FourSeasons

I am on my 12th day! That is pretty good for me.

I have been spending a lot on SR and reading other people's posts. Suddenly, I just got a huge urge to drink. My AV is calling out my name "Go get some wine. Just this once. After all, it is Labor Day weekend and Labor Day weekend only comes about once a year..."

Again, so strange...

Just made myself some herbal tea instead...

Plenny

Yikes yes it is that tricky. I'm feeling it too.

PinotNOmore

Don't give in!! I promise it's not worth it! lol I was at 10 days and talked myself into drinking last night... labor day, concert, ect ect ect. still not feeling great today and I think the guilt takes it out of you more than anything. Herbal tea is good. stick with that. Good luck, I hope you make better choices than I did!

ZoeM

Perhaps read the 'kindling' threads? Or re-read your original post?
Or even, go play some of the arcade games

TexasMichael

Congratulations on Day 12, FourSeasons!

Think how good you feel about that!

Think about how good it feels to wake up sober.

Think about how disappointed you are going to feel if you drink today.

I'm drinking some herbal tea right now, too!

Herbal tea is so much better than a hangover.

Hope tomorrow is Day 13 for you and not another Day 1.

Dee74

Our addiction will use anything, especially in the early days.
It passes.

SR saved my life, I think.
I'd think the thoughts anyway - I'd rather be here where there's always a contrary voice of reason

D

Soberpotamus

What Dee says is very true for me. I'd have triggers anyway. Earlier on especially. It's just natural, for some anyway. I won't speak for others. But the images, smells, taste, thoughts, emotions... they are going to crop up. I left my first AA meeting telling my husband, wow, I sure want a drink now That changed quickly though. At five months, I think I've only had maybe two significant moments of cravings. I don't count triggers and cravings as the same. Triggers for me, can be a flash of an image of a bottle of wine, a smell, a taste... but a craving is where I begin to ruminate on it. And actually feel the desire for it. For me, those brief momentary triggers or images lessened really quickly. And the cravings are few and far between.

I think it's wise to know that being on a forum or in a meeting or group of people, discussing an addiction, it is inevitable that a craving or remembrance of the drug of choice is going to pop up. But those things are mostly automatic for an addict's brain. It all matters how we deal with it.

FourSeasons

Thanks so much! And, actually, today is day 13!! Tomorrow is 14 and Tuesday marks the start of week 3!! No way will I cave-in tonight. I already know what will happen if I have that one "tasty" sip of wine...

SoberJennie - I completely agree with your definition of a trigger versus a craving. Tonight was absolutely not a craving. As a matter of fact, I have not had one craving since 08/20/2013, my quit date. I truly have no desire to drink. And, for that, I am truly grateful!!

longbeachone

Reading SR posts is great, but sometimes you just want to get your mind away from all of it...drinking, not drinking, whatever.

I've got a few things that I pick up when the AV doesn't want to shut up. Several of my favorite books, things I can open up and read and instantly be swept away. Favorites are Bill Brysons "A Walk in the Woods" or any of James Herriots books. I love to draw and paint, and I've got some really cool adult coloring books (that's adult as in "Famous Stained Glass Windows", not a "Debbie Does Dallas " coloring book!) that I keep, along with crayons and colored pencils. A favorite non-recovery movie like "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" will usually capture my interest enough to switch off the AV.

Unless it's really hot, a cup of tea with lots of milk and honey always helps too.

sugarbear1

Our AV gives us "excuses" and tries to keep us away from that which will help us to stay stopped.

LadyBlue0527

Great posts and I too agree, sometimes in the first month when I was on here all the time just discussing drinking could be a trigger. So I'd take a break for a bit and watch a movie or read.

In essence, you see now that you're not alone, it's natural for you to feel that way, and it does pass

SR rocks!

Soberpotamus

I'll have to look into this My therapist had me color in one of our sessions and it was the best session ever. It seems to keep activated both hemispheres of the brain, and that really helps me.

Good idea!

FourSeasons

Me too, Longbeachone! Lol.. I bought an "adult" paint by number set about 2 months ago. I should dig it out! I think it is hanging out with my sewing machine that I could not live one more day without (never used it of course...). I am now looking at becoming more active in a couple of professional groups. That is my personal resolution to me as I enter the Fall.

Thanks again for your great suggestions!!

phoebe64

Yes! Sometimes listening to stories about how one drank can trigger or make me crave it. i shut down the page and move onto a different activity.

I read a book that was helpful, but also made me crave terribly, "Drinking, A Love Story." she so specifically described the feelings of drinking, the feel of the glass in her hand, the sensations. I got through it, but it was hard. it was still a good read about recovery.

pinkdog

Hi seasons, congratulations on 12 days. Triggers are everywhere. But it gets to be less and less. The same situations but they don't bother you as much as you go along. Some of the mystery books I read, the main character glamorizes the alcohol. Sometimes I'll decide to read something else til the urge passes. Try urge surfing. Google it. It is a method of relaxing through the urges. It helps me so much. Mostly for anxiety now. Best wishes.

pinkdog

Day 13. even better! Well done. You make a good point about triggers being on a different level than cravings. Well said.

FourSeasons

Thanks, Pinkdog! Though I can't take credit on the triggers point. All the credit goes to SoberJennie!!

Ptcapote

Yes, I agree fully with Jennie here. At the end of my drinking days, I drank to do basically everything. (Drunk yoga anyone?) So anything for me could be a trigger and be associated with drinking.

I was also hanging on by the skin of my teeth in the early days so AA meetings and occasionally SR posts did make me think about drinking. Once I actually got a recovery plan in place and had things to do to occupy my mind and my time, that faded. Now neither AA nor SR makes me think about drinking other than how much I do not want to do it anymore.

The cravings definitely went away after a few months but they have struck me about a half dozen times and, yes, that is when I thought it through to actually getting the bottle and how the wine would taste/feel. Those happen now not because of physical cravings but because I allow myself to get into a bad head space and my mind goes a'wandering and suddenly I find myself there. That's when I jump on SR or get my ass to a meeting.

Those moments are much more rare now, thank goodness. A good plan in sobriety *should* include being able to identify when you're heading down the wrong road and give you tools to change course.

Anyway, good topic!!

longbeachone

There is still one thing that triggers me beyond any means to help, and that's a toothache. There is something about that pain that responds to alcohol faster than any medication. I'm vigilant about my teeth now (I'm prone to cavities) so I don't have to deal with it, but I had a couple of relapses, back when I used to quit drinking all the time, due to a bad toothache.

deeker

Anyone need a dental plan? lol (I sell um)


Yes I am sometimes uncomfortable when I read some posts, makes me jittery or something. Not that I want to drink/drug but I do have some kind of a reaction to certain posts.