Nerina

I guess the title says it all.. what helped you getting through the beginning and keep being sober? I guess I just need some tips and advices. Maybe something that helped you can help me too. What are your best advices, tips and so on?

newpage119

Hi Nerina,
I was an after work, grab a drink right away, kind of drinker.

What helped me is to NEVER allow myself to get too hungry or thirsty. Tried to keep stress to a minimum.

After work I always immediately make a non alcoholic concoction, involving club soda and some kind of fruit juice, and have a snack of some sort. That really helps!

The first few months, I read tons of books on alcoholism. I was always involved in one......from all different approaches or theories.

I learned to meditate. Started practicing yoga.
Took the laundry off my exercise bike and rode it....
Kept busy. Treated myself.
Stayed away from drinkers.

Time flew by. It got easier.
Developed new hobbies.....practiced gratitude!

Good luck to you!

On The Road

I suppose I could write a list of tips, etc., but you'll find all of that stuff posted here on the site. Two things that are most helpful to me: 1. having a plan and 2. being motivated to stick with it. They've helped me change my entire perspective on things - so now I don't spend inordinate amounts of time plotting out my next drink, hiding bottles all over the house, and forgetting where they are in my blackout haze. Instead, I'm focused on doing the things that will keep me sober . . .

I wish you the best on your journey to recovery.

sean0621

I changed my sleep schedule and exercised in the morning. I worked second shift and stayed up all night either getting drunk or watching TV, playing video games. I didn't do anything productive. I got up early saw the sunlight more and exercised... walked the dog/ran/lifted weights/P90X/Insanity/cooked all my meals rather than grab fast food and ate healthy. That pretty much got me through the first six months of sobriety. That and I tried a bunch of new things didn't really matter what just things I had been putting off and things I never thought of before.

D122y

Check my history posts. I'm new to sobriety so it is all on the first couple of pages. Been posting stuff like that a lot.

Nerina

How did you go about making a plan? I'm sure I can make one on myself, but always nice to hear what others have done.

Hobbies are great. I've just started coloring (childish maybe lol) and I've noticed that I get lost in that and if I have a beer beside me I kinda forget drinking. So that is an activity I can use to keep my mind busy. My diet is also something I need to work on. I notice that when I drink I don't eat much.. and I'm not a big eater when I don't drink either. I'm underweight so gonna work a little on that too.

DariaM

Nerina, I'm underweight too. Although, I've been underweight long before I was ever a drinker. My H and I are doing the whole 21 day fix diet right now. He's trying to lose weight, I'm hoping to maybe gain a bit or at the very least get a large enough variety of food (veggies, fruits, healthy proteins/fats) to start replacing all of the nutrients that alcohol has more than likely deprived me of.

Nonsensical

Understanding that as an alcohol addict I cannot believe everything I think.

MIRecovery

For me I either went to IOP (Intensive Outpatient therapy or AA everyday and I did not drink in between meetings

MelindaFlowers

Logged in here pretty much every waking hour during the first week. I was on a summer vacation which I think helped.

LARGE quantities of ice cream, nachos, and Pepsi. All hours of the day.

Lots of couch time.

Unflinching desire that this was the last time doing this.

Verdantia

Making myself eat something is helpful when I have cravings; as I drank just for the high and not the taste food would always queer my buzz and it seemed such a perfect waste of good beer. Now at 67 days sober I plan my vegetarian meals and drink my latest small-batch soda pop (Boylan's Ginger ale helped get me through, too!) Good luck to you....

On The Road

Nerina - a plan is a series of things you will do to help keep yourself sober. Here's mine (and one size does not fit all - read through this site and you'll find a lot of good plan ideas from a lot of wise people):

1. Go to bed sober tonight.
2. Wake up early and workout (helps with sleep and anxiety).
3. Eat healthy - Cut out caffeine and soda (helps with anxiety).
4. Journal and post to SR.
5. Weekly therapy.
6. Meditate.
7. Work on being a better person for my family and the world.

Robinson

I love to color too!

thomas11

I broke both my legs, that was a pretty good motivator. But seriously, and this may be rather boring. My wife and this site were/are a great help. One or two fairly bad withdrawal episodes scared me. I also wanted to challenge myself to stay sober for awhile to see if everyone who says it gets better was telling the truth. They were. I'm right around 70 days.

SoberLife90

One thing I liked to do was to get my favorite non-alcoholic beverage and ny favorite candy and relax for the night. Oh yeah another thing no matter what don't take a drink or a drug. You can do it!

2WheelsGood

Keep busy. Yard work. Take walks. Snack on whatever you want. Jolly Ranchers and popsicles in the fridge. (snacks still have fewer calories tgan booze). Sleepy Time Extra tea an hour before bedtime to help with insomnia.

I was a binge to sleep nightly drinker, so keeping busy in the evenings until bedtime was my challenge.

OnMyWay7

Posting every day and then when my AV would start up I'd go back and read my earlier posts. Also keeping a journal helped.

FeelingGreat

Firstly I gave myself a year, long enough to see the changes but not too intimidating. Once the year was up I kept going because my life was so much better.
I targeted the dangerous after work time. I walked part of the commute, had a snack or a fresh juice as soon as I left work, ate as much as I liked as soon as I got home, avoided drinking social occasions for a while, and avoided routines that included buying wine. It all added up.
My emergency measure was to take 5 mindful deep breaths.

ccam1973

Nerina, I found spending as much time as I needed here on SR helped me immensely early on; reading old posts, posting in the new comers section often, etc. I also made sure I ate an early meal when I got home from work. Never underestimate your plan as well. Plan for the unexpected as well as the expected. You know your body well and know what your triggers are. Plan in advance on how you will respond to your AV trying to convince you to have "just one drink".

I also found keeping a log of my sober days helped me and gave me something to look forward to as each day moved into the next.

1dayaddatime

Not sure how much inspiration my advice will have since tomorrow is just my 3rd day of being sober but the first thing that helped me is to recognized the symptoms and and know they will be there just a few days, then find something to take your mind off of them as best you can. Shakiness, irritability, jumpiness were my big ones, then at night the insomnia. Just fight through them and then make sure you congratulate yourself once you do. After that I just take it one day at a time (hence my name). You'll probably get bored as well, so find something to do that's out of the ordinary, or not. Just do whatever it takes to keep your mind occupied. And make sure you stay on SR. It's seriously has been a rock for me to lean on for sure. (Sorry for the book, but we all know what you're going through and are here for you. Much luck.