Here it comes...
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: WI
Posts: 529
Here it comes...
I'm talking about Thursday evening. My traditional night to do laundry--and load up on hooch. Ya, I feel the urge even now and it's not even noon. But I'm also trying to lose a few pounds--and liquor has a fairly high caloric count. So the urge is being blunted somewhat by the fact that I'm determined to lose those pounds.
That, and I'm getting better at the AVRT thing.
Still, it's gonna be a tough afternoon.
That, and I'm getting better at the AVRT thing.
Still, it's gonna be a tough afternoon.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
whatchya gonna do instead?
What I've found helpful when there are known trigger times, known routines, known patterns of addiction - is to proactively plan to fill those spaces with healthy, positive, nurturing alternatives.
Going into it with a new pattern helps stave off the cravings, give an enjoyable experience that your brain's pleasure centers will receive with positive imprinting, and most important of all - will give you a 'victory' over that trigger that will create momentum for the successes of the future.
What I've found helpful when there are known trigger times, known routines, known patterns of addiction - is to proactively plan to fill those spaces with healthy, positive, nurturing alternatives.
Going into it with a new pattern helps stave off the cravings, give an enjoyable experience that your brain's pleasure centers will receive with positive imprinting, and most important of all - will give you a 'victory' over that trigger that will create momentum for the successes of the future.
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
Your mention of laundry and liquor reminded me of something, so...
[tangent]
Once, many years ago, I was living in an apartment and I decided to do my laundry one evening. There was a laundry room available, but only 2 washers and 2 dryers, and if you weren't there to move your stuff someone would take it out of the machine and set it on top, leaving your garments in disarray. So, I decided to camp in the laundry room and keep track of my stuff.
Seemed perfectly logical to me to take a bottle of hooch with me for this. Laundry doesn't require many brain cells. So I packed some ice and a solo cup and a bottle and my laundry and camped in the laundry room having a party for one. I didn't try to disguise my actions at all. In my mind I was doing something completely ordinary.
As I sat there, glass in hand, bottle of bourbon on the floor next to my chair, a woman came in with a basket of laundry. There was an empty machine, but she took one look at me and turned around and left. For years I thought she was a stuffy prude. Now I realize it was me whose behavior was out of whack. Not everyone gets drunk just because its laundry day.
[/tangent]
You got this JD!
[tangent]
Once, many years ago, I was living in an apartment and I decided to do my laundry one evening. There was a laundry room available, but only 2 washers and 2 dryers, and if you weren't there to move your stuff someone would take it out of the machine and set it on top, leaving your garments in disarray. So, I decided to camp in the laundry room and keep track of my stuff.
Seemed perfectly logical to me to take a bottle of hooch with me for this. Laundry doesn't require many brain cells. So I packed some ice and a solo cup and a bottle and my laundry and camped in the laundry room having a party for one. I didn't try to disguise my actions at all. In my mind I was doing something completely ordinary.
As I sat there, glass in hand, bottle of bourbon on the floor next to my chair, a woman came in with a basket of laundry. There was an empty machine, but she took one look at me and turned around and left. For years I thought she was a stuffy prude. Now I realize it was me whose behavior was out of whack. Not everyone gets drunk just because its laundry day.
[/tangent]
You got this JD!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 8,637
Ideas;
Go to a meeting
Plan to play guitar
Spend an hour journaling
Go for a long walk in nature
Hit the gym
Find a local community event (non-drinking)
Call a friend you haven't seen in a while and invite them for an impromptu coffee
Do the same with a family member
Read the Big Book
Find a local Zendo and visit it for an introductory meditation session
Try out a local martial arts studio for an introductory lesson
Go for a run
Go biking
Take yourself to a movie
Go to the library and look up a subject that interests you
Make a list of things you can do in the future, cut them into little slips of paper, put them in a jar and mark it "The Anti-Trigger Jar".....
Best defense is a good offense.
Go to a meeting
Plan to play guitar
Spend an hour journaling
Go for a long walk in nature
Hit the gym
Find a local community event (non-drinking)
Call a friend you haven't seen in a while and invite them for an impromptu coffee
Do the same with a family member
Read the Big Book
Find a local Zendo and visit it for an introductory meditation session
Try out a local martial arts studio for an introductory lesson
Go for a run
Go biking
Take yourself to a movie
Go to the library and look up a subject that interests you
Make a list of things you can do in the future, cut them into little slips of paper, put them in a jar and mark it "The Anti-Trigger Jar".....
Best defense is a good offense.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 8,704
JD, breaking the cycle for me was the hardest part. Many of us are creatures of habit. Breaking that habit is damn hard, but worth the effort. Conversely, if you can begin a new habit, that is healthy and positive, well, that's awesome. I once knew a guy who was a drug user and dealer, he knew he had to change or he was going to call prison, home for quite a long time. He started going to the library each afternoon. This was before the internet and computers. Saved his life.
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