avocado

or whatever your 'main addiction' is/was.

I'm kinda in this big 'quitting' kick right now. I figure now that I've stopped drinking booze, what else? I've cut down on diet soda and I think I'm ready to cut it out entirely. Maybe starting tomorrow I will, in the same way as I did alcohol - one moment/day/week etc at a time.

I think I'm also going to go vegan for a while. I've done it before and it definitely feels great to be forced into eating mostly fruits and veggies.

Anyone else get into this mode where you want to try and quit other things?

David10

I'm trying to quit sugar. That includes anything with refined sugar in it, all fruit and sugary (high GI) carbs. Been a week so far. Easter will be a challenge.

avocado

Best of luck. I've definitely cut extremely down on the refined sugar, but I like fruit too much to try giving it up, and especially if I'm trying to go vegan.

FeenixxRising

I did a plant-based diet last year for awhile; I enjoyed it, but it can be tough keeping up with it. I found I really have to plan out my menu and cooking to make sure I had a lot of food ready to eat when I was hungry; otherwise, I would reach for the bad stuff.

Also, I'm a Type 2 diabetic, so I have to watch out for carbs, which is tricky with a plant-based diet.

Now that I'm sober again I want to get back to that kind of diet; I enjoyed the cooking, but time is an issue (but then time is always an issue, so it's not an excuse).

Giving up the cigs is also on the top of my list.

avocado

i agree the plant based diet thing is tough. I think my goal is to have a mostly vegan diet, but then indulge once in a while.

i'm also trying to get myself off over the counter sleeping pills. it's hard because i have insomnia, but i don't want to be taking diphenhydramine every day for the rest of my life

LadyinBC

I do take them once in a while. Do you have problems falling asleep or staying asleep? Or is it both.

avocado

staying asleep is definitely not my problem. once i fall asleep I stay asleep or if I wake up I can typically fall back easily. It's finally shutting down for the night that I have a problem with. I have a very active mind and I also enjoy staying up late. I find that taking something makes me exhausted finally, but even then it's usually 2 hours or so after taking them before i finally doze off. i've been this way all my life.

LadyinBC

Yeah, I'm a night owl too. I love staying up late. Have you tried nature sounds? Youtube has some on there that go all night if you want.

Also there is a song called Weighless that is suppose to be the most relaxing song ever and is suppose work.

avocado

I'm a musician so listening to sounds has the opposite effect on me - it stimulates my mind because everything is music to me. really the only thing that works is for me to get exhausted. this means either taking something to knock me out, wearing mydelf out throughout the day with physical activity, or simply depriving myself of sleep. Luckily, I'm the kind of person who can function well on little sleep if necessary, so it's not too bad.

LadyinBC

the song is Weightless by Marconi Union. sorry forgot the T in the first post!

junk33

Im kicking my damn gambling issue same time ,spent 4 hours reading at the other site and i realized gambling is just as harmful as my alcohol issue.
Ive also quit golf , i used to associate golf as getting hammered, i dont think ive ever golfed sober? i can do without it or the people i associate with golf.
it seems like a lot to bite off at one time but im at a crossroads in my life ,i need to pick the correct path for once

wpainterw

I think that much of recovery relates to finding new ways to cope with feelings of dependency. On what the AA folks call "people, places and things". Add pets. See, e.g., Caroline Knapp's book "Pack of Two", relating how she developed a dog dependency after ridding herself of an alcohol dependency. I am myself very dog dependent. Then there are often "old timers" I meet with tons of sobriety but who are grossly overweight, suggesting a food dependency. But then again, no one ever got arrested for driving under the influence of a Big Mac. And there are compulsive shoppers, hoarders who must have twenty or so years of newspapers collected in the house. Recall the Collyer Brothers in New York, one of whom was crushed to death by the collapse of towering stacks of the New York Times. Then there are the mother dependencies, the co dependencies. Reptile enthusiasts. The list goes on and on.

W.

Vastreaction

I started this thread:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ral-beats.html

Some people find it hokey nonsense, but I find it actually works for me.
Give it a try! Good luck on a solid night's sleep.