what finally made your quit stick?

[NoraC]

NoraC- Amen!
Another thing I know about myself is that I have no desire whatsoever to try to drink an amount that normal people would call "moderate"- say, 7-14 beers a week. No way. If I am going to drink, I am going to drink the amount that satisfies me: about 3-5 beers every evening, so maybe 30 beers a week (um, with the occasional wife-unappreciated 15-beer blowout bonus night thrown in). That is the only way I now how to drink, and the only way I would ever want to drink. So I know that if I choose to go back to drinking, I will go right back to the levels. Now, those levels may not end with me "dead or insane," as they like to say in AA; but those levels will end with me fat, tired and unhappy. So for now, each day, with the help of MWO, I say "NO THANKS"!

Thanks for letting me share :happy2:

YES!!! That is exactly it.

[Guitarista]

Pauly, i am only 30 plus days into my quit so my insight may not be too relevant to your question but i can say that i have examined my thinking much more in depth recently and have discovered a couple of common triggers for me. So now i am learning to see them coming and deal with it in a healthy way, instead of being blindsided and allowing a trigger to take me by surprise. This has been key. Doing daily 'maintenance' on myself (checking where my head is at every morning and dealing with any outstanding concerns or worries by listing them and dealing with them a.s.a.p. that day. meditation, run/walk/gym) has been a step forward and making a huge difference. I just have to stick with it and keep a daily self care commitment. Rinse and repeat every day cause it's worked well every day for 30 plus so far. Soon it will be 60, 90, 6 months etc......Hope this is useful my friend.

“Everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, it is not yet the end”....... Patel, Hotel Manager, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”

Love this NS. Is this line from a movie or a book? Rings a bell. If a real life hotel manager said that.....legend!

Good post Lex. That would be the case for me.

[Guitarista]

Pauly, Kuya.

I deleted my post just now which was a response to Kuya and put it on my thread, so Kuya if you like, we can continue the convo there? I was getting a bit off topic!

Have a gr8 weekend y'all.

[lex]

... Meditation, run/walk/gym has been a step forward and making a huge difference. I just have to stick with it and keep a daily self care commitment. Rinse and repeat every day cause it's worked well every day for ...

Mr. G every day I'm right there with you on this. I wake up, meditate, go to gym. Back by 10 AM or so and pretty much feeling great for the rest of the day. What's not to like! :happy2: Not saying I'll never go back to my drinking routine, who knows? But for now, I'm really happy about feeling really healthy.

[Guitarista]

Mr. G every day I'm right there with you on this. I wake up, meditate, go to gym. Back by 10 AM or so and pretty much feeling great for the rest of the day. What's not to like! :happy2: Not saying I'll never go back to my drinking routine, who knows? But for now, I'm really happy about feeling really healthy.

With your 1 year plus sobriety Lex, ya can't argue with those strategies.

[paulywogg]

Was watching "my 600 lb life" where are they now show last night,Iknow Ava and i had watched it in the past and were struck by how similar these two addictions are,sure they can get surgery to cut down on food intake but its still a lot of mentality that has to change as well,same with us,we can stop drinking but our mentality has to change too or we'll be still stuck making bad choices,anyways,the doctor said something to one of the patients that sounded good to me he said"Focus on the goal,stay positive and don't fall apart" Iliked that

[briseus]

What made my quit stick? Hard work, perseverance and believing in myself. Doing this for myself. And realizing that wasting my life away is not something I want for myself.

[paulywogg]

I'm a fartface my quits aren't going to stick, cripes I've been here for 4 years and some things have changed, some not,I can't pat myself on the back for a few fucking months then go back to the same old behavior, I look like a fool, I'm so ashamed, embarrassed,just down right tired,I didn't want to post on my regular threads cuz .. I dunno, I don't even want to post this but tomorrow is absolutely my last day one(until the next one)

[Guitarista]

Stick with your inner intuition/instinct and truth Pauly. This damn thing can take awhile for our head to align with our heart, at least in my case. :happy2:

[aihfl]

What is making my quit stick?

1. Taking my antidepressants and a B complex religiously.
2. Eating well (I guess I should say eating period).
3. Regular exercise including cycling outdoors and kayaking, spinning and yoga at the gym.
4. Having a social life and not isolating myself.
5. Keeping Elvis's relapse experience (shared on the roll call) in mind and knowing that no matter how much sober time has passed, you pick up close to, or exactly where you left off (not that I shouldn't know this based on my own experience).
6. Knowing that if I pick up a drink, it will not be a night-long, or even a few days-long event. It will probably be at least a week, most likely much longer.
7. Having a wonderful new gf who had been in a codependent relationship with an alcoholic. Even if she tolerated me drinking (which I doubt she would), I have no desire to put anyone through what I put my ex-wife and past girlfriends through. She is too good for that.

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure there are others.

[NoraC]

Pauly - good advice here. Hang in there friend. You are getting this. You are. I'm going to greet you tomorrow on your day 1 with a great big congratulations!!!!

[starty]

Pauly :hug:

[paulywogg]

Today wasn't day 1 I wanted it to be but..just trying to figure out why I keep relapsing, I'm happier sober, I look at Louies little toys around and I feel sad cuz he loves me so much and I want to be a rock for him,to be here for my husband, be able to be someone to look up to,I KNOW that I'm a great person I absolutely know without a doubt that I'm giving, loving, helpful, cute but when I drink I'm absolutely none of those things, I'm selfish, undependable,unpredictable,ugly, lazy, unhappy, etc,why do I lie to myself thinking that a drink episode will be different this time? It's never different, it's unpredictable what kind of drinking session you'll have, is it a happy buzz or a sad buzz where you sit on the couch crying? How will I feel the next day? Like Shit 100% of the time! That part never changes,just venting but I can since its my thread, meh, I'm tired of being like this.. it's not the REAL Pauly

[NoSugar]

Hi, Pauly

You have a lot of friends here. Do you have a deal with one or more of them that you will call or text BEFORE you drink? I know you've said that when you get the idea in your head, you don't WANT to be stopped. But, you wouldn't keep trying if deep down, you really DO want to stop. So, maybe you need to add in a step, such as contacting a support buddy FIRST, that might prevent this from happening again.

Maybe pretend you're Louie. You'd do ANYTHING to protect him. You deserve the same. :hug: NS

[paulywogg]

Thanks NS,I do reach out.... after the fact I don't know why I just didn't reach out first, I don't know why I just didn't take a nap or a walk, I really don't know what I was thinking when I veered into the gas station parking lot after work? I had been fine in the morning, I did some walking and felt ok,then as the work day went on I just started thinking about drinking, the thought would not go away! I really need to figure out a way to get over the thoughts,on my last pretty good sober times I would have a thought and immediately crush it before it festered,these past couple of months the thought comes and I dwell on it, get anxious, I have to get this together, I just do,there's just been a lot of hard times these past months, I don't know if I didn't properly grieve for the lost pregnancy that Kell had,her boyfriend still won't hardly talk to me,think he blames me for taking her but in my opinion HE should have been there for her,I'm ranting again but just figuring it out, writing helps