AWESOME Oz! Congrats!

Thanks Super71, Way to go on not drinking AND cutting down on cigs!!!!

XO

Almost ran outta June, LOL Today is my start day. About 13hrs sober now. I hope to stay a Juner, and not have to be a July-er (although I'm sure they will be nice people)

..tnx fello' Junbies!!!!...lol..

hello to HFA..:c011:..june..july..doesn't matter..

..it's the rest of our lives that counts..:grouphug:

..(Beth,keep up the fruit juice to stop cravin's.).Ozy..

Hey HFA! Welcome to June Group!

XO

Thanks OZY! Just drank some orange juice, feel a little better. I think i just went way to long without eating today, messed me up. Trying to regroup! Glad your doing well!

XO

Day Three is finally over. Had a bad craving on the way home from work, but managed to work through it. It's hard.

KC

Welcome Revelation and HFA!! Hop on board! This is such a great group!!!

Just caught up on posts now. Had a better day! My Mom and Dad have come around a bit about the condo. They are more positive and happy about it, though it's going to take more work than they thought to get it the way they want it. But I feel better now that they are more upbeat. I'm going to help them as best I can to get it cleaned up at least before they move in.

My son had a great birthday! We had his actual party on Saturday, so today was kind of a mini party. It was his first day of camp and he loved it. Later on, we had cupcakes for him and sang happy birthday with my parents here. I gave him this little silly monkey that he loved (he got all of his bigger gifts on Saturday) and he was so cute just really enjoying his day. Very low key, but sometimes those are the best days.

I did well today. I had kind of weird experience where I came home around 5:00 pm from an appointment for my other son and had a craving. But the craving was for a snack (such as salty almonds) and a glass of Sprite Zero. It was so weird for me to crave a drink other than wine at this time of day. So I went with the craving and ate some almonds and though I did not have Sprite Zero in the house, substituted with cranberry and tonic. It was great! No wine cravings whatsoever today. I know that it won't always be this easy, but I am hoping that I have started re-training my brain about what to crave. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Okay, must crash. Good night, friends!

Hi Alex,
The same thing happened to me on day 10. I got this rush of a craving. It really seemed to come out of nowhere. Luckily I was able to get through it but I also had the passing thought of "why not?"

I've found that coming on here and reading, even for 15 minutes is a huge help.

I never took a single night off in three years except for maybe 3 when I was sick with the flu. I also feel very strange at certain points in the evening. I think it is just going to take awhile to get used to this new "awareness." Day 14 here and I think I am starting to feel a little bit more normal.

It gets a little better with each day.

Hey Melindaflowers! Yay so glad your back on, i was getting worried.. Congrats on 14 days!! Miss your posts! Thanks for answering! Have a Great night!

XO

Hi Everybody,

I had my first social event/challenge this weekend. I went out of town overnight to an old friend's baby shower. They are kind of alternative so this baby shower was a little different: men were welcome and there was an open bar at lunchtime.

I guess this was like a half-strength challenge for me. Even during the depths of drinking heyday, I never liked to drink during the day. However, now that I've had time to think I've realized that this was because once I started I did not want to stop. I drew the line in the sand (the 5 pm one) because if I drank at 1 pm I would have to continue drinking until nighttime while everyone else stopped after two or three.

Anyways, several people happily offered me a drink and I turned them down. I ended up asking the friend's father for a virgin bloody Mary. He picked up the shot glass and I jumped to remind him [B]virgin!!!![B]

Later in the day I was standing outside and the friend's husband (also a good longtime friend) and he asked casually, "So you're not drinking." I casually answered "No, I've decided to stop. I was getting too much in the habit." He answered, "I probably should too." I imagined in my mind him not drinking the 5 beer-a-week habit.

In the past I would have had several at the party, sobered up for the long drive home, craving it all the way home, and get smashed when I got home. Instead I felt fine on the drive home and went to sleep soon after arriving.

The sleep is starting to normalize but it's taken some ugly moments with the alarm clock in the morning. The only way for me to change it was to force myself out of bed early, even after staying up late.

Thank you so much for the "welcome back" Alex. I also received a very nice message from another member checking in. It is so nice to have this supportive community. If there is going to be a few days where I'm gone in the future I'll give everyone a heads up.

Hi everyone.....Day 3 today for me. Feeling the panic attack symptoms, but this time I at least know thats what it is!! Wanted to introduce myself.

Tried to get sober a billion times in the last two years. Had 5 years sober at one time. Im 47, just found out hubbys having an affair..dad died 18 months ago. Thats the basics im dealing with at the moment. Im about as Numb as you can be and still be alive. Im scared to death about what lies ahead when I come out of this alcoholic coma and the fog lifts from my brain.......Bawled 3 times already today...here come the feelings....

Im looking forward to getting to know you all better, and thanks for all the support ive recieved in the last couple of weeks!!
:ghug3

Just checking in, people. 15 days strong!!!

I love reading all the love in these threads! Also there are so many nice looking foods that I have never tried. ;)

discoveringme-

Sounds like you've had a few anxiety producing experiences recently. We're here for ya.

Welcome Discoveringme! I'm glad you're here.

Hi Traderjane!

I think I am starting to get a sense with myself about retraining the brain about what to crave. Two weeks ago I bought a huge bag of lifesavers at the store and suck on them all evening.

A few evenings they have ran out and I find myself getting dressed again just to go to the store and get more. My teeth might get rotten and fall out but at least I'll be sober so I can drive safely to the dentist.

I've been drinking cranberry tonics like they're going out of style. My drink of choice was always the hard stuff and soda so I find that having the fizziness is a nice fix. It's weird though: sometimes I look at my glass sitting on the coffee table (looking at it right now) and picture there being alcohol in it, even as I take a sip. Not in the wishing way at all, but just the expectation/normalcy of it.

Someone else on here mentioned something about "starving the beast." This helps me to get a visual of what the craving is (when they come) and just saying no. Inevitably they will get weaker with time, which is reassuring.

Anybody else found new healthy addictions since getting sober?

Good Morning (((Everyone)))! :)

Quick check-ins are SO HARD for me! I'm a talker/typer! I have to run, but I'll be back later...So much to reply to! :) SO AWESOME! :)

HELLO and WELCOME to everyone joining us! This thread is overflowing with wonderful people and I'm sure you're going to love it here :)

I feel SO BLESSED this morning!
Have a WONDERFUL day everyone!
Love,

Yeah, it is interesting Melindaflowers. We have been using alcohol for so long that it does take a while to re-train our brains to crave more healthy alternatives. I feel that I have made progress already in these last 9 days. Haven't had too many cravings for wine (which was the only alcoholic drink that I drank) but I had many more in the first few days than I do now. I think that is a good sign that it's all going in the right direction.

I treat myself with York peppermint patties after dinner now that I'm not drinking -- just love them! And lots of coffee -- decaff at night.

Have a great Tuesday - I've got a busy one in store!

La Croix sparkling water.

I had a friend visit this weekend from out of town, and we stayed up late Friday night talking. When the discussion got serious, I even joked, "I need another drink!" and grabbed another water.

And that goes to another common theme I see on these boards: friend support. I've explained to some people -- people in my life whose opinions actually matter to me -- that I'm not drinking. As to the "why," I tend to lead with excuses like health and weight loss before really getting to the nut of my nightly two-bottles-of-wine habit. The kind, encouraging, hopeful, supportive, awesome support I've gotten from my sister and brother-in-law and the aforementioned friend reinforced for me that those who really love me and want the best for me will react in a positive way.

And MelindaFlowers, what you shared about your baby shower experience shows us one more valuable lesson, I think. We can also be a quiet example to others secretly struggling with the shame and fear we know so well.

I know I was terrified at the idea of losing my wine. But when I walked up to the refrigerated wine section of the grocery store Sunday night, I was terror-struck with the idea of buying wine and taking it home! What a great feeling to prefer sobriety and no longer live in fear!