed to do that. I needed to reaffirm my commitment. People brought me flowers and such, and I would have felt unethical drinking after receiving their hopeful well wishes...
I'm in my eighth month now, and am pleased that I stuck with it. A lot has started changing within me in the last month or two...
From the sixth to eighth month, my mind has gotten clearer, I've tackled a real backlog of personal financial paperwork and am almost on the other side of it (a source of guilt and shame for me/a deficit), I'm at peace with my friendships and feel that I've reconnected and strengthened some that were drifting, and I've gotten more settled with my singledom (which is another aspect of my recovery). I feel like my recovery has become grounded, and also that some of my internal growth has accelerated.
It has been a valuable couple of months, and I am glad that I didn't miss it!!
Rather than increasing my involvement with AA, I decreased it and put more energy into my community volunteer activities and my work (which had taken a major hit through early recovery). For me, decreasing my "recovery identity" at six months was just right, because I needed to regain some balance with other aspects of myself (I was completely focused on my recovery previously). I know that this is different advice than you will get from many others, who will tell you to double down on your program when you're feeling shaky. Just for me, taking a little distance from the AA community at this point made me feel more settled into my sobriety, gave me more images and possibilities in terms of the "life-long" potential of my sobriety. As long as it was this insanely busy responsibility, it didn't feel like I could maintain it long-term; these last two months felt balanced within my life as a whole, and I've started having images of my capacity to be sober forever and still really enjoy my life (and participate in it!).
So - yes, cravings arise at all sorts of pivotal milestones. We will constantly be confronted by the very real choice we have; any of us can choose to abandon recovery, any day or any time. When I feel that desire, I have to look at the life I am building, and renew my commitment to sobriety. This last time, overcoming that pull was absolutely right for me - I'm glad I powered through....
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 167
Originally Posted by heartcore
I relapsed at the six months mark last year. I didn't go to a meeting to collect my 6 month chip; drank that very weekend instead...
This year, I had a small dinner party with sober friends at my house on my 6 month birthday. I felt a little bit silly celebrating it formally, but I needed to do that. I needed to reaffirm my commitment. People brought me flowers and such, and I would have felt unethical drinking after receiving their hopeful well wishes...
I'm in my eighth month now, and am pleased that I stuck with it. A lot has started changing within me in the last month or two...
From the sixth to eighth month, my mind has gotten clearer, I've tackled a real backlog of personal financial paperwork and am almost on the other side of it (a source of guilt and shame for me/a deficit), I'm at peace with my friendships and feel that I've reconnected and strengthened some that were drifting, and I've gotten more settled with my singledom (which is another aspect of my recovery). I feel like my recovery has become grounded, and also that some of my internal growth has accelerated.
It has been a valuable couple of months, and I am glad that I didn't miss it!!
Rather than increasing my involvement with AA, I decreased it and put more energy into my community volunteer activities and my work (which had taken a major hit through early recovery). For me, decreasing my "recovery identity" at six months was just right, because I needed to regain some balance with other aspects of myself (I was completely focused on my recovery previously). I know that this is different advice than you will get from many others, who will tell you to double down on your program when you're feeling shaky. Just for me, taking a little distance from the AA community at this point made me feel more settled into my sobriety, gave me more images and possibilities in terms of the "life-long" potential of my sobriety. As long as it was this insanely busy responsibility, it didn't feel like I could maintain it long-term; these last two months felt balanced within my life as a whole, and I've started having images of my capacity to be sober forever and still really enjoy my life (and participate in it!).
So - yes, cravings arise at all sorts of pivotal milestones. We will constantly be confronted by the very real choice we have; any of us can choose to abandon recovery, any day or any time. When I feel that desire, I have to look at the life I am building, and renew my commitment to sobriety. This last time, overcoming that pull was absolutely right for me - I'm glad I powered through....
This year, I had a small dinner party with sober friends at my house on my 6 month birthday. I felt a little bit silly celebrating it formally, but I needed to do that. I needed to reaffirm my commitment. People brought me flowers and such, and I would have felt unethical drinking after receiving their hopeful well wishes...
I'm in my eighth month now, and am pleased that I stuck with it. A lot has started changing within me in the last month or two...
From the sixth to eighth month, my mind has gotten clearer, I've tackled a real backlog of personal financial paperwork and am almost on the other side of it (a source of guilt and shame for me/a deficit), I'm at peace with my friendships and feel that I've reconnected and strengthened some that were drifting, and I've gotten more settled with my singledom (which is another aspect of my recovery). I feel like my recovery has become grounded, and also that some of my internal growth has accelerated.
It has been a valuable couple of months, and I am glad that I didn't miss it!!
Rather than increasing my involvement with AA, I decreased it and put more energy into my community volunteer activities and my work (which had taken a major hit through early recovery). For me, decreasing my "recovery identity" at six months was just right, because I needed to regain some balance with other aspects of myself (I was completely focused on my recovery previously). I know that this is different advice than you will get from many others, who will tell you to double down on your program when you're feeling shaky. Just for me, taking a little distance from the AA community at this point made me feel more settled into my sobriety, gave me more images and possibilities in terms of the "life-long" potential of my sobriety. As long as it was this insanely busy responsibility, it didn't feel like I could maintain it long-term; these last two months felt balanced within my life as a whole, and I've started having images of my capacity to be sober forever and still really enjoy my life (and participate in it!).
So - yes, cravings arise at all sorts of pivotal milestones. We will constantly be confronted by the very real choice we have; any of us can choose to abandon recovery, any day or any time. When I feel that desire, I have to look at the life I am building, and renew my commitment to sobriety. This last time, overcoming that pull was absolutely right for me - I'm glad I powered through....
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