stress
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Welcome Ms Marie. You have the choice/power to decide to not pick up that first drink, stay with us here and share if you would like. Is there a meeting or other type of local support you could use today as well?
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Originally Posted by Ms Marie 
Scott, TY. I am looking for a meeting to attend tonight. I've never been to a meeting,
a bit scared.
a bit scared.
pray for strength
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: New England
Posts: 2,414
Hello Ms. Marie...we have all been there in early sobriety. My suggestion is to look for a good way to counter the stress, no matter what. A good walk with good music? You can do this.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Athens, Georgia
Posts: 962
Hello Ms Marie,
I want to encourage you, and I KNOW you can be FREE. I could not fix me, but in 3 weeks I will have 1 year, Happy, Joyous, and FREE. It happened by completely surrendering myself to the Program and the Steps of AA, but AA did not 'fix' me. It was thru me completely surrendering to the Steps, and completely doing the Steps, without the interference of 'ME'.
The truth is that I was a Spiritually maladjusted being, denying the most important aspect of 'ME', that I have a Spiritual Nature, and a Human Flesh Nature, and thru EXTREME selfishness and self-centeredness, all I cared about was FEEDING the Flesh Nature in me that continually clawed and screamed for MY WAY, My Pleasure, My My My.
There is FREEDOM from being bound by that 'Flesh ME', and it has manifested itself in being able to experience the New ME, which has actual choices, and is not BOUND by demanding 'I' get what 'I' want, at the expense of everything that is actually meaningful in Life.
Well, enough of my rambling, which is much better than my previous Drunken practice of 'ranting'.
RDBplus3..Also, may God Bless You, and Set you FREE, as He has done in the New 'ME'
I want to encourage you, and I KNOW you can be FREE. I could not fix me, but in 3 weeks I will have 1 year, Happy, Joyous, and FREE. It happened by completely surrendering myself to the Program and the Steps of AA, but AA did not 'fix' me. It was thru me completely surrendering to the Steps, and completely doing the Steps, without the interference of 'ME'.
The truth is that I was a Spiritually maladjusted being, denying the most important aspect of 'ME', that I have a Spiritual Nature, and a Human Flesh Nature, and thru EXTREME selfishness and self-centeredness, all I cared about was FEEDING the Flesh Nature in me that continually clawed and screamed for MY WAY, My Pleasure, My My My.
There is FREEDOM from being bound by that 'Flesh ME', and it has manifested itself in being able to experience the New ME, which has actual choices, and is not BOUND by demanding 'I' get what 'I' want, at the expense of everything that is actually meaningful in Life.
Well, enough of my rambling, which is much better than my previous Drunken practice of 'ranting'.
RDBplus3..Also, may God Bless You, and Set you FREE, as He has done in the New 'ME'
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,857
Welcome, Ms Marie, to SR.
Stress is a trigger for many of us; a leisurely walk, a warm soothing bath, curling up with a good book, listen to some of your favorite music, make your favorite dinner, indulge in a decadent desert.
Be gentle and kind to Marie; she deserves it.
Stress is a trigger for many of us; a leisurely walk, a warm soothing bath, curling up with a good book, listen to some of your favorite music, make your favorite dinner, indulge in a decadent desert.
Be gentle and kind to Marie; she deserves it.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
The first couple weeks are going to be hard, Marie, no two ways around it. Your brain needs to change and the way it changes back to normal is to stay away from the alcohol.
Stress and anxiety are magnified in early sobriety. Tough it out and in a couple weeks you'll feel so much better. I used the phrase, "I want to crawl out of my skin," when experiencing early sobriety. It's normal.
I know I had to stay busy. I went to meetings every day. I watched mindless Netflix, I fixed good meals, I slept as much as I could. I cleaned the house. Walked. I decided not to pick up that first drink ever again.
Stress and anxiety are magnified in early sobriety. Tough it out and in a couple weeks you'll feel so much better. I used the phrase, "I want to crawl out of my skin," when experiencing early sobriety. It's normal.
I know I had to stay busy. I went to meetings every day. I watched mindless Netflix, I fixed good meals, I slept as much as I could. I cleaned the house. Walked. I decided not to pick up that first drink ever again.
pray for strength
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: New England
Posts: 2,414
Hey again Marie. I've told this story more than a few times and will tell it again for fear of becoming know as 'the toilet bowl lady' - well, I could be called worse 
Afternoons were hard for me, as they are for many, so I started cleaning the bathrooms in my home. Specifically, the toilets. I'd don rubber gloves and scrub away with the brush. Starting with the toilet nearest to the kitchen as I cooked dinner and left my laptop open to SR on the counter. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Wash hands, air out nostrils and check out threads on SR. Repeat.
The thing is I have always hated cleaning toilets (who loves it?) but get enormous satisfaction from a nice, clean bathroom. Now I just see the toilet as a means to the end of a clean bathroom. Whenever I cannot leave the house I just clean away! Knowing that satisfaction will be mine. To the victor goes the spoils!
For a long time I had the cleanest toilets imaginable and I went through a lot of toilet bowl cleaner. Eventually having to start buying the most environmentally friendly cleaner just to ease my conscience. I kid-you-not. I even bought those drop-in cleaning tabs to keep in the tank, but after a few weeks it ate away at the plastic toilet mechanism and I had to replace the parts. It was then that I noticed the giant, neon orange sticker on the side of the tank warning not to use drop-in cleaning tabs, lest you destroy the plastic mechanism.
This is a true story about how I did something good to stay away from drinking when I felt stress. Maybe it will inspire you or at least bring a smile to your face. Desperate times call for desperate measures?! Well, at least it works for me. It has been 7months now with sober-ness, and I still fall back on this method of stress reduction. I could do worse.
You can do this!
Afternoons were hard for me, as they are for many, so I started cleaning the bathrooms in my home. Specifically, the toilets. I'd don rubber gloves and scrub away with the brush. Starting with the toilet nearest to the kitchen as I cooked dinner and left my laptop open to SR on the counter. Scrub, scrub, scrub. Wash hands, air out nostrils and check out threads on SR. Repeat.
The thing is I have always hated cleaning toilets (who loves it?) but get enormous satisfaction from a nice, clean bathroom. Now I just see the toilet as a means to the end of a clean bathroom. Whenever I cannot leave the house I just clean away! Knowing that satisfaction will be mine. To the victor goes the spoils!
For a long time I had the cleanest toilets imaginable and I went through a lot of toilet bowl cleaner. Eventually having to start buying the most environmentally friendly cleaner just to ease my conscience. I kid-you-not. I even bought those drop-in cleaning tabs to keep in the tank, but after a few weeks it ate away at the plastic toilet mechanism and I had to replace the parts. It was then that I noticed the giant, neon orange sticker on the side of the tank warning not to use drop-in cleaning tabs, lest you destroy the plastic mechanism.
This is a true story about how I did something good to stay away from drinking when I felt stress. Maybe it will inspire you or at least bring a smile to your face. Desperate times call for desperate measures?! Well, at least it works for me. It has been 7months now with sober-ness, and I still fall back on this method of stress reduction. I could do worse.
You can do this!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
boy.... stress pulled me back into a bottle soooo many times! I get it.
I still get stressed these days, but I don't drink over it. I realize that when I drink, stress simply begets more and more and more stress.
Some days I feel pretty overwhelmed trying to learn how to deal with stress without numbing it. But, it's sooo much better than magnifying it by waking up out of the oblivion to a hangover and the shock and shame and regret of a blackout's remains.
Nah. Stress will never be anything compared with that hell.
I still get stressed these days, but I don't drink over it. I realize that when I drink, stress simply begets more and more and more stress.
Some days I feel pretty overwhelmed trying to learn how to deal with stress without numbing it. But, it's sooo much better than magnifying it by waking up out of the oblivion to a hangover and the shock and shame and regret of a blackout's remains.
Nah. Stress will never be anything compared with that hell.
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,759
There will always be stress. We can't let it drive us back to drinking. Anyway, drinking makes stress and anxiety much worse. Find ways of dealing with the stress in a sober way. It can be done.
Welcome!
Welcome!
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
Ms Marie, I lived on this site for the first few months! There is a lot of good info, and it's really helpful to read (over and over) that others know how you feel and have gone/are going through the same things.
The first drink is the one to avoid.
Go to bed sober tonight. You'll be so glad you did. Don't drive by the store, get rid of any alcohol in your house, etc.
The first drink is the one to avoid.
Go to bed sober tonight. You'll be so glad you did. Don't drive by the store, get rid of any alcohol in your house, etc.
Canine Welfare Advocate
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 10,962
Originally Posted by Ms Marie
I'm on day 1 and was very hopeful this morning. Now, stress is pulling me in the direction of drinking. I am hopeful that I can make it without drinking all night.
The answer isn't to give in, but to push through.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ireland
Posts: 25,826
We need to learn to deal with stress in other ways, there is always going to be stress in life, but should that mean that we'll never be Sober?
Instead we need new tools in the toolbox, not the quick fix we're used to!!
Hang in there!!
Instead we need new tools in the toolbox, not the quick fix we're used to!!
Hang in there!!
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