kairi

Okay so I quit drinking because of the pain in my side but mostly because I simply can't afford to do so.
Sad as that is and it's very hard to WANT to stop. Yes I am an alcohol addict.

Regardless, I have a few days off from work and no money and basic food rations.
Woke up at 4am and it's only 7;30am and I am done for the day. Clothes are out of the wash, house is tidy.
I went for a walk earlier to try to clear my head.

Traditional day.
Wake up early, go to shop to buy food, caffeine and yes alcohol. Be drunk by 9am, have a sleep until later and then get up and go buy some more alcohol, watch a movie maybe before going to sleep.

I've only been up three and a half hours and the day ahead frightens me.
All I can think about is alcohol, it dominates my mind.
I tried putting a movie on but I can't focus in the slightest.

The usual distractions of sweet drinks are not possible due to no cash.

I'm lost in my own dependency.

I was told to think of why I am quitting, push my willpower.
Thing is, I've always had horrible willpower and whilst It's pathetic to admit, I mostly (90%) quit because I can't afford to.
My wages no longer allow that free cash.
That probably means I don't want to quit.

I know people will recommend aa meeting but that's like giving blood, need to plan it in advance and then I can be called into to work on an 'emergency' (it's really not haha) so plans are difficult for me to make.

What the heck do people normally do on their days off? I don't get it. Too much free time and stopping alcohol and caffeine together is messing me up

Dee74

I spent a lot of time here helping others.
There's also an arcade here, and the chat room

There's a lot of suggestions in this list that don't cost any thing or very little:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ething-do.html

at the beginning I thought I'd never fill an hour let alone a day - now there are literally not enough hours in the day for me to contain my new sober life

It will be the same for you too - soon enough...I promise Kairi

D

SnazzyDresser

I've discovered jigsaw puzzles in my sobriety. It keeps my brain and hands busy, rewards patience and long-term planning, and in general has been a huge help to me staying sober. Good clean fun. And you can make it as social as you want to, I like doing them alone but they're also great fun to do as a group.

kenton

How about going for a walk? That costs nothing, kills time and being outside and moving always lifts my mood. You could set yourself a challenge to walk a certain distance today and then try to beat that distance tomorrow. Or just walk for the hell of it and see what you notice. I like paying attention to the stuff I would have missed if I'd stayed indoors drinking. After physically tiring yourself out a bit, you might find it easier to relax and focus on a movie. Good luck

Berrybean

Not much planning involved in going to a meeting , you just turn up, so I'm calling you out on that excuse. And I know others who have jobs where they're on call as well. They just mention it at the beginning of the meeting, put their phones on silent and keep an eye out for them going off. My bestie is in the military so is often in that situation. No one ever took offense yet.

There are plenty of things you could do. Just you're not going to want to do them as much as you want to drink. And even if there isn't, boredom won't kill you and gradually you'll relearn all the things you enjoy doing sober and it'll get easier, but alcoholism is progressive. If you drink things def won't get better and it may even kill you.

What about old friends and family who have been neglected in weekends because of drinking? I sure had a few of those to catch up with. Maybe settle down to some phone calls. Ring them and ask them how they are.

Do you have a garden area you could work on?

What about getting into nature for a few hours -take a a picnic and a go for a hike?

A good book? Join a library funds don't permit buying one.

Draw. Write. Journal. Watch TV.

And don't expect anything to necessarily feel great at this stage. You're likely to feel restless, irritable and discontent at the moment. It's worth accepting that from the start. But we don't need to drink on those feelings. Take care of those HALT triggers though (hungry angry lonely tired) as any of those are an open invitation to cravings and intensifying those uncomfortable feelings.

You can do this.
BB

Mattq2

i had abandoned many of my connections with friends and family while I was drinking. I tried to re-establish those relationships. I spent a bunch of time sitting on some ones porch visiting. It made me feel good inside and doesn't cost anything. I found being with non drinkers was very important.

Mizzuno

How I spend my free time:
Painting the house
Cleaning
Gardening
Watching series
reading
Posting on SR
Chores
Playing with my feline family members
Running (little of that lately as my low back hurts)

Honestly, I dont really have all that much free time when I think about it as my life has become productive in ways that dont involve alcohol.

thomas11

For what its worth, I see danger ahead. I had those days where I had everything done by 8AM. It usually isn't good. Just be prepared to do anything BUT drink alcohol. You can do it.

nova84

Today I have:

•Watered my herb garden and hanging baskets
•Washed our bedding
•Cooked a batch of Chickpea and Spinach curry for the freezer
•Cooked a batch of Chilli con carne for the freezer
•Binged on House of Cards
•Listened to some chapters of my audio book
•Checked in on SR throughout the day
•Completed Day 5's action steps from the 30 Day Sobriety Programme
•Put the food shop away
•Washed my hair

and that's about it so far! Its 8pm here. Suprised to see how much I've done when it's written down 😊

BrendaChenowyth

Study alcoholism and recovery. Read the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Go to meetings. Use the chatroom here.

tomsteve

"I know people will recommend aa meeting but that's like giving blood, need to plan it in advance and then I can be called into to work on an 'emergency' (it's really not haha) so plans are difficult for me to make."

howz about makin plans for meetings,then IF plans change they change?

id prolly be sittin on my thumb if i went with," well, the plans COULD change because _________ MIGHT happen."
its better to make plans to do something for my recovery and have the plans change then to say theres no sense in making plans because they might change.

yes, i understand being on call, but it sure seems like a bad excuse to not make plans for recovery.

have ya ever made plans to drink and still manage to drink even when the plans changed?

you can also read the big book of AA online as thats the meat and potatoes of AA- thats where the program is

kairi

Things will be better once I have some money to get some soft drinks.
The satiety is filled by a sweet sugary drink.
Water just doesn't cut the mustard.

tomsteve

p.s.
IF you are called into work during an AA meeting, you are free to walk out

tomsteve

yes,it does. its your thinkin that isnt cuttin the mustard.your thinkin is thinking you need something MORE. addictive thinking.