rednails

Hello! I'm a lurker here, because I am an alcoholic who previously was not ready to admit that I can not drink. I know I've seen Dee post things about having a plan, and I think he even had a link to explaining it. I'm hoping someone can direct me to that link or help explain what exactly a "plan" means...

Thank you!

OldTomato

Here's the link.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ery-plans.html

Fly N Buy

Bad Plan -

Get up in the morning with a horrible hangover. First thoughts of - this MUST stop. Pick up my phone and check calls/texts and emails for any electronic trail of my shame filled existence.

"Test" the temperature of my loved ones. Head shakes, ignoring me or confrontation. Which would it be........

Shower and shave - glances in the mirror of some guy I simply don't recognize any more. Grey palor, sagging skin and eyes that resemble having been in over chlorinated pool for several hours.

Gather daily necessities - pot, pipe, cigarettes, lighter and money for alcohol. Several laps between car and house seeking forgotten ancillary tools of the alcoholic life I lead. Ah keys, right.

Stumble through the daze and start drinking around 3pm or so - of course I'm already high. Have to do something to relieve that nagging headache. Starting thinking about what I need to pick up a liquor store today. Rum or vodka? Mixers?? Hmm, did I finish that bottle from last night - where did I put it???

Better Plan -

Today my plan is simply this

Prayer and meditation
Gratitude for being alive and sober ( this is action based/not reflective)
Don't drink even if my butt falls offs
Interact with other alcoholics being helpful where possible
Take care of my health - work out, eat properly, take prescribed medicines and fully engage in proper hygiene including teeth and dentist.
Go to meetings/read sober literature

Love others more than caring about being loved........

I didn't truly understand I was an alcoholic for almost a year after I quit - though I would pay lip service to this. Staying sober IS the plan.....the rest are simply filler.

Glad your here with us friend.

Hawkeye13

A plan is a structured way of dealing with "craving times" and stress without drinking.

So, if you usually drink after work, you plan to do something else and have some
ways to diffuse the cravings like nice food, tea, exercise, shower, etc.

I also added in long-term management like working on clearing procrastinated tasks,
purging and cleaning my house,
joining a gym and doing yoga,
short-term therapy to deal with underlying causes of drinking.

Not drinking is just the first step--recovery is rebuilding a sober life.
A good plan is the blueprint for that

Soberwolf

Having a plan is simply things you will do remain sober such as reaching out any time you experience urges & cravings, keeping a journal of your journey through sobriety, Recovery meetings, Recovery & Spiritual literature or reading in general, working out/exercising, having a sponsor, healthy diet, healthy hobbby's

the list can be as big or small as you want I've found the more you put into recovery the more you get out

I hope this helps

Anna

And our Sticky:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

Mountainmanbob

A plan.
Things that I should do
that will help me to stay sober.
And to stay grateful for sobriety.

Just a few of mine.
AA meetings.
Church and bible studies.
Exercise and healthy foods.
Keeping control of my emotions.
Helping others.
Staying away from the oh poor me's.

Mountainman

courage2

My plan has evolved, but at the beginning it emphasized structure during times of day when I was particularly vulnerable and emergency "plan B" actions for tough moments**. It had stuff like:

Waking up to post gratitude & daily commitment
Reading and meditation before going to work (and past liquor store)
Call to another alcoholic during work day
Call to sponsor at end of work day
Meeting
Sweet snack at "cocktail hour"
Reading on SR and elsewhere in evening
**extra meetings, extra sugar, extra phone calls, coffee w/other alcoholics after meetings

Those and probably more got me through the first months. Then I added & changed.

Best wishes to you!

MIRecovery

Some of mine:

Get Enough sleep
Prayer and meditation asking for a day of sobriety
Read AA daily reflections
Read and post on SR
Eat healthy
Try to be thankful
Go to an AA meeting
Develope a network of sober friends
Have a dry house
Avoid drinking situations
Avoid or eliminate toxic people
Development of sober activities
Having an escape plan if I'm around alcohol
Never putting anything ahead of my sobriety
Helping others
Prayer at night thanking god for a day of sobriety

MIRecovery

There are tons of great ideas but the take away is, all of us really do this stuff. These are concrete actions we do on a daily basis to maintain our sobriety.

Quitting drinking is the first step changing who we are and what we do takes time and effort

rednails

Thank you all!!

I'm reading through the stuff on Dee's post now and will begin my journal when I get home from work =). Thanks for all of your insights! I have found, that in the past, simply saying "I'm not going to drink today" at the beginning of the day isn't enough for me. I need something a little more construct and some hail marys in my arsenal for particularly difficult evenings, so I just needed some guidance. Thank you!

MIRecovery

BTW, Not drinking is in the number 1 slot of everyone's plan

least

My plan consisted of weekly sessions with my counselor and daily visits to SR. I no longer see the counselor but still come here every day. It's kept me sober for over six years now.

Mountainmanbob

Maybe I should add to my plan to stay away from bars there's truly nothing good there for me.
MM

ALinNS

Lots of great information and help above.

To me my plan is a road map to stay sober and recover (never to drink again), if I want to go somewhere that is not familiar a map to me saves time and I do not get lost, same in recovery, my plan is what I came up with and is my map to ensure I never drink again and I use it often.

I added to my plan the consequences of drinking again and I did this part while in the first week of recovery which was a living hell for me, it's a stark reminder.

All the best
Andrew

Ali2013

Just. Wow. Greatness.

IronPhoenix

A plan is a framework that you can rely on to help keep you accountable on your journey to sobriety. No ones plan is the same and plans can be adjusted as needed.

For me I go to general counseling sessions (kind of like going to a personal trainer). I chose not to go to AA but did read all of their material that I could get my hands on and applied what was relevant to me. I changed my daily routine around drinking times. Rededicated myself to getting back in shape. I check into this forum daily. I reached out to friends that had quite drinking and sought their input/advice. etc...

Whatever checks you can put in place to help keep you focused. Realize this is truly a one day at a time journey and will take consistent work to achieve your goal. You may get to a point where you feel you are in a 'maintenance' phase but never get complacent nor let your AV convince you otherwise.