help!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 5
help!
stress = a personal trigger to use substances. probably the worst trigger for me
nicotine lozenges = the desire to chainsmoke apparently (although i haven't succumbed to it yet...)
i went just over two weeks without substances, and i had 1 beer on wednesday and a couple of hits of pot yesterday. the triggers for the usage were definitely stress-related. the next 48+ hours or even all of the next few weeks are going to be highly stress-filled for me. i'm already thinking about going to my favorite bar, after the worst is over, and drinking a stiff whiskey drink. or smoking pot now.
help! i don't want to get caught in these same cycles when i'm triggered by emotions and stress. how do you guys deal with this?
nicotine lozenges = the desire to chainsmoke apparently (although i haven't succumbed to it yet...)
i went just over two weeks without substances, and i had 1 beer on wednesday and a couple of hits of pot yesterday. the triggers for the usage were definitely stress-related. the next 48+ hours or even all of the next few weeks are going to be highly stress-filled for me. i'm already thinking about going to my favorite bar, after the worst is over, and drinking a stiff whiskey drink. or smoking pot now.
help! i don't want to get caught in these same cycles when i'm triggered by emotions and stress. how do you guys deal with this?
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: florida
Posts: 27
Hey there. I'm not sure exactly how to deal with it but wanted to let you know I hear you and wish you the best. One thing that has helped me is to try and put it off "for a little longer." and then try to stay away from it, try to stop listening to my head, and listen to some wise people on here that have years of recovery. Remember, you can't always believe yourself this early in recovery. I come on here, read the posts, and try to realize that many people on here are in the same place I am and many have much more experience. I have to let someone lead the way sometimes, even if it's a word on a recovery forum saying, "just wait a little longer."
It does get better. I know that. I am weak too today. Pm if you need to. I can listen.
Stay strong.
Price
It does get better. I know that. I am weak too today. Pm if you need to. I can listen.
Stay strong.
Price
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: los angeles, ca
Posts: 1,223
Life is always going to be stressful. Trust me i have a life full of it. I am on day 8 and for the first time feel like i could drink a beer( i don't usually even drink beer). I won't though.
I find i can deal with stress easier with a clear mind, rather than a hungover state of anxiety mind. Just sayin..
Eat something really bad for you instead, like mcdonalds and eat enough to feel gross, than you can remember what its like to feel like s***. Ha!
Anyway i hardly have all the answers but i guess for me it comes down to wanting sobriety more than a drink!
Hang in there.. FIGHT IT!
XO-Beth
I find i can deal with stress easier with a clear mind, rather than a hungover state of anxiety mind. Just sayin..
Eat something really bad for you instead, like mcdonalds and eat enough to feel gross, than you can remember what its like to feel like s***. Ha!
Anyway i hardly have all the answers but i guess for me it comes down to wanting sobriety more than a drink!
Hang in there.. FIGHT IT!
XO-Beth
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,435
Hey aurelia
I had to decide once and for all that nothing was worth putting myself back in that cycle.
There are other ways to deal with stress - have you tried yoga, or meditation, or exercise? Have you got something you love doing that always relaxes you? Have you seen a counsellor or a doctor? I'm sure others will have suggestions too
All of these alternatives take work, and they take time, and we may have to go a little farther than the local bar...but try and think of the big picture - it really is worth it, Aurelia.
D
I had to decide once and for all that nothing was worth putting myself back in that cycle.
There are other ways to deal with stress - have you tried yoga, or meditation, or exercise? Have you got something you love doing that always relaxes you? Have you seen a counsellor or a doctor? I'm sure others will have suggestions too
All of these alternatives take work, and they take time, and we may have to go a little farther than the local bar...but try and think of the big picture - it really is worth it, Aurelia.
D
SR Fan
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 7,910
Hi aurelia - stress is a trigger for all of us in sobriety, but it definitely won't get better if we drink or use. We'll just add the same-old-vicious-cycle to our list of things that we have to deal with. The situation isn't going to change because we're numb to it.
I keep thinking of how I felt those mornings after I drank and I don't want to go back there. There are things to be grateful for even in the midst of difficult times. And we are building strength for a new life. If we go back to our addiction, we have no life.
Hang in there - you can do this!
I keep thinking of how I felt those mornings after I drank and I don't want to go back there. There are things to be grateful for even in the midst of difficult times. And we are building strength for a new life. If we go back to our addiction, we have no life.
Hang in there - you can do this!
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,777
Life is always going to be stressful.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,502
There's no simple answer.
It's just a question of accepting that there will always be stress, and finding healthy ways of dealing with it. You can use exercise, music, calling a friend, whatever works for you.
It's just a question of accepting that there will always be stress, and finding healthy ways of dealing with it. You can use exercise, music, calling a friend, whatever works for you.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,614
Well, I'm only on day four... But sometimes just watching movie after movie helps... Or getting on my bike even if I don't want to and riding around. Sometimes- this is hard for me to do- I get out a little book of Buddhist teachings I have and it reminds me that I shouldn't drink because I am capable of much more.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: wherever my feet take me
Posts: 1,314
I found myself saying this earlier. everyone has stress but not everyone drinks. dee has some good alternatives. yoga meditation. if you cant shut down your brain enough for that yet, a good exercise session is always helpful.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 143
I am early in this (10 days) but what I find is working for me so far when I am feeling stressed and want a drink is to something - pretty much anything - that keeps me "busy"..cleaning, reading, playing a game...etc.. It's so easy (for me) to start down the road of.. a drink would be soooo nice right now, just one wouldn't hurt, I could go get a bottle right now, noone would know, etc...etc... But I know for me that would just end up with me drinking the whole bottle and then feeling like crap for doing it. And then I would just have to start this whole thing over again. My ten days (though they may seem like nothing to others with long sobriety) have been hard fought, and I am NOT giving them up so easily. Stay busy, think through solutions with a clear head, and remember - none of the stressful things you are dealing with will be made better by going back into the whole alcohol spiral. I know it's not easy though - but listening to others on here, I have faith that it will get better. Stay strong!
Stay busy, think through solutions with a clear head, and remember - none of the stressful things you are dealing with will be made better by going back into the whole alcohol spiral. I know it's not easy though - but listening to others on here, I have faith that it will get better. Stay strong! Wandering Student of Life
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: MSP MN
Posts: 126
Don't forget to drink something else if you're craving a beer or more. Part of de-stressing will be at least getting some cool liquid on your throat. Maybe some iced green tea? A lot of people on here mention soda; my personal assistant is pink lemonade
Some of the de-stressing that came with drinking for me was the actual ritual of drinking: getting the booze out of the fridge/freezer, setting it down with a shot glass on a table, and topping off a cup of chaser with a few ice cubes.
I chose the pink lemonade as my alternative "drink" because it comes in a powdered form in a little container - so I get to have a little ritual with it when preparing it. A tablespoon or three (
) in ice cold water, with those good ol' ice cubes triggers the same de-stressing part of my brain that the old ritual used to.
Also, I found that a sip of an ice cold "lemonade" Rockstar energy drink lights up the same parts of my brain that a sip of a cold beer did after doing something heavy like a lot of yard work. I shrug at it too, but whatever, it works!
Good luck with everything, and I hope you're feeling better!
Blessed be,
WW
Some of the de-stressing that came with drinking for me was the actual ritual of drinking: getting the booze out of the fridge/freezer, setting it down with a shot glass on a table, and topping off a cup of chaser with a few ice cubes.
I chose the pink lemonade as my alternative "drink" because it comes in a powdered form in a little container - so I get to have a little ritual with it when preparing it. A tablespoon or three (
) in ice cold water, with those good ol' ice cubes triggers the same de-stressing part of my brain that the old ritual used to.Also, I found that a sip of an ice cold "lemonade" Rockstar energy drink lights up the same parts of my brain that a sip of a cold beer did after doing something heavy like a lot of yard work. I shrug at it too, but whatever, it works!
Good luck with everything, and I hope you're feeling better!
Blessed be,
WW
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