Anna

The last part:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...rt-7-a-20.html

least

I've got fifteen days sober today, so it is possible to get out of this thread!:ghug

CarolD

Thanks Anna for the fresh start...

Welcome to everyone who is beginning sobriety

Hope our regular posters will check in soon.

I'm Carol...an alcoholic who is sober

southwalian

What do people think about non-alcoholic lagers and beers? Should I avoid them? Or is it a slippery slope? I'm quite comfortable drinking them to be honest. But I value people's opnions.

4dogsandakid

Yay! Congrats least!

4dogsandakid

Checking in with everyone....day 4 and I'm doing well considering I've experienced significant stress relating to our house sale in the last few days with the buyers of our house wanting to renegotiate the sales price 30 days before escrow closes.

And my husband is leaving tonight which also breeds temptation, but I feel good about how good it feels to be clear headed and my resolve to stay sober.

Let's all make it off this thread, huh?!

Anna

Southwalian,

That topic comes up from time to time, and I think, in general, our members avoid non-alcoholic beers, etc. After all, they are not non-alcoholic, even though the amount may be small. For me, when I stopped drinking, I got rid of all the paraphenalia - the glasses, etc. that reminded me of the habit.

4dogsandakid

Everyone's different, but it doesn't work for me. I tried it 8 years ago when I was trying to get sober back then.

8 years later, I would say that for me personally, anything that reminds me of drinking is too much temptation. I haven't gone to the grocery store in the last 4 days because I don't want to be tempted! I drive around the liquor stores I used to stop at.

southwalian

Thanks all - just wondered. My view is that they are so weak in alcohol content that its no worse than say swilling your mouth with mouthwash. And besides I do like the taste.

I'm not about to stop myself having for example a red wine sauce on the basis that some of the alcohol may be left in it.

For me its not the drinking itself that is the problem - its the situations in my life that make me drink - I hope I can wander down the aisle of a shop without having to buy a bottle of wine etc. I did today - I actually went into an off licence to buy a few non-alcoholic beers - they didn't have any so I went to the local supermarket instead.

I guess what I am trying to do is to confront it head on - and say I can put myself in situtations with alcohol without having to have alcohol. I have a big task to face next weekend - I am going to a party. If I can find I can be around drink before then I hope I can find it so much easier.

But 7 days in for me - and feeling good. So pleased I never got bad physical or mental withdrawal symptoms - so far at any rate.

Am I right in thinking that the worst of the physical problems are passed?

least

By seven days I should think so. Congrats on your sober week! It does get better, tho there can be some rough going as your body and mind get back to normal.

LaDita

Almost end of Day 2. Reading up on Detoxification diets and methods so I can stop feeling so funky.

DeepBlue

Hello all - Day 7 for me. Well done to 4Dogs, Southwalian, La Dita and of course last but not....Least! It's refreshing to see that we are all adopting slightly different approaches to the same problem, and have our own ways of thinking about it. The important thing is that we are all succeeding.

I have been doing OK and am quite pleased with my first week. I have had a few cravings but nothing that I couldn't handle, and physically there have been no horror stories. If I had to moan, it would be about the sleeping problem. And this morning - for some strange reason - I woke up with a what feels like a hangover! Unless I got up in the night and downed a bottle of wine in my sleep (which I didn't!!) I find this hard to explain.

I have been eating a lot more this week and have put on a couple of pounds (not good) so in week 2 I am going to try and get back to the gym and focus a bit more on my diet. We will see.

SW - I have never tried a non alcoholic beer, so can't really comment. All I would say is that I am not sure I would want to risk the "appearance" of drinking at the moment, even if it wasn't the real thing. For the same reason, I am keeping away from pubs etc in these early stages. Although, perhaps I am just storing up that temptation for later on and it might be better to just face it now.

Mood wise, I am a lot more upbeat since I stopped drinking. I had a couple of dark thoughts during the week, but they didn't last long and I am desperately seeking a nice pink cloud to sit on soon!

My best wishes to you all...

DB

southwalian

Hi Deep and well done to you too!

The approach for me is to try and just deal with it "normally" - I know that sounds awful but I guess what I mean is that I am going to walk down the alcohol aisles of supermarkets if its the quickest way to the aisle I want. I am going to meet my friends in a pub - I don't think a night in starbucks is quite the same thing!

At 0.05% alcohol it would take 20 litres of Kaliber to get one unit of alcohol so I think I'm pretty safe drinking it - it also means I don't drink fruit juice/diet coke at lightening speed - I'll just say I am driving and leave it at that!

I'm not sure if my "shock" tactics will work for all - as I mentioned previously I believe I understand the underlying reasons for my drinking. Having previously had psychotherapy for my self image and relationship issues, I know that the reasons I drink are all to do with being alone and being rejected. I don't currently feel this way at all and hence don't feel the need to drink. I could (but I won't) probably quite happily nip out for lunch today and have a glass of wine and then not relapse into the bottle of wine a night (or more) scenario that I was in.

But there is a but for me....I know that I may need more CBT to deal with those times where I may feel rejected and unloved (for whatever reason) in the future. For those times where my self image and self esteem are so low that I turn to alcohol to numb the pain. For those times where I feel a complete failure, despite to the outside world being successful at whatever I turn my hand to. What people see is a mask, a veneer, that shows all is well, when deep down inside I have for a long long time had very great issues with my looks, my family etc etc.

I hope others can relate to where I am with this. But even if you can't, all I can say is, whatever works for you, and for whatever reason, go with it. Overcoming long term issues is for me a VERY personal thing. One size does not fit all. E.g AA would never suit me, not only am I close to being an aetheist, I cannot ever accept that "being preached to" approach. Sorry if this offends any AA people, it is only my perception - you have found an approach that works for you and I think that is great - it just isn't for me. Its one of the reasons I like psychotherapy - it helps me understand why I do things the way i do - its weird that 4 years after my last session I can still relate to the things I learnt then. What a wasted 4 years in between - but there are reasons for that which I don't want to explain here, but I have only just really started to accept.

Here's to the future - and I say we all drink to that (metaphorically speaking of course).

CarolD

Well done everyone...

DB has a good point...there is no right or wrong way to win over alcohol

South...CBT is used in a recovery program
SMART Have you looked into it?
Here is the link

http://www.smartrecovery.org/


While looking for info on binge drinking...I ran across this in my files

ALCOHOL'S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN

A grim reminder for me....I'm so glad I quit.

Forward we go..ide by side

southwalian

LaDita

if it helps - here is what I did diet wise.

Plenty of fresh fruit, veg and fruit juices. Plenty of water too. Vitamin supplements. Aspirin. I also drank lots of Red Bull (or equivalent). Red Bull contains vitamin B and it contains taurine. Whilst unproven Taurine allegedly helps deal with fat deposits in the liver.

I also made sure I ate three meals a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn't cut out caffeine out of choice but its probably wise to do so if you can.

Hope the next few days go well for you!

californiapoppy

Southwalien, hmmm, I was sober once for 6 months, a long time ago. Year 2003, we had a heat spell in France lasted forever it seems, I started drinking those beers, it was SOO hot! I don't know how many days , I can't remember, but I ended up drink rosé wine with icecubes, then I wasnt sober anymore...I believe it's the nonalcoholic beers that led me to the real alcohol. Everyone is different, just be careful.
Also, I've had bad headaches up to three weeks after being sober, I'm pretty sure that's some sort of withdrawal symptom, they went away with aspirin.
I'm only on Day 4 this time, but seeing clearer into my errors I hope !

DeepBlue

Thanks for your post SW - I think you have hit the nail on the head. Whilst we are all doing brilliantly in these early stages, long term recovery will come only when we are challenged by events or ourselves - and win! We all know that at some point we are going to be faced with the pain that made us drink in the first place, so we need to be prepared for that. I think that by recognising this you are already protecting yourself. More important than whatever short term tactics individuals adopt I guess.

DB

southwalian

California, I kind of get where you come from - but to say non alco beers lead to alco drinks would for me mean I better not drink tonic water or ginger ale in case I want to add the spirit to the mixer!

I am sure that for many the total avoidance of anything that resembles or could resemble an alcoholic beverage is a must. For me I don't think that would work - I want to learn to tolerate being around alcohol not what would be for me having to "shy away" from it.

If it works for you then I applaud you for it - but for me I want to tackle the issue head on. The fact for me is that drink was a symptom of personal problems. Rather than drink being the problem in itself - so I want to tackle the problem - rather than just avoid the symptoms. If that makes sense?

And deep - long term recovery comes in whatever form suits you. Its pretty obvious that for me I have to address other issues in my life - if I don't then I could well swap one masking agent (drink) for another. Hence my need to be able to be around and deal with alcohol in general whilst at the same time coming to terms with who I am and so forth. It may sound like a lot to take on, but the lessons of my CBT 4 years ago and the growth I felt as a person are now shining through the fog that was alcohol.

bovinePieBear

Well, I'm on day 15 here. It's unbelievable to think that it's happened, considering where I was just, well, 16 days ago!

I have to give heartfelt thanks to Least and CarolD , who've been with me right through this journey. I wish everyone here the very best in their efforts, and hope to see you all reaching your goals.

Good luck.
:ghug2

DeepBlue

Congratulations Bear - hope to catch you up soon - so many people on this thread seem to be putting in some very solid foundations for the future. You too!

DB