Fearlessat50

Since quitting drinking or trying to quit, has anyone here found themselves going to other addictions? I have struggled with excessive spending/shopping, trying pot, over exercising, too much chocolate, etc. it’s like I’m searching outside myself for what will make me happy. I need to work on this! I think I’m going to join a yoga class this week and try to meditate more as well.

Anna

I think that being aware, as you are, is so important. I, too, tend to have an addictive personality. I'm sure that yoga and meditation with help you a lot. I like to journal too, though I don't stick with it all the time.

DreamCatcher17

I also have an addictive personality. I believe it was with in the first 3 months of sobriety I went to the casino and gambled A LOT of money, off a credit card to be more specific, that was stupid and I now look at gambling like I do alcohol, not for me.
I have had issues with food for a while, I did use it as comfort and sometimes I still do, this is a struggle for me. I succeed some weeks while others I fail.
Shopping, YES, I have always had a problem with money burning a hole in my pocket, I should use the same approach for shopping as I do alchol, it would get me out of debt quicker. I just purchased a vitamix blender, they are not cheap, well I already have 2 at home. BUT this one, this one can do magical things, lol. SO since I bought it I have decided to try a plant based diet for a month mainly smoothies. I guess if I am going to buy something like that I better make a healthy choice with it.
So, I have decided to remove my Amazon CC from amazon and shred the damn thing, if I don't have the cash, I don't get it.
There are other little things I see myself doing now that I am sober, I think Anna is totally right, recognizing these things are step 1. Dealing with them is next so it doesn't bite (me personally) in the butt.
Small changes can lead to great results (I am not talking about alcohol, that had to go straight away, just done)

I hope you are able to get everything manageable

Have a blessed day,
DC

Dee74

I think a lot of us get used to immediate gratification as addicts and often we subsciously look for that same sensation in other things - be it other addictive substances, obsessions, gambling, food, buying guitars or whatever.

Although it was not easy for me to give up drinking or weed , it was a lot easier to do that than it was to look at the reasons why I'm prone to addictive behaviour.

I am the problem.

Alcohol and weed weren't my problem, they were my ill fated solutions.

The good news is if we;re aware of the problem we can do something about it

D

Nonsensical

It's not like this.

It's exactly this!

I like your proposed solutions - meditation and yoga. I eschewed meditating for 5 decades. I don't need none of that foreign-hippie crap!
Now I regret not getting into it sooner!
Haven't tried yoga yet, but I have a one-on-one scheduled with an instructor at the end of the month.

Get after it!

AAPJ

IMO cross addiction is pretty common. I know a guy in AA who has over 25 years sober from alcohol. But he goes out and gambles for 24 hours straight at the casinos. Wonders why his wife is so pissed off. I'm not going to tell him he has a problem because in his mind he's the experienced old timer and I'm a new comer. To me it's most important for me to take care of me and I do recognize that alcohol/food/drugs/sex/gambling/spending too much money on crap I don't need are all possible triggers. The most common cross addiction I have observed at AA meetings is sugar. There are a lot of old timers with many years of sobriety from alcohol who are complete sugar addicts. They suck down donuts/cookies/soda at every opportunity. They are often significantly overweight and suffer from diabetes. But my guess is that compared to the consequences of their former alcohol use they are better off.

Rar

Yes - most definitely. I am currently using food and sparkling beverages. I drink maybe 10 or more sparkling beverages per day, much like how I used to drink beer. I also eat. At night when I'm in bed reading, I'll take a whole package of cookies or chips with me and frequently eat them all. Fortunately I'm not overweight (yet), though I have gained almost 10 lbs since my foot surgery.

Oddly enough, when I was drinking, I never felt the urge to keep eating until all the cookies (ice cream, chips, etc.) were gone. I guess I just kept drinking until that was gone.

lessgravity

The Self remains.

Yes I find that I am rounding out 3 months since my last drink and feeling some major self-sabotage habits still rear their ugly heads - mainly procrastination.

I think there's an injury many of us carry - wherever it came from, that makes us seek avoidance - alcohol is the surest and most immediate cure for dealing with the present moment. Though, as we all come to learn, nothing is truly avoided. And that which you have been running from lays in wait.

Yikes, kinda dark. But I'm at work this morning, sober as I can be, and still struggling with my Self.

FreeOwl

For me it’s caffeine and sugar. I’m working on it but it’s sometomes a struggle.

I’d prefer to get addicted to exercise - but have strUggled to recapture the momentum and discipline needed to sustain that addiction. Overall I’m far happier to deal with those than with drugs and alcohol - but it’s still a space I want to improve and is probably an indicator of sobriety depth I still need.

entropy1964

Oh for sure. I'm very human.

I also live in a society where I am told to buy this, marry that, have this job, own that house, purchase this car, eat this food, have this many friends etc and THEN I'll be happy. Follow this, do that, look like this....yadda yadda yadda.

Happiness is an endless pursuit. It is a feeling and will pass, like all other feelings. If I'm content I'm good. I can be sad and content...not mutually exclusive. And sadness passes too. My abstinence is not contingent on any feeling, state or reaching some elusive goal. Abstinence is just a thing in and of itself.

But yeah, human here. So I just try to own my stuff and hope that it doesn't own me....all the time!

MissPerfumado

Things I am addicted to now I'm sober:

Exercise, but not just exercise. Exercise to a goal.

Lists, crossing things off lists. Achievements, not necessarily meaningful ones. Compartmentalising parts of my life in my head and satisfying myself that everything is in order in each compartment.

All of that gives me a feeling of inner comfort and assurance. If everything is falling down around me, give me a to-do list and I will be just fine.

When I first got sober, I had some kind of weird OCD thing going for a few weeks. I had to do my chores immediately and perfectly. I once kept a friend waiting who came round to go out for dinner, while I folded my laundry and put it away.

mirrorball

Yup.

I used to be seriously addicted to sugar /junk food although have recently knocked that one on the head.

My other addiction is shopping/internet shopping although I'm trying harder to be sensible, not easy now it is summer sale time!

Hoping that I can use the skills from dealing with my primary addiction with my other ones.

FreeOwl

thanks for sharing.... these are good tips. Trying to retain my 'motivation' to exercise has been a pretty fruitless thing for some time now. It's odd how when I was drinking I ran and worked out a lot more regularly. Maybe it was partially being single and having a lot more time and one less child. But also, maybe it was a sense of guilt driving me to exercise the booze and the shame 'away'.....

In any case, maybe part of my problem is just not setting the goals.... instead of saying "I need to get in shape" or "I need to start running again"..... GOALs that are specific might help... same with lists.

I lack discipline. And in that space of non-discipline there's plenty of room to meander and to fall susceptible to addictions like eating too much sugar.....

anyway, appreciate it....

MissPerfumado

Thanks Freeowl!

I was actually trying to be a bit self-deprecating but I think it came off like a humble-brag instead.

I say I'm addicted to setting goals because having something to work towards makes me feel good. Without having measurable goals in various areas of my life, I feel empty, rudderless and just sad and useless.

In everyday life, I have to make sure this doesn't get out of hand. Drinking was a way of numbing the dissatisfaction I felt working mindlessly towards materialistic goals I'd set for myself. With sobriety I had to find meaningful goals and that took more than a year of hard inner work - on top of a year of working on sobriety.

But when it comes to exercise, I am grateful for having that sense of drive.

So I think on balance, having an addiction to goal-setting is a good thing and I do commend to you setting goals for exercise.

Rar

I did not find your post to be a humble brag. It was very motivating to me. I must to do the same thing for myself. My creeping weight gain has got me down and I'm impressed at your dedication and perseverance toward your goals.

Porcetta

Do you think some people on here class attending 'recovery method meetings as swappingbone for another ?

Fearlessat50

Yes to all of this! Thanks everyone. There is great insight here and I feel connected to all of you ��

Dee74

no I don't.
I see addiction as a subtractive thing - it depleted me.

Working on my recovery adds to me and my life.

I believe this is true whatever method people use.

Look, I spent maybe the first year here being,if not an anti AA ninja, certainly someone who agitated AAers a lot.

It said a lot about me then that I liked doing that.

It also said a lot about me and my securities and fears.
Focusing on external things meant I didn't have to focus on the internal.

I got over it

Today I know for sure that if anyone puts more energy into focusing on what works for them rather than what doesn't, they'll get farther faster.

D

teatreeoil007

There are innumerable types of addictions a person could develop, so it's not inconceivable one would substitute one for another.

Dahlia2017

I feel you 100%. I was overweight. Completely addicted to eating. Had gastric bypass, and my marriage went South. Turns out, my ex husband is only attracted to big girls. Got put on benzos, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants. Got a very unhealthy addiction to the benzos, and they ruined my life. After 4 years, I finally kicked the benzos, but as I tapered my dose, I started to drink to curb the withdrawal symptoms. Now I'm addicted to alcohol. And as i type this, on my third day of not drinking in a very long time, I'm on my third pack of fruit snacks in 30 minutes.

I'm trying to find more positive things to get involved in. Trying to take it one day at a time. I wish you the best!