Dee74

continues from here:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...rt-2-a-20.html

D

helenwulfgar

Hi all! Glad everyone seems to be doing well. Just checking in for another great sober day! Everyone take care!

lifetplant

Shotgun! Not really cause officially helenwulfgar was there first but i'll just say it anyway. Congrats on 30 days Ladybug.........you've got it right, as long as you are proud in yourself you will stay strong and keep believing........eventually family and friends will follow.....I guess for many, they just don't have a concept of how much milestones mean. I'm just a few days ahead of you, feels good doesn't it.

Stay strong everyone.

Krodos

Hey everyone, just checking in on day 31. Very excited to have a month under my belt!

I have a wedding to go to on Saturday. I'm not going to drink, but it will be the first time being around others who are... so a bit nervous, but I am confident I'll be fine.

Ladybug2

Hi all,

Thanks for all of the encouragement! It seems weird to be on Day 31, probably because the next milestone seems so far away? I know I need to concentrate on each day as they come, though. AV has already started presenting its case .... the usual .... "you can enjoy a couple glasses of wine, just give it another try, blah, blah, blah." I know a glass will turn into 2 bottles, without a doubt, so I'm not letting it fool me.

Congrats, Krodos, on your 30 days also!

Lifeplant, yes, you are right - family/friends who can drink normally just don't know how hard this is and how much our milestones mean. Last night I finally reminded my husband of my 30 day milestone and he seemed genuinely pleased and proud of me, but I know he is still probably nervous and apprehensive about it not lasting.

Hope everyone else is having or had a good Wednesday

Midlifecrisis

Ladybug, well done on 31! Tell that naughty av where to go!

My av is running hot tonight. It's 4.15am
And I can't sleeeeeeep. The kids will be up in a couple of hours.

Ladybug2

Hi MLC, I just got done catching up on the Moms/Mums Club posts and saw you are having a tough time sleeping. I'm sorry I don't have any helpful advice for you, but stay strong and as you said - tell that naughty AV where to go. It will only set you back. When I was drinking I would pass out at night only to wake up at 3am feeling like crap and not being able to go back to sleep. Your sleep should improve as you get further along. Hang in there! I always think a day exhausted from lack of sleep is way better than a day hungover

DarrenJGalea

Hi all, just checking in on day 24 - still going strong

I've been reading all about your progress, and it's so good to hear that you're all hanging in there! Yes there are ups and downs, but sharing the downs is as important as sharing the good times. I hope that you find courage when you need it.

I have an old friend coming over from the UK tomorrow for a few days, so it'll be good to touch base. We go back quite a few years and used to drink together. He never had a serious drinking problem like I did though, and I doubt he knows about mine. I hid it well.

Keep those updates coming, and congratulations to all of you for making it this far

RavenRenewed

Day 9, and the craving hit me strong today. Whenever I'm having a great day and the weather is beautiful is when I start thinking about finding a beach bar somewhere and hitting up a glass of wine or ten. Ugh! Half the jar of peanut butter is gone, haha!

It was good to go to the store today and pass up the wine aisle without any second thoughts. And I am realizing that I am saving money!

Hang in there everyone, we can all do this together!!

Blubbie

Day 17 almost over. I felt so so tired today even though I slept pretty well. Still better than being hungover! I signed up for a 5K in October to hopefully push myself to exercise. I "ran" the same one last year after drinking the night before. Pure torture.

Stay strong everyone!!

GreenEggsnHam

Day 22 and this Thursday off work is exactly what I needed. Plus seeing my girlfriend always centers me and reminds me about my priorities and some reasons I have not to drink. Plus spending time with her is the only sober activity I've enjoyed for the past few months so its easy not to stress about drinking when im with her, my cravings are used to be put on hold. Feeling good about the next 21 days, thanks for seeing me through my slump yall.

AlcoholicOrNot

Day 24 and the last 2 nights have been the most challenging. Last night, I played tennis with "the boys" (aka. my neighborhood drinking buddies). Between games they were all drinking beers and of course, I would sit down and drink out of my water jug.

An hour and a half later, tennis started to die down a bit in favor of more drinking. I saw that as a perfect opportunity to bail out and head home. Whew.....that was a close one.

Today, I played a "business" round of golf and of course, there were coolers of beer. My business associates don't know me all that well, so my abstinence was a non-issue to them.

I refuse to be a prisoner of my sobriety! Yes it sucks being around alcoholic beverages but I've had enough experience with alcohol that I know I'm not missing much. I am going to live and play and attend concerts and parties and when the going gets tough, I will kindly excuse myself and exit "stage right".

I sound so brave, don't I? It's going to be rough but I know what the alternative is.

Thanks for listening and stay strong!

Dee74

Two schools of thought I guess AlcoholicOrNot.
I tried your way before - several times - every time I got sucked back into the vortex eventually.

I made changes.

I didn't see it as being a prisoner of my sobriety - I saw it as making necessary changes in a life that had been very alcohol centric.

I think making those changes - recognizing I needed to find some new friends and new ways to amuse myself - contributed to me still being sober today.

D

helenwulfgar

Checking in on day 13. Whew- made it! It's an odd thing- I feel better than I ever had in the past 10 years. I'm able to wake up to jog in the morning, work at night, do stuff I normally would be passed out to do- and I feel great. Yet, I still have that urge to drink, despite knowing the terrible feelings it causes and how much to drags me down. Addiction is a nasty thing- makes you want to do something that is almost entirely negative and never rewarding except for a feeling in your head.
We'll get through this!

GreenEggsnHam

The last three posts were exactly what I needed to read, thanks. Im about to get dinner with my friend/drinking buddy at one of our old watering holes. He knows im not drinking, so he won't either. Im definitely not drinking, but it will be interesting to see if I can get fried chicken without missing beer too much

Todai

Day 24! Glad to see so many still strong. I was reading up on PAWS and found a reference to Candis? Basically it is a yeast infection. They say 2/3 of woman and 1/3 of men alcoholics have it! One of the biggest symptoms is lack of energy. There is a easy free home test. I'm a man and I tested positive. I know a lot of women here have mentioned fatigue so I thought I would share!

Todai

Sorry it's called candidiasis.

AlcoholicOrNot

Dee, you bring up valid points. I have also been sucked in twice before after being sober for 6 months both times.

One question you've made me ponder: Would these drinking buddies and I had become friends if I had never drank? Another way to put it, are there additional commonalities between us besides just drinking? Yes, there are many activities we share and enjoy doing together; unfortunately, and honestly, they almost always involve drinking.

Find new friends? Yes, that can be done; however, the majority of friends will be drinkers. It's the law of numbers when 65% of the population drinks.

I coined the term "prisoner of sobriety" after reading many posts from people trying to remain sober who become bored, stay home, and are "afraid" to go out since alcohol is so prevalent they feel they may get sucked in.

Me personally, I cannot do that. I have to take each day and every situation that will present itself and emphatically and definitively say to myself "I will not drink today" but will still have fun and count my blessings no matter what others are doing around me. The AV Beast inside will continue to raise his head and I will continue to knock it back because it is only my AV and it is not me.

Thanks for listening and y'all stay strong!

Ladybug2

Hi everyone!

Helen, I was nodding my head as I read your post. The last 32 days have probably been the best I have ever had, yet I still think about and crave wine. It really is scary that we can have such an urge and yearning to do something that makes us sick, physically and mentally. Lately, I have found myself looking ahead to future events/special occasions and then it will hit me - I won't be able to enjoy a bottle of wine with my husband on our anniversary or a glass of champagne when my brothers' first baby (my first nephew) is born in Sept., and so on and so on. It makes me sad and a litte depressed right now, but I guess I may feel differently as I get further along in my sobriety? Is it normal to still be mourning alcohol after 30 days? I don't miss it, yet I do, if that makes any sense?

helenwulfgar

Checking in on another sober night
I work closely with an alcoholic. She stopped drinking 30 years ago. She still comments occasionally how much she craves a drink after a particularly stressful day. So I know it's a never ending road ahead. Physically, I know I'll always feel better for it. It feels great being sober right now writing! But mentally...that road never ends.
My fiancé invited over some of his heavier drinker friends for dinner tomorrow. I thought it was going to be a huge struggle since they are bringing alcohol, but I immediately piped up and committed myself to being their DD. Whenever I've done that in the past, I've stuck to my promise. So I might hurt mentally, but I know I'll make it!
Everyone have a great night!