Morning class of September. Thanks for being here. It is amazingly reassuring that there are others who have struggled and have signed up.

I'm an alcoholic, plain and simple. Always have been one, always will be one. But, TODAY I commit to being a recovering alcoholic and sober. It's simple. The only thing I must do perfect today. The only thing, is not drink.

Fitful sleep here. Onward to day 4.

Be well all. We can do this.

Day 3 and so far it’s been easy. I have drank every evening & weekend since 11th Jan & the whole year before that & beyond.

I set 1st Sept in my head as a fixed date & it seems to be a good blocker.

I passed a good test yesterday. A friends birthday dinner in a restaurant at 8pm when I finish work at 5pm. Not enough time to get home & out again, so time to kill would usually be in the pub. I stayed at work longer & went shopping for a gift instead.

I avoided drinking at the dinner even though 24 people were there. I realised many don’t drink as they drive or work the next day. It’s pretty normal not to drink at these events. Although lots were, even doing shots.

Then an hour to get home, I would have bought beers for home & possibly had one on the train.

I even walked passed a very inviting looking pub outside the station.

All these things are telling me it’s about a mind set & a habit. I know the addiction is there as I’ve battled it lots of times. But its doesn’t seem to be stronger than my mind set at the moment.

So far so good. 

Welcome mystified, glad to see you back luper!

I started out on this path in March myself. Its taken a lot of attempts at moderation to know I can't do it. I know now, I just need to build a plan to stay sober.

First day of schoolgirl.the.kids! Off to run!

Good morning friends!! Up early drinking a cup of coffee and listening to music. I did not cave into my AV thankfully!! Your posts and words of encourage help so much, it feels great knowing I don't have to feel alone with this! Thank you all!!

good luck. x

I'm still in. One day at a time.

Hi All hope you are going well.

I had a weird experience last night I had a really vivid dream dream about drinking what felt like the night before and I downed a bottle of something and felt drunk in my dream.

Woke up and was very disorientated bit like a blackout and what did I do and it took a while for reality to sink in that I was sober and had not dropped the ball.

Was very disconcerting maybe knocking myself out with drink dreams are a distant memory and returning with a vengeance.

11 days now keep it up all lets see the month out

anyone else experienced similar

Checking in for a sober day! Hope everyone is doing well!

Day 3 out of the way but tommorow I know will be a challenge as I always have the battle in my head as to why I need a drink to unwind after a stressful day at work and before I know it I am in the bottleshop with a carton of beer purchased. And then it's like well hey got a lot of beer now might as well drink it and then try again when the whole lots gone. Then the cycle begins and it's never the right time to stop so I go on weeks like this.

Going to be strong tommorow and try and fight the urge as I know more than ever I am ruining my life. As other people have mentioned I have never had any one in my family question my excessive drinking or say hey might want to cut back. Guess I have hid this problem pretty well over a long time.

Hope you are all going ok, will try and post as this seems to be helping keep my mind off it. Sorry if I ramble a bit but it feels better to get some of this off my chest even if I can't say it too the people around me.

so you know the cycle & where it leads, so you have to avoid beginning the cycle.

go for a long walk instead. go straight home & tidy your sock drawer!!
or get some healthy food & cook that. or all three!!

just think how great you will feel getting through day 4 against how **** you would feel if you are back to square 1.

you can do it.

Morning all! Start of day 3, feeling slightly less anxious than yesterday....hoping as I start to get my life and finances in order again it will dissipate more rapidly. Just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, make good choices one decision at a time, and most importantly --- DON'T DRINK! Everything else will, hopefully, start falling into place.

Hope this day treats you all gently and kindly! Be blessed!

good morning class! On to Day 2 today and feel good so far. I can usually pull off not drinking on mondays and tuesdays so not a huge test yet but trying to keep my eye on today as thinking about the weekend on anything later trips me up.

i know I have a problem and it really hit home when my wife said to me"..that's because you're a drunk" Wow! I wasn't ready for that but it really hit home.

good luck today class and stay strong and sober

Hello everyone!

On to day (9) today. I'm feeling pretty good.

This class is hopp'n. I've read all of your comments as well. The first few day are difficult, but get through week 1 and it gets a little better. @Halfvictory...my wife called me that too and I was like...uh..what? That usually comes out during an argument.

One mistake I've made in the past is to challenge my AV. I'd let it in and fight it, and then think about what a drink would do for me. And I liked the thought of what it would do. I often failed by challenging myself like that.

Now, I try to think about these things instead:
a. What I will feel like at the end of the night.
b. What I will feel like in the morning before work.
c. What I went through trying to get though day (1).
d. How the night sweats felt the first (4) days.
e. My temperament with my family because I felt confused.
f. My lack of energy.
g. How much better I feel today.
h. Getting through the day without obsessing when I could get booze.
i. Having discussions at work without worrying if I look like I have been drinking.
j. Being able to look myself in the eye in the morning and be proud of myself.
k. Being bored and deciding to fixed things around the house that need attentions.
l. Waking up Saturday and telling the family, hey, let's go to Hershey Park..and actually go.

......I could go on!

So, far that has done the trick. Think about the consequences first and that will trump the rest! And for the record after (3) years, I've written many statements like this and failed. No rest for the weary!

Stay strong fellow Septemberites.......

Hi Class. I'm one week sober as of today. I'll be checking in often.

Thanks,:scoregood

All your reasons are my my life exactly.

Not drinking really releases the spirit of life. And as a poster from London said, I've noticed too how a lot of people don't drink in a lot of social situations - I was just too wasted to notice.

Not drinking, as I found out, is socially acceptable!

I am 24 days sober today! Woot woot!

I have some work due by 11:30, and then I'm free for the rest of the day! And I have no worries about drinking. I think I might give myself some highlights today and dye my hair. I am the height of excitement! After that, I'll probably take my dog for a drive or a stroll in town. We hiked for a while yesterday, so I don't think I'm going to do anything too strenuous physically.

Good luck to everyone! We can do it!

nice list neverthought

gorc - drinking dreams can be disconcerting, but so can many other dreams that bring in the past or other worries, and the feelings pass. Vivid dreams early on seem to be the norm, and I've had that early morning "did I drink?" confusion too... the best part is when you realize that you didn't!

Had a drinking dream last night also. Scary! Day 3 here. Still not sleeping great and anxious this morning. Great feeling knowing I'm not drinking today. Have a great sober day everyone.

Hi all, I'd like to join you. Day 1.

Hey ChickChick! Congrats on day 1! :dance: