FishnHippy

I woke up tonight with hives on my side and itchy feet is this a sign of detox?

Raider

Yikes! I didn't have that symptom.

BLKDIESEL

To Raider, you just hit a bump in the road my friend but don't let it define who you are. good to see you bounce back quickly and get back on your journey.

Remember this quote Raider;

"No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying"

lorelei

Morning all

Busy day ahead day 12 and I really should get out of bed lol.

Have a lovely day or night wherever you are,

L x

Jimuk

Morning all, just checking in in my phone. Since moving we have no Internet yet. Hope you're all doing great! All is good here, hope to catch up with you all at the weekend. Welcome to the new peeps too. Have a great day. Jim x

lorelei

Great to hear from you Jim hope it went ok x

fifth

Hi I'm also here, its only 9.30am and I'm already struggling thanks to a 1 hour every thing goes wrong. Some of the persons I mostly love are not helping me much, when they see me drink they just go stop stop stop drinking than when I' ***@@ng not drinking they don't bother about the struggle I am into

F@ck S@it I hate this life

fifth

yes Fish probably, I have that too. I'm no doctor but for me it seemed to pass after a few days especially if I sweat a lot (try to have a run or walk in thick cloaths )

lorelei

Hey fifth x
I know what you mean if we could just stop, we would. We're here if you need to talk, don't let it get you down so much that you give up trying x

fifth

In AA they thought me to do it just for myself, not for any body else and they where so right. I'm not finding any help from anybody except from other sober alcoholics like me and you.

I would like to scream and shout out loud my anger this morning, it was all so fine until 8.00am now look at me, I'm worst than the my worst drunk.


anyway lorelei, thanks for your immediate reply

lorelei

Come on fifth you get thro days like this by keeping talking to us
I'm always on PM for a chat. I just have to go out be back in 30mins x

Tallia

I think to truly understand what we are going through you have to experience it yourself you can have sympathy but not really understand the struggle if we could just stop we would.

Fifth we are here for you today post away got a quiet few days in work so checking my phone constantly xx

Jim glad tour move went ok looking forward to hearing from you the weekend xx

Good morning lorelei hope you are doing good today you got such a kind heart xx

Tallia

Oops sorry I will get to grips with this phone lol

Tallia

Having really vivid dreams at the moment everything is bad or just sad in them most probably comes from my view of myself ahh wake up feeling down and tired. My concentration is also useless and my memory I think as gone on walkabouts lol. I think it's symptoms of paws just hanging in and hope it will get better soon.

Weekend is coming so I am starting planning lots of ideas to keep busy, including cooking ah will see how that goes last time I was lucky to escape with all my fingers potato peelers are dangerous.

Hope the September crew are doing well today x

Black

Morning,

Having really vivid dream too Tallia, last night was weird I had hung myself from a tree at the side of my house and my youngest found me in the morning. Mad or what.


Nothing really planned today, Thursday normally the start of my binge weekends so will find something to do tonight. signed into a meditation class from next Thursday on for 8 weeks. Ok keep with it guy, chat soon.

lorelei

tallia & Black, vivid dreams like those can be really upsetting, hope you are both ok xx

Sulu1

Morning all, day 15. Good to be back, nice chilled out day.

lorelei

fifth, as promised...



*
SURFING THE URGE
G. Alan Marlatt on Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention
Dr. G. Alan Marlatt is the founder and director of the Addictive Behaviors Research Center at the University of Washington, where he developed the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) outpatient treatment program. He is also the author of Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors. Kevin Griffin interviewed Dr. Marlatt in October 2009 in Los Angeles.
INQUIRING MIND: Can you tell us about Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention?
ALAN MARLATT: Relapse prevention is a cognitive behavioral approach that mainly teaches people skills: how to cope with triggers and high-risk situations, how to manage urges and cravings. It also helps people get a better sense of their own personal journeys and the forks in the road that lead either to recovery or to falling off the wagon. In getting this bigger picture, mindfulness meditation enhances what many people call “meta-cognition”—the ability to stand back, observe what is happening and think about what you are doing rather than being on automatic pilot. We’re trying to promote approaches that will help people see their feelings and then develop more of a sense of choice. It’s when they’re in the habit-stimulus response that most people get into drug use and its consequences.

S.O.B.E.R. is one of the meditation breathing spaces we’ve developed. You can use it when you’re right on the verge of taking a drink. It enhances meta-cognition, giving you a chance to stand back and look at what’s going on. Say you’re walking by a bar you used to visit and the thought arises: “Maybe I’ll just pop in and see if anybody I know is inside.”

S is for “stop” where you are. Stop walking. Then O, “observe” how you’re feeling—what are the physical sensations and cravings? B, focus on your “breath.” Take a deep breath, then another breath, and center your attention there. And E, “expand” your awareness so that you’ll have a larger sense of what would happen if you did go in the bar. How would you feel? In AA, they call this “thinking through the drink.” Finally, R, “respond” mindfully.

A Step-by-Step Guide on Urge Surfing
Here are the key steps for using “urge surfing” to help overcome your addictive behaviors:
Identify the craving. The sooner you become aware of the craving the easier it will be to overcome it. You don’t want to have to fight the craving when the object of desire is already in your reach. By that point, the craving may already be too strong for you to overcome.
Sit back and watch. The key component of urge surfing is your awareness. The goal is to sit back, watch these desires, and really become attuned to them. Don’t act, just observe – like a scientist observing something under a microscope.
Make a mental note of the sensations. It really helps to pinpoint what it is that creates your craving experience. This includes both physical sensations and mental sensations, including certain thought patterns that may be running through your head (“One more won’t hurt me.”), or mental imagery. Often the more aware you become of your craving experience, the more you understand the anatomy of your desires.
Be aware of environmental triggers. Often times our addictive behaviors are influenced by certain triggers in our environment. For example, hanging around at a bar makes it harder to resist the temptation to drink alcohol than if you were hanging out at a cafe instead. In the same way, associating with certain people may make you more likely to engage in an addictive behavior than if you chose a different group of friends to associate with. Being mindful of these environmental triggers can be an important part of urge surfing and better understanding your addiction. Learn to avoid these triggers in the future and you’ll have an easier time overcoming these negative habits.
Keep in mind the lesson of “impermanence.” The takeaway lesson of urge surfing is that all of our thoughts and feelings are impermanent, including our desires. By showing a little patience, and remembering the inherent “transient nature” of our desires, we can remind ourselves that it is possible to ride out these cravings until they inevitably pass.
Use a helpful mantra. If you want, you can also accommodate your urge surfing with a helpful mantra. Repeating an affirmation such as, “this too shall pass” or “I can ride out this desire” will help replace unhelpful thoughts with a more stable state of mind.
Keep practicing. Like most of the techniques and tools I share on this site, “urge surfing” is something that you will get better at the more you practice. Don’t expect to try this one time and be free from your addictive habits. It’s more likely this will take a few trials and errors before you begin getting good at it.

lorelei

morning grindlow, well done getting thro this weeks huge interview challenge, day 15

Sulu1

Thanks lorelei

Well done on 12 days! You're hot on my heels!

This thread moves so fast, got some serious catching up to do. Feel like I've tuned in to Breaking Bad on season 5.

Take care all