Naming and shaming the AV
Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Colorado
Posts: 390
I am just like you in a lot of ways Stewy. I've relapsed hundreds of times since trying to stop in 2012. I'm still early in recovery, but what's helped me the most is the realization that stopping drinking is the first step in becoming a healthy person. The issue is that we are creatures of habit, and stopping drinking is a very drastic and difficult process, esp. when you have stress and other things telling you your old patterns are ok.
Stopping drinking is the hardest bit because you have to climb a wall first; then it's hurdles. Look at it for what it is.. beer? It's rotten grain water that makes you puke and have the runs. I was heaving in the mornings, squirtin' my undies in public. Nothing about it is good.
I'm still very early in sobriety at day 41, but have experience with 6 months, and it felt great after a few months. I'm 40 yo, and don't know why I'm so old... well I do...
Don't forget. We only get ONE.
ONE LIFE.
Don't squander it.
Stopping drinking is the hardest bit because you have to climb a wall first; then it's hurdles. Look at it for what it is.. beer? It's rotten grain water that makes you puke and have the runs. I was heaving in the mornings, squirtin' my undies in public. Nothing about it is good.
I'm still very early in sobriety at day 41, but have experience with 6 months, and it felt great after a few months. I'm 40 yo, and don't know why I'm so old... well I do...
Don't forget. We only get ONE.
ONE LIFE.
Don't squander it.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 120,877
Remember, Stewy, that our AVs are consummate liars. The know the lies to tell and when to tell them. They know our weaknesses, sorrows and vulnerabilities. They are quite clever.
Believe NOTHING that they say.
Be proactive in the fight; keep adding new tools to your toolbox.
We believe in you.
Believe NOTHING that they say.
Be proactive in the fight; keep adding new tools to your toolbox.
We believe in you.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 122
Originally Posted by sobersolstice 
I am just like you in a lot of ways Stewy. I've relapsed hundreds of times since trying to stop in 2012. I'm still early in recovery, but what's helped me the most is the realization that stopping drinking is the first step in becoming a healthy person. The issue is that we are creatures of habit, and stopping drinking is a very drastic and difficult process, esp. when you have stress and other things telling you your old patterns are ok.
Stopping drinking is the hardest bit because you have to climb a wall first; then it's hurdles. Look at it for what it is.. beer? It's rotten grain water that makes you puke and have the runs. I was heaving in the mornings, squirtin' my undies in public. Nothing about it is good.
I'm still very early in sobriety at day 41, but have experience with 6 months, and it felt great after a few months. I'm 40 yo, and don't know why I'm so old... well I do...
Don't forget. We only get ONE.
ONE LIFE.
Don't squander it.
Stopping drinking is the hardest bit because you have to climb a wall first; then it's hurdles. Look at it for what it is.. beer? It's rotten grain water that makes you puke and have the runs. I was heaving in the mornings, squirtin' my undies in public. Nothing about it is good.
I'm still very early in sobriety at day 41, but have experience with 6 months, and it felt great after a few months. I'm 40 yo, and don't know why I'm so old... well I do...
Don't forget. We only get ONE.
ONE LIFE.
Don't squander it.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 611
Learning about AVRT was what pointed me down the sober path. Peeling back the layers and exposing the addiction for what it is appealed to my technical nature, I guess. It's not a method for everyone, for sure, but for me it has been very helpful. It sounds like you're in a good space — protect it. 
No Dogma Please
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,562
Sounds like the flip switched.
You are no longer a drinker.
There's no reason to do so.
Period.
Everything else is in service to that.
Meetings are good because you realize that you're not alone. I can't do the higher power surrender thing and thus work the steps, yet I am starting meetings again.
Don't buy into any orthodoxy. Do whatever works.
Therapy helps too, you can work through the underlying reasons why you drank in the first place...pain, trauma, etc. It may or may not help with staying abstinent (for me it's crucial), but it makes a sober life even more enjoyable.
Think about how good you feel with a clear head, a purpose, clean relationships, true joy.
THAT's why I stay sober.
But you are no longer a drinker, RIGHT?!
You are no longer a drinker.
There's no reason to do so.
Period.
Everything else is in service to that.
Meetings are good because you realize that you're not alone. I can't do the higher power surrender thing and thus work the steps, yet I am starting meetings again.
Don't buy into any orthodoxy. Do whatever works.
Therapy helps too, you can work through the underlying reasons why you drank in the first place...pain, trauma, etc. It may or may not help with staying abstinent (for me it's crucial), but it makes a sober life even more enjoyable.
Think about how good you feel with a clear head, a purpose, clean relationships, true joy.
THAT's why I stay sober.
But you are no longer a drinker, RIGHT?!
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 853
Its always helped me to remember that the AV / The beast wants me dead. Nothing more nothing less.
It will lay in wait for 25 years if it needs to but its sole purpose is to kill me.
I always find remembering that puts its monkey mind chatter into perspective.
It will lay in wait for 25 years if it needs to but its sole purpose is to kill me.
I always find remembering that puts its monkey mind chatter into perspective.
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