stargazer016

My Friday finally. One more drinking holiday coming up. Working retail, I see a lot of Stupid from people this time of year. I always wonder how much of that is alcohol related and how much of it is simply people being released from their cubicles out into the real world?

Have a great day everyone!

OMD

Glad to see you're doing better Inc. Christmas is a weird time for many reasons, and so it's no surprise that you're having mixed emotions. Anyway, really glad to see you're looking forward.

Two of my former drinking buddies got in touch separately over this period. One said he is depressed, is seeking help, and wants to stop drinking. The other said he has a problem drinking and needs to stop. Maybe I am just ahead of my time - LOL.

Anyway, I am really glad we are together at the turn of the year. No one will pretend anything is going to be easy but I cannot tell you how different I feel this year compared to last year at this time, and I have been thankful for that over the last few days. I had no problem not drinking, and dealt with the difficult situations easily. Am finally resetting myself.

I could go on, and probably will, later, but I am going to send this in case SR decides to bin it again!

Best wishes
OMD
Ps Inc - quitting the cigarettes is definitely the way forward too
Pps Johnny - those small balls are great for releasing tension. Add some calf raises and you'll be smashing it out of the park
Ppps better send this now

Incontrol15

Another day for me. Was a crazy one. A day a most definitely would have tried to drink away.

But I'm calming down all on my own. It's over and I'm thankful I have the skills to make it through bad days without looking for a way to smooth out the ride.

It's over. I survived. And I'm stronger for it!

martina12

Hi all just thought I would pop in and say hello and congratulations to all of you for doing so well with sobriety

I am trying yet again and currently on day 4 as I really cant do moderation despite my best efforts..

Happy New Sober Year to all of you in 2016

Dee74

Welcome back Martina - and congrats to everyone hitting milestones

Heres to a happy and sober 2016 guys

OMD

Happy New Year!

I wish you all every happiness and success in whatever you seek to achieve in 2016.

Best wishes

OMD

OMD

Nice to hear from you Martina! Fwiw I was thinking about moderating a while ago. Got through that, and it's much better on the other side, for me at least.

Good luck in 2016!

OMD

stargazer016

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2016 everyone! This will be the first New Year in many many years that I will enter with a renewed energy and sense of purpose. I hope we can all continue moving forward in our lives in 2016. Thanks to everyone for their support throughout this process.

amp123

Happy New Year all of you. Nice to hear from you Martina.

A little up hill for me today. We left my mother's house in London at 6,30am and arrived at my wife's village in Spain at 6pm. Had to drive the last four hours as the plane landed 500km from where we needed to be. It's all New Year's cheer here but I'm dog tired. One of those times when you miss drinking just to switch off. Well, sure I'll get through and feel a thousand percent better for being hangover free on the first day of the year.

Happy new year!!

Incontrol15

Wishing a sober 2016 you ya'll!!

I am glad I'm a hermit and don't go to parties. Looking forward to a relaxing night eating lots of yummy food made by my GF. Was hoping to get a bottle of sparkle juice, but I just got out of work and don't have the energy to stop anywhere at this point. Unless they sell it at the gas station, I'll be happy with some soda or pop...what ever it's called where you live.


CHEERS TO A GREAT YEAR!

Cauliflower

Happy New Year! I am still in Puerto Vallarta with the family. We rang in the new year together watching the most amazing fireworks from the malecon. I am so grateful for my sobriety and for the friends I have gained here. Feliz Ano Nuevo from Mexico my friends in sobriety! I can't wait to catch up when we get back....one more week in paradise before he hit the ground running back home in the cold cold frigid north! xoxo

Incontrol15

Last night there was a TV show with stars playing various party games. The host was always holding a drink. Something on ice in a double old fashion glass.

All day people were telling me at work "Happy New Years! Don't party too much!"

So many expectations of drinking. I'm not surprised by that at all. Nothing new of course. But it's a shame how much media supports the concept that you have to drink to have fun. It's a shame.

I had a wonderful night being sober. And a very relaxing morning without shakes, sweats, or feeling ill.

Honestly this was the best New Years I've had in a long time.

Off to work. Clear minded and driven.

stargazer016

I think when I initially quit drinking, in the far back of my mind, I had slight hopes of maybe trying to be a moderate drinker after going booze free for a few months. I had zero success moderating from my daily alcohol intake previously while drinking.

I was reading an article yesterday about Naltrexone, a drug used mostly in Europe. It apparently cuts off the high from alcohol in the brain, allowing some people to drink moderately, like having a glass of wine and stopping. (Quite a concept!) In the article, a group of lab rats whom were previously given alcohol, were then cut off for several weeks. When given alcohol again, they all basically went on a week long bender, drinking far more than previously. I have read several similar stories here on SR about people hitting the bottle even harder after quitting for a while. When given Naltrexone, the rats dranks, but at greatly reduced levels. A study in Finland showed that 78% of people seeking harm reduction from alcohol either reduced or stopped drinking using this drug. It is encouraging to see the medical community look for solutions for alcoholism. Here in the US, everything is based on AA and the 12 step approach, which clearly does not work for a great deal of people.

At any rate, it would be very risky for me to try to drink again, even with a drug like this. The whole point of drinking for me was to get that high. No desire on my part to play with fire again. I am in such a better place this January first than I was last January first!

Incontrol15

Day 1 of a 21day program to quit smoking.

More on that later. I'm racing to work. Gonna be running in just on time.

Have a great day!

Incontrol15

Lunch time.

So this program is pretty cool. It's based on mindfulness. There's an app on my phone....of course...everything has an app now. Every day it teaches me something new about using mindfulness. At first, I have to be mindful when smoking. Look at the cig, feel it, smell it before I even light it. Stuff like that.

There's also meditations I can listen to. I can pick from 6, 10, 15, or 25min. Which is also cool because I recently added daily meditation to my daily planner I've been using the past couple weeks. Another phone app.

It fits right in with what I'm doing overall for myself. I didn't want to quit cold turkey. Been there done that too many times. this program is 21days. That's a really fast taper, so I know I'll be fighting WD's through it, but they'll be easier to handle.

Dee74

best wishes IC

D

amp123

Good luck with that Inc. Sounds like an interesting program.

It's 2am here and I'm in a bar with everyone around me getting wasted. We're out for dinner and drinks with friends of my wife. I tried to make a move for home an hour or so ago but my wife looked really hurt so I was kind if guilt tripped into staying...

It certainly gets boring for the sober one in situations like this. On the other hand, Mrs Amp had done plenty of waiting around for me while I got wasted over the years so I have nothing to complain about.

I think it's normal to not feel comfortable or part of things at this point because, of course, I am neither comfortable nor part of things.

Anyway tomorrow I will wake up sober if a little tired. I am sorry to appear anti social around these people who I get on with but it's the best I can do. They're in a different place right now. Maybe I'll get better at this. Not a major issue as it only comes up from time to time.

Well, I guess I'll check in with you all tomorrow. Hasta luego!

stargazer016

Was out at a concert last night at a venue, an old 100 year old converted theater, that probably holds a couple of thousand people. There was a huge bar in the lobby,and a small bar 100 feet away by the seating entrances. What was really amazing is that they were selling beers on the way out of the men's room. The venue cleaned out a janitor closet and had a guy selling cans of beer literally three feet from the sinks. I had never seen this before. They were selling cans of beer for $9.00-$13.00 each, and people were getting loaded. It goes to show why there is no real push in the US to curb excessive drinking. Everyone makes way too much money off of an addicted clientele.

amp123

I agree with you SG. It's funny observing bar life these days. Moths around a flame. No surprise that some of us wind up getting burned!

Last night I was so tired of drinking soft drinks and water that the last place we went into I said I didn't want anything. This is, as we know, not how the game is played, but I'm tired of playing.

Of course, I got the "what was wrong with me" conversation and had to order a tonic water. Oh well. We live to fight another day. Take care all!

Incontrol15

So when I started this tapering program for smoking, apparently I got a little too aggressive.

I also use smokeless tobacco. You could say I was double dipping. I was pumping nicotine into my body all the time. I smoked about 3/4 of a pack a day and I went through 3/4 a can of chew.

When I started the program I stated I smoked 10 cigs a day in an effort to rush my taper. Today, I did not chew at all and smoked 9 cigs. Felt really good about that. Actually, I FEEL very good about that.

The only issue is I haven't been able to sleep tonight. It's 3am now. I've been tossing and turning and sweating like a stuck pig since 1am.

Got out of bed, smoked a cig which will count as one of my 9 for this day. Took some Theanine in hopes that will help calm me down. Chilling on the couch now.

Ill probably fall asleep just in time for my alarm to go off :/

Reminds me of the fun I went through quitting alcohol. The night sweating was horrible. Did you guys go through that? This time isn't as bad. With alcohol, I had to change my cloths in the middle of the night. I would be drenched!

I'm not changing gears though. Lots of schools of thought there. One being that I just quit altogether and get this over with. But for me, I don't think I can do cold turkey again. I get so angry and depressed, it's bad.

Depression is obviously an ongoing battle for me to start with. Something that easily pops up. If depression is a possible outcome for some people, for me, I'll go straight to deep depression. Or so it seems.

Which is another reason I am excited to dump nicotine. I believe it's playing into how sensitive my psyche can be. Along with caffeine and sugar, which I'll also be dropping.