wecoyote13

Well, I had a good run in December...posted here got to 2 weeks and then let all of the free time of the Holidays derail me. I seem to do better with a strict structure to the day...work, dinner, put kids down, read, bed, up early, work out, etc...

Since I have really struggled to get back on track...seems like the cravings hit really bad once most of the alcohol out of my system... 1 - 3 days. I'm happy / proud that I have drank about half of nights since early December...but I'm ready to be done. Finally in my life I feel ready. I'm open to meetings, I'm open to drinking ginger-beer all summer....READY!

Wife and I have a deal that I can't sleep in our bed with her if I've drank...glad we are still talking through this and being honest. Last night I just came to her and said I was sorry, I screwed up, craving got me....good news Is I didn't destroy a whole bottle...able to drink less...slept in the basement, though harder to get up than usual...body is getting used to not having so much alcohol in it.

Anyway...can't talk about it all in one post...just wanted to check in...fell off of the wagon but all is not lost...I can see the light I think. Thanks!

Rose7788

Isnt it interesting how our body starts to get more sensitive once we stop or really slow down our drinking? I find that since Im getting older the recovery time is a lot slower too. So many reasons not to pick up. Nice job!

August252015

Glad you are back. Do you have a plan for stopping for good this time?

firstymer

I am glad you are back. August252015 is right though. Wanting to quit is important. But planning HOW you are going to quit is critical. For me, a night on the couch (many nights, actually) was not enough to keep me sober.

Good luck. I am glad you are here with us.

Dee74

welcome back wecoyote

August and Firstymer raise some good points. Any ideas yet on how you'll ensure you'll stay sober?

D

Guener

I agree that you need to think about what you are going to do to stop, because sleeping on the couch and apologizing for it sounds more like a plan to allow for drinking than for quitting. I did some of that, and it just became tiresome to my partner hearing my apologies or excuses. Having "standing" alcohol in the house may be a problem for you that you will have to discuss with your wife.

What other structure are you willing to add to a plan for reinforcing your sobriety? I found the short book Living Sober to be a good introduction to what it can look like to give up the booze, and there are a number of good plans outlined here on SR you can build from in working out some ways into recovery. You can be on your way, and it sounds like you know you just need to step it up some to stay on track. You'll have everyone here to back you up.

Anna

It's good to see you back. Do you have a plan for how make sure that you stay sober? Is there something you can add to your plan?

wecoyote13

Thank you all and I love how everyone here is so direct! Its like an online intervention, and you are correct...I need a more concrete plan. I made it to bed last night "clean" as my wife is leaving on a 4 day trip and I did not want our last night to be in separate beds. one of the advantages of drinking less has been that I am tired after a "bad night"...and can focus on getting to bed the next....

Sleeping sober is still "intense"...I am sensitive to EVERYTHING...itchy (really itchy), noises, dreams, you know the drill...but 3 hours of sober sleep is better than 10 hours of drinking sleep!

regarding a "plan"...what can I add?...I need some coping skills. I feel like the cravings hit and I'm in a very small window....30 minutes...where I might screw up. I may plan the whole day around sobriety and throw it out the window in 5 seconds at 5:45 pm. Its like I can count every cell in my body that suddenly realizes its deprived of something...and I screw up.

Thank you all for asking direct questions... Guener I love books and just ordered "Living Sober" ...thank you for the suggestion.... just finished "Alcohol Lied to Me" by Craig Beck...i'd recommend it for supplemental reading.

Dee74

This a great link on the kind of things you might add to your recovery action plan

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...very-plan.html (What exactly is a recovery plan?)

Delilah1

Welcome back! The link Dee shared is a great one, and so is posting and reading on this website. You should check out the 24 hour thread, and the January of 2019 class, you'll find lots of support on both.