Missy7

I have a very high pressure job, and I often have waves of temptation during high points in my day. I might be working along steadily and suddenly think: "I can have a drink tonight." Maybe it will help me relax.

So today when I started that, I took a pen and wrote an "N" on my non-dominant hand. N stands for no. So each time I drifted, I looked at it and it helped. So it occurs to me that I could have a tattoo put on my wrist or hand and it could be a visual symbol I could see.

Does anyone have one of these? Not necessarily a tattoo, but a ******** to focus on.

flamingredhair

I don't, Missy but I love the idea and am interested in hearing from others on this.

cuyootoo

Thanks for your post. I don't have a ******** but I do think about drinking and alcoholism in general throughout the day. Your post has inspired me to jot down and think more seriously about what is making me think about alcohol. And then try to think of ways to present reality to myself that are better than how I was thinking of reality at the moment when I was thinking about drinking or feeling bad about my alcoholism.

Missy7

Right. The ******** should be positive rather than negative. I was thinking of having a labyrinth tattooed on my hand. I love labyrinths...they represent journey and struggle. They can be positive but they also represent the journey I am on with myself as I try to conquer thie problem.

flamingredhair

Exactly. That sounds like a wonderful idea.

instant

My daily visit to SR and the gratitude list is my touchstone.

camedown

I bought a simple bracelet when I got out of the hospital, and haven't taken it off yet. It has fallen off a few times on accident, and I freaked out each time. It has become a powerful symbol of my recovery.



camedown

ttbp

I'd like something to remind me of my recovery - I'm on the hunt but I've not found anything yet

LoftyIdeals

I like this idea. A ring, bracelet or such. Something that can be a symbol of recovery to just myself. I'm starting my search...

bitmap

I have silver bracelet that has One Day at a Time engraved in the inside and I use that as a touchstone if you will.

lovinit41

I love this idea.....im going to find something today , a bracelet I think. What a great idea! Thank you.

Fandy

when I first stopped drinking, i used to take one of those simple beaded bracelets and keep a small marker on the beads, moving it daily for each day sober.

aasharon90

Hi, Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

I love having recovery items either on
me or around me as a constant reminder
of my life in recovery.

On the back wall behind my tv are 6 plaques
hanging with all the signs I would see at
a speaker meeting set on a table facing us
as the speaker tells their story of recovery
to us.

EASY DOES IT, FIRST THINGS FIRST,
LIVE AND LET LIVE, BUT FOR THE GRACE
OF GOD, THINK, THINK, THINK. In the
middle of those plaques is the picture of
the 3 men sitting sitting around the hospital
bed. Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson with the patiant.

I also wear a gold AA pendant around my
neck all the time with several AA rings on
my finger wore from time to time.

I have oodles of AA books, reading, mediatation
books around me at home ive collected
over the years. AA tapes, music, meditation
for relaxing.

For my 21st AA birthday at 50 yrs old I got
an AA tattoo of a motorcycle wheel with the
AA symble as the spokes with angel wings
on my back shoulder.

All my tattoos i have today ive gotten at 50ys,
old, much later in life when im more grounded
in life while enjoy my soberity to the upmost.

I have lived my new life in recovery for the
past 21 yrs sharing my own ESH with those
who still suffer with addiction and know today
that alcohol is still poison to me and if injested
i would surely die because there isnt enough
alcohol in this world to satisfy my cravings
for it. So today I am enjoying living my sober
life enjoying the rewards promised to us as
stated in the Big Book of AA.

Terminally Unique

Make it stand for NEVER.

DrivenHeart85

If it took wearing or seeing something to keep us sober, wouldn't all sober people be wearing or looking at their "thing" all of the time? Just saying... It sounds like a good idea in theory but it also sounds like wishful thinking. A daily act to improve your sober life might be better than a material object or image to remind you that you shouldn't be drinking.

LaFemme

I don have a ********, though I always told myself I could get a tattoo if I got sober...I really need to do it.

I don't think I would get a tattoo about recovery but rather one about life. I was just thinking a tattoo sayin "seek and yes shall find" would be good. I like the labyrinth idea

mattparadise

I've been wearing my nice wrist watch without removing it. Since I was in detox and treatment, cell phones were prohibited and I needed a way to tell time. Its only come off my wrist once when I was playing ultimate frisbee and the frisbee struck my wrist hard.
Good idea though...

eJoshua

I got a half sleeve tattoo after getting out of rehab. I had planned on getting it for a long time, but after I got sober it took on a newer deeper meaning for me.

InParticular

What a nice idea....although I have to say that for me, getting the tattoo I've been wanting for the last 15 years will be more about finally having the MONEY to get it!

Terminally Unique

You are correct, DH85, but you have been exposed to AVRT, which is changing the way you look at these things. AVRT is a voracious mind-set that devours anything that poses as a condition of lifetime abstinence, and this ******** idea naturally gets caught in the cross-hairs. You will probably find, though, that to expect others who have not grasped AVRT to see these things is also wishful thinking.