teardrop

what do you do in this hot weather?

or alternativly what do you do in this situation?

when something is in your head bugging you to drink, get drunk, when 99% of your thoughts are about alcohol

for me it is this very hot spell we are hsving, its just playing with my head, the summer days when i was out all day in the beer gardens getting drunk, not a care in the world, having a laugh with mates in the same state as i was in

but my stupid brain/thought process fails to remind me, later that day/those days, when everyone else went home i went in my personal taxi to the local nick, because id done something stupid/out of order, fighting got angry, nicked some booze, any thing i just didsnt seem to make it home

so my brain says ahh go on have a nice drink get drunk its good youll have fun

why doesnt it say go on get drunk and locked up and put in a court again, maybe sent to prison again?????

i have to seem to fight back with that sentence manually, where as, go on its good it will be ok comes automatic and very frequently

dave

Mizzuno

Go swimming. Turn on the air conditioner, and stay close to SR. Do anything other than drink. You can make it through these moments. Not making it through can change the whole dynamic of your existence.

Nuudawn

What do you do when it's too cold? Too rainy? Too dry? Threatening tornado? Too bored? Too stressed? Your addiction will always find a reason for a drink. I mean "alcohol" is not a sensible solution to heat..it does not quench thirst but further dehydrates. But your addiction ain't about good sense. You want an escape for what simply is...yup, I get ya. Can't go over, can't go under, can't go round...must go through : )

ersatzmatriarch

i'm living in a heat wave now, too... and i am extremely grateful to NOT be drinking, because i'm not experiencing alcohol-induced dehydration. that was always a major problem for me. being sober and hydrated is making this swampy heat almost tolerable...

if your alcoholic voice is refusing to allow you to see the real picture (court and prison), try and find any little thing you can to acknowledge how much better it is to remain sober. even if it is as silly as being well-hydrated!!

stay strong, teardrop!

teardrop

im sat in front of a fan, its not so much because im hot, its just memories in my head of drinking in the summer

its doing my head in, its like white noise in my head

Carlotta

Make a batch of sweet ice tea, very refreshing for hot summer days and unlike alcohol it will not dehydrate you.

teardrop

what im trying to say is

its not because im hot and thirsty

its my head, because, in my head im pictureing a nice summers day drinking in a pub beer garden

the only link the hot weather has to do with it, is its a picture/memories in my head of drinking in past summer days

what do i do when bored, raining, cold, etc,

i dont know, ive coped with those before

ive done xmas new year birthdays etc sober, ive got experience in those

its just how the f do i turn my head off to these thoughts today, its my first nice summer not drinking and its very hard

dave

ersatzmatriarch

oh... sorry i misunderstood!

maybe instead of thinking of 'how it used to be', try finding new things to enjoy on a hot summer day. museums, galleries, picnics, frisbee, reading, planting shrubs...

MeSoSober

PICK ONE:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ething-do.html

Let us know what you picked and how it worked out -- instant accountability! :-)

SargeantPepper

Teardrop, like Nuudawn said, you will always find a "reason" to drink. Of course you are going to have memories of how "fun" it was drinking on a hot summer day. That is normal to go through. You're going to have memories of how "fun" it was to drink on Xmas, New Year's, your birthday, a random Tuesday night, a Sunday morning to cure your hangover, etc.

Just keep in mind that you are not in jail, and still ALIVE to have these memories. You will have many more wonderful SOBER memories, as long as you don't pick up the drink.

Stay strong. There is always going to be an excuse to drink, but try finding more "excuses" to stay sober. Good luck. We are here for you.

Nuudawn

I think I was addressing the "its too hot" part of your post. I don't mean to oversimplify but you need to "reframe" your idea of summer fun. There are many other fun things in the sun other than being drunk in a beer garden or on a patio. Sitting in a lawn chair by a lake with an icy glass of pink lemonade comes to mind...barbeques, floating on an air mattress, beach volleyball, hearing crickets in the warm night air...still drinking that pink lemonade : ) Bocci ball, taking in a ball game, smell of fresh cut lawn, buy fresh fruit from a roadside stand...I dunno...

You gotta change your pictures....

mecanix

I had the romantic view of a pub beer garden , not that i ever went to one in the last days of my drinking carrer .. just slugged it away at home ..

I pictured in my minds eye myself in a pub garden drinking lemonade ... it didn't seem appealing ... therfore it was my AV trying to ambush me , me romantisizing alcohol .. it was my last fight with the AV in the hot weather of july 2012 .

If i'm to hot i dampen my t-shirt and have a damp flanel or towel then sit infront of the fan .

Wrapping my pillow with a towel also made bed a bit more comfortable .. i've also slept in damp sheets before when it was 30+ in france .

Bestwishes, m

Nuudawn

I wouldn't drink lemonade in a beer garden either. I want to "relate" with the people I choose to be round...and I don't much relate with people gettin' sloshed in the sun anymore. If the only purpose is to sit around and yammer whilst drinking, I want the folks I'm yammering with to be saying something interesting...not likely after a few drinks in the sun.

Greensleeves

I used to equate hot days with drinking, too. Summertime and icy cold alcohol just seemed to go together for me. This is my first summer to be sober in twenty years. I've been treating myself to lots of flavored waters and teas--as many as I want. (Still cheaper than wine.) When those thoughts start coming, I also do the following:

1. Play the tape forward. For me, this goes far beyond a couple of drinks by the pool. It goes forward into many, many drinks into the night and being hungover and hating myself the next day.
2. Redirect thoughts. I'll talk with my husband or hop on to SR to get a refresher as to why I'm sober in the first place.
3. Get busy. I'll get active into something that hooks my attention, and quick. Helps to keep the nagging thoughts at bay.

Good luck to you, and keep coming back.