I’m feeling good about not drinking. I just went to an Aussie barbecue and really enjoyed being there despite everyone drinking beer while I drank soft drink :) a good Saturday afternoon, and now I’m off to bed nice and early. Planning on going to a yoga class tomorrow morning which will be fun.
I hope you’re all having a good weekend :)

Thanks Bumblebee :)
A day with no plans sounds fantastic! And you don’t have to be busy and achieve stuff, sometimes time out to do very little is precious downtime. It helps us reset and re-energise ourselves. Even just laying around with a good book is really good for the soul sometimes . Mine anyway :) I hope you enjoy your day no matter what you end up doing (or not doing) :)

Hi aMAYzing Maysters! :)
I had a really bad funk yesterday, got caught in a downward spiral of negative head space, but today I decided to put on a new head. I ordered some SAMe online last night (I’ve found it helpful for balancing my mood in the past but had run out). I’m also getting into some exercise this morning with the intention of re-establishing my daily exercise routine. That also helps keep me on a more even keel emotionally.

If you’re still lurking around, pop in and say hi :wavey:

Hi Bumblebee 🙂 that’s good that you’re off the med, it sounds like you don’t need it anymore anyway :)
I hear you re the exercise, it’s hard to find both time and motivation! But I know that for me, it’s a really important part of maintaining a healthy mind set. It helps with anxiety, depression, overeating and staying sober :)
I about half an hour yesterday and am aiming for the same each day, at least 3 times a week but aiming for 6. I might as well aim high :)
Have a great day:)

Hi Bumblebee :wavey:

I’m glad you didn’t feel you missed out too much by not going to the wedding. Your daughter needed you and that’s more important, and I hope she’s better now. I haven’t had a drinking dream for a while, but I remember that feeling of relief when you know it wasn’t real!

I’m happy to be back on 2 weeks sober and I’m feeling good and positive. I learned a lot after drinking again and I feel like I’m better prepared for long term sobriety now. I don’t think my heart was fully in it last time, so I was staying sober on will power, which is really tiring!

But I feel like something has shifted this time. I’m not saying it will be easy, I know the AV has many sneaky tricks to try and trip me up, but I feel like I’m more determined and I really want a sober life. It’s hard to put in words, but I think I have realised on a deeper level that not only is drinking a bad idea, but I have hope that I really can build a fulfilling and happy life without alcohol, that will be better than I could ever have with alcohol.

I think it was coming to the realisation that I was actually a happy kid before I ever drank, and that alcohol actually contributed to the depression and anxiety downward spiral rather than me using alcohol to cope. I mean I did use alcohol to cope with my feelings, but I hadn’t realised that alcohol was really just making everything worse and that it was a false “fix” because it just dragged me down further.

Anyway, whatever it is that’s shifted, it feels like I really believe I can do it this time and I actually don’t want to drink again. Last time part of me still wanted to drink. Now I don’t want to anymore :)

Third consecutive sober weekend :)
So I’m up to day 18, and I’ve realised that all that sober time over the last 18 months wasn’t wasted. Even though on day 1 I felt dreadful and felt like I’d totally blown it. No, I learned heaps and I was building sober muscles. So even though my day count isn’t high, I still have all those lessons behind me, giving me strength to stay sober :)
Goodnight, it’s so good going to bed sober :)

This is so good to hear! Even though I am still sober since May 2018 I sometimes become uneasy with the old "what ifs?". It is very important for me to know that even if a relapse occurs (God forbid) I will be fine and I will work my way back. Thank you for your post!

Gettingcloser I think we have to be really vigilant to not relapse though, because I think some people can take a long time to find their way back. There are some really good posts about this in the 24 hour thread. I don’t know how to link to them, but IcedVovo, Rose and Bandicoot posted about the AV and about relapse there.

I found Bandicoot’s post about the relapse ladder to be especially useful reading.
I’m not sure if this will work as I’ve never tried to link to another post before, but I’ll try, as I think is was an especially helpful post for me, that might help others too,

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...7-post145.html

Herro.

Still here. Drinking on/off. Struggling.

Love you all.

Posting here everyday worked last time to stop you drinking,Free - maybe it's time to try that again?

D

Soooo good to see you Free, sorry you’re struggling, I was too, big time. But I’m 3 weeks sober again and feeling a bit better.
Sending you a huge hug :hug: and lots of support ❤️

Thanks Dee and Willow😘

Hope you’re doing ok Free :)
I had a moment of temptation to drink tonight when a waitress took a tray of red wine past when I was having dinner at the pub. Funnily, I wasn’t tempted when we went to the bar and I ordered sparkling water and my partner ordered beer. But that wine floating past did... but I quickly squashed the thought and ordered a second sparkling water. I’m glad I’m going to wake up hangover-free tomorrow morning. God I hate hangovers. I don’t ever want another one in my life.
Goodnight everyone x

Thanks for the love

Hi Free :wave:
we're always here for you if you want to reach out or have a chat :)

D

Hi Free

:Val004: