1st Anniversary Today - 12 months sober
Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: I'm exactly where I should be.
Posts: 1,889
This is awesome. Thank you for reassuring the folks that feel hopeless that their IS a way to get through. Congratulations on your successful year... I wish you a peaceful, serene heart to remain as boring or enlightened as you think you have to to continue your sobriety. LOL
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,247
First and foremost...Congratulations on 1 year. That is a serious achievement.
Secondly, as a person who is on day 8. THANKYOU for taking the time to post and share you story. It gives me the motivation to keep going.
Jim
Secondly, as a person who is on day 8. THANKYOU for taking the time to post and share you story. It gives me the motivation to keep going.
Jim
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: West Coast, Australia
Posts: 319
Hello everyone
I wanted to say thankyou - lots of kind words.
It was tough early on but I found that staying sober was like trying to keep fit. I had to exercise meaning spending time on "me" surfing SR. If I was going out, I would prepare (read, learn, contribute to SR). It was so important. I also prepared by saying out loud "I'm having a break", "No thanks, I'm not drinking tonight", "Just a coke for me". I didn't want to say "I don't drink" in case of failure. Now I say "I don't drink". I used to write in my posts that for me Lack of Sober Recovery = over confidence = little voice = I can control my drinking = drinking = No way, not going there!
I bought a soda stream and started making great Bick's Lime & soda water, ice and real lime drinks. I have fun with this and they taste great. I really have got "up close and personal" with nature. It was enough just looking at nature, I had to be "at one" with it. Instead of looking at the ocean, I swam. Instead of walking in the bush/forest, I touched the trees and brushed the plants. In my earlier posts, I was always sending in photos of nature! This helped enormously when I was losing it. Nature + being in the present = getting centred.
Seeking pleasure in getting high, such as drinking, partying or the "what's next" thing gradually became hollow and meaningless. Happiness is about family, friends, nature, interests and those sorts of things. It's funny because being with friends, often means satisfying their cravings for "doing something". We (as a family) had to come up with things to do and started saying "anyone interested in a 5 kilometer walk on Sunday?".
There were a couple of times I left SR for several days. My little voice would appear but I would silently scream profanities at it. It's very weak now and climbs back under it's rock.
We have changed a lot as a family (I have a wife and 3 children). I could be seen as boring but I love this new life. The good news that I can tell everyone is that as time went on, it has become easier. But I still have to "exercise", ie, think about it, read, learn and contribute here. I reflect on the times when I was drinking and recall as clearly as I can, how I felt. The falling down the stairs..... Why? It's just another bit of ammo that I can use for strength.
So, if this helps anyone, it's the very least I can do. There are so many people here that help - it's such a wonderful forum.
Be strong everyone, don't give up. If I can be sober for 1 year, you can too.
Rosco.
Life=Fun; Alcohol=Devastion.
I wanted to say thankyou - lots of kind words.
It was tough early on but I found that staying sober was like trying to keep fit. I had to exercise meaning spending time on "me" surfing SR. If I was going out, I would prepare (read, learn, contribute to SR). It was so important. I also prepared by saying out loud "I'm having a break", "No thanks, I'm not drinking tonight", "Just a coke for me". I didn't want to say "I don't drink" in case of failure. Now I say "I don't drink". I used to write in my posts that for me Lack of Sober Recovery = over confidence = little voice = I can control my drinking = drinking = No way, not going there!
I bought a soda stream and started making great Bick's Lime & soda water, ice and real lime drinks. I have fun with this and they taste great. I really have got "up close and personal" with nature. It was enough just looking at nature, I had to be "at one" with it. Instead of looking at the ocean, I swam. Instead of walking in the bush/forest, I touched the trees and brushed the plants. In my earlier posts, I was always sending in photos of nature! This helped enormously when I was losing it. Nature + being in the present = getting centred.
Seeking pleasure in getting high, such as drinking, partying or the "what's next" thing gradually became hollow and meaningless. Happiness is about family, friends, nature, interests and those sorts of things. It's funny because being with friends, often means satisfying their cravings for "doing something". We (as a family) had to come up with things to do and started saying "anyone interested in a 5 kilometer walk on Sunday?".
There were a couple of times I left SR for several days. My little voice would appear but I would silently scream profanities at it. It's very weak now and climbs back under it's rock.
We have changed a lot as a family (I have a wife and 3 children). I could be seen as boring but I love this new life. The good news that I can tell everyone is that as time went on, it has become easier. But I still have to "exercise", ie, think about it, read, learn and contribute here. I reflect on the times when I was drinking and recall as clearly as I can, how I felt. The falling down the stairs..... Why? It's just another bit of ammo that I can use for strength.
So, if this helps anyone, it's the very least I can do. There are so many people here that help - it's such a wonderful forum.
Be strong everyone, don't give up. If I can be sober for 1 year, you can too.
Rosco.
Life=Fun; Alcohol=Devastion.
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