Incontrol15

Cauliflower...
I'll just toss my 2 cents. I'm new too though.
Some days were really hard for me. Yesterday was one of them. I seem to do ok when I follow this order:

I close my eyes and do the following:
1. I take stock of how crappy I feel. I let the crappy feelings take over for a minute or too. I don't want to forget these feelings later when I'm coasting.
2. Why am I feeling this way? What brought me here?
3. What is my AV trying to convince me of?
4. Why is my AV wrong and why is being sober right?
5. I imagine myself having been sober for a long time. I picture myself as though I'm somebody looking at me. I imagine that I've taken care of the pressing issues that is weighing me down. I picture myself smiling. The world is bright, I'm successful and I'm heading in the direction I want to go. That I'm happy and grateful for the my accomplishments.
6. I take a real big deep breath. Open my eyes, and thank God for guiding me towards that direction and I THANK GOD I DONT DRINK ANY MORE. I'll often repeat it...YUP, thank goodness I don't drink!!

That'll carry me for a bit. Sometimes not so long, sometimes for hours.

When events come up where I'm faced with an opportunity to drink, I imagine the results if I choose to drink then imagine the results if I choose not to drink.

Incontrol15

Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP) is a useful tool to program your brain the way you want it to think.

Something that is very useful for putting away negative thoughts or behaviors is called the Swish Pattern.

It's interesting. Check out the you tube link.
There's more videos on it and it's covered in a great audio book I finished called "Achievement through NLP".

http://youtu.be/jPu5cXaTZOw

ZaBoozer

Aahh, part three then. Just checking in at the end of day eighteen

martina12

I'm checking in too on day 13...and its Friday. Feeling a bit off this evening so in my pj's about to line up chocolate and hot chocolate and watch masterchef...declined a social down the pub which is probably why I'm feeling off. Imagining everyone having loads to drink and lots of laughs...oh well. Early night with my book and hopefully a good nights sleep. Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow with a spring in my step ready for the gym...:

Hoping we are all doing ok..

OMD

No one on here is letting anyone down. We're all on here giving and receiving help and support and encouragement with the one thing that unites everyone who reads and posts here, irrespective of their age, sex, nationality etc. My suggestion (fwiw) is that you forget the 30 day idea and just take each day as it comes. What do I know, I'm "only" on day 18, but I'm so incredibly proud of that and for me it's one day at a time.

Good luck
OMD

OMD

Absolutely, there is no question that it's worth the rewards. We need to earn the trust of those we have let down, and we owe it to ourselves to make that happen.

OMD

Soberwolf

Hello hope everyone is having a nice sober evening you guys are doing great keep up the good work

OMD

Just checking in at the end of day 18. ZAB, you need to continue posting each morning so I know what day I'm on

Anyway, I hope you're all doing really great and that you have a truly fantastic Saturday.

OMD

ZaBoozer

Hey OMD, I do, but my morning post was in part two, this one started somewhere this afternoon. I also post twice daily to my thread mate - so you have no excuse for not knowing what day we are on.

Cheers,

ZAB

Cauliflower

Thank you for this Incontrol.
I am working on my sobriety plan this afternoon. I also took a breather, meditated (I think I fell asleep!). I just needed some quiet time to get the anxiety out of my thoughts and feelings. I will come away from this weekend happy with my decision not to drink a single drop of alcohol and I will feel fantastic!! Even if I get the weird stares from friends, I don't care. I am quite happy being the DD this weekend! (That's my vision and I am sticking to it!)

amp123

I was really worried about this afternoon. Been dry since Monday so this is the first weekend. Had rehearsal with my band. That's normally a few hours in which, apart from playing music, we drink A LOT of beer. I brought in some alcohol free stuff and none of the guys batted an eyelid. Even better than that, I didn't really have a terrible urge to switch onto the real stuff. AV was mostly quiet! I know there will be testing times ahead but, what an encouraging start!!!

Wishing you all well this weekend! Stay strong!

FrankLapidas

Hello to the April Gang. Gonna try the chat tonight if I can get in. Hope all are well.

ZaBoozer

Hey there Frank. Good to see you here too mate.

Dee74

Hey Frank

D

Incontrol15

Amp...
That is awesome. My day today is much better too. Not consumed with all day AV voice like yesterday. Nice to have a break.

I went back to the house I'm foreclosing on for a bit. Normally very depressing. The source of many drunken nights. Not today. I poured out stashes of alcohol I had there to boot. Feeling free, focused, and accomplished a lot.

Registered my car which was due in Jan, saw a counselor, went to court house and started the process to have my divorce amended, paid as much as I could to spousal support. Figured I'd eleviate as much stress as I could going into the weekend.

Frank....
Hope to see you there!

canguy

.....morning.

Checking in. Enjoy sober sat morning a lot.

Starting to close in on the 4 weeks / month period now. It's strange...alcohol has been / is being drunk around me, but have not participated despite offers and pressure.

Yet catch myself thinking about drinking once the month is up. You people will know all the 'logic'.....

A national day here for war remembrance.

amp123

Cool man! You are taking control!!!

calypso17

Today is day one of attempting to be sober.
I can't say I had a hangover free morning. but I can say I have not had a drink in about 15 hours! It's Friday. One of the hardest days of the week. Isn't it 5 o'clock somewhere?
What can I do to resist the urge to use weekends as an excuse to get my liquid happiness on?
Today has consisted of lots and lots of water and a bottle of V8!
Trying to think of a way to spend my Friday night...trying to avoid any triggers, all negativity, anything that may make me feel depressed.
Suggestions?
And congratulations to those who have made the choice to live a sober, addiction free life!

Dee74

Welcome Calypso

I'm not sure its possible to totally avoid things that might trigger you or make you feel sad or depressed - but you can definitely approach things in a new way?

The ideas in these links are basic but they really helped me
What is self-talk? | ReachOut.com Australia
Challenging negative thinking | ReachOut.com Australia

as far as resisting urges go there are a *ton*of ideas in this thread:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

D

jazzfish

Welcome to all the new folks! It is just after 5pm on a gray, damp Friday. I think this will be a quiet night in front of the TV. I hope everyone has a good weekend!