Night time
 

I don't know why the night is so hard for me. Does anyone elae getbthis way? I hear "it" tempting me. The AVRT is helping a lot. I prob would have givin in so far I haven't and I will not let it beat me. I am really grateful for this site.

A big fat yes, I feel that way at times. :) I am glad to hear AVART is helping you, keep using and learning from it.

For me when I get in the funk, I go to a AA meeting, and if not availible coming here always helps. :)

The best thing about night time struggles is that they are usually just a memeory in the morning. ;)

The night time was the hardest time for me too, especially late in the night.

I was often grateful that there was no alcohol in the house, so there was no choice but to get through it.

Yes, nighttime is ALWAYS the hardest for me.

When ever I would get high it would be at night.

Keep persevering with the AVRT and remember that the voice gets quieter and quieter if you see it, let it say what it has to say, and then let it go... if you start feeling antsy, focus on the individual feelings - are your toes tingling? Are your muscles feeling tight? Is your jaw clenched? Your fists? When I had overwhelming cravings in the beginning I would do this... allow myself to FEEL every single thing that the craving produced... I didn't get worked up over it or stress out over it and now I use that in every day life. It's helped me quit smoking 6 days ago, too :) I think this is also the basis for urge surfing... not entirely sure though. It's sort of my take on it, I guess. Perhaps look up urge surfing if you find your cravings and urges are too much to handle.

Stick at sobriety... with time those cravings will eventually diminish and alcohol won't even enter your mind as a thing to do of on an evening. All the best.

Yes, night time can be difficult. When I am struggling, I think about how much better my morning will be if I don't pick up. Then I normally call it a day, and wake up to enjoy that clean morning. :-)

My worst hours are the ones immediately following work. It was at this time that I would stop at the store for that next drink, then proceed to numb myself to my feelings and to the stress of a long workday.

Nowadays, I am doing a good job of giving myself tasks to complete or otherwise occupying myself. I'm so glad to be breaking from my old destructive pattern.

I did it! I broke my cycle. Usually I binge drink every other day and I have now gone 3 days with out anything. I feel so good its nice to wake up sober. The AVART is working. I have noticed when my hardest times are its between 5pm to 9pm. I really want to stay sober. Thank you for all the help and encouraging words. They make me see things in a positive way

That's fantastic news, Secondchance! Keep going :) x

Secondchance:

Nights are usually empty hours when many of us were doing our drinking. Same for you?

You might want to reflect on this during daytime hours and think about what part of the night is hardest for you. Try to recall the AV when it was speaking loudest to you and what you can say back to it or do differently so that you either silence that voice or know how to answer it. You might want to change up your routine so that you're doing something active instead of say, watching TV, if the AV comes at a predictable time.

You're the one in charge, not the AV!

Silence that beast! :a043: