original

"As I explained to a friend who questioned whether it was 'difficult not to have at least one drink'... it's relatively easy for me to not drink alcohol at all. What would be absolute Hell for me would be to have me just one or two drinks at dinner or a reception and fighting myself the rest of the evening from downing 7 to 17 more drinks.

One might argue that if I feel that way about my current sobriety, why I need to keep going. The answer is simple - fear of relapse. All my 'drunk dreams' ( which I never had before I decided to quit ) have me at some enjoyable dinner party and then suddenly realizing with horror the wonderfully refreshing G&T in my hand has been my 5th or 7th drink and that I have relapsed. "

Thanks North! So bloody true..

Sorry for the multiple posts..

north

original,

At first those 'drunk dreams' really freaked me out. After I accepted them as harmless and normal - Hell, I also fly, beat people up, time travel and sometimes have unprotected sex with beautiful women in my other dreams, so why would be so terrified of a drunk dream? - I stopped worrying. (Then I started worrying that if I stopped worrying, it might be a sign of over-confidence and a prelude to a relapse... )

If you're killing time with hot baths and video games, I'd recommend adding two more things that compliment the hot baths (aside from the bath pillow and fizzy salts at a Japanese kamikaze temperature of 43 degrees C):

1. Working out. You needn't go to the gym or anything. I found even a quick 15 to 20 minute workout with dumbells and a swiss ball can work wonders -especially in the morning. Lots of visual examples of short programs on Youtube.

2. Meditation. Nothing too New Age, but just one step removed from snoozing in the tub with positive after-effects for the rest of the day.

Maggot4Life

My days consist of going to work and trying to focus on work and not drink. Normally come home, watch a little tv, spend some time with the lady. Working out everyday has been a HUGE help in my recovery and lets not forget about xbox 360. This morning I spent 3 hours playing guitar hero lol good times

yeahgr8

Wow Shawk25 to me that is dangerous thinking! If it works for you then great but for the most i would imagine it wouldn't. Just my experience i was sober for 5 months and went out 2 nights ago and got completely smashed, it was all i imagined it to be and was awful. I will be heading down AA this week with a very different outlook than before, take what you want from this but i would have been agreeing with you to some extent 3 days ago! Be well:-)

shaun00

One of the gifts of sobriety for me was "life"......

All i ever longed for was a life.........the ability to make choices with my mind not being warped by alcohol or alcoholic thinking..

i have a new freedom and i try to embrace each day as a new one....

It was and is a journey of discovery...i find i enjoy the being close to nature..taking lots of walks in the country side....finding complete peace by being in the right surroundings...i enjoy solitude..

I have an ever growing faith and love for god.....this again gives me peace and a feeling that i have direction..i pray often..

I spend time with my sober pals......mostly fishing or doing some out of town meetings...
We always take big books on fishing trips....and it always ends in a heated debate...lol..lol..

I dont do huge numbers of meetings.......sometimes they can confuse me....some become something different from whats written in the book..imo

So nuturing my recovery is about living a happy full life ...enjoying the gift of sobriety...enjoying having the ability to make choices..

And to continue to share that with any newcomer that wants to listen...

trucker

gravity

My sister was like this. Just got sick of drinking (blackouts, hurting her family, degrading herself), had enough, and moved on. I'm sure many people are able to do this.

I tried to do this over and over - willpower, self-help books. Didn't work. I need a long term spiritual solution - to grow, to stay grounded. I honestly enjoy AA: the meetings, fellowship, principles. Its a big part of a fulfilling, happy life.

I think it's awesome if you can quit and move on. Best wishes.

Tazman53

Not roasting me asking a valid question. I had a solution to a problem passed freely on to me by people who had the same solution, today I go to meetings for several things, the primary one is to be there for the new person seeking the solution.

You see SHawk AA would have dies 50-60 years ago if every one who "Got it" just quit going to meetings. Of course it has also been found that the best way to maintain good long term sobriety is working with other alcoholics who are still struggling.

I have been sober for a little over 2 1/2 years, the obsession has been gone for me for about 2 years now, yet I still continue to learn when I go to meetings, what I am learning is simply how to live life on day at a time on lifes terms. I also learn where people with years of sobriety go wrong and drink again.

I am an alcoholic and even though my problem with drinking has been resolved I remain an alcoholic as a result there is a degree of maintenance to keep up my spiritual condition and a huge part of that maintenance for me is helping other alcoholics.

Shawk think about it, some one or something basically save your life first and then they give you a whole new better life and they do not charge a dime to do this, would you not feel a certain degree of repayment was due in some manner? In AA the best way I know of to repay what was freely given to me is to give it away freely to those who want it.

I do also enjoy the friends (real friends, not drinking buddies I have made) I meet in the rooms.

getr345

At first I nurtured my sobriety by steadily adding something new to it as my definition of sobriety changed , to make it more total, and complete. First step was quitting drinking, then slowly but surely over 6 months I added nicotine, pain pills, and then finally pot to the list. Now that I'm finally off everything I was into and addicted to, I nurture my true sobriety with healthy choices in my diet, going to the gym, monitoring my weight, and engaging in life's niceties with other people and places. By being more open, by admitting when I'm wrong, by being less afraid to expose myself.

Off the junk and into life, here we go!!

CAPTAINZING2000

I spend a lot of time in daily meditation then, try to do the best I can to place these principles into practice.
We get well by, getting rid of our bad habits and replacing them with good habits. What, do you enjoy in life? Do you read? If so, make sure it's uplifting books, stories etc. I saw where you wrote, you kept a journal . I did that as well for the first couple of years.

Have you got a dog? Take your dog our for a walk in the park. If, you haven't got a dog, good time to get one. How about plants in your house? That's a great hobby to have as well.

The most important thing to do is always stay active. Don't allow yourself boredom to allow bad thoughts to occur in your mind !

getr345

IMO, it's the pink cloud talking.

Better than whiskey, right?