Icandothis2013

Hi dear SR friends,

Well, good news and not so good news .. First, the not so good news .. have still not managed to finally knock it in the head BUT am doing better in that I did 5 out of 7 days last week sober. However, as I find the 'never have a drink ever again' approach daunting I have now settled on three months with the view that I will love long-term sobriety so much I will commit for a longer period. I have printed out a piece of paper with '9th September 2013' (three months from yesterday) written in big letters and pinned it up on my bedroom door as a reminder.. I was also going to have folks round to dinner on Wednesday (we all know how that would end) but I have just cancelled them as (luckily) my son turns out to have a swimming event that evening that I have to attend.

I have a BIG work trip coming up for which I have to be absolutely on the ball.. funnily enough I seem to do Ok being abstinent on work trips- I think because I am away from high stress (single) parenting of my (adorable) son. The firm I will work for offered to fly me business class - I LOVE business class but (the new me) said 'no thanks, that is not necessary' as really, the thing I love about business class is the free flowing booze and i don't want to be in a situation where that would be the case... !!

I am still doing my tennis which I LOVE and it exhausts me so much I sleep like a baby :-)

So although last week was not one of my best (but not one of my worst either), I do feel more positive and that I can get a grip on life so that I am not placed in situations where I will drink.

So I will check in with you daily if that is OK ...REALLY grateful for your support.
Have a good week everyone !
xx

visch1

Hi. Positive thinking one day at a time is very helpful along with being honest with ones self. There will be manageable bumps along the way so hang on with the positive like "this too shall pass." BE WELL

hypochondriac

Well done on refusing business class, that was good foresight x

forabetterlife

I have similar approach. While I would much rather be completely abstinent, I am SO much better than I was a couple of years ago, when I could barely get through one day without drinking, let alone, weeks or months. It's progress. We will get there

Nuudawn

I don't think beyond the day at hand..it overwhelms me. My desire is to give a sober adventure a try. I'm proud of each day I face sober (I'm working on my 8th)...actually sometimes it each moment or situation. I can only commit to today as tomorrow is always out of reach so why worry bout whether I will drink or not drink in the future. I will decide whether or not I'm going to drink somewhere down the line BUT I'm going to try to face every moment at hand sober for every moment before me...that's all I have at any given moment. Who gives a crap about drinking or not drinking in the future..it's stupid because you have no control over the future..only right now.

doggonecarl

At three months I wasn't recovered enough to make informed decisions about long term sobriety. Everything I read on SR said that I wouldn't begin to see substancial benefits until at least a year.

They were absolutely right. And if I had used my three-month mark as a determiner, I would have drank.

No, I'm in for the long haul. I'm never drinking and that statement was a great weight off my shoulders because I didn't have to wait for "when" I could drink.

Dee74

I think I've said before Ican?

never was scary for me too - but daily commitments to 'I will not drink today' seemed achievable and less scary.

the thing was tho - deep down I knew it really had to be forever - I wasn't going to reset in 3 months or 3 years....

but that daily commitment was a way for me to approach the task without freaking out, until I got used to idea of forever.

D