Holistic Thread - Sleep and Nutrition
voices ca**y
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: St. Paul Minnesota
Posts: 4,360
Originally Posted by advbike 
I eat about 200g of carbs a day.. oops! But that's mostly whole grain bread and oatmeal.
Made lasagna and made a little pan for myself with zucchini noodles and spinach.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 173
Originally Posted by silentrun
I love oatmeal and whole grain bread but it triggers me to overeat. I can feel my body heat up when I eat it. I have some hemp hearts that don't trigger.
Made lasagna and made a little pan for myself with zucchini noodles and spinach.
Made lasagna and made a little pan for myself with zucchini noodles and spinach.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,020
Thanks for the thread! Sugar is my downfall lately. Several years ago, I lost my sweet tooth, I was under a lot of stress at the time but I was also 20 pounds lighter and running for stress relief. I’ve been trying to increase my daily activity and do some formal exercises as well.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Litchfield, SC
Posts: 585
Easy Does It?
[posted in Class Thread and copied here]
Looks like no one's posted in a bit...? Ah well. Good time for me.
Yesterday was the first day--78 days now--I did not go to AA or go the gym. I've been spending the days putting out various fires, half the day trying to chase down various medical providers, and late afternoons and evenings at the gym and AA. Yesterday I was on the road for 3 hours and in the dentist chair, and at around 7 p.m. I said it, that's it. I'm taking it easy tonight. Took an Epsom salt bath, picked up a couple of gourmet pizzas, and watched The Shield. Then I went to bed 2 hours earlier than normal.
I slept 12 hours. That I had a drinking dream mattered none. It was just a dream. I'm not drinking today. And I'm not sure there's anything--OK, maybe a back transplant--I needed more than 12 hours of sleep.
It is a misconception that all drunks are irresponsible and lazy. To be sure, our drinking severely impacted our responsibilities and drive. But many of us are conscientious and driven to a fault.
I have posted about not being able to take it easy and how some old-timers in AA talked to me about it. One, 37 years sober (I was a junior in high school), said, simply, "There's no other way except, just take it easy."
Simple, not easy.
We are, regardless of worldview, under constant assault these days. The challenges, stress, problems, are relentless, unending. My dentist--a Veteran like me--discussed my teeth grinding (of which I was unaware) and shared it was epidemic these days, as were patients who, caught up in the vicious cycle of preventative care being pushed back or foregone entirely due to Covid, had the additional stress of a $200 filling becoming a $5000 restoration. How many people these days even have dental insurance and, if they do, have outrageous co-pays?
Which bring me to...let's just say I will be posting this in the Holistic Thread. If recovery not just from alcoholism (and its precursor traits) weren't hard enough, now we have to do it in a world in which we feel under constant assault. If you don't agree, I'll just say "many of us," and if you still don't agree, I'll offer the very dubious proposition it's just me. In my case, I've felt under constant assault since 9/11.
We talk about triggers, dangerous places and people, and have long, minutiae-filled discussions about "near beer" and angst-filled potential situations in which we wonder (why?) if just saying "no, thanks" is enough. Again, maybe not all of us, but enough to fuel many threads here from across the globe.
But what about...just living? The suicide rate for psychiatrists is way above the gen pop. My own clinical psych told me "We [mental health professionals] suck at taking care of own mental health." My own sponsor--in AA since 1986, currently sober 13 years--not only went back out after 10 years at one point, he was also one of those counselors who found himself as a return patient.
Tell ya what, folks--I can go the gym 8 hours a day, go to 3 AA meetings a day, spend the rest of my time here or sleeping...but it will not address how to take it easy.
As long as the Holistic thread holds up, I'm going to make that a regular topic. For all the discipline, sacrifice, and routine (monotony?) necessary in so many facets of healthy living...people like me struggle to maintain a healthy balance. Why aren't I meditating? Because we tend to focus on what we're good and comfortable with. I've never actually tried meditating, other than the check-the-box clinical setting. How many times have we heard that the definition of good mental health is being able to sit alone in a room quietly? Who's really tried it? How many people can even leave their phone behind?
As I write this...I notice the time and immediately That Voice--I swear it's a cousin of the AV--starts up, whoa it's past 3:00. Shouldn't I be in the gym? Can I get 3 hours in before the [AA] meeting tonight? I skipped [skipped? First day off since August 29th] yesterday, so...
So what? So what is, the same kind of grinding, obsessive, drive-to-burnout thinking that led to "I can't take this ---- one more second, I am sinking myself into a double Patron shot with a beer chaser, repeat as needed."
What do we do to live healthy and balanced, and avoid that point? Easy does it, but do it.
How do we be kind to ourselves (while trying to lose 50 pounds and stay sober, e.g.)?
OK, your serve. Namaste. SS
Looks like no one's posted in a bit...? Ah well. Good time for me.
Yesterday was the first day--78 days now--I did not go to AA or go the gym. I've been spending the days putting out various fires, half the day trying to chase down various medical providers, and late afternoons and evenings at the gym and AA. Yesterday I was on the road for 3 hours and in the dentist chair, and at around 7 p.m. I said it, that's it. I'm taking it easy tonight. Took an Epsom salt bath, picked up a couple of gourmet pizzas, and watched The Shield. Then I went to bed 2 hours earlier than normal.
I slept 12 hours. That I had a drinking dream mattered none. It was just a dream. I'm not drinking today. And I'm not sure there's anything--OK, maybe a back transplant--I needed more than 12 hours of sleep.
It is a misconception that all drunks are irresponsible and lazy. To be sure, our drinking severely impacted our responsibilities and drive. But many of us are conscientious and driven to a fault.
I have posted about not being able to take it easy and how some old-timers in AA talked to me about it. One, 37 years sober (I was a junior in high school), said, simply, "There's no other way except, just take it easy."
Simple, not easy.
We are, regardless of worldview, under constant assault these days. The challenges, stress, problems, are relentless, unending. My dentist--a Veteran like me--discussed my teeth grinding (of which I was unaware) and shared it was epidemic these days, as were patients who, caught up in the vicious cycle of preventative care being pushed back or foregone entirely due to Covid, had the additional stress of a $200 filling becoming a $5000 restoration. How many people these days even have dental insurance and, if they do, have outrageous co-pays?
Which bring me to...let's just say I will be posting this in the Holistic Thread. If recovery not just from alcoholism (and its precursor traits) weren't hard enough, now we have to do it in a world in which we feel under constant assault. If you don't agree, I'll just say "many of us," and if you still don't agree, I'll offer the very dubious proposition it's just me. In my case, I've felt under constant assault since 9/11.
We talk about triggers, dangerous places and people, and have long, minutiae-filled discussions about "near beer" and angst-filled potential situations in which we wonder (why?) if just saying "no, thanks" is enough. Again, maybe not all of us, but enough to fuel many threads here from across the globe.
But what about...just living? The suicide rate for psychiatrists is way above the gen pop. My own clinical psych told me "We [mental health professionals] suck at taking care of own mental health." My own sponsor--in AA since 1986, currently sober 13 years--not only went back out after 10 years at one point, he was also one of those counselors who found himself as a return patient.
Tell ya what, folks--I can go the gym 8 hours a day, go to 3 AA meetings a day, spend the rest of my time here or sleeping...but it will not address how to take it easy.
As long as the Holistic thread holds up, I'm going to make that a regular topic. For all the discipline, sacrifice, and routine (monotony?) necessary in so many facets of healthy living...people like me struggle to maintain a healthy balance. Why aren't I meditating? Because we tend to focus on what we're good and comfortable with. I've never actually tried meditating, other than the check-the-box clinical setting. How many times have we heard that the definition of good mental health is being able to sit alone in a room quietly? Who's really tried it? How many people can even leave their phone behind?
As I write this...I notice the time and immediately That Voice--I swear it's a cousin of the AV--starts up, whoa it's past 3:00. Shouldn't I be in the gym? Can I get 3 hours in before the [AA] meeting tonight? I skipped [skipped? First day off since August 29th] yesterday, so...
So what? So what is, the same kind of grinding, obsessive, drive-to-burnout thinking that led to "I can't take this ---- one more second, I am sinking myself into a double Patron shot with a beer chaser, repeat as needed."
What do we do to live healthy and balanced, and avoid that point? Easy does it, but do it.
How do we be kind to ourselves (while trying to lose 50 pounds and stay sober, e.g.)?
OK, your serve. Namaste. SS
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Sonoran Desert & Southeast Asia
Posts: 6,561
Man, I agree.. it is a constant assault on many levels, and technology/social media is really amplifying the already dangerous trends. The world is becoming more unequal and unfair again, especially for the least fortunate.
I have a few strategies that help keep me sane and positive, and it starts with taking care of myself, but extends outward:
- my daily practice of gratitude (am/pm) makes a huge difference in overall well-being. There is still so much to be thankful for.
- a lot of cardio that releases endorphins (hiking the canyons and hard road cycling a few times a week). For fitness/sleep/burns calories.
- eating healthy as best I can, not drinking, trying to control my sugar/carb intake. All of this is to promote wellness and reduce disease.
- limit news, and no social media at all, as it exacerbates differences and anything that is using selective algorithms is not acceptable to me.
- helping others - financially to family and causes I believe in, volunteer work, posting on SR. Helps me feel like I'm making a difference.
- trying not to be judgemental of others who seem crazy in their behaviors but whom I know are good people at heart. There are many here.
- along those lines, I am a good neighbor. I help others (regardless of their outlook/politics) and do service in my neighborhood monthly.
- keep engaged with my hobbies of outdoors activities, photography and travel, even if actual opportunities are somewhat limited right now.
I have a few strategies that help keep me sane and positive, and it starts with taking care of myself, but extends outward:
- my daily practice of gratitude (am/pm) makes a huge difference in overall well-being. There is still so much to be thankful for.
- a lot of cardio that releases endorphins (hiking the canyons and hard road cycling a few times a week). For fitness/sleep/burns calories.
- eating healthy as best I can, not drinking, trying to control my sugar/carb intake. All of this is to promote wellness and reduce disease.
- limit news, and no social media at all, as it exacerbates differences and anything that is using selective algorithms is not acceptable to me.
- helping others - financially to family and causes I believe in, volunteer work, posting on SR. Helps me feel like I'm making a difference.
- trying not to be judgemental of others who seem crazy in their behaviors but whom I know are good people at heart. There are many here.
- along those lines, I am a good neighbor. I help others (regardless of their outlook/politics) and do service in my neighborhood monthly.
- keep engaged with my hobbies of outdoors activities, photography and travel, even if actual opportunities are somewhat limited right now.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: East Coast US
Posts: 1,831
Great post, SS. Thank you!
If I’m not running around cleaning, decluttering, making lists, planning stuff, etc, it is unusual. Seems that’s all I do.. I feel guilty just sitting down and reading a book.
I definitely need to take more time for myself and do more healthier stuff. Work out, walk more.
That said, we are trying the intermittent fasting thing the past few days. It’s hard, but doable so far.
If I’m not running around cleaning, decluttering, making lists, planning stuff, etc, it is unusual. Seems that’s all I do.. I feel guilty just sitting down and reading a book.
I definitely need to take more time for myself and do more healthier stuff. Work out, walk more.
That said, we are trying the intermittent fasting thing the past few days. It’s hard, but doable so far.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 604
Love this thread!
Re: back pain. For years my back would go out. I tried chiropractors and doctors. Never been a pain pill person, even Tylenol (creates more liver issues). But somewhere someone told me about this website and it is like magic how it straightens me out. I am older, live in the PNW and we have ice or snow in the winters. Even slipping on ice and NOT falling can tweak my back. I recommend these exercises if you have a back that goes out. All you need is a floor
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recove...g-program-pdf/
Re: back pain. For years my back would go out. I tried chiropractors and doctors. Never been a pain pill person, even Tylenol (creates more liver issues). But somewhere someone told me about this website and it is like magic how it straightens me out. I am older, live in the PNW and we have ice or snow in the winters. Even slipping on ice and NOT falling can tweak my back. I recommend these exercises if you have a back that goes out. All you need is a floor
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recove...g-program-pdf/
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 604
Sleeping is my nemesis. My doctor will not prescribe anything to take other than recommend OTC. They fog my mind, even the melatonin does. So if I get 5 or six hours undisturbed sleep I feel refreshed. I used to sleep like a baby before I lost my good hormones from menopause. I read that some older adults suffer from poor sleep no matter whether they drink or are on medications. Being outside in nature each day helps a lot, mostly to exercise (mostly walking) and refreshes me mentally. I do not drink coffee anymore and don't miss it. I will brew an herbal tea particularly the "sleepy time" varieties such as chamomile, or ones with valerian root.
GERD got to be a problem right before I hit the wall with my drinking. I was scaring myself with how much I was drinking at the end. I worked for public agencies my whole adult life and didn't really abuse alcohol or have it in the home, but it was after I retired in 2014 after the death of a grandson. After being involved in my daughter's troubles with her own using, my mind would race when I was awake and I used alcohol to quiet the worries (of course, like that would solve anything) so it hasn't been that long that I drank alcoholically but I know I have done damage to my body.
I developed high blood pressure and started taking HCTZ (a water pill). I have now developed a sensitivity to that and have begun tapering off. Maybe it's partly from getting older but as we age we tend to be less tolerant of a lot of things. Caffeine, sugar, flour/bread. I have to admit I cannot eat much of anything that has a marinara sauce (causes heartburn yet fresh tomatoes don't), breads started giving me GERD. Dairy has always been tricky for me digestive-wise. Since tweaking my diet, I have lost 20 pounds without feeling deprived. I've always tried to listen to my body. I haven't had fast food for months now, cannot tolerate fried foods. With my age and abuse of alcohol, my cholesterol has shot up. My Dr wanted me to take a statin but I read the side effects and felt I would try to clean up my diet with the alcohol being the biggest culprit of my health issues. I still treat myself to a baked potato with butter, sour cream and chives once or twice a month.
There is so much more I can be doing to focus on my well being, this thread has been a nice reminder of various other alternatives that have helped others. Thank you for sharing and putting a great deal of thought and time into sharing -- all of you. SR is one of the tools I use to keep me focused on doing better. It's never too late to go forward on a healthier lifestyle path.
GERD got to be a problem right before I hit the wall with my drinking. I was scaring myself with how much I was drinking at the end. I worked for public agencies my whole adult life and didn't really abuse alcohol or have it in the home, but it was after I retired in 2014 after the death of a grandson. After being involved in my daughter's troubles with her own using, my mind would race when I was awake and I used alcohol to quiet the worries (of course, like that would solve anything) so it hasn't been that long that I drank alcoholically but I know I have done damage to my body.
I developed high blood pressure and started taking HCTZ (a water pill). I have now developed a sensitivity to that and have begun tapering off. Maybe it's partly from getting older but as we age we tend to be less tolerant of a lot of things. Caffeine, sugar, flour/bread. I have to admit I cannot eat much of anything that has a marinara sauce (causes heartburn yet fresh tomatoes don't), breads started giving me GERD. Dairy has always been tricky for me digestive-wise. Since tweaking my diet, I have lost 20 pounds without feeling deprived. I've always tried to listen to my body. I haven't had fast food for months now, cannot tolerate fried foods. With my age and abuse of alcohol, my cholesterol has shot up. My Dr wanted me to take a statin but I read the side effects and felt I would try to clean up my diet with the alcohol being the biggest culprit of my health issues. I still treat myself to a baked potato with butter, sour cream and chives once or twice a month.
There is so much more I can be doing to focus on my well being, this thread has been a nice reminder of various other alternatives that have helped others. Thank you for sharing and putting a great deal of thought and time into sharing -- all of you. SR is one of the tools I use to keep me focused on doing better. It's never too late to go forward on a healthier lifestyle path.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Sonoran Desert & Southeast Asia
Posts: 6,561
Originally Posted by advbike
- trying not to be judgemental of others who seem crazy in their behaviors but whom I know are good people at heart. There are many here where I live.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Litchfield, SC
Posts: 585
others who seem crazy in their behaviors but whom I know are good people at heart.
Thanks, AB, but sounds like many alcoholics I've ever encountered (myself included)! 🤪
In all seriousness, your tips much appreciated...
I have a few strategies that help keep me sane and positive, and it starts with taking care of myself, but extends outward:
- my daily practice of gratitude (am/pm) makes a huge difference in overall well-being. There is still so much to be thankful for.
- a lot of cardio that releases endorphins (hiking the canyons and hard road cycling a few times a week). For fitness/sleep/burns calories.
- eating healthy as best I can, not drinking, trying to control my sugar/carb intake. All of this is to promote wellness and reduce disease.
- limit news, and no social media at all, as it exacerbates differences and anything that is using selective algorithms is not acceptable to me.
- helping others - financially to family and causes I believe in, volunteer work, posting on SR. Helps me feel like I'm making a difference.
- trying not to be judgemental of others who seem crazy in their behaviors but whom I know are good people at heart. There are many here.
- along those lines, I am a good neighbor. I help others (regardless of their outlook/politics) and do service in my neighborhood monthly.
- keep engaged with my hobbies of outdoors activities, photography and travel, even if actual opportunities are somewhat limited right now.
Thanks, AB, but sounds like many alcoholics I've ever encountered (myself included)! 🤪
In all seriousness, your tips much appreciated...
I have a few strategies that help keep me sane and positive, and it starts with taking care of myself, but extends outward:
- my daily practice of gratitude (am/pm) makes a huge difference in overall well-being. There is still so much to be thankful for.
- a lot of cardio that releases endorphins (hiking the canyons and hard road cycling a few times a week). For fitness/sleep/burns calories.
- eating healthy as best I can, not drinking, trying to control my sugar/carb intake. All of this is to promote wellness and reduce disease.
- limit news, and no social media at all, as it exacerbates differences and anything that is using selective algorithms is not acceptable to me.
- helping others - financially to family and causes I believe in, volunteer work, posting on SR. Helps me feel like I'm making a difference.
- trying not to be judgemental of others who seem crazy in their behaviors but whom I know are good people at heart. There are many here.
- along those lines, I am a good neighbor. I help others (regardless of their outlook/politics) and do service in my neighborhood monthly.
- keep engaged with my hobbies of outdoors activities, photography and travel, even if actual opportunities are somewhat limited right now.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Litchfield, SC
Posts: 585
Thanks, LS, and welcome to the thread. This thread may be in its nascent stages but I do know you touch on many things that are of interest.
I've eaten clean for a long time and my cholesterol is 136. But check this out: the only thing that stuck out like a sore thumb in my labs were my triglycerides. From last October (when I was drinking) to this (when I'd been sober ~7 weeks)...I cut my tri's by 2/3. Even my primary VA (not exactly a fountain of good cheer and conversation) was impressed.
Let's RP this:
So if I get 5 or six hours undisturbed sleep I feel refreshed. I used to sleep like a baby before I lost my good hormones from menopause. I read that some older adults suffer from poor sleep no matter whether they drink or are on medications. Being outside in nature each day helps a lot, mostly to exercise (mostly walking) and refreshes me mentally. I do not drink coffee anymore and don't miss it. I will brew an herbal tea particularly the "sleepy time" varieties such as chamomile, or ones with valerian root.
Anyone else want to weigh in? Let's remember the Serenity Prayer and apply it: what can we change, and what are things we must accept as we get older?
I've eaten clean for a long time and my cholesterol is 136. But check this out: the only thing that stuck out like a sore thumb in my labs were my triglycerides. From last October (when I was drinking) to this (when I'd been sober ~7 weeks)...I cut my tri's by 2/3. Even my primary VA (not exactly a fountain of good cheer and conversation) was impressed.
Let's RP this:
So if I get 5 or six hours undisturbed sleep I feel refreshed. I used to sleep like a baby before I lost my good hormones from menopause. I read that some older adults suffer from poor sleep no matter whether they drink or are on medications. Being outside in nature each day helps a lot, mostly to exercise (mostly walking) and refreshes me mentally. I do not drink coffee anymore and don't miss it. I will brew an herbal tea particularly the "sleepy time" varieties such as chamomile, or ones with valerian root.
Anyone else want to weigh in? Let's remember the Serenity Prayer and apply it: what can we change, and what are things we must accept as we get older?
Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Where I’ve longed to be all my life…..here, now.
Posts: 7,339
To oblige a request, I’m a foodie, LOVE good food.
Made this for breakfast:
Sauteed onion, mushrooms and tomato in evoo, over whole grain toast (Dave’s killer bread ), topped with a basted egg. Uncured nitrate free bacon on side not in pic 😎🧅🍳🍞🫒
Made this for breakfast:
Sauteed onion, mushrooms and tomato in evoo, over whole grain toast (Dave’s killer bread ), topped with a basted egg. Uncured nitrate free bacon on side not in pic 😎🧅🍳🍞🫒
Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Where I’ve longed to be all my life…..here, now.
Posts: 7,339
Today made organic wild blueberry muffins
Yummy!
These were made with sour cream. Works just as well and less fat with Chobani nonfat plain yogurt. PM me if you want recipe.
Yummy!
These were made with sour cream. Works just as well and less fat with Chobani nonfat plain yogurt. PM me if you want recipe.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Litchfield, SC
Posts: 585
Sober = Results
OK folks--one thing this thread is not is a chronicle of my journey. So far, it's been what I have been hoping for--an eclectic depository of discussions, tips and experiences on all things health related (which for the purposes of brevity and relation to sobriety we're calling Holistic). If you scroll through the thread, in a very short time we have discussed all kinds of useful things from keto to IF to sleep hygiene to GERD to cardio to recipes to coffee substitutes to back pain.
That being said, on Day 80 today I weighed in with a 25-pound weight loss (while gaining 5 lbs lean muscle).
I bring this up for one reason: that's what's possible quitting drinking and doing something with that miracle. For almost 3 years, even eating clean, working out 5+ days a week, going "on the wagon" for weeks at a time, I was getting worse, not better, because drinking sabotaged everything I was doing. [no exaggeration: if I didn't eat clean and work out, I'd have been over 300 lbs and either dead or on my way there]
It is my sincere hope and wish that we can make this thread into a resource and testament what is possible through sobriety and putting it to use. As the 9th Step Promises has it:
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
best, SS
That being said, on Day 80 today I weighed in with a 25-pound weight loss (while gaining 5 lbs lean muscle).
I bring this up for one reason: that's what's possible quitting drinking and doing something with that miracle. For almost 3 years, even eating clean, working out 5+ days a week, going "on the wagon" for weeks at a time, I was getting worse, not better, because drinking sabotaged everything I was doing. [no exaggeration: if I didn't eat clean and work out, I'd have been over 300 lbs and either dead or on my way there]
It is my sincere hope and wish that we can make this thread into a resource and testament what is possible through sobriety and putting it to use. As the 9th Step Promises has it:
If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.
best, SS
Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 81
PTSD inspired night terrors and nightmares (from surviving rape and physical/sexual assault) became a problem again for me during COVID....but I was also drinking a bottle of wine nearly every night. My Dr. also prescribed Prazosin, which I had to stop drinking to take, and so I quit taking it of course.
Now in sobriety, I suffered terrible insomnia from Day 1 until 30 days or so, and finally I was able to fall asleep naturally. I am now sleeping well at Day 72. To my knowledge I have had only two of the same nightmares in sobriety, and neither are terrors of being raped or assaulted. When they occurred I just wake myself up and snuggle with one of my kitties for comfort before falling back asleep.
For me it is really important that I am physically and mentally challenged everyday or it is difficult for my body to calm down and rest, and my mind to turn off. While I was unemployed I would make sure to exercise aerobically for at least 35 minutes a day. Walking several miles is not enough for my body to tire. I also need to figure things out mentally, learn something new, or attempt a challenging mental task in order for my mind to let go. My new job is both physically and mentally challenging, so this is really a win-win for good sleep hygiene, although I do have work dreams sometimes!
I also love clean sheets/bedding washed and dried right before bed. I have purchased favorite, soft flannel PJ's and a cozy blanket to snuggle with. I put on lavender hand lotion before bed. I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, although this is still a work in progress.
I also get up around 1/3:00 am occasionally and a light snack helps me return to sleep.
Melatonin gummies help when I cannot get my mind to let go of work stuff.
Most of all, being patient of the process of instilling and maintaining healthy habits. A soft approach is better for us sober folks!
Oh, and I would like to share that although I do still experience PTSD triggers in waking life, they do not overwhelm me the same way they did while I was drinking. I have the memories, but I also have coping skills strengthened by sobriety that help me navigate them reasonably. Does that make sense?
Now in sobriety, I suffered terrible insomnia from Day 1 until 30 days or so, and finally I was able to fall asleep naturally. I am now sleeping well at Day 72. To my knowledge I have had only two of the same nightmares in sobriety, and neither are terrors of being raped or assaulted. When they occurred I just wake myself up and snuggle with one of my kitties for comfort before falling back asleep.
For me it is really important that I am physically and mentally challenged everyday or it is difficult for my body to calm down and rest, and my mind to turn off. While I was unemployed I would make sure to exercise aerobically for at least 35 minutes a day. Walking several miles is not enough for my body to tire. I also need to figure things out mentally, learn something new, or attempt a challenging mental task in order for my mind to let go. My new job is both physically and mentally challenging, so this is really a win-win for good sleep hygiene, although I do have work dreams sometimes!
I also love clean sheets/bedding washed and dried right before bed. I have purchased favorite, soft flannel PJ's and a cozy blanket to snuggle with. I put on lavender hand lotion before bed. I try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, although this is still a work in progress.
I also get up around 1/3:00 am occasionally and a light snack helps me return to sleep.
Melatonin gummies help when I cannot get my mind to let go of work stuff.
Most of all, being patient of the process of instilling and maintaining healthy habits. A soft approach is better for us sober folks!
Oh, and I would like to share that although I do still experience PTSD triggers in waking life, they do not overwhelm me the same way they did while I was drinking. I have the memories, but I also have coping skills strengthened by sobriety that help me navigate them reasonably. Does that make sense?
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Litchfield, SC
Posts: 585
"Oh, and I would like to share that although I do still experience PTSD triggers in waking life, they do not overwhelm me the same way they did while I was drinking. I have the memories, but I also have coping skills strengthened by sobriety that help me navigate them reasonably. Does that make sense?"
Thanks, KM. Make sense? In a direct or indirect way, seems to me the entire purpose of being here.
Holistic living, parenthetically, has its own rewards, one of which is being an overall coping strategy for recovery and living on life's terms. Drinking had stripped us of those strategies and their applications.
As a Veteran with PTSD, I welcome anyone to send me a DM on the topic if he/she feels it would help.
Thanks, KM. Make sense? In a direct or indirect way, seems to me the entire purpose of being here.
Holistic living, parenthetically, has its own rewards, one of which is being an overall coping strategy for recovery and living on life's terms. Drinking had stripped us of those strategies and their applications.
As a Veteran with PTSD, I welcome anyone to send me a DM on the topic if he/she feels it would help.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
