How do you NOT think?
 

My head gets me in trouble! I swear if someone just took my brain out I would be fine!

Think think think = drink drink drink! My stupid head! Ugh!

Ok...so my goal is to NOT think! Of course there are certain times I will need to think about my responsibilities for my kids, pets, house etc. I just don't want to think about things that make me feel guilty, anxious, angry etc etc.

In AA they call it STINKIN THINKIN!

Any tips on how to NOT think??? Besides removing my brain? Ha.

Mindfulness can help. Or any meditation technique. It Takes practice tho.

Or you put your head in the freezer. Kidding of course. ;-)

Mindfulness works well for me. I also ride my bike, take a walk or go fishing.

what did you do when you were sober for years Serenidad?

D

what did you do when you were sober for years Serenidad?

D

Mindfulness and meditation do wonders in that department.
Even if it's only 10 minutes a day it does help. Just 10 minutes a day. I swear by it.

Another option for me is running. Really calms down my thinking process.

The last but not least: chores. After doing dishes for 30 minutes my mind slows down.

Also, did you know that there's something defined as 'addictive thinking'? Google it. I know, not good news for us, addicts :-)

Mindfulness works.

I have no idea Dee! I really don't know how I was able to stay sober that long! It's soooo hard this time. :-(

What is mindfulness? I can google it..just wondering.

I'll put in a plug for meditation and mindfulness too...just starting to explore it myself but it makes a lot of sense. Read "10% Happier" by Dan Harris. It's a very down to earth story of how he found out and learned about it from many different people. An easy read with a great appendix containing simple instructions on how to get started.

Ask your therapist about it too....many find it a beneficial thing

This is a good basic series on mindfulness:
Mindfulness and Addiction: Part I | Mindfulness and Psychotherapy

D

Instead of NOT thinking, I think about positive things. Like what I'm grateful for, how much better my life is cause I'm sober, the joy I get from my dogs and cats, the pleasures I share with my grown kids. :) I just focus on the positives. :)

Dee...I take that back. The first time around in 2008 I did 4 months of intensive outpatient therapy and went to 1-2 AA meetings per day. With 3 kids and all of that I don't think I had time to think...I just DID what I had to do. I also rode my bike a lot. Maybe I should stop trying to re-invent the wheel? If it worked then...maybe it could work again???

It's amazing how much willingness you get when you're in big trouble! In 2008 I had gotten a DUI and was scared! That motivated me big time! But I don't want to get another DUI, ya know?

I found it was amazing how much I was willing to do when I was scared too :)

I thought about drinking or not drinking constantly for a while.
I just never indulged those thoughts.

I made a solid commitment to stay sober, no matter what.

In time, life got better and easier and the thoughts grew less and less :)

D

Remove maybe and the question marks from the phrases above and read them carefully.

while we cannot always control the thoughts that come IN to our brains, we CAN control what we DO with those thoughts.

in just the same way as when someone is tailgating me and I have a STRONG desire to cinch up the seatbelt and hit the brakes, but DO NOT, I can CHOOSE how I respond to the thoughts that go thru my head. no different than when the thought of drinking or some other risky or knee jerk reactive act comes along, I can just let that thought slip THROUGH my mind.....literally in one ear and out the other.

if you are committed to NOT drinking again EVER no matter what, then the thoughts shouldn't really register or stick around too long. we give them no purchase, no warm tended soil in which to root.

Any sort of physical exercise, even just walking briskly, really clears my mind.

I do meditation, but I'm still new so I can only make it 3 minutes or so before I break haha I just do that every time my thoughts start to get away from me. It's a lot, but if I can even take 30 seconds to clear my mind it makes a HUGE difference for me

GREAT! Addictive thinking! Something else to be addicted to. Ha :-/

Sounds interesting! I will look for that book.

That's great that you are able to do that least. I'm about as negative as they come right now. :-(