How to stop drinking

[Vic]

Kevin - Yep Jack Daniels is a weird craving for sure since 99% of the time I drank beer only. Maybe Dr.Evil wanted to get into my blood as quick as possible and take control after being kicked to the curb 37 days ago....Who knows....Just glad I made it through and won this battle.
Vic 1 Dr.Evil 0

[carol]

Dragonfly, good to hear from you! Congrats on doing so well! The reason I wanted to see you get to day 15 and beyond is that means you've had at least one, maybe two, cycles where you would have binged and restarted if you were playing out your old patterns, and YOU DIDN'T!! Hoo ray for you!! 30 days here you come.

Hey Connor I think you slid past 30 days without fanfare and kudos, right? Good for you!!!

So many great posts. Thanks everyone.

Vic, Dr. Evil, chuckle. I named my she-devil Miss Marie Devilette. She came complete with a beautiful shimmering dress, beautiful ice-cold cocktail in a beautiful glass in her hand, beckoning and enticing me. Then as soon as I had a sip of alcohol her face shifted to a horrible screaming devil face as she mocked me. And then I'd do it all over again, beguiled and fooled by the mirage then ruined by the reality of the alcohol. No more. She is firmly on ice, in hibernation.

Y'all have a happy alcohol-free Labor Day weekend!

[Eric]

I just spent 2 sober hours playing with my kids. That felt really, really good.

[Regina]

Thank you so much Eric, Cathy and Dragonfly. I am looking forward to being with my sons and husband this weekend. I am so tired so I want to get some sleep but I also want to exercise and spend some quality time with my family. I don't feel terribly confident about staying sober - maybe because I have failed so many times before, but I won't stop trying.

[bdog]

Hi all,
Friday night not doing so well. something i did not share. in my illustrouis? carrier(ha Ha) i have had many back and spine injuries so i have access to pain killers. oh yea, think that helps? makes everything better for a while. im not sure i will sleep tonight. one more demon to fight. Dragonfly15 i am so impressed with the days you have made. i cant get thru the weekends. soon. please keep writing people you are my life line. Patrick I could use some words from you! thanks everyone.

[Millie]

Bill, you know that you will absolutely HATE the weekend if you drink. Hang on and enjoy the first labor day weekend sober.

[Samantha]

Bill stick with it. Its kind of rough off and on the first month but it gets better. If it didnt I would be drinking. Bdog and Bill remember your last drinking episode and why you wanted to stop. And I dont let the conversation get far when the alcoholic starts talking. I always say no and tell the alcoholic tomorrow you can drink not today. As time goes on you will have less thoughts to drink and it will get easier. You just have to work through this next few days. If I can do it I know you can too.

[Ruth]

Dragonfly, good to see you back. Keep up that momentum and don't lose steam! I know you can keep it up. And Bill- you may not enjoy the weekend at all, but if you manage to stay sober, you will enjoy the future more Don't let your addictive voice win, just focus on staying sober today. Have a great weekend everyone.

[Connor1a]

Checking in.. Good to see you all still here. Welcome to the new folks. I hope you find as much support and common wisdom as I have here. Its a gift to those trying to be successful in sobriety.

Bill / Vic - Your recent posts really struck a chord with me. It sounds like, in many ways, we are suffering through to sobriety in similar fashions.

As I sit here on the morning of day 34, I can tell you that my cravings for liquor have been far stronger in the last week that anytime in the last six. I've had to hunker down in my seat and just white knuckle it as my wife says. Candidly, had she not been here a couple of times, I would have fallen. I don't consider myself weak of will. I've been through "the s**t" in many ways. However, the pull of the urge to drink even last night was stunning. In the past, I could slug down a Snickers or grab the wiener dog for a walk near the sea and I'd get through. These last couple though, minga, rocked my world. Anyway, my personal lesson, and I saw this in a recent post (forgive me for forgetting who), is you just have to vigilant. To me, I thought I'd be home free after 30 days. I'll tell you, nothing could be further from the truth. Do not think you can slide the rest of the way once you get there. I've heard and read that this is the case, but now I've experienced it.. You have to be strong my friends. I'll also share that I thought I would be singing the praises of good health by the time I was at 30 days, but its clear my body is still trying to recover and frankly will probably need years. I still have a ringing in my ears when I go from sitting to standing too quickly and will doze off in my chair at the office if I sit still too long. I actually fell asleep in a business meeting with my boss yesterday. Luckily, I'd already shared with him that I was going through a change which was very serious and could cause me to do that. He brushed it completely aside - said no worried, but now I need you here. We're also supposed to go into a client meeting over a weekend in a few weeks. I'm extremely nervous about it in that we'd normally "bond" with the client by drinking into the wee hours of the morning. With this specific client, we've had bar tabs for four people that ran into the 4 digits for an evening. I kid you not. Anyway, this pushy boss I work for, when I shared my concern, promised that he would be stone dry for the entire weekend if I was. I was once again stunned by the compassion of people and a little ashamed of myself for underestimating him. I have a very "aggressive" job where we do a great deal of business negotiations and such. So he an I were at each other a couple of hours later (which is normal for us - the old saying for forming agreements, is that you go through Storming, Norming, and Forming to get to an agreement - we tend to storm a lot), but I won't forget the unexpected understanding or kindness he showed.

So its a beautiful day here in Stockholm today. I'm going to take my daughter into the city and buy something stupid for her. She is a true nut. Then its time for some Lebanese BBQ (something my family and I have picked up in our travels).

Have a great, and sober, weekend friends.

[rosella]

Bill, weekends are so hard for me too. It's such an ingrained habit from when I was about 18 and the triggers that come on a Friday and Saturday night are so strong. For me there is a feeling that I deserve it after a long week. So now I'm trying to think of other ways to reward myself and other things I enjoy doing. So hard when I've been doing that same thing for so many years. It's Saturday night here and I'm so glad I've managed to get through.
Nice to hear from you Conner. I'm into my 3rd week now and it's amazing how the urges come across so suddenly when you least expect it. It is a matter of being vigilant I suppose and being aware that there's no room for complacency. You're doing so well- you should be so proud of yourself.
Enjoy your weekend all.

[Vic]

Hang tough Bill you can stay sober if you choose to.
Dragonfly -Beautiful and very insightful post.
Good job Connor and Rosella on staying dry.
I made it through my most challenging day so far yesterday and now working Day 38.
Have a good sober day everyone.

[bdog]

Millie,Samantha,Ruth, Dragonfly15, Connor1a,Rosella

Thanks for writing. Its 6:00am here. i slept ok but was up early plan on walking with my brother this am soon. Its Sat and the start of three days of dealing with this long weekend i am doing the best i can but the past Memorial days with a x girlfriend and here kids haunt me so much. i just want to lay around and soak my sorrows and feel sorry for myself. i will do my best not to but dreams get in the way and I lose it. I hate weekends and Holidays. please keep writing! you people help sooooo much!!!

[Sally]

Good Morning!

It is soooo nice to wake up and have a clear head, enjoy my cup of coffee -instead of gulping it down looking for relief from the night before :]

Part of recovery is learning how to deal with our past resentments and anger. Bdog - if you have bad memories try making some new good ones. Do something nice for yourself this weekend. Call up some old friends whose company you enjoyed - spend the day outside marveling at all life has to offer. Enjoy the moment - the clarity - that being sober can bring. We can't change our past - but we can rewrite our future!

I had dinner with friends last night - heavy drinkers - they make their own beer, etc... and it was really tough. It felt surreal - like I didn't belong there - I was very, very quiet which is not my norm. Just didnt' have much to say I guess. Didn't want to drink, but then kind of did - just to fit in - know what I mean? I guess what I took from this experience is that I shouldn't be hanging out in situations like that, even though they are good friends, until I get more time under my belt. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable - just didn't feel right??

Anyway, have a great weekend. Do something for you. Take time to breathe, rest, pamper... Think positive, stay strong. Not everyone in the world drinks like we did - pay attention to how they handle life - it can be an eye opener. And count your blessings - live in the moment - savor it all :] And congrats to all of you - I am just amazed at how well so many of you are doing. Remember it took years for us to get to this point - so feeling good, no urges, etc...is going to take time as well - but it will happen :]

[Vic]

bdog - Stay strong and dry you can do it !
Sally - I know what you mean, I had to let go of 2 longtime good friends 38 days ago to help my chances of maintaining sobreity. They are also both heavy drinkers and I just can't hang with them anymore if I plan on staying dry. It's not an easy choice but at this point in my life I must do all that is necessary to try and finally achieve longterm sobriety.

[Ruth]

Connor- nice to hear from you. I know you will stick it out no matter what, and all I can say is don't forget to drink lots of water and take your vitamins! Think of your poor live, all fat and tired out... it takes time for it to recover, and it is working hard to do so. I will hit 90 days tomorrow and only recently has my body begun to change. I strongly suggest staying away from sugar and refined flour (sorry everyone!), because it screws with insulin levels and might prolong this whole physical process. Again, I recommend "Beyond the Influence" for a detailed explanation of what is going on physically. I had always heard that 90 days was the requirement to really get out of the grip (probably a lifetime, lol) but all I can say is that I am watching my diet (not a diet-nazi, I had cake on my son's birthday, etc.) and now that my liver is better I have suddenly dropped some weight (never happens) and am feeling healthier. By all means, grab the Snickers bar in an emergency, but remember, this is not just some psychological urge, this is a deeply physical process.

As far as what people think... I went with the inner circle of friends last night to a beach barbecue- I went early to hold the fire pit, which normally would have entailed a bottle of wine to "enjoy" the afternoon, and a throbbing headache the next morning. I was a little anxious about refusing wine (a bunch of them are afficionados and would be handing me glasses saying "try this!"). But, guess what? Nobody noticed and nobody cared! Wow. And most (not all) drank little or nothing anyway. I know it is not like this for all of you, but it takes away that little anxiety for me. I tell them that I wasn't drinking, I didn't want to put them on the spot or anything, but I will soon.

Eric, bdog,vic, rosella, Connor, all of you (and you too, Dragonfly), I am proud of you and I know you can do this! STAY (sober today and yesterday).

[bdog]

Hi Millie, Samantha,Ruth, Dragon,Connoro1a, Rosella,Vic, Sally. thanks for keep posting. im not doing great but im doing. how long did you go before not feeling dehydrated every day morning and night? KEEP WRITING IT HELPS! Patrick any help?

[Ruth]

bdog- drink lots of water! Whenever you get a craving, drink water! Think of how dehydrated you have been over the years of only putting alcohol in when you were thirsty! I know I never drank water before, so now, I make myself do it. Also, really take b-vitamins and whatever other supplements you find helpful. We expend 1-2 liters of water a day just by breathing, so drink at least that much.

[peterpinot]

Everbody forgot about me

[peterpinot]

BEFORE you take your next drink.. fridge up the club soda, fruit juice or watever and watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Reumf4xNA-w

[bdog]

Hi Millie, Samantha, ruth, dragon,connorola, Rosella, vic, sally. thanks for keep posting. im not doing great but im doing. how long did you go before not feeling dehydrated every day morning and night? KEEP WRITING IT HELPS!