MesoFreak

I didn't expect that once I felt better I would be finding reasons and excuses to drink beer. To all those who have quit, was it like this for you also? This is only day two for me.

bryangt

Take it 24 hours at a time. With each passing day, the obsession will disappear. Doing any AA or meetings? That helps--especially early on in sobriety.

MesoFreak

I am not doing the AA meetings. I do not like the religious ties AA has. I am hoping this forum will suffice.

mecanix

Yer, sounds to me like it's the old alkie brain doing it's tricks . It quitens down with time especially if we learn ways of how to deal with the up's and down's in life without resorting to drinking,

bestwishes, M

Weasel1966

Meso.... Not sure there is anyone here who is not experiencing craving to one level or another. Will they disappear? I doubt it. I have not been abstinent long but since drinking is all around me I will most Likely always want it.

The good part about this is I have learned about myself and the fact I cannot drink responsibly. So... I don't.

Keep going strong... Think small is what has been needed for me to make it through those cravings.

Best to you!

melberholtz

First few days are tricky. There are so many things right up at the surface: (1) the habit of it, (2) the physical tolerance, (3) withdrawals which make you anxious and on edge, which increase the desire to drink. Once those largely-physical symptoms are gone it does get easier. bryangt is correct, take it 24-hours at a time and break that down further if need be. The over-arching goal may be "Don't Drink Today" but at moments it becomes "Don't Drink this Breath."

doggonecarl

The alcoholic mind has an amazing capacity to forget whatever promises we made to quit, to forget the problems that alcohol causes, to forget we even have problems.

You have to be constantly vigilant. If you can do this strictly with the support of SR, wonderful.

When the same mind that says it is okay to drink convinces you that you don't need support, you might look into that a little more deeply.

MesoFreak

I know the feeling. All my closest friends drink. I used to drink beer for just about anything: sporting event, going out, pre-party, headache, stress, grilling, etc. It is a habit I created that I will have to eliminate or find replacements with something healthy.

MesoFreak

Thanks for the support. One day at a time it is. I am thinking of writing down everything bad that has happened while on alcohol and keep it in my wallet. Every time I am out in places with alcohol I will go to restroom and read why I can't drink anymore; hoping this works.

Dee74

It's very normal MF.

It would be great if we could just quit, never look back and get better and better with each day - but then we wouldn't need places like this.

life's not alway's a straight line, so neither is recovery

If you feel you need more support and you want to explore the secular angle there are many recovery groups like that - SMART, Rational Recovery and LifeRing for example.

I recommend you also visit our Secular Connections forum if you think you may benefit from a non 12 step approach

D

CaiHong

I think my last strong craving was at 5 months. It took 2 hours to pass but I held strong and it passed just remember the cravings pass and when you dont give in to them you feel so much stronger.

Love
CaiHong

soberbrooke

I am afraid of my alcoholic mind. It tells me all the time things like, I can have one and then stop. I can drink, I am not an alcoholic. I can drink like everyone else.
But I can't. The reason I drank is because I am an alcoholic. It keeps pulling me and pulling me back into it, but I have the strength of my Higher Power with me now due to AA. I like to call my HP, the Creative Forces. All the Creative Forces around me keep me sober, along with AA.

Fallow

Oh yeah ive felt like that!

Would joke all the time that as soon as i felt great id always go make myself feel awful again.

artsoul

Sounds normal to me. For the first couple weeks, I came here constantly to counteract those voices that wanted to justify another drink. I think it's because we thought that way for so long that it just takes time to replace new thoughts for the old "logic" (or rather "insanity").

Each day is another day closer to freedom, so hang in there!

MesoFreak

Thanks for this, I will check them out

hypochondriac

On day two all I could think about were reasons to drink beer! That voice gets quieter with time though. Have you looked into AVRT before? That is really useful at explaining this bit x

Grace2

It's a one day at a time process. I'm on day 10 and keeping my wits about me. That Alkie monster is an evil sh*t and and is also very devious. Just when you think you've got rid, up he pops!

He's fallen out with me at the minute, but I bet he'll soon be creeping round with his sly persuasion. Well he can go stuff himself sideways!!

Big hugs

Gx

freshstart57

MesoFreak, I am like you in this way, so I am not in AA, and I just marked the passing of a year since my last drink.

You've received some good advice here. When you get that *ping*, when you hear that voice, that alkie monster, you can go to that list of bad stuff that you did when you drank, or you can look at the list of things you can have if you ignore that voice. Here is one that I found. 30 Great Reasons to Quit Drinking Alcohol. It lets you look at sobriety in a positive way, instead of something you are depriving yourself of.

There is a fairly simple way to look at the voice of this alkie monster so that you understand that you no longer have to do what it says, called AVRT. It is one of the tools that I learned after I decided I would do whatever it takes to never take another drink. Like Dee suggested, take a look at the Secular Connections forum, there is lots of good information about that there.

Weasel1966

Grilling.... I grilled last night and I loved to have a buzz while working with a flame! Lol

I was even brilliant enough to light campfires where my breath could have ignighted.

The one thing that stands out for me is the use of the word "healthy" in relation to the replacement "thing".

I have to be honest... There is nothing healthy I can do that will ever match the feeling I got from drinking and buzzed doing the things I do on a daily basis. This always set me up to drink again because I fell like I failed at being healthy so I would drink.

Just not drink and try to relearn those same things not buzzed. Dealing with the desire to drink over failing to be healthy is a bigger reward for me.

The good thing about not drinking is its totally possible to do.. BTW...I made a killer blue cheese burger sober.

Ken