StellaPolaris

I’ve heard this saying my whole life, mostly as a defense to keep doing something you know you shouldn’t, “better the devil you know” I guess.

7 days sober, and this saying keeps haunting me. I know I’ve spent an enormous amount of time obsessing over food, having been a binge eater for 30 years. Gastric bypass surgery put an end to that, and I quickly replaced food with alcohol. Now what..? I do have a plan and everything, I just wonder if my addiction-oriented beast will rear its head in some unexpected corner. Any experiences out there?

Persys

Keep it up, 7 days is awesome. My only advice is to try and not worry about the "addiction-oriented beast" rearing it's head somewhere because you aren't there yet and it isn't happening yet.

Realizing that it may be a problem is a good thing but don't obsess over it or let it detract from your focus. To me, this type of situation is best addressed by remembering that this is done one day at a time. Keep it simple and keep it in the day!

Anna

The addiction may appear again. I think it's necessary to deal with the root cause of the addictions and that can take lots of soul-searching, journaling etc. Are there changes you can make in your life that will help you to move away from the addictions?

StellaPolaris

Good question, Anna. Right now I’m going by my plan, meaning I’m keeping myself busy most of the time, either socializing, crafting, journaling and so on. Never had a green thumb, but I’m spending a lot of time caring for my plants, sowing seeds, planning for a summer that doesn’t involve drinking on my terrace.

I’m very energetic when sober, and all this energy is now being spent all over the place (which is a good thing, I feel inspired and curious and want to make up some of the time I feel I’ve lost to alcohol and lethargy). Knowing myself and how much I enjoy being in a state of “flow”, I suspect in time that I’ll start obsessing on one thing again. Just trying to get ahead of myself and find something positive that will keep my interest for a longer period of time. This is an interesting journey, but sometimes I would like to be able to peek into the future to be able to prevent any possible downfalls.

I would really like to turn my addictive behaviour from a negative to a positive, if that makes sense.

silentrun

I got a serious sugar addiction going when I quit. I think the very first addiction I had going was running. I didn't really overdo it but I got that feel good from it. I was talking to my doctor about my weight and I told him I couldn't run anymore because of my back. He suggested lifting weights. Exercise can be a little hard to get into at first but you will find yourself wanting it after a time.

StellaPolaris

My original post was at first a lot longer, silentrun, I wrote some stuff about obsessing over exercise and work and all kinds of healthy options. I have a handicap that keeps me from doing all the fun stuff in a gym. I got a membership last fall, but it just made me unhappy. I do enjoy walks though, and now that winter is finally almost over I’ll start walking again.

Work is another thing I’d like to obsess over, but I work for the Government, and it would just make my colleagues look bad.

silentrun

LOL I know what that means

Soberwolf

Congrats on a week sober

PurpleKnight

7 Days is too early to change everything in life, take one thing at a time, Sobriety can be the goal for now and everything else can be sorted out after you've built up some Sober muscles!!

1 Week is fantastic!!

doggonecarl

Yeah, get "addicted" to your recovery. Expend as much energy on your recovery as you did to support those negative behaviors.

I see a lot of posts here from people who say they don't want recovery to dominate their life, don't want sobriety to "take over." Not many of them get clean or sober. They were blind to the dominance their addiction held over them, but want to be free of such from their recovery. Doesn't work that way, not in the beginning.

AddictGuy

I think we need to create a new center. Instead of some substance being our go-to thing. Or even another activity.

charles de gaulle said that in times of trouble the man of character falls back on himself.

something like that

Dee74

All I can tell you is my past no longer defines me. People can change

How are things going now Stella?

D