Bloody AV
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: France
Posts: 3,040
Bloody AV
It was so strong that I decided to go for a bike ride and listen to my music, I kept playing the scenario forward, I knew it would come eventually. It comes out of nowhere, home now with a cup of green tea.
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: NSW - Australia
Posts: 14,505
Bloody AV alright Mummy. It loses power with time and practice. Weak little sod when we get to know its manouverings. Shifty little bugger. 
Well done you.
Onwards to a greater tomorrow.
You rock Mummy.
Well done you.
Onwards to a greater tomorrow.
You rock Mummy.
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Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 739
Always remember to think the drink through. Its just for today anyway. The reality is taking the first drink will be like hearing the jail cell door slam shut, we will be trapped right back in our little cell of misery. Literally a jail cell is quite possible in some of our cases. If you drink today its likely going to suck before the session is through. For sure tomorrow will suck. What counts is right now and right now the best decision will be not to drink.
These are just temporary thoughts of insane ideas and they will pass. They will pass quicker and be less frequent as time goes on. Even though they occasionally have the illusion that they are getting stronger. Wanting to consume a chemical that you know will harm you, its just some brief, insane thoughts. It will pass.
These are just temporary thoughts of insane ideas and they will pass. They will pass quicker and be less frequent as time goes on. Even though they occasionally have the illusion that they are getting stronger. Wanting to consume a chemical that you know will harm you, its just some brief, insane thoughts. It will pass.
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 5,152
By day 26, I was still afraid I would drink, but I did not want to drink. OK that's not entirely true, because I still had those frequent thoughts that a drink would feel really good right now. It was a combination of 1)nostalgic recall and 2)fear that I might be tempted. Chapter 4 of Alan Carr talks about this as things we believe when we crave alcohol being false. In my case, that it "would feel really good right now," was consciously and patently false. If I were writing Carr's book, I would have said nostalgic recall was a habitual response. I would say that because I already knew it was a false belief, but that the false belief was habitual. For me understanding and embracing that fully makes it possible to not reach for a drink to quell the craving.
Recovery is about not having cravings. If I had to put up with cravings for the rest of my life, I doubt I'd still be sober.
Recovery is about not having cravings. If I had to put up with cravings for the rest of my life, I doubt I'd still be sober.
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Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 5,152
Mummy, I promised I would get back to you when I finished Alan Carr. I'm not finished, and this isn't the same thread, but I wanted to mention a point that applies here, because Carr repeats it several times in regards to craving and wanting a drink, specifically in believing a drink makes us feel better and reduces stress. He says, what we really want is a drink to curb the stress brought on by our withdrawal from alcohol. I've found this to be true before I ever heard of Carr, and I have brought it up several times in this forum. But this isn't just some heady philosophy. It's actually explained by medical science and a book, "Under the Influence" explains the bio-chemical dynamics and names the chemicals produced by the breakdown of alcohol in the liver, which is different for alcoholics than it is for normies.
Understanding those dynamics, although scientifically somewhat dry, helped me understand what was happening and what was causing my inability to control my drinking. This knowledge set the stage for understanding that my belief that alcohol reduced stress and helped me relax was false, and that's what Carr says we need to understand so that willpower is no longer an issue. As the saying goes, "Knowledge is power," and this case, my own corollary would be, "And Knowledge trumps willpower."
Maybe we should do this in another thread, but I have found that it's easier to internalize, apply, and understand knowledge when it relates to an immediate situation or problem.
Understanding those dynamics, although scientifically somewhat dry, helped me understand what was happening and what was causing my inability to control my drinking. This knowledge set the stage for understanding that my belief that alcohol reduced stress and helped me relax was false, and that's what Carr says we need to understand so that willpower is no longer an issue. As the saying goes, "Knowledge is power," and this case, my own corollary would be, "And Knowledge trumps willpower."
Maybe we should do this in another thread, but I have found that it's easier to internalize, apply, and understand knowledge when it relates to an immediate situation or problem.
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