EternalQ

Think of all the will, sheer determination and plain guts it took to keep addicted.

Like for me, I had to make certain alcohol was available at all times. Had to keep secrets. Had to find money to buy it. Had to sneak it. Had to keep people away from my life who would challenge my drinking. Had to make sure wherever i went an avenue for drinking was there, had to devote a large amount of time to drinking.... And on and on and on....

So take that same sheer will, determination and guts you applied to staying addicted
and just apply it like a laser beam to your recovery.

For me, make certain alcohol was 100% not available, refuse all secret keeping, spend that drinking money on what will help you with recovery like food, meds, or therapy, stop leading a double life, keep sober supports close and drinking pals at a distance, don't go to places where there is drinking, devote a large amount of time to recovery.....

EternalQ

Be gentle with yourself. Sobriety is the foundation not the pinnacle. You will slowly build on it.

EternalQ

Remind yourself of this: Everyone who became sober was once certain they could not do it. ....But they did.

Weaver

Love this one

Marcher13

On a practical note: decide what you are going to drink instead of alcohol, get supplies so it's always there. If you choose water put a slice of citrus in it. Whatever you drink use a nice glass not an old scratched one.

EternalQ

Keep a running list of the good each day that comes from sobriety.

Not a list of how hard it is. (Of course it is hard. If it was easy it would not have much value.)

But a list of good results from that sober day:
...like in your health, appearance, relationships, how you spend the extra time and money, feeling more in control, spiritually connected, better self esteem, more self respect.... And so on.

Of course there are losses in the short term! The trick, though, is to train your mind to notice and focus on the positives of sobriety. Not the down side.

What you focus on grows. So focus on the positve motivations.

pattyj

Have patience.
All the physical pain that you are going through WILL go away. The cravings will eventually go away as well. Just be patience, keep working whatever program you are doing and it will get better.

SnoozyQ

Go to bed early

cheebiechi

For me it was a pretty simple thought

I AM POWERLESS OVER ALCOHOL AND I AM NOT DRINKING TODAY!
I tell myself that each and every morning

Matt

Skye2

A game of Bejeweled Blitz, on fb takes one minute and you'd be surprised how distracting it is and how the minutes add up I played it for four hours once BUT I didn't drink.

SnoozyQ

OMG Skye lol i hear ya !

KateL

I go along with the no more hangovers thing. And reminding myself that no matter how bad things were, drinking because of it make things 100 times worse.

IOAA2

My simple thought over a lot of years that works. "If we don't pick up that first drink, We don't have to try to get sober AGAIN."
And KISS.

BE WELL

MIRecovery

Stay out of drinking situations when you are new to sobriety and have an escape plan when you have time under your belt

newme2day

I am new to sobriety and greatly appreciate these encouraging tips. This site has been a Godsend! Thanks to all of you!

DoPerdition

I'll be honest, I had a "moment of clarity" after the death (from alcoholism) of a loved one and the obsession was forever changed for me. I am still tempted at times but getting drunk will never be fun for me again. The idea of being an active alcoholic now that I have identified my disease is like refusing chemo if you have cancer. It is suicide. Thinking of it this way has made my obsession with life stronger than my obsession with being drunk.

Hawkeye13

Pick a skill you've always wanted to do (off your bucket list or not) and start doing it.

For me, it was guitar. Anytime I'd get a craving, I'd go practice or play.

goose333

If I think I'll have just one, and I do that, it will just be torture for me.
If I think I'll have just one, and have many, it will just be torture for me.
So I think it's best not to have any.

badger1

Hi,
I have 2. if you are going to AA, please try to do what I did; which is do a 90 in 90. In the beginning I did not really understand the program or the steps, but coming back every day kept me sober.

If you are not using AA but something else, try to stay away from wherever it is you went to get the alcohol. I had a bodega near my house that I had to pass to get home everyday. My Sponsor said, "Why not change your route so you do not have to do this?" The serious thing is, I never thought about this! So I extended that idea and tried staying away from wherever I was going to get alcohol or get drunk. In the beginning it helped.

CactusJill

I know this one might be weird, but shame is a great motivator for me. So whenever I think about drinking, I think about how drinking caused me, or others, shame in the past. For example, I think about the sadness in my daughter's face and voice when she said "I liked you better when you weren't drinking," and the horror on my husband's face when he threw a hard wicker basket in a fit of drunken rage and it bounced off the wall and hit me full in the face. (Of course I was drunk too.)

I never want to revisit another moment of my life like those. Not. One. Second. Never again. Life, and my loved ones, are far too precious for that.