yeahgr8

Thought i would share this, might be just me but hey?!

I have a cold and that makes me feel happy and relaxed.

Over 20 years of active alcoholism the only time that i would not drink was when i was ill. Whenever i got a cold i would abstain and after years of doing so i naturally associate being ill with a brief reprive from the ravages of alcoholism.

My nose is streaming, my throat is sore, i feel a bit lousy but feel quite excited, generally great and very relaxed...

I think the not drinking whilst ill was a learned behaviour as i can remember being terribly ill (cold wise) when i was early twenties, getting a cold and then going out and it being 10 times worse thanks to alcohol...but even in sobriety my mind definitely associates it with a release from the old behaviour!

Anyone else have a similar experience? Just interested:-)

artsoul

I had to smile at your post, yeahgr! I myself have wondered the same thing. I even wondered whether I was "enjoying" being hungover because it allowed me to stay in the bed and not have to be overwhelmed by everything I needed to do. I've also had the same warm-fuzzy feeling when I got a bad cold. Maybe it stems from being sick as a child and having mom take care of me. Or allowing myself to lay back (something I don't ever do when I'm feeling OK). I'm really not sure, but hey, I can certainly relate!

Marlow

Nope not me. Usually being sick meant I didn't have to go work the next day. And if I wasn't working I was drinking. Soooo stupid, but that's the way I rolled.

Dee74

Must be an aussie thing Marlow cos I used to drink when I was sick too...

I remember drinking spirits - which I never did otherwise - and convincing myself it was medicinal :

D

Rev

I know what you mean. Whenever I get sick, it's like God is giving me permission to not worry about everything and anything like I normally do. I get very relaxed and just let myself be. I feel very strongly that I need to learn how to do that, how to achieve that feeling, without the need of contracting an illness.

Interestingly, alcoholism is an illness too, and it was another thing that allowed escape from constant worry. I gotta find a healthy way to just let things go.

Rev

Rev

Deleted cuz repeated

Rev

least

What strikes me as 'funny' about being sick in sobriety is that when I was drinking my w/d's felt like a horrible case of the flu but now that I'm sober, when I'm sick it reminds me of going thru w/d's! And any time I've felt sick since getting sober I am always grateful that my illness isn't alcohol-related!

yeahgr8

Funny you should both be Aussies, my best friend when i was in London was Australian and he was not very complimentary about my absences on 'outings' when i had one of my colds...

Being ill and hangovers are totally seperate for me, i'd rather take a fortnight of swine flu than a morning hangover...make it a month...make it a year actually!

coffeenut

Whenever I had a cold I would take straight to my bed with a cooler of beer. Then, I would stay up even later 'feeling better'. Then I would get up the next morning, feeling like crap and head to work....doing crap work, I'm sure.

I think that's another 'simple pleasure' of sobriety. Now when I'm sick, I go to bed and get 10-12 hours of solid sleep....wake up the next morning and I'm truly better. Sickness just doesn't hang on like it used to. Hmm.....I wonder why?! :p

AmericanGirl

ha, I am an American but also used to convince myself drinking was medicinal . . . hot toddies, wrap yourself in a blanket, "sweat it out." Man oh man. I'm glad you're enjoying the chance to take it easy with your cold, though, yeahgr8.

Recovery1983

I'm just recovering from a flu/cold this past week and it was pretty bad. I had all the symptoms and the chills and cold sweats reminded me of my alcohol detox. The worst was at night because I kept waking up every hour and drenched in sweat. Practically I had no sleep and I had to wake up the next morning at 7 to get to school. I had aches and pain all over my body and even taking a shower just seemed to be a difficult task. I have old nyquil sitting in the cabinet but I chose not to use it because it contains alcohol. I really didnt know what the "rule" about that is and I didnt want to open pandora's box either. The good news is that I'm getting better and it seems that I'm getting over the flu/cold. I am on to day 63 tomorrow.

Richard54

Whenever I had a cold or the flu that meant no work for a bit and the perfect opportunity to drink, usually changing up my regular beer to whiskey or rum (for the cold of course). Which meant I wouldn't shake the illness as quickly which in turn meant more time to drink.

I had an operation a couple of years ago.
Couldn't drink for 10 days before surgery. Didn't drink for those 10 days.
When I was released from hospital I knew I was facing a few months off work to recuperate. Went directly from the hospital to the liquor store all doped up from the anesthetic still and bought a mess of beer. Stayed drunk as a skunk for 2 months.
It's insane.