Itstime4321

Hello everyone.

I am a day off a month sober and I'm mostly happy. My life is a lot better than a month ago, no doubt. Or at least, it is better than it would have been under the same circumstances.

Tonight though, has been painful. I want to drink so badly I can't sleep, I've been awake all night. Work for me starts in under four hours. I know I can do it, I worked hungover enough times to know how to push through. But... I am having a tough time right now.

I'm gonna try and have a nap, but any and all encouragement, or even advice on how to deal with a day at work without much sleep, is appreciated.

No matter how much today sucks, I'm not drinking. Tomorrow is a month. I'll quit my job before I quit that.

4321 out x

calmself

First off, congrats on completing 30 days of sobriety! Your drinking pangs are just the alcohol trained neurons trying to keep themselves alive by giving you a hard time. Believe me they go away with time - the random cravings are small pop ups that come and go. They are harmless unless you indulge them.

I have seen that the work day is much easier after a good night's rest than after a hot, sweaty, guilt ridden, disturbed sleep after drinking. Set yourself something to look forward to after work and you will have more enthusiasm - e.g: a nice movie, a great dinner etc. Take it easy!

Dee74

some nights are not great and neither are some days - but I'd take those over bad weeks months and years
Hope you feel better tomorrow - 30 days is great Itstime4321

D

Hodd

Quitting was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Some evenings were a long catalogue of anxiety, boredom and craving. You’re showing huge willpower and strength, itstime, so give yourself several pats on the back.

No need to quit your job. Give it a few more weeks and you’ll start feeling a lot better. It’s all normal and you’re doing great.

D122y

Since I quit being a fat lazy drunk I found that I can go 24 hours with little or no sleep.

When I first quit drinking, I would have tons of trouble sleeping. I tried everything, except melatonin, to sleep.

Now I usually cycle between 6 to 7 hours. I also take a nap almost daily for about 30 minutes.

Napping was huge in early sobriety. Still a pretty big deal.

My job used to have me getting up for work at midnight periodically. Even with 12 hours notice, which is all my job is required to give, it was impossible to get enough sleep. The stress of "needing to fall asleep" is counter to falling asleep.

The next day, I would nap all day to get caught up. I learned somewhere that laying quietly is 80% as restful as sleeping. So in 10 hours, even if I don't sleep a wink, I get 8 hours of rest. Knowing this is relaxing to me and then here and there, I would doze off

Reading SR, with the blue light filter on, helps me fall asleep when I wake up at 130 am (like now).

Thanks.

Introvrtd1

Hi Itsme...

I have those nights where I go to bed exhausted but wake up a few hours later, wide awake, anxious, hot, agitated, restless....all the things I’ve felt during the first 96 hours...

74 days today and with me still being in early sobriety, things are still gonna be a bit haywire on occasion....Not as bad as before but enough to be annoying....Sort of a low level simmer...

Hang in there....(I should follow my own advice)....things do improve with time.

brighterday1234

Congratulations on 30 days sober!

nez

Pushing through is never easy whether drunk or sober, but I have discovered the after is way better when I push through sober.

advbike

Hang in there Itstime! Congrats on 30 days! I find certain milestones trigger my AV. Just push through.

You can do this!

Anna

It's really hard, in the middle of the night and you can't sleep, knowing that work looms very soon. My experience is that the more I worry about it, the worse it gets. Ironically, if I try to not focus on it, I will generally do better. And, of course, that's not easy. I hope you have a good day today.

Itstime4321

Thank you everyone for your kind and helpful words, I got a little sleep, couple of hours, and have nearly pushed through now. My cravings aren't nearly so bad as they were in the very early morning, so I'll be fine. Month down at midnight!

kinzoku

Good for you, sometimes at the start we need to use our force of will. If it becomes a habit that you have nights like this, look at some new patterns / relationships / habits that can help. Well done!

CBS62

Congrats on a month! I am 3 months AF tomorrow. I struggled with insomnia when I began tapering down my wine consumption in September and still struggle now but it is definitely better! Usually after a poor night's sleep I fall asleep more easily the next night and get some good rest. They say if you are tossing and turning to get up and do something quiet outside of your bedroom until you start to feel sleepy. I usually read in bed so I don't follow that rule. But generally the further you get from your last drink the better you will sleep. Be patient.

january161992

grats on 1 month thats huge!

heres a chip for you

Steely

And the thing is it really does pass.

So, happy tomorrow.

LoveDD

Glad you made it through It’sTime! I know it was probably difficult but probably still better then pushing through a workday miserable hungover and in withdrawal! I’ve done that way too many times to count and it was horrible everytime! Congratulations on one month! Keep going!

Itstime4321

Thank you! And to everyone else too. I'm not always sure what to respond, but I do appreciate everyone's responses.

fishkiller

You're doing great. It gets easier with time.
Have faith in that as you push on.