Marcher13

Britgirl I got pretty snappy a few weeks in. Are you eating well and sleeping a lot? I found I needed to take a lot of care of myself in the first few weeks while my body healed. Be careful not to o/d on the sugar, a lot of us get big sugar cravings. Re your skin: a good quality bristle body brush will help a lot.

britgirl

Thank you all for your kind and wise words. I'm really struggling right now, actually sat outside the off license in my car trying to talk myself out of buying Gin.

Been a difficult day, just left family mediation with my exabf. It was arranged so that we didn't have to see each other but of course, it didn't work out that way and ended up in an intimidating situation which has really shaken me up.

Will check back in later when I've calmed down a bit.

Does anyone know of any online AA meetings that run to UK time?

Thanks all

MyTimeNow

Sorry to hear you've not been feeling great britgirl and that you've had a difficult day. I'm not in a great position to talk being back on day 2, but from experience I'd say you're going to feel a whole lot worse after gin Hope you managed to keep driving and that you find a meeting.

heath480

Hope you are home without any booze?

When I was I'll and unable to attend f to f meetings a few years ago I found some online meetings,not AA endorsed,but I found them helpful.

One site is aaonlineuk.co.uk/.

If you do a google search I am sure there are more.

Lifebeginsat41

Hi Britgirl

If you call AA then they will arrange for someone to call you and also usually visit you at home. It's a start - and I'm sure that they can help you come to an arrangement to suit your home life. Good luck and 14 days is awesome - and you've done it on your own and in the midst of some big problems. I've seen lots of posts on SR saying it does get better (I'm only day 11) so hang in there. The UK AA website has a link to the Big Book which you can read free online as well - that really helps me stay focused too.

You've done fantastically well - keep hydrated to improve your skin.

britgirl

Thanks for all your support guys

. I sat outside the shop for 20 minutes or so contemplating should I buy gin, wine or maybe something easier on my system like beer or maybe something nice and light like a pre-mixed cocktail. Yep, I seriously told myself that that would be positively good for me in the grand scheme of things! Bloody AV telling me to just do it after all how else am i supposed to cope with all this, telling me I'm gonna F@&K this up sooner or later anyway so why prolong the agony and so on and so forth!! Sure you all know how that self commentary goes.

Anyway I'm rambling so to cut a long story short I started the car and drove straight to one of my only two sober friends houses and vented on her for half hour by which time I had to pick my kids up so crisis was averted.

Have to say though, the craving is almost constant, it's as if its feeding itself. My head hurts so much and my minds racing most of the time.

Have just put my babies to bed so gonna have a look to see if I can find any UK based online meetings.

15 days, 20 hours, 13 minutes sober.

Thanks once again all for your advice and support, it really is appreciated xx

hypochondriac

Really glad you didn't drink Britgirl

I don't know of any online meetings right now but if you phone the AA hotline at least you will have someone to chat to and they can tell you about what's about. There is also Drinkline 0800 917 8282. They can tell you about support that is available in your local area too. There are also online meetings on the SMART recovery UK website every wed and sun night I think.

You're doing really well at 14 days so please stay strong and keep going. I found it really tough for a while but when I really thought about it it wasn't worse than when I was drinking, just different. And it starts getting better sooner than you think. With the cravings lasting so long I wonder if trying to distract yourself from them would be a good idea. Sometimes I had really strong cravings/urges but they always passed if I paid no attention to them, whereas if I spent too much time thinking about them they got worse. There is a lot of help and tools you can use to manage these things. Glad you're here x

Ali123

Hey! You're doing so well, you should be so so proud of yourself. I was on the same days as you but slipped on day 12, and have struggled since and have bad anxiety since that day and now feel i need drink again to feel ok again. starting day 1 again tomorrow. please try and stick with it, unfortunately it only gets harder if you give in.

miko67

Let me know how u get on Brit girl. I really hope u can get this sobriety. Try get babysitter and get to a meeting as if ur life depends on it because it really does ;-)

Elijah1

Hello Britgirl,

Hang in there. It's very normal to feel worse before you feel better. As others have said, drinking is a symptom of bigger problems. Once we stop self medicating these things come front and center. It is IMPERATIVE that you get help for the underlying issues and surround yourself with supportive people.

Here is all I was able to find an AA in the UK, I hope it's helpful.

www .aamolly.org.uk

Elijah

DisplacedGRITS

I'm like Dee. It wasn't until I quit drinking that I realized how truly sick I am. The drinking was the false medicine I was taking to "cure" my illness. It wasn't until I started going to AA and got a sponsor that i've been able to do anything constructive about my illness, my alcoholism. Call your AA hotline and talk to someone. Some meetings offer daycare and only ask that you contribute an extra buck into the basket. Even if you don't have that buck, you will not be denied. Reach out to the sober community. You aren't expected to do this alone.

Eddiebuckle

Britgirl,

Thanks for sharing, you made my day! The early days can be brutal, as your day was, but they are not impossible. You can do this.

Keep up the good work and congratulations on 15 days.

Nighthawk8820

It amazes me that people think they will feel better SO quick after stopping drinking, despite years or self abuse. It takes time, and the first few weeks are rough, especially if you are a long time user, or have tried sobriety a few times. I feel the withdrawal gets worse each time you try and fail, and then have to try again........for some reason. Your body is going through mad changes right now, so you must be patient with it. Its healing, and will take some time. The best thing you can do, is rest and take it easy. Try and not live in your head, but watch movies or do a crossword. It will pass, and it will get better. I swear. Limit your external stress levels, and try and not put too much stock in your thoughts right now.......because your mind likes to play all sorts of tricks during this time. Basically, dont over-think things.

BabyJane

All I can say is you are not alone. I don't have an answer for you, just know someone else is struggling with these things too and many others have before us and they stayed sober somehow. We have to assume that eventually it DID get better for the majority of them because otherwise no one would ever stop drinking and using... Hang on. I will if you will.

Dee74

I dunno about anyone else, Nighthawk, but I was used to immediate gratification - open bottle....change world.

It was not only drinking I had to change, it was the way I thought about things too.

If nothing else recovery taught me patience (even if Mrs Dee is laughing at me for typing that LOL)

D