Halloween - something awoke
saoutchik
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: London
Posts: 16,202
Halloween - something awoke
Here in the UK we have a fairly new (this century) "thing" called Stoptober whereby a person quits something for a the month of October, usually booze or cigarettes and that person may elect to do this for a charity.
Back in September of 2014 I was in a bad way with my drinking - half a bottle of whiskey most weekdays, a bit more at weekends. I decided I would quit in October and before then I would work hard and press gang as many people as I could into sponsoring me. I figured this would give me the added backbone I needed to quit - at least for a month.
A small aside here, I have long since realised that someone who is an alcoholic/has a drink or drug problem trying to enlist a charity undertaking as part of a recovery effort is a really dumb idea, quite apart fom anything else it just adds to the pressure.
Any after a month badgering all and sundry to sponsor my non drinking October the month duly arrived - and I did not make it. Using will power alone I caved in at day 23.
I was unbelievably down at this time and told no one, partly because I did not want to let the charity down but mostly because I did not want my work collegues to know that I had an alcohol problem (I sort of still don't although I am a little more forthcoming now)
Obviously I felt really at taking people's money on the back of a lie so to assuage my gilt I matched everyone's donation so the charity got double which amounted to a fair sum.
Because my pledges amounted to quite a lot I was invited to a fancy Halloween Ball which had a bar that opened on the stroke of midnight. I drank then of course but I drank much more when I got home, it's what I did in those days.
All told it was a very low ebb for me but it did move me to reach out eventually. Sometime in November a found SR and became a "lurker" - someone who reads posts but has not become a member but I digested some of the excellent advice and finally quit at the end of December that year(2014) and joined SR a few days later.
What I learned from the experience was that will power on its own is not enough, we must have support and be prepared to work at recovery.
I went to one of those parties as Alice Cooper btw - this is me at my sisters immediately prior to the party.
Back in September of 2014 I was in a bad way with my drinking - half a bottle of whiskey most weekdays, a bit more at weekends. I decided I would quit in October and before then I would work hard and press gang as many people as I could into sponsoring me. I figured this would give me the added backbone I needed to quit - at least for a month.
A small aside here, I have long since realised that someone who is an alcoholic/has a drink or drug problem trying to enlist a charity undertaking as part of a recovery effort is a really dumb idea, quite apart fom anything else it just adds to the pressure.
Any after a month badgering all and sundry to sponsor my non drinking October the month duly arrived - and I did not make it. Using will power alone I caved in at day 23.
I was unbelievably down at this time and told no one, partly because I did not want to let the charity down but mostly because I did not want my work collegues to know that I had an alcohol problem (I sort of still don't although I am a little more forthcoming now)
Obviously I felt really at taking people's money on the back of a lie so to assuage my gilt I matched everyone's donation so the charity got double which amounted to a fair sum.
Because my pledges amounted to quite a lot I was invited to a fancy Halloween Ball which had a bar that opened on the stroke of midnight. I drank then of course but I drank much more when I got home, it's what I did in those days.
All told it was a very low ebb for me but it did move me to reach out eventually. Sometime in November a found SR and became a "lurker" - someone who reads posts but has not become a member but I digested some of the excellent advice and finally quit at the end of December that year(2014) and joined SR a few days later.
What I learned from the experience was that will power on its own is not enough, we must have support and be prepared to work at recovery.
I went to one of those parties as Alice Cooper btw - this is me at my sisters immediately prior to the party.
ours de petit cerveau
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: London, UK
Posts: 1,630
glad it lead to a turning point for you Sao 
I never really understand people who get sponsored for giving up drinking. if it's easy for you, why should people sponsor you? or if it's hard, you're signposting to everyone that you have a drink problem
your costume must have been prophetic, as Alice Cooper hasn't touched a drop in decades
I never really understand people who get sponsored for giving up drinking. if it's easy for you, why should people sponsor you? or if it's hard, you're signposting to everyone that you have a drink problem
your costume must have been prophetic, as Alice Cooper hasn't touched a drop in decades
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