Class of January 2014 Part 5
 

we continue from here:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...rt-4-a-20.html

D

sorry for the quick closing of the other thread - it's stormy where I am - there's always a chance I may not be able to get online later :)

D

OK I'll kick this off :)

Hi everyone,

Tonight I had a challenge. I’m out of town on a business trip right now and had a dinner with a bunch of colleagues, who ordered a couple bottles of wine – this type of dinner is very typical in my job, nice restaurants and moderate drinking. I did not drink and did not find it difficult at all. It was actually a very nice outing with a great discussion (mainly work, of course). I find that in the past several years I could stay away from booze (or even drink moderately) best when I’m out with a group (1:1 is an entirely different story, but I decided to stay away from 1:1 outings or any form of 1:1 that makes me feel tempted for a while until I feel I can handle it). I think this is because in the past several years I was a lone drinker at home, and I really don’t find group activities triggering. Was much more afraid what happens when I come back to my hotel after the dinner, and made a plan beforehand. It was getting some work done. I have close deadlines and also a work visit tomorrow (well, today considering it’s past 1 am) that I had to prep for, so I decided to put all my focus in these until it’s time to sleep, and in case I get strong cravings I would go out for a short walk like I tend to do these days also at home (will need to find something else for places where it’s not a good idea to walk at night…). But surprisingly, no cravings whatsoever!! Probably it’s an environmental effect: I am away from home, and home is where tended to drink the most. So, quite relieved, now let’s tackle that work visit…

I will have one more similar evening here and have made a somewhat similar plan with slight differences so hopefully I won’t get bored. I’m also trying to control my mind that I don’t get overly excited and confident about these successes, that would not be a good idea probably as I read here on SR so often people relapse when they get carried away and think they can try a drink or two or other forms of moderation… It’s great that we can try to learn here from others’ stories.

Have a great night/day, classmates!

glad it's going well haennie :)

D

Day 2 for me :)

Checking in on Day 5. Great day everyone!

Hi Everyone! Congratulations on joining this class! What a great step youve taken.

Haennie the fact that you made a plan and thought ahead is great. This often makes all the difference for folks and it sounds like it definitely did for you.

Anyone have plans for how they're coping with the coming weekend?

Checking in on day 16! Hope everyone is going well :) :)

C

Morning all , day 3 here and I actually managed a decent sleep last night. Still not at my best and not particularly looking forward to work but on we go...

Well done G - you can do this - my heads in bits today too - day 2 here we go

End of Day 2.

I have plans for tomorrow to keep me busy and out of alcohol's way.

1. 8km walk along the beach
2. defrosting my fridge and freezer
3. vacumming my bedroom and general tidy
4. fold all the clothes in the washing pile of doom
5. go to work
6. spend time with my partner in the evening

I am off to bed to hopefully sleep after a bad night of insomnia last night. i hope tmorrow brings an end to the sweats, rosacea and the itchy feeling all over my body.

Night all.

I have to head to work on my day 3 too. I have decided to keep busy and exercise before going. Good luck. what do you do for a job?

Day 6 begins
 

Denying alcohol it's victory by admitting my powerlessness second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour! Thanks to everyone here who understands, and swims against the same tide that wishes to drag us all out to sea. Blessings to you and yours. RVD.

Fishy, I work in IT, how about you? Good luck on your day 3 :)

Good morning everyone. Starting day 9 this morning in Ohio. It's really cold out again this morning we are a dew degrees below zero (f) with a wind chill of about -20. I'm ready to get outside some but it doesn't look like the cold is going anywhere. 10 day forecast shows -15 and -17 lows for Monday and Tuesday nights next week.

I don't mind the cold too much myself but I'd love to start getting the dog out for walks in the evening. I just don't want to with it this cold on her paws and all the salt on the road.

Dee you asked in an earlier post if I was using all the resources i already have and to be honest I'm probably not. I have one enormous resource I have not used at all which would be my father. He's been sober through aa for I believe 23 years or so. I remember him going through an inpatient detox when I was 6 ish and then has been clean ever since. We have a wonderful relationship it's just a tough conversation. I'll get there soon though. The wife and I started a bible study together at church last night in authenticity. First session was in hypocrisy and not wearing masks. Talk about a sobering topic for an alcoholic, I could not survive without a mask when I was drinking.

Take care and be safe today everyone.

Day 22 down..now to day 23. Feeling great but a bit flat - I guess what's expected at this point. Have stressful meetings all day, hopefully at the end I have that strength to stay sober.

Hey everybody, just checking in. I relapsed last night was on day 5, it was totally premeditated, I knew what I was doing, I'm not gonna make excuses, I'm not gonna beat myself up, I'm just gonna pick myself back up, day off and start back up..I'm done counting days it makes me feel anxious anyway, I'm back I'm here and I hope everybody has a great day.

New here. As of tonight I will be on day 14.

Day 25 morning check-in. It's going to be a rough work day - I'm grateful I didn't drink last night.

Sarah, Grindilow, Fishy - hang in there through these tough days. It's going to get better. It feels like time passes like molasses and progress is measured in millimeters, but suddenly you will realize one day that you feel better. Stay the course, it gets worth it rather quickly.

Welcome argent and ryan and welcome back lifes4living.

Have a good day, people.

Day 18. I feel really good. Seeing my doc today. Going to ask for blood work up and other tests he recommends. Tell him I'm now in sobriety and what damage have I done? Anybody in our group do this recently? Did you ask them to look into anything specific or just let them do their normal physical and that u have told them about the drinking history?