Day 4 and my thoughts are wavering
 

I was doing well but I can feel the AV trying to get a hold on me, I need to find mental strength over the next 3 hours so I don't drink at the witching hour..

It's not so much about strength as in being prepared Red. You did the very best thing you could do though in reaching out ahead of time. What are some alternatives you can think of that might work - a good meal? Maybe a hike or a walk somewhere? A good movie or book? A nice soft drink or maybe some good coffee? There's plenty of company to be had here too.

Take a walk, do some pushups, make a cuppa tea, take a long shower, eat ice cream—anything for distraction including early bedtime and a good cry if needed. All of the above have helped me get through until it passes. You can do it!

No no no! Don't give in to the AV. :yikes: You'll regret it in the morning and will have to go thru withdrawals all over again. :( Eat something! A good meal can kill cravings. Ice cream is good for that too. :)

Hey, don't listen to that little conniver in your head. you're doing good. All the above suggestions are perfect activities to practice when craving.

Here you go, you can do all of them. Take a walk, do some push ups, take a hot shower, make a good dinner with tea or coffee, watch a movie have a cry and eat some ice cream.

A brisk walk; a good hot chocolate or a cup of soup; and an uplifting movie that leaves you smiling at the end :)
And, plan tomorrow.
((tight hug))

Without you that urge can't do anything. It has no arms or legs. It needs you to get what it wants.
You have the power :)

D

Remember why you wanted to stop. Remember why you wanted to stop. Remember why you wanted to stop.

It was a good reason then. It is a good reason today.

Remember why.

Hi,
Do you know anyone who is/was in your shoes? Perhaps talking via the phone with a friend who shares your desire to quit drinking. Do you know anybody who need some help with something? Getting our minds off ourselves & helping another is another great idea.

For me I isolated in my kitchen with my drinking. So, reaching out to others in person or on the phone WAS hard at first! But, ya know, I just really like the one on one communication . I first came here to SR when I was around 5 months sober. This group IS such a huge deal in my recovery, my day is complete once I’ve checked in here, seeing how we’re all doing.

Even so, I find I still need to be in person … with people who are like me. We really do help each out, just like we do here with our SR Family.

Just my thoughts …
🙂🙂
Bobbi

These thoughts will pass, without fail, they will pass. And tomorrow when you wake up you will be so relieved that you did not give in.

No, Red. It's a complete waste of time, and besides, it won't work. It will make things worse, tomorrow, and all the 'morrows to follow. This is the nature of the beast. Just one. Just now. Just today. And then tomorrow comes, and it's a month later. Maybe more. Maybe forever, this path.

Hold the line Red. New Zealand does not give in to the beast. You're stronger than you think.

Steely you're awesome...
I'm past most of the hump but just a little more to go. Thankfully I had enough to keep me physically for the afternoon and the rest of the evening should be ok..

And thanks guys, just reading the support here gives me strength to go another day longer..

You're awesome Red. You're doing it.

Australia and NZ are good mates, always.

Keep tramping Red. :)

The next time that SOB of an AV comes calling, try Oreo* cookies [A lot of them and the original flavor. :) ] or at least something sweet and see if that knocks your craving down.

* I'm not associated with Oreos but maybe I should be or at least have stock in them. :)

Great news getting through the cravings red 👍😃

The first week was the hardest for me. On day three, I would start climbing the walls, as both my AV and my physical body started reacting to the absence of alcohol in my system. This is indeed where a huge reservoir of mental strength is needed, But Scott and others are right. Don't sit there and dwell on NOT drinking, but distract yourself. Your AV doesn't like that because it needs to keep you engaged, and it does that by injecting thoughts of alcohol into your mind. Distract yourself, and put them out of your mind.

On day 5, it was the worst, but it was also the end of my life of drinking. It coincided with me accepting and embracing that I could never drink again, and my distraction of choice turned out to be AA meetings every night for 90 days. This is what got me through my "witching hour." And if I made it through that by being with people celebrating sobriety, I wouldn't drink that day.

Eventually, you no longer need these props. If you commit to never having another drink, you begin a new life where your AV is still in the background, but is reduced to ineffective noise that you can simply ignore.

If the AA program is not your cup of tea (it wasn't mine), you can just use the fellowship as a distraction until you get that voice in your head under control. For me, the AA program did not apply to my alcoholism, but the people were indispensable. You may find some other distraction that works better for you.

Your goal is not necessarily to become stronger but to break the cycle of addiction so that you don't have to be stronger. Good grief, if sobriety was a life of constantly engaging my AV, I never would have made it. You need to cut your AV off at the knees, and that is what happens when you break the cycle by not drinking.

You will still need to be alert, because your AV will become sneakier and more devious. When you think you are out of the woods, your AV will appear again and make you think you are well enough to drink normally. This is where many fail. When you think you are well enough to have one little drink, you are about to slip back into the nightmare of addiction. Don't fall for this.

You will have intense psychological cravings for alcohol for some time, although the good news is that they will wain. It's been your go to drug to deal with whatever you feel on a daily basis for a while so you are going to have to look at how you are going to change to adapt to life without it. I had to look at why i drank, honestly, and not the BS reasons i told myself. Turns out it was anxiety, low self esteem, bit of depression, social anxiety with a twist of despair! And also turns out that most normal people would want to get smashed if they felt like that on a daily basis, so that's what i had to change and it was hard but worth it.

You made it, Red! Now on to Day 5. You can do it- one minute, hour, day at a time. 🤗

You did great posting first.

Well done on posting first and not drinking Red!

I don’t post much anymore but I still read daily and I know we’ve been in many monthly classes together in the past.

I’m around 4 and a half months sober now and the ONLY thing that has worked for me is getting through everyday. I wasn’t an everyday drinker so I thought the whole “one day at a time” thing didn’t apply to me. Looking back I wasted 4 years being dead wrong. If I don’t think about tomorrow or next week or next year I can handle not drinking just for today. Then I wake up and do it again.

When I was getting sober for a few days or weeks I couldn’t figure out what everybody was raving about, but I never built up enough sober time to see how great life could be.

It gets so good…keep going and you’ll see for yourself!