mrjustin

Hi all,

Im finding 4 months 6 days in that I tend to get these stressy periods around 6 to 9 pm. This is the time that I would normally be drinking.

Anyone elde experienced anything like this this far in? Did it improve with time?

Overall the anxious moments are a lot less and much fewer. I just get these pockets. Im putting it down to raking a while to recover.

chordcowboy

yep, I get this too but it is very early days for me. Over 4 months is great!

Dee74

I drank all day so I didn't have a trigger time...I think though I used to almost manufacture stress to allow me to drink with a clear conscience as it were.

Add to that the almost Pavlovian thing of 6 pm = time to drink and I could see why you'd feel stress.

Have you trid altering your routine, or maybe doing some exercise in this period Justin?

D

FeelingGreat

I know what you mean MrJ. Get plenty of food in your stomach just before the trigger time. Have a range of NA drinks in the fridge so you can hold a glass, or in my case cup.

If you can take up something that occupies you in the evening, that might help too.

Dean1978

For me it was 9pm onwards. I learnt to change my habits during this time, do different things (the exercise example above is a good one). I started reading which i hadnt done in years, the escapism helped fight the urge.

Edit: Good Luck

newpage119

I always drank after work, so that is a hugh trigger period. I found that by having a snack and tall non alcoholic drink when I get in the door, the cravings go away.
Or get to be a lot less anyway...... this has become a routine, so I don't even give the craving a chance anymore!

Soberwolf

What D said

Mel12

Anecdote: A few days ago, I expected to feel the "martini crash" two hours after eating at a restaurant, but since I did not drink I had the peculiar experience of noticing the absence of the expected "crash."

Though it appears my body does remember trigger times, I am realizing that such memories work both ways.

Mel

LBrain

For many it is related to time - as Dee says that Pavlovian thing.

But also it can be event triggered - same Pavlovian response. I thought of this the other day when I was looking for hot sauce in the supermarket. As I was sorting through the shelves I started to get beads of sweat forming on my scalp. wha...?

Even at six months alcohol free, when I went to work in my yard as the warm weather came I had a very difficult time getting through it. Not having my constant companion in a can seemed alien to me.

What I did was alter my routine, take breaks - and very often logged on to SR just to get me through it. Dealing with a lot of "firsts" without alcohol can be a challenge. Be prepared to deal with it.