Sobriety-A Much Better Rush - Weekenders 20 - 23 January 2023
 

Sobriety-A Much Better Rush - Weekenders 20 - 23 January 2023



Welcome to Weekenders :wave:



You may feel the words seem familiar this week’s opening post. You may think you’ve read them before. You would be correct.

I’ve borrowed a post from our dear Gilmer again.



Her words of wisdom live on.





“Often when we first get sober we have no idea what to do with ourselves. We’ve built our lives around chasing a buzz, getting that out-of-the-ordinary surge of great pleasure that leaves the dull reality of our lives in the dust.



At first chasing a chemical rush seems like a no-brainer: to a humdrum existence we can add great thrills just from drinking or smoking—that is, till we throw away our lives or ruin our health.



And often the chemicals just stop working.



So we find ourselves in a desperate mess and decide to get sober.



But we have no idea how else to fill our time; people suggest finding hobbies or volunteering, but those things seem overwhelming and lackluster compared to the effortless chemical highs we used to get with the snap of a finger.



In this case, act and the feelings will follow—“fake it till you make it.”



Pick something—anything—and plunge into it with everything you’ve got. Don’t worry that you have no real talent, or it seems forced. So often we know full well that we’ll never be truly superb at things, so we don’t bother even to learn about them.



If we can’t be perfect, we don’t want anything to do with it.



So we’re left with the despair of believing everything sucks, and we suck.



But often the best is the enemy of the genuinely good.



Just because you’ll never sing in the Metropolitan Opera does not mean you have to avoid music!



At least take the time to learn about something new. Pick an interest and invest your energy in it. “All hard work yields a profit:” in time and with perseverance you will see yourself improve.



And the more of yourself you invest, the more you will begin to care. With consistent effort you will see real progress—and it will please you. Your interest will become more and more genuine. It will become your treasure—“and where your treasure is, there your heart is, also.”



Furthermore, when you love something, you impart real beauty to it. Even though it may not be the Metropolitan Opera, you will have participated in true beauty. The beauty comes from you.



When you recognize that beauty, that’s when an interest becomes a passion. You will want to give it your all.



When have invested your very best, given your all, and seen It through to completion, you will experience a deep, exhilarating rush that puts a chemical rush to shame!



The physical and mental intensity of the chemical rush is far outweighed by the profound mental and emotional rush of your own creation of beauty and excellence.



With a chemical rush, your consciousness checks out and lets a substance take over—but the rush from natural endorphins and adrenaline engages every fiber of your being.



So go about learning to make beauty! Nothing will be more worth your effort!”



I will be here along with many others, all of us ex drunks and alcoholics. We are your scouts and can tell you what is on the trail ahead so you can be ready for any obstacles. I can tell you to come on! It is rocky and slippery but if you focus on where you place each step, you will have no trouble getting to where I am on the trail.

All of us can tell you where the potholes are, bumps in the road, and the slippery places, but we can't walk your path for you. We can only take joy as you succeed, and cheer, one and all!

I am NOT calling shotgun. I'll leave that for someone else. :)

Yes, sobriety is a much better rush. :)

I'm in for the weekend! :)

Thank you Mags and least :)

D

Good to see you Least and Dee. :wave:

Thanks Least. Shotgun!!

Congrats on shotgun Calmself. :).

I like your name - calm self. That's what I've become, or am becoming, since I'm always in a state of growth. A calm person, not given to fear or anxiety. :). I always liked the definition of a philosopher as one who takes life as it comes, with patience and equanimity. :)

I like the fact that, for me, sobriety isn't an overpowering 'rush', but a quiet strength that is always present. :).

Thank you!! Also I am learning how to calm myself during anxious situations without any crutch (alcohol). So it can also be read as 'Calms self' !!

I like the way you described. No anxiety, no fear. Expressing a deep thought (anger, fear, disappointment) openly further calms me down as the negative thought has now been cleared out.

I can tell I walked a lot today cause my lower back hurts. Hasn't hurt for a few days until today. I walked about two miles/two hours and I can feel it now... :dee. But at least it was a rolling walker and made it easier to walk. Also, I took a Lyft home instead of walking all the way back (a mile). I'm just grateful I can still walk. For a while there I wasn't able to walk very well or without pain, so I've come a long way since then. :)

Congratulations on shotgun calmself :You_Rock_

Least, take care, baby steps.

Thanks Mags for the wonderful opening post. I'm IN for a sober weekend.

I've got a lot of anxiety today and have had for the past few days. It will go eventually of its own accord. The important thing for me is to put it into context, that it is a passing phase and feeling, and not to drink to "cure" it as the rebound anxiety will be even worse. I'm planning on having a relaxing weekend as I feel I need one.

I don't know what got into me today. I was just restless, I guess. I just wanted to get out of the apt for a while.

:). Billie can be so comical. :). She just now was pawing at the couch cushion like it was a blankie she could arrange. It's not a soft squishy pillow but a fat overstuffed one that cannot be 'arranged'... She paws at it furiously like she expects it to suddenly arrange itself to her liking. ;). Silly Billie! ;)

Animals can be so entertaining. :).

Hi Robbie, sorry you’re having a lot of anxiety last few days. It is good if you can put it into context. It will pass though sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. Take care, a relaxing weekend sounds good. :hug:

Least, yes our pets can be so entertaining:lol: glad you managed to get out of the apartment and go for a walk. I bet you feel better for it.

For whatever reason, the neuropathy is worse tonight and my big toe hurts horribly. :(. I'm going to try again to get to sleep. Maybe if I snuggle Billie I won't notice the pain as much...

I keep thinking how great it is that I'm sober cause I can imagine how awful it would be to be drinking to be oblivious to the pain... and end up causing even more pain. :(

Good morning. In for the weekend going to be challenging on Sunday as the men whose wives are attending my daughters baby shower are going to a brewery for lunch during the shower. I have always been known as a big beer drinker so I will have to have my resolve at its highest level to get through. I am working on it internally.

Calmself you are an inspiration here. Keep sharing

Hope the pains abate least. Getting old is sure tough as I am experiencing at 62 1/2. Something different hurts everyday. Oh well at least I’m vertical and taking nourishment.

Pledging for today. Day 109.

Mr. A comes back tomorrow night so we will head to the house sometime on Saturday to possible paint the spare bedroom. I know he wants to work on it, but I also want him to have some downtime which he greatly deserves.
Riley pup can be quite the character too with some of the things he does
I too Like calmself's name.
Robbie, sorry you are going through anxiety, that is not a fun place to be that's for sure. It is good if you can put it into context
Mr. A said something on the phone the other night which a few months ago would have completely set me off and would make me want to drink..Not this time, I was able to calmly work it out in my head and we continued on to another conversation. I do know why he said what he did from things in the past that happened. Sometimes I feel like I am still trying to prove myself, but not as often which is good.

Hi everyone :wavey:
Thanks for the new weekend thread Mags .

I agree with you calmself, expressing thoughts does seem to help with negativity somehow.

I'm sorry your pain is keeping you awake Least. Hope it eases. My lower back hurts too after walking around for a bit or just standing up for a period of time. Old age can be such a nuisance.

Hi Robbie, just noticed you replied to my post about your avatar. Coincidentally I live about 12 miles from Durham too. I was born at Hebburn on Tyne but don't live there anymore :) Sounds like a relaxing weekend will do you good, maybe find something to do to take your mind off things, like watching a film or something.

Good to hear you're working on your resolve to not drink the beer Runner . Will you be staying with your daughter during the brewery trip?

Hi Alpine, hope you can both get some good downtime this weekend

Great to be here and to be sober :c015:

I hope everyone is OK. I am not.

Anyway I'm on sick leave from work at the moment. I need to be seen by occupational health before i go back.

Anyway my dad has been at me to go to an AA meeting which I really don't want to do. I've been in the past and didn't find it helpful. We will see.
Interestingly when I opened today's newspaper on page 7 the headline was 'Hello! Today I'm 29 years sober says writer Marian'. We are talking about the Irish writer Marian Keyes and I know she is very successful and has lots of money (probably) and she is one of my favourite writers but it just shows that everyone has their own path if you know what I mean? Even I don't know what I mean so I'll leave it there for now.

Take care all x

HI Tetra, and yes, I know what you mean. I can't speak from experience with AA, it does help many people and Mr. A wanted me to go and I did not. I am not much of a group person and I felt it would not align with my personality on many levels from reading about it. I wish you the very best and hope you can find what works for you.

Mags, very good opening.

Tetra, I hope you can find a way forward without alcohol.