JackD89

The cravings were so strong last night I could almost already feel the vodka pouring down my throat and warming my stomach. I had a lot of anxiety around work yesterday, and for the first time in a very long time, I couldn't leave the issues there. They came home. But since I am not drinking, I couldn't escape them at the bottom of a bottle.

I powered through, though. Cravings are strange. It's like they hit and I go into that robotic mode I was in for so long where driving to the liquor store to grab a bottle felt like it wasn't a choice, but a compulsion. But I have now found ways to disrupt that pattern. I find myself downing flavored soda water to just satisfy that need to drink something. And for a moment, when that fizzy drink hits my throat and goes down into my stomach, it burns like that first long, hard pull of vodka. For some reason, it works for me.

Every morning I wake up sober is a victory. A small, but rewarding, victory.

Tomorrow is a month. My first goal. Baby steps to the new me.

Thanks for listening, SR.

biminiblue

Well done for powering through that.

I had to find other ways to react to stressful situations. They will continue to rise up and I have to be ready.

Keep it going!

wildflower70

Nice job Jack!

I also use 7-up as a refreshing drink at the end of a long day, add a lime slice and it seems to have the same effect that a cocktail would, minus the dreaded morning after.
Congrats on beating off the AV....

Komplex

Awesome job for not drinking Jack. I am in the exact same place. I am at 29 days today. Yesterday, I received a terrible review from my boss. It really hurt. The whole time she was telling me how terrible I am I thought abought having a drink. I didnt drink. I had dinner with my child and then went to a meeting.

Congrats on almost one month - we got this!!!

Chatbrat17

Goid job Jack, thanks for the inspiration. I had the exact same feelings yesterday, all the way down to the warmth hitting my stomach..I am at 23 days, and I put the craving aside as well. Every day IS a victory😁😁 keep going, every morning when you wake up proud is the prize☺

entropy1964

Nice job. I'll bet this morning you aren't regretting not drinking.

I am reading a lot of craving posts lately. I try to remind myself that deciding to drink does only one thing, it relieves the craving/obsession temporarily...the actual drinking does nothing more than create more craving (hence the inability to stop drinking). That craving alone is so powerful and so uncomfortable...my brain on auto pilot. But cravings really do pass.

The answer to diminish the craving? Absolute acceptance that I cannot drink, no matter what. The brain will change its response to the stimulus that creates craving....it just takes some time. And the more reservations I have about stopping, the longer that change takes.

D122y

Jack,

I still crave, but nothing like before.

I craved hard for 6 months to a year.

Basically a year is a cycle....new years, super bowl, bdays, the 4th, etc.

Then it started again, but easier the second time.

I keep coming here because I need this place to remember.

I am positive I would have fully relapsed w out SR.

Addiction is a disease of forgetting.

Thanks.

4thegirls

I actually sat on my hands for several hours the second day sober. The mere habit of lifting a drink to my lips constantly for 16 years isnt easy to break. I'm on day 9 today and encouraged by the old timers who tell me a lot of these compulsions go away though the beast is always there.

lessgravity

I know the exact feeling JackD. And yes it is remarkable to watch the urges eventually roll past where I would usually jump on board and ride to the closest place I could get some poison.

tekink

Well done powering through that! There will be some tests, but the more you pass the easier it is.

J50

Nice job!

DontRemember

Good job getting through it. I still remember the 'autopilot' drive to the liquor store.. thinking "what am I doing?" and still buying..Glad that madness is over!

graciepearl

Just what I needed to hear today. Thank you so much everyone!
messing up 214 days would really be a stupid thing for me to do. Bubbly water and lime here I come

Dee74

way to go graciepearl
How are you JackD?

D

JackD89

I'm good, Dee! Thank you and thanks to everyone who responded and continues to pass on the words of encouragement! I had another rough day today, but as long as I keep my eye on sobriety I know I can power through.

. . . Now if I could just kick this sweets habit I have developed over the past month. :P