PinnacleOR

Hi all, Day 37 today and feeling some good sober momentum, but I’m feeling a tension between going all out on sobriety activities and letting myself rest and take it easy. I have a recovery plan with a rigorous morning routine, daily exercise, meetings, therapy, diet, etc.

This past week was the first week working my plan. On the good side, I’ve been eating pretty well, made it to four meetings, saw an addiction counselor, got a checkup at my GP, meditated a few times, read or posted here daily and have stayed sober with no cravings to speak of. On the downside I felt tired and only exercised once, slept in several days and was on and off with my morning routine. On fully implementing my plan I’d say I did 60% of it.

I’m still not sleeping great and have been pretty moody, and there are times I just want to stay under the covers, or veg on the couch in front of the TV. I’m having a hard time balancing letting myself rest and being kind to myself and kicking my AV to the curb by following my plan even if I don’t want to and it wears me out. It’s cold and rainy out which doesn’t help.

What did others do in months 1-2? How did you find balance between letting yourself rest and kicking your butt into gear?

biminiblue

I treated myself like I was recovering from a serious illness, because I was.

Do what you need to do, but you are still in physical recovery so give yourself a break. TV and popcorn sounds like a perfect Sunday.

My biggest things were, post here daily. Go to a meeting (month 1-3.) Exercise - still a huge priority, and good healthy food. In early days that incorporated many food treats.

Rome wasn't built in a day. (But it remains a beautiful place nearly 3000 years later.)

tomsteve

What did others do in months 1-2?
learned.

How did you find balance between letting yourself rest and kicking your butt into gear?

practice

DontRemember

Yep.. I just 'took it easy' this last quit. In the past I would force myself to the gym,meetings,work,whatever and failed...This time I treated it like I was recovering from pneumonia and chilled out. I still do on some days,because..well...why not? Just go at your own 'flow'. It's not a race to sobriety. It's attaining sobriety that you want. Hang in there and relax if you feel like it.

LoveForMe

I took it easy on my last quit too. I'm doing my best to be a better person but some days I just don't want to do anything and I try not to be so hard on myself for it.

Number one thing I do first and before I worry about anything else is not take that first drink.

One day at a time.

Good luck to you☺

PinnacleOR

Thanks all, that’s very reassuring. I’ve had tendencies to do everything at once and stress myself ou in the past, so it’s helpful perspective!

PinnacleOR

Would you consider Day 37 still early recovery? Should I be still having sleep problems and fatigue and feel mystery aches? My checkup was good.

Delizadee

Yeah... take it easy.
Handle yourself gently and if you start feeling ill again... get the help you need.

I also found that giving myself too many goals was a horrible habit I had and I rarely accomplished anything and it cause me great anxiety.
In treatment, I learned about goal setting. And instead of trying to get it all in one day, figure out how much time you need for X goal to be accomplished, and give that a date on the calendar. Nothing else.
So working out one little goal each day, starting out small really helps. When I cross the most tiniest things off my list, it makes me feel better.
Screw all the rest, I can roll it over and over til next week. I don't sweat it too much any more... Just one day at a time.
Hang in there!

DontRemember

When I always quit in the past I had plans! I was going to do 'this,that,and that over there..oh wait there's that too!'..I drove myself back to drinking because I didn't do half the crap I had planned,so what's the point? :insert drinking: because; 'I didn't do it...whahhh!!' This time I'm just doing what I feel like doing and I'm almost to a year with a breakup in there somewhere. The breakup would have led me to a huge binge in the past,as it has before. I still go to meetings and need to start back at the gym,but I've been too busy working out my fingers on my new PS4 to bother..37days is still early. Take your time,so you don't stress and feel like you're failing,thus "what's the point? :insert drinking:"..Relax a bit.

Anna

For me, balance was key, and it still is.

I need to take time to exercise, time to be quiet with myself, time to engage with others.

I'd say 37 days is still relatively early in recovery. I hope your sleep and lack of energy settle soon.

Dee74

It took me 3 months or more to reach a state where I felt mentally and physically good, so 37 days - altho fantastic - is still right in what I'd call early recovery.

Balance is important - a lot of us recovery people seem pretty stop/go, on/off, full steam/nothing types. It;s good to acknowledge that and maybe challenge it a little.

Slowing down and having some me time is not goofing off or slacking

D

comtnman740

Hey there,
Nice job at getting a plan in place and working at it. I think for me it was important to put a plan or routine in place like you did but it was also important to practice the idea of "Easy Does It" as we say in the meetings. Establishing a routine is important but if your mind and body needs a rest from time to time there is nothing wrong with that. As you say in your lead Balance is the key.
Good luck!