Jackie1214

Why am I so weak? Day One again.

Jsbodhi

That's the cycle for a lot of people xoxo
Try for day 4!!

biminiblue

You can get past day three.

Believe it, push through the discomfort. All the discomfort will pass.

Solarion

Hi, Jackie

Yes you can. It takes commitment to riding out the urges and some awareness of when and why the urges come, and prior planning for what to do when they come (e.g., eat something or take a nap when that's what you really need to do instead of drinking).

In the early days, reading a lot of SR threads helped me build up a mental framework in support of sobriety.

The fact that you keep trying is a good sign. Hang in there!

julesonya

This is my struggle too. Day 3. Suddenly I'm feeling better and think "I'm not an alcoholic. I can have a drink today" and then it's 4 days later and I've passed out every night. Not this time. I've got to fight it-even as I sit here thinking, I can grab a bottle of wine later.

Solarion

Yep, I know what you mean. I went through a long stretch like that.

I started to keep a written "drinking log" (with dates and quantities) during the last few months of that part of my life. Maybe that would also help others to overcome the forgetfulness that comes with alcoholism.

FreeOwl

Of course you can!!

Here's the secret:

When you get to day three... still don't drink.



Dust off, refocus, put some change in action and do it this time.

You CAN

GhostFace

Do you have a plan?

I had alot of days three. but now i have plan and the main one is to not take that first drink. See alcohol for the poison that it really is and "why you you put a toxic substance inside your body?"

julesonya

I've said before awhile back, my therapist said to me I have to think of alcohol as something I'm allergic to. If I was allergic to peanuts and knew it would kill me, would I still think one peanut would be ok?

HideorSeek

Hi jackie,

I was a "3 dayer" as well. I think our built in "forgetter" causes us to gloss over the remorse, guilt and shame over the course of days. Plus, in my case, I said a lot of "this time will be different"s, but of course it was not. I agree to have a plan to break this cycle. Plan NOW to do something fun or supportive on Day 3 that will not permit the use of alcohol. You can use a lot of little mind tricks in the beginning to get you over some of the early hurdles. "Don't let your wake drive your boat"....you can do this! So says a 3 Dayer who has not had a drink in 6 and a half years.....

tomsteve

when i was pretty young in recovery, i hadda very rough day with cravings and the mental obsession. in the evening i called a friend about it. talked for quite a while. near the end of the conversation he said,"just dont drink today. tomorrow you can drink, but call me before ya do."
tomorrow came. dam cravings and obsession were strong and i got the f-its, but called my friend first.
"its tomorrow,i want to drink and ya said call me before i do."
he said,"nope. its not tomorrow. its today. just dont drink today. if ya want to drink tomorrow give me a call first" and hung up.

thats when it got from my head to my heart i only had to not drink one day at a time.

lilac0721

Oh, I can relate and my heart is with you. I have been stuck in that cycle for a long time now.

Soberwolf

Hi Jacki Your not weak its just you should see what the benefits are of sticking to a plan as trust me on this do you think I'd stay sober if it were rubbish & I was getting a bum deal ?

My best advice is kindly ask one of the SR mods with help building a plan

Here's a few useful links that have good stuff to include in a plan

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ful-links.html

Wastinglife

Before I descended into everyday heavy drinking, I followed the 4 days on (Thurs-Sun), to 3 days off cycle (Mon-Wed). My hangovers started to get so bad that those 3 days sober were just as unproductive as the days I drank.

Eventually, I just drank everyday because I couldnt handle the 3 days being miserably hungover. Things will progressively get worse, I promise you.

Meraviglioso

There must be something physiological about day 3, it seems to be a tough one for many, myself included. Try thinking about it that way, simple science. You just have to push on through. It does get easier. You are still going to have tough moments and bouts of cravings, but get past that first big hurdle.

Ruby2

You've got some great advice here. You absolutely can go beyond day 3. Just because I felt better didnt mean I wasn't an alcoholic. It meant my body was finally starting to heal. Don't drink today.

Keepnitreal

1-3 are the easier days for me, but day 4 I try to find every reason under the sun to justify a relapse. I made it to day 11 and had a weekend binge and now I'm on day 7 and praying!!!! It's hard enough to get to day 4 so I don't want to do this again!
Hang in there!

Jackie1214

Wow, some great advice. Thanks everyone. I'm going to reread this thread every day until I'm over day four. I've not gone 4 days without some wine in, probably, 15 years. I'm sure my body and brain will be kicking up a fuss.

I'm going to think of something nice to do for myself during the witching hour {3:00 - 6:00 p.m.} Maybe I'll go shopping...

Soberwolf

Do you Journal Jackie

2muchpain

Sometimes, it helps to make a to-do list. Make that list as long as you can, even if it's just a bunch of little things. It helps to give you something else to focus on and can give you a sense that you're moving forward. John