Razorback

Here I go again!

I was doing pretty well, had come up with a pretty good plan. I was going to SMART meetings, Weight Watchers, got a trainer. And then I got swept up into the happy hour scene (I live in a BIG beachside happy hour area), as I can walk into any bar around here and see someone I know. And although this seems counterintuitive, many of them are quite interesting people.

I went off the rails for two reasons. First, I have somehow injured my butt, which seriously affects my mobility. I feel like I'm 100 years old and it makes working out and weight loss (I have 20 lbs to go). I'm 53 now, and my insides and foggy brain tell me I MUST quit for good.

The other reason really sent me over the edge. I wrote an autobiography that's being made into a television series, in which I'm the main character. Last weekend, I saw a video online of an actress auditioning to play the part of ME, and I realized that I'm going to have no control of how I'm depicted. I guess I probably should not watch the show -- it really upset me.

They're very strict in California about drunk driving, so I do NOT do that; besides, I live a walkable area. One thing that I notice about SMART is that attending meetings seems to make me want to drink afterwards, and it was even worse with AA. Maybe I should go late (they're too long) or try the online options. It just seems counterproductive to spend so much time talking about...drinking.

I did see a shrink specializing in alcohol abuse, and he suggested that I write down a schedule of activities and stick to it. I could use suggestions for activities. I am a writer/musician and my time is my own. I was thinking:
Yoga
Meditation group
Trainer (I see her 3x a week)
Weight Watchers
Coffee shop (maybe substitute this for bars)
Biking group
SMART
Learn to paddleboard or sail
Date and only choose men who don't drink (you can specify on eHarmony)
Church
Healthy cooking class or meetup.com group (I'm interested in both vegan and Paleo)
Computer classes at the Apple Store
I'm open to learning new things or even returning to school for a doctorate

What else? I need some new ideas and a pep talk.

least

Sounds like you've already got a good plan in place. Just keep in mind the reasons you want to stop drinking and make them your priority. You can do this!

Raider

I think your plan sounds great. Stay strong. Hugs.

13unluckyforsom

I think you certainly have plenty of opportunity to fill your time constructively - find something that makes you smile.

You have a lot of good ideas already. What about volunteering doing some charity work or community work?

Nuudawn

How fabulous that you have sat yourself down and came up with a plan. That's fantastic. I did same on my first day of sobriety...although it kind of pales in comparison to yours. I was pretty slothful in my first season (3 months) of sobriety. I just focused on doing whatever it took to not drink. I spent a lot of time here (still do), read a lot of spiritual and recovery books and tried to stay "present" above all else. Oh..I also have a great therapist. Sometimes my "perfectionist" type expectations have batted me about from time to time but I continue to work on that too. I just rejoined the gym in month 4, re-established a healthy diet and quit smoking. I am a work in progress and I struggle with expecting too much too soon from myself (which is sometimes countered with "or are you just telling yourself that you procrastinating lout? )

james872

These are great! That's a wonderful list to start with. I like that it both includes mind-related things (meditation) and physical activities. That seems like a very good combination.

I think the best thing you can do is to just try out the different things and see which combination of those you like. And perhaps you come across other options later on.

Great post!

Razorback

Thanks guys. I'm going to visit my mom 3,000 miles away tomorrow, and that's always a trigger. I'm going to make sure to do a few of these things while I'm there instead of medicating. All I have to do is get through til Sunday night, then that's taken care of for a few months, whew. The charity work is great -- I used to volunteer for a wetlands organization, so maybe I'll go back to that. It was very relaxing, mostly repotting plants and such.