Got close to the edge
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 38
Got close to the edge
Got close to the edge, twice this weekend, once after a very stressful day and I was sitting a friend's dog...she had an entire case of beer in her fridge and 2 opened bottles of wine. I thought of taking a swig, I picked up the bottle but put it back down.
Today I went out for drinks (ginger beer for me, beer for my boyfriend) and felt really irritated that I couldn't drink. Felt fine as soon as I got my food.
I know that alcohol serves no purpose in my life, I really don't like that these cravings are still popping up. They shouldn't still be popping up....I know what will happen, I know the "relief" is a numbing feeling of a poison derived from ethanol, I know that it is not true relaxation or true happiness or any of that. really irritates me that I still have cravings
Today I went out for drinks (ginger beer for me, beer for my boyfriend) and felt really irritated that I couldn't drink. Felt fine as soon as I got my food.
I know that alcohol serves no purpose in my life, I really don't like that these cravings are still popping up. They shouldn't still be popping up....I know what will happen, I know the "relief" is a numbing feeling of a poison derived from ethanol, I know that it is not true relaxation or true happiness or any of that. really irritates me that I still have cravings
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 2,872
Good for you for not taking a drink. I think you know what that would have led to. For me, anyway, another binge.
Alcohol does serve no purpose to this alcoholic. I look at it now and think of the aftermath, not the enjoyment of drinking.
I've been sober ten years now and alcohol does not tempt me any longer.
I don't get cravings. In fact, I just got back from buying cigarettes at a liquor store.
It's weird. I look at the booze and can still remember what it tastes like. Because I drank it all. Very weird, but a reminder of sorts that I can remember that taste. It repulses me.
I see friends drinking, and instead of feelings of joining them, I feel sorry for them that they need to drink to feel whatever it is they feel.
I didn't drink for relaxation or enjoyment. I drank to get drunk, and that was the only reason.
Keep up the great job you're doing.
The cravings will go away with time. All I have to do is think of what alcohol did to me. It doesn't even tempt me.
Best to you in sobriety.
Alcohol does serve no purpose to this alcoholic. I look at it now and think of the aftermath, not the enjoyment of drinking.
I've been sober ten years now and alcohol does not tempt me any longer.
I don't get cravings. In fact, I just got back from buying cigarettes at a liquor store.
It's weird. I look at the booze and can still remember what it tastes like. Because I drank it all. Very weird, but a reminder of sorts that I can remember that taste. It repulses me.
I see friends drinking, and instead of feelings of joining them, I feel sorry for them that they need to drink to feel whatever it is they feel.
I didn't drink for relaxation or enjoyment. I drank to get drunk, and that was the only reason.
Keep up the great job you're doing.
The cravings will go away with time. All I have to do is think of what alcohol did to me. It doesn't even tempt me.
Best to you in sobriety.
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Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Right here, right now
Posts: 3,976
Hi skybird, good for you for not giving in. I’m not sure how long you’ve been sober. But as least says, the cravings should get less and less. After about 8 months, I rarely thought about drinking. However, I started to think about drinking again after a year and a half when I started to have a lot of new stress in my life. I had some unusually strong urges again at that time. Fortunately, I did not give in and came to SR a lot instead. That lasted off and on for a couple months and I went back to therapy for a while. Started working again on better stress management and coping skills. I’m now back to having no desire to drink again.
I guess what I’m saying is that while the cravings will get less over time, they can also pop up again when you least expect it no matter how long you’ve been sober. It’s a good reminder to never let yourself become complacent. I need to practice my sobriety everyday. That sounds like a chore. It’s really not. I love my sober life, and practicing sober skills everyday makes me happier and healthier.
I guess what I’m saying is that while the cravings will get less over time, they can also pop up again when you least expect it no matter how long you’ve been sober. It’s a good reminder to never let yourself become complacent. I need to practice my sobriety everyday. That sounds like a chore. It’s really not. I love my sober life, and practicing sober skills everyday makes me happier and healthier.
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Better to be irritated than hungover or in jail or worse, right? ;-).
One of the hardest things I had to learn was patience early on. As addicts we have a unrealistic desire for instant gratification - and not just for the rush we get when drinking/using. I was not just irritated with it -I was literally enraged with it for a while. Pretty much every waking moment of my day except when I was at work for a few hours involved having a beer in my hand - so I could not fathom a day that I could do anything without alcohol.
It takes time and it takes patience but it will get better. That's the last thing you want to hear now, I didn't want to hear it either. I wanted to be better NOW ;-)
Having said that, there are things you can do to help. As you noticed in your first situation you felt much better after getting food. Sometimes it can be as simple as that - ever heard of H.A.L.T? ( Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired ). All of those are instances where we are uncomfortable - and our default reaction used to be to drink. Learn to recognize those and satisfy them ( Eat, meditate, do something, sleep ) and it shall pass.
One of the hardest things I had to learn was patience early on. As addicts we have a unrealistic desire for instant gratification - and not just for the rush we get when drinking/using. I was not just irritated with it -I was literally enraged with it for a while. Pretty much every waking moment of my day except when I was at work for a few hours involved having a beer in my hand - so I could not fathom a day that I could do anything without alcohol.
It takes time and it takes patience but it will get better. That's the last thing you want to hear now, I didn't want to hear it either. I wanted to be better NOW ;-)
Having said that, there are things you can do to help. As you noticed in your first situation you felt much better after getting food. Sometimes it can be as simple as that - ever heard of H.A.L.T? ( Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired ). All of those are instances where we are uncomfortable - and our default reaction used to be to drink. Learn to recognize those and satisfy them ( Eat, meditate, do something, sleep ) and it shall pass.
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,408
Originally Posted by Ghostlight1 
Good for you for not taking a drink. I think you know what that would have led to. For me, anyway, another binge.
Alcohol does serve no purpose to this alcoholic. I look at it now and think of the aftermath, not the enjoyment of drinking.
I've been sober ten years now and alcohol does not tempt me any longer.
I don't get cravings. In fact, I just got back from buying cigarettes at a liquor store.
It's weird. I look at the booze and can still remember what it tastes like. Because I drank it all. Very weird, but a reminder of sorts that I can remember that taste. It repulses me.
I see friends drinking, and instead of feelings of joining them, I feel sorry for them that they need to drink to feel whatever it is they feel.
I didn't drink for relaxation or enjoyment. I drank to get drunk, and that was the only reason.
Keep up the great job you're doing.
The cravings will go away with time. All I have to do is think of what alcohol did to me. It doesn't even tempt me.
Best to you in sobriety.
Alcohol does serve no purpose to this alcoholic. I look at it now and think of the aftermath, not the enjoyment of drinking.
I've been sober ten years now and alcohol does not tempt me any longer.
I don't get cravings. In fact, I just got back from buying cigarettes at a liquor store.
It's weird. I look at the booze and can still remember what it tastes like. Because I drank it all. Very weird, but a reminder of sorts that I can remember that taste. It repulses me.
I see friends drinking, and instead of feelings of joining them, I feel sorry for them that they need to drink to feel whatever it is they feel.
I didn't drink for relaxation or enjoyment. I drank to get drunk, and that was the only reason.
Keep up the great job you're doing.
The cravings will go away with time. All I have to do is think of what alcohol did to me. It doesn't even tempt me.
Best to you in sobriety.
Now I've been struggling to quit and have a hard time even looking at a wine bottle or beer. Meanwhile I can go up to the cashier who has an array of cigarettes behind him and not think a thing. I don't even notice.
It's been like that for many year. I hope one day I can get that way with alcohol. I feel the cravings slowly creeping in, as well.
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Arlington, Texas
Posts: 64
I always feel like I'm a bit of a freak, because I always have to be on guard against cravings. I've been sober since December 12, 2017 and yesterday I had a major craving and an AV attack out of the blue. I didn't give in to either, and came straight home and hopped on SR.
I know everyone's life experience is difference and everyone's battle with addiction is different, but holy wow would I like it if my cravings just totally died away like so many others' seem to do.
I think part of it is OCD, which is simply a part of who I am, and another part of it is that I drank for so long and so early in my life that every once in a while my brain just freaks out that I'm not doing what it had grown accustomed to. Maybe after five years, ten years, twenty years, I'll not be able to remember what the cravings feel like. Here's hoping!
I know everyone's life experience is difference and everyone's battle with addiction is different, but holy wow would I like it if my cravings just totally died away like so many others' seem to do.
I think part of it is OCD, which is simply a part of who I am, and another part of it is that I drank for so long and so early in my life that every once in a while my brain just freaks out that I'm not doing what it had grown accustomed to. Maybe after five years, ten years, twenty years, I'll not be able to remember what the cravings feel like. Here's hoping!
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,445
Carvings are pretty normal - I think sometimes people think if they're craving they must be doing something wrong - but most of us drank for years - its going to take a little time for our 'defaults' to change.
Its not our cravings that define our recovery - it's our response to those cravings. I'm glad you got through.
Having said that though - I took the safest path possible and stayed away from alcohol whenever I could for a while. I figured why make a hard thing that much harder?
Its not our cravings that define our recovery - it's our response to those cravings. I'm glad you got through.
Having said that though - I took the safest path possible and stayed away from alcohol whenever I could for a while. I figured why make a hard thing that much harder?
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