samwitch

Hi all-
Day 27 here. I'm doing okay, occasionally having the panic about "how will i ever cope with (insert some future event here) without booze?" Which, is so funny, since most of my damage occurred drinking alone. Anyway, I'm just taking it day by day. No real crazy urges just those occasional weird future thoughts.

I am seeing a shift in the attitude towards drinking alcohol in general, even from some of my most dedicated drinking friends. I do think, and this is just me, that part of the issue with people giving up drinking is that our culture has made it seem so shameful to do so(at least here in the US.) That you're "weak" or "flawed." I think that keeps people stuck and we have to move past this thinking as it doesn't help a lot of people who want to quit. Again, just my opinion. I know I thought that was what I had to do, and it kept me stuck for years.
Reading "Alcohol Explained" and Allan Carr's books have greatly changed my thought process.

Whew, I really didn't mean to go off on a tirade! Have a good sober day everyone!

redcardid

Hi - D35

my local city is dead (and feels kinda dangerous with all the boarded-up/closed shops, rubbish, and aggressive beggars) - just saying

I've at last opened up and sorted out my supplements cupboard (vitamin pills and such) - I've got 27 different things and I'm going to start eating them again

Hi Mags - the pie needs changing - it tastes good but the texture is too soft and samey - to make it better - roast half the carrots and half the parsnips (at the same time as the pie) and instead of mash on top, put the other half of the boiled parsnips in the pie and do not boil the potatoes, but instead slice them and do like fish scales on the top of the pie and bake with a little oil on top of the potato slices - the crispy potatoes and roast veg make it a much better dish

anyway - well done if you did another day :-)

Free2bme888

Creeping up to five months, just shy of a week shy until 1/28.

Yep, bummer I confused abstinence with control in 2019. I only lost a couple of years, darn it! Hey, Free, you lost 25 months in the blink of blurry brain fog. So much harder this time. So I’m NOT giving in……

I control my arms, legs, hands, feet and mouth 💪🏼🦵🏼🤚🏼🦶🏼👄, and I’m working on dismissing stinking thinking right away. 🤯

Seems to be getting easier, but in 2018 I felt so much better than I do nearing 5 months. Frustrating, and a gift all at the same time.

Ending day 147

Willow00

Hi everyone

Thanks Dickensen

Yes Toots I’m still thinking about work life balance and trying to keep it in balance. I’ve just had some family stuff going on and been really missing my Mum ❤️ And I was a bit knocked around by my Covid booster for a few days but I’m feeling somewhat better now

Mags1

Thanks Red. I’ll give it a go with the slice potatoes. I recall my mum used to slice potatoes for a ‘hot pot’ she used to make.

Willow pleased you’re feeling better.

Love to all the Unders. xxxx

tootsl1

Oh yes Mags, hot pot with crispy potato slices mmmm! Good to see you here sweetie

Free you're doing great. Perhaps you have different things going on in your life than you did in 2019 also I know my drinking increased massively in the last couple of years of active drinking, I have no idea how much of an affect that had on my recovery, because I never managed to stop drinking for longer than a month prior to this last time.

Willow

Red, our city too has struggled ald so many shops are closed. It's been so tough for them to survive the economic effects of the pandemic, aside from the fact so many people now chose to do shopping on line.

Keep up the great work Peeps!

redcardid

Hi - D36

- got new (nearest) neighbour - he's been in a few weeks and is great (quite, respectful, neat and tidy, polite - charming)

- the pervious guy neighbour was extremely antisocial with rubbish and noise, and we were all sick of him (good riddance)

it's just the worst thing having a bad neighbour - you need to relax in your home (I always go out of my way not to fall out with neighbours even if I secretly hate their guts - which has happened a few times)

been play my drum kit (it's in my bedroom - an electric set but it has a proper bass drum kick pedal and is a full set) - it's exercise and I'd like to join an amateur jazz band or swing band to play at tea dances and supper dances (no where near good enough yet though)

anyway - well done if you di another day :-)

dickensen

Samwitch, No matter how you cut it alcohol is an addictive poison. Alan Carr describes the "slippery slope" which is real and deadly. For some of us we realize that getting off the "slippery slope" by living a sober life is not only the best way but the only way. There is nothing weak about this thinking.

tootsl1

Wise words Dickensen. The 'weakness' is in societies acceptance of alcohol as a social lubricant. I read recently about how difficult it is in certain Chinese companies as the after work drink culture is practically mandatory, it was causing drink problems and also leading to cases of sexual assault. Alcohol is so casually acceptable until you get drunk and annoying, but abstinence is something that makes other people wary. I have found that those who have the worst time dealing with my sobriety are troubled drinkers. I never preach, I let everyone lead their own life. I'm just inordinately grateful that it's no longer my life.

I'm glad you have a better neighbour Red you're right it does make a big difference. Are electric drums quieter? We have a drummer in the street next to us and if his windows are open and the wind is in the right direction we can hear him! Being in a swing band sounds so cool, I haven't the voice for it but I love the swing songs.

samwitch

Thanks Toots and Dickerson, you've distilled down what I was trying to convey.

Day 29 for me, yay!

I'm thinking about all kinds of new adventures, I do really feel like this is a chance for a new beginning for me, that I am finally in charge of my life, not slave to a substance. That may sound too dramatic, but I hope you get what I mean.
Have a great day all!

dickensen

Toots, Some people can drink and walk away from it. However, for many of us we drink more and more, go down the "slippery slope", become addicted, and then harm our health, our finances, our work and our relationships. At the end of the day society (and social lubricant talk) doesn't care about our demise. So we have to do take care of ourselves and here we are at SR.

.

redcardid

D37

things are OK but I'm tired (and tired of being tired)

I'm trying dried nettle seeds for fatigue (and liver and kidney repair) which works in the short-term as a booster (seeds have acetylcholine, serotonin and choline in them) but a side effect is they are a bit trippy (I'm only on one flat teaspoon a day)

I hope I can cure this fatigue - I'm now taking all the good stuff - cod liver oil, multi-vitamins, zinc, selenium and loads more - but these take a while to be effective

anyway - well done if you did another day :-)

Mags1

Samwitch there is certainly more time to do ‘stuff’ when we’re sober. I found I had all the weekend to do as I wanted rather than be ruled by what I drank. Enjoy your new adventures.

Red, I hope the tiredness passes. It takes a while for our bodies to adjust and it seems you’re giving it all the help it needs.

Toots, I never tire of your wonderful words. You’re a wise lady.

Love to all the Unders xxxx

Mags1

dickensen, I agree wholeheartedly.
I found SR a month or so after I was sober and I’m positive if I hadn’t found it I’d have started drinking again.
Having support and guidance makes all the difference than ‘doing it alone’.

tootsl1

Red, your body is recovering from years of abuse, continue to be patient.

Dickensen, like Mags my life changed for the better when I discovered the world of Sober Recovery. People who understood and didn't judge, who may have arrived here from different roots but shared a common goal.

Sam that is t dramatic at all! I felt that for decades I had been the person I was because of alcohol, it stunted my desire to do anything productive and different, it caused me to choose the jobs I chose as it would allow me to get away with drinking ( no driving jobs; I qualified as a driving instructor and after a while I had to try and balance drinking at night to deal with the stress of the job and being sober enough to drive first thing the next morning. At the time I quite the work I quoted other reasons, but fundamentally it was the restrictions on my drinking that was a the base of it).
When I first entered recovery, I began to journal and regained my love of writing. It led to my first novel, a semi-autobiographical -well, they say write what you know - that I wrote, designed the cover for and uploaded to the internet for sale. It was the first real project I had carried out from start to finish in many years and I was inordinately proud of myself for being able to do it. I've written others since, but not in recent years as life has intervened, but one day I know I will write more. I am a different person to the one who drank, I love and like who I am now. Life isn't perfect, it I am better equipped to cope with it on my terms now.

Becoming sober isn't a restriction on your liberties, it is immensely freeing and allows you to grow into the person you are meant to be.

redcardid

D38

had a long sleep - so maybe supplements are helping already

thanks for the advice and encouragement (I need to be mindful of the - 'poor me poor me - pour me a drink' thing - self pity can be a powerful trigger)

I'm making potato bread - the trad Irish way is 1/4 flour 3/4 potato - I do 3/4 flour 1/4 potato

put in flour and potato in bowl and crumb with hand
add salt and pepper (to your taste) and a bit of oil
mix and then add water (slowly - a bit a a time) till you get a firm dough
knead for about 8 mins (at least 5 mins) (oxidizes and stretches the gluten to make it enjoyably chewy)
rest for 10 mins (important - leave it alone)
pick a ball of dough flatten and roll out (I do about 1/4 inch thick)
then fry in a medium-hot pan till browned

they are best eaten hot but they are not horrible cold used as a wrap for stuff

anyway - well done if you did another day :-)

Willow00

Is the potato already cooked Red? I’m thinking it must be? Or perhaps raw and grated?

Got me thinking about bubble and squeak that we used to have as kids. I loved it and thought it the height of luxury, but realised later that it was just Mum being thrifty and using up the leftovers ❤️

redcardid

D39

hi Willow00 - the potatoes are cooked and mashed before making the dough

bought a recorder today (musical instrument) - Aulos Soprano 'Symphony' model - I'm dead excited to play it (not arrived yet)

anyway - well done if you did another day :-)

redcardid

D40

by the end of January I'm fed up with winter - and about another 10 weeks of it to go (cold dark and wet outside - but cosy inside)

sleeping a bit better - so the supplements really do appear to help

anyway - well done if you did another day :-)

Willow00

Thanks Red, mashed potato makes sense
I had a recorder at school (I think everyone did)
40 days is awesome, well done!