second attempt at trying to quit.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: ireland
Posts: 1
second attempt at trying to quit.
Well basically this is my second attempt at trying to quit drinking, the last time I tried and lasted three nights then I gave in again. This time I really cant go back on the drink, it makes me very depressed and I am fearful of what I could be capable of doing when im drunk, I feel that drinking is dangerous for me. Im just so worried I wont be able to do it, any advice that could help me stay off the drink would be greatly appreciated 
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: TN
Posts: 365
Don't have much advice other than to keep thinking about the "day after". The horrible anxiety and shame you feel when you wake up the next morning realizing you are back on the drink again. Try to find something to occupy your mind when the cravings sets in. Exercise, hobbies, anything but the bottle. The craving will pass and if you manage to go to bed you will feel so much better in the morning if you stay off the alcohol.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Sonoran Desert & Southeast Asia
Posts: 6,561
Maybe go to an AA meeting? You'll get plenty of support there.
Also:
Stay away from people and places where drinking is front and center.
Make sure you don't have any alcohol in the house to tempt you.
Keep occupied with something interesting - a book, movie, TV, this forum, etc.
Eat well and frequently and take a walk to get some exercise.
If all else fails take a nice hot shower, then get in bed and read.
It gets easier after the first 3 days - you almost made it.
Hang in there, come back here often and Good luck!
Also:
Stay away from people and places where drinking is front and center.
Make sure you don't have any alcohol in the house to tempt you.
Keep occupied with something interesting - a book, movie, TV, this forum, etc.
Eat well and frequently and take a walk to get some exercise.
If all else fails take a nice hot shower, then get in bed and read.
It gets easier after the first 3 days - you almost made it.
Hang in there, come back here often and Good luck!
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 350
Stay in the day - don't think about stopping for the rest of your life - just for the moment. Take it one day at a time - one minute at a time if you need to, heck one heart beat at a time if necessary.
Here are five things I did when I got sober - updated for modern times - perhaps some of them, all of them or some form of them might help you:
These may not be easy, but they are simple!
First – Ninety In Ninety! – Attend ninety meetings in ninety days. Most of us actively used at least ninety days in a row. We can do ninety in ninety! Attending ninety meetings in ninety days is possible for everyone who lives in an area where there are enough meetings. If there aren’t meetings on a daily basis in your area, go to as many as possible. Meetings don’t keep us clean and sober – that is where we learn what to do out in the world to stay in recovery and we learn those things from people that have stayed clean and sober by doing them. The bulletin boards can help in this way as well, but for many, they don't completely take the place of meetings. On the other hand, for other folks, the meetings don't completely take the place of the message boards, but both do help in finding solutions. Doing this is a key to your success!
Second – Get Phone Numbers! – Get phone numbers from members that you meet at the meetings. Men work with men, women work with women. This saves many complications. Get same-sex phone numbers – as many as possible. Ask what the best time to call is – and make a note of those that say anytime – they mean it – and making a call at three in the morning might just save your life! You may not believe it, but you are actually helping those you call as much as they are helping you! Recovery is a process of action – we need to help others to fully recovery from what ails us! Also, connect on a personal level with people on the message boards - all networking builds a support structure that contributes to your success. Doing this is a key to your success!
Third – Get A Sponsor! – A sponsor is member of the program who has agreed to show you how to work the steps of the program – all twelve of them! Again, men work with men – women work with women. Sponsors are people who have learned how to stay clean and sober by working the steps of the program. Get a sponsor, call your sponsor, meet with your sponsor – they agreed to do these things and more when they agreed to be your sponsor! Believe it or not, you are helping them with their program as much as they are helping you with yours! WHAT IS A SPONSOR? SPONSOR = “Sober Person Offering Newcomers Suggestions On Recovery” - Having a sponsor or a mentor - someone that we can really open up with really helps. Doing this is a key to your success!
Fourth – Read The Instructions! – What’s the old saying: “When all else fails, read the instructions!” Get a copy of the Big Book (the basic text), and any other approved literature. We have no opinion on outside issues - non-approved literature is an outside issue. If you can’t afford these books, ask your sponsor to help you get copies of them. Reading the instructions can explain a good deal of the program. Ask your sponsor where to start – there is a great fortune of knowledge about recovery which is free for the taking in these manuals! Doing this is a key to your success! There are free PDF copies of the AA and NA Big Books online. Google them!
Fifth – Follow The Suggestions – Follow the suggestions heard at the tables or read on the message boards. You might discuss them with your sponsor if they seem confusing. Remember that meetings and message boards alone don’t keep us clean and sober. All they do is show us what we can do to stay clean and sober, and we are shown how to do that by people who are staying clean and sober. Furthermore, it is only when we apply what we learn at the meetings to our daily life, to our interactions with other people and to the relationship we have with our higher power that our recovery results in us being happy, joyous and free! After all, these are the three by-products of working the program: happiness, joyfulness and freedom. Doing this is a key to your success!
Remember – it is your choice! Doing these five things to the best of your ability will greatly increase your chances of getting and staying clean and sober one day at a time! There are many, many roads through the process of recovery.
These are the things that have helped me stay clean and sober since November 1984 - I hope that something in this post and in the other posts help you get through one more day of sober living.
Here are five things I did when I got sober - updated for modern times - perhaps some of them, all of them or some form of them might help you:
These may not be easy, but they are simple!
First – Ninety In Ninety! – Attend ninety meetings in ninety days. Most of us actively used at least ninety days in a row. We can do ninety in ninety! Attending ninety meetings in ninety days is possible for everyone who lives in an area where there are enough meetings. If there aren’t meetings on a daily basis in your area, go to as many as possible. Meetings don’t keep us clean and sober – that is where we learn what to do out in the world to stay in recovery and we learn those things from people that have stayed clean and sober by doing them. The bulletin boards can help in this way as well, but for many, they don't completely take the place of meetings. On the other hand, for other folks, the meetings don't completely take the place of the message boards, but both do help in finding solutions. Doing this is a key to your success!
Second – Get Phone Numbers! – Get phone numbers from members that you meet at the meetings. Men work with men, women work with women. This saves many complications. Get same-sex phone numbers – as many as possible. Ask what the best time to call is – and make a note of those that say anytime – they mean it – and making a call at three in the morning might just save your life! You may not believe it, but you are actually helping those you call as much as they are helping you! Recovery is a process of action – we need to help others to fully recovery from what ails us! Also, connect on a personal level with people on the message boards - all networking builds a support structure that contributes to your success. Doing this is a key to your success!
Third – Get A Sponsor! – A sponsor is member of the program who has agreed to show you how to work the steps of the program – all twelve of them! Again, men work with men – women work with women. Sponsors are people who have learned how to stay clean and sober by working the steps of the program. Get a sponsor, call your sponsor, meet with your sponsor – they agreed to do these things and more when they agreed to be your sponsor! Believe it or not, you are helping them with their program as much as they are helping you with yours! WHAT IS A SPONSOR? SPONSOR = “Sober Person Offering Newcomers Suggestions On Recovery” - Having a sponsor or a mentor - someone that we can really open up with really helps. Doing this is a key to your success!
Fourth – Read The Instructions! – What’s the old saying: “When all else fails, read the instructions!” Get a copy of the Big Book (the basic text), and any other approved literature. We have no opinion on outside issues - non-approved literature is an outside issue. If you can’t afford these books, ask your sponsor to help you get copies of them. Reading the instructions can explain a good deal of the program. Ask your sponsor where to start – there is a great fortune of knowledge about recovery which is free for the taking in these manuals! Doing this is a key to your success! There are free PDF copies of the AA and NA Big Books online. Google them!
Fifth – Follow The Suggestions – Follow the suggestions heard at the tables or read on the message boards. You might discuss them with your sponsor if they seem confusing. Remember that meetings and message boards alone don’t keep us clean and sober. All they do is show us what we can do to stay clean and sober, and we are shown how to do that by people who are staying clean and sober. Furthermore, it is only when we apply what we learn at the meetings to our daily life, to our interactions with other people and to the relationship we have with our higher power that our recovery results in us being happy, joyous and free! After all, these are the three by-products of working the program: happiness, joyfulness and freedom. Doing this is a key to your success!
Remember – it is your choice! Doing these five things to the best of your ability will greatly increase your chances of getting and staying clean and sober one day at a time! There are many, many roads through the process of recovery.
These are the things that have helped me stay clean and sober since November 1984 - I hope that something in this post and in the other posts help you get through one more day of sober living.
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