April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

[mama bear]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Aw shucks guys....
Popping AB with coffee and then into shower
Everone sounds positive and upbeat
cool hat WW!

[Unwasted]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

ML, glad you're doing well........congrats on stepping up to the plate at work. What you just experienced has to feel light years better than having had to struggle arduously and hungover........

Here is a quote that sums up what I feel I've escaped........and am ever so thankful to have done so.........and want to continue..........:lilheart:

The Cycle of Escapism

Everyone feels the desire to escape. No matter how good you have it, there are times when, instead of dealing with problems, you’d rather pretend they don’t exist. We turn to bad habits because they allow us to forget. They give us a pleasurable sensation that pushes problems out of mind. The downfall of this solution is that it’s only temporary. The feeling wears off and the problems remain, often made worse by our indulgence. Once again faced with our problems, the natural reaction is to escape again.This is the cycle of escapism. We feel pain each time we face reality, so we use a bad habit to escape, which only increases our pain, making us more desperate to escape. Each time around it takes more sensation to escape, increasing our dependency on a bad habit. When you get caught in the whirlpool of escapism, it can feel impossible to get out.


Developing Positive Beliefs

The only way to permanently break the cycle of escapism is to develop a positive perception of reality. If you associate reality with pain, you will constantly desire to escape. It’s essential to find happiness in reality that outweighs the suffering caused by its problems. Find the things in life give you true joy rather than temporary pleasure. These are the actions that will build up your belief in a positive reality.Changing your attitude towards reality is easier said than done. When you’re accustomed to the cycle of pain and escape, reality feels hopeless. The truth is that reality is neither bad or good, but an equal mix of the two. Your attitude is a reflection of the parts that you choose to focus on. By fixing your attention on sources of hope and joy, you can create positive beliefs and reduce the desire to escape.


Have a great day everyone..........

[mama bear]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Un...I LOVE IT...it's so true

[K9Lover]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Unwasted;1290346 wrote: And Alison, what are you.....on the phone.......such a casual "oh they just happened to catch me while I was closing that business deal".......lol Very good pics everyone. I may have to give it a try.......I really like seeing a face - feels more real and gives me a better feel for who you guys are.

I always thought Alison was holding a hamster (??) LOL Yes, UW...we'd love to "see" you...I keep changing my picture because I can't find one I like! I was confusing Lolab yesterday because she commented on my picture and by the time she posted I had already changed it. LOL Maybe I should just post a picture of my little doggie. Speaking of, I took her to the vet yesterday (I posted this in the Nest so sorry for the repeat) and she's having some trouble with her lungs. I'm going to have to figure out the finances for dealing with it. My first thought was "If I lose this dog I am going to DRINK"....ugh....OK...neither one of of those things will happen, I refuse. She'll get better and I will stay sober. I'm thinking positive!!!

Yay Mama! Good job on popping that AB! And on the shower too! LOL

Sunny_gg, you do look like a model...you and your horse should be featured on some fancy magazine. So beautiful the both of you!!! You have that natural beauty shining through!

You all take care and have a wonderful Tuesday! Is it Friday yet? (Here I go again! LOL)

K9er

[mama bear]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

K9...all your pics are adorable!!
sorry about your puppy

[DriftyAlison0]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

I am holding a baby chicken in my avatar. Great work everyone!

[allswell]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Thanks for the post UN, sometimes I need a reminder life is a combination of good and bad and if I focus on the good and effectively deal with the bad I'll have many more good days than bad ones. Really nice weather here, hope everyone enjoys their evening!

[FlyAway]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

DriftyAlison0;1290950 wrote: I am holding a baby chicken in my avatar. Great work everyone!

The mystery is solved! :H

[FlyAway]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Well I've been in an absolutely horrible mood all day, but a crappy day sober is fine by me. I've just got to adjust my thinking and things will be fine.

K9 I can't believe that you don't like your photos! All of them look cute to me. You will never see my mug on here unless there's a paper bag over my head! :H

[sunshine_gg]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Hello peeps!

:H Drifty.. I actually thought that might be a chick!
K9... honey, you are absolutely stunning. And yeah.. you look about 15 :H Healing vibes to the pooch. I'm having my vet out this week... sigh. Not really looking forward to the prognosis on my dog, either.
Fly... no paper bags.. geeeez :H
Mylife.. welcome home! Now relax and put your feet up!

Hello to everyone else.. don't mean to ignore ya but I'm SO due for a bubble bath. Had a riding lesson today and Atlas (the little sh*t in my avatar) had quite an attitude. Gah. And my back is killing me! Getting old SUCKS! :H

Night night!!

[nicelife]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Hi everyone,

Just peeked into this thread for a sticky beak and hope I can join in? If not, the following will be wasted....LOL.

Love all the pics.
K9, you shouldn't worry about choosing one you like - they are all lovely!

Sunny - I always think of the movie with Hugh Grant and that gorgeous girl when he pretends to be from some horsey mag so he can get a interview with her when I see your pic - very classy!

Love the glasses Mamma - but you're pic was always gorgeous anyway - Love the longer hair too!

It is nice to see the faces of those we spend such a lot of time 'with'. If I was a better tech head I'd try and get my pic on but alas I'm hopeless so I can use that as an excuse to stay faceless!!

UW - loved the post....so true!

Anyway, hugs to all, and to all more hugs!

Nicey

[Unwasted]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Alison, that's hilarious. All this time I thought you were on the phone..........too funny. Nicelife, glad to see you here.........this is a great thread with lots of really strong, resolved people.........keep coming back.

Flyaway, you're crackin me up - with a paper bag........

Thanks everyone for cheering me up with these comments. You guys rock.

K9, & Sun, I hope your doggies are ok. God, I hate it when my critters get sick ....heartbreaking because we can't explain what's going on to them. :boohoo: Sun, I wish I had learned to ride when I was younger. I love animals and think I could have really gotten into horses. They're so big, and I'm so old, they scare me now.......I went riding on a vacation and wasn't comfortable........too chicken at this point. I think you're so lucky..........maybe in my next life LOL.

Alls, isn't it the truth....we so often forget that some of the things we perceive as bad are just part of life....I'm learning this too, or should I say relearning. I heard somewhere that we stop developing around the age where we start having addiction problems........I think there's a kernel of truth to that for sure.

K9, I agree......I like all your pics but I know we're our biggest critics, and it's hard to find a pic of ourselves that we like a lot......

ML, hope things have settled down a bit.

Off to catch some zzzzs.....nite all. Stay strong!

[WineWrangler]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Good Evening Everyone, this group seams to be getting stronger all the time in our determination to remain AF. UW that was some good reading thank you. K9 hope that pups going to be ok. It sure is nice not to worry about dealing with situations with a throbbing head. I enjoy being sober more all the time. It's great to see the photos of everyone looking healthy.

Take Care WW

[Running4life]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

Hi Everyone,
I am definately in for April. It will be five months for me on April 4th however I screwed up one day.
Like you Unwasted, I do seem to have less and less thoughts about alcohol. My schedule has not permitted me the time to attend any AA meetings in the past few weeks and I am missing them.
I hope to get to one in the next few days.
I am looking forward to warmer days and doing some gardening! I am also preparing for a trip to China at the end of the month. I am looking forward to it but am travelling with a large formal delegation and I am bit worried about being offered a drink and saying no. I don't want to offend anybody. I will get around it somehow.
Happy April everyone!
R4L

[Unwasted]

April AF Attitudes and Aspirations - Let's Be Good To Ourselves

R4L, so sorry you had a blip. Do you want to talk about it? You did the right thing with getting started immediately again and not going down the bad road we all want to avoid! I think the biggest motivator for no slips for me is the fear of not getting started again! I know you've been going through a lot.........well, you must have decided sober is better........so glad you did. We are lucky to be losing the obsession over alcohol. It really does get easier. But as they say, recovery isn't about not drinking, it's about the lives we create afterwards!

Hi WW........and everyone else stopping by today.

I'm off to lunch with a couple of women I met from AA. I'm trying to cultivate some friendships with people who don't drink.......so happy to get this going because everyone I know drinks. I meet with my sponsor Friday. This is all a very big stretch for me, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to stay sober, so here I go.

Take care everyone, and have a super AF day.