Anyone in the First Week of Their Unpteenth Quit?

[paulywogg]

Hey all,SS how old is your mom?was she always a drinker? I was cutting this 70 year old lady's hair yesterday and she had beer breath at 10 a.m,just got to thinking about how older people's bodies can handle processing alcohol, mine sure as hell can't anymore, just makes me sick,feel groggy this morning and my coffee isn't cutting through the fog,grr,been slacking on my walks since my daughters been in town, gotta get back to it!Miss,don't feel weird about posting, its truly what this place is for!it'll click for you/us,just gotta keep working on it,ATM I'm not even thinking about drinkin thank goodness but I know how that sonofabich sneaks up on me,been there,done it but I'm tired of saying"this time" better to just DO "this time" DO as in actually DO make the choice not to drive to the gas station and buy bud light and turn into instant asshole,hope everyone has a nice Friday,not sure what I'll be doing but at least I know it won't be drankin!

[Ginger999]

MAE all!
Scorching hot around here and it's only MAY!! Should be back to normal temps next week. Strange weather we are having. Heading our for a day trip tomorrow to Mt. St. Helen's. We just had the 35th anniversary of when she blew! Even after 35 years there's still places impacted by all the ash. Off to the beach in two weeks!! YAY!

Stay close you guys!

[MinStar]

Just checking in folks. Hope everyone is safe.
M

[BeachGirly]

Check in from work - and cell phone - so excuse typos.

Wonderful day today. I decided I have been working too much. Possibly to fill my time and keep me away from AL? I need to slow down, and start to live life again. My son mentioned he had not seen me go out with friends for a long time - hmm?

I guess I am somewhat worried about that. As long as I am busy- I won't drink. But I also can not keep up this pace.

Reading these transcriptions I am doing makes me realize how much I drank - more then the average person. A lot of people never drink. Funny how our minds let us believe drinking every day was normal.

So, I am going to try to get the walking in on a regular basis. That is better then sitting at the computer all day.

Long timers - do we ever get to the stage where we do not think about AL and our quit everyday? I am not thinking of drinking, but would sure like to have other thoughts in my head - maybe that is needed to stay quit?

Have a great Friday eve and weekend - I am working - haha

[abcowboy]

BG, I'm no longtimer by any stretch of the imagination, you have more consecutive time AF than I do! But for me, very rarely do I think about drinking anymore, and if I do, it's usually because I'm thankful for not drinking because of some situation I was in. I think I will always have times where the "I wish" comes into my mind, but I know I lost the privilege of social drinking a long, long time ago. :hug:

[Ginger999]

Yup, BG, it will indeed happen. Everyone is different so it's hard to say when it will though. I think I was around 6 or 7 months when I realized it wasn't on my mind. Now it's rarely on my mind and if it pops into my head, I go through my toolbox!

[BeachGirly]

Ya - it is not that I am thinking about drinking really - it is more about the quit, and seeing ads, thinking thru situations , posting here etc.
It just seems I think about the overall idea all the time.
I don't think about ice cream that way....
For example - we are thinking of a trip- and the first thought is - how will that be without?
Not about the beautiful beach or fun activities and people.

I think it shows, that we need to be on guard. It needs to be close by on my mind so that I'd do not ever want to try it again.

I have been vey lucky, and I have not had cravings since I made the decision I could not moderate. Just want to get rid of the everyday thoughts.

[NoSugar]

Hey, BG

It is part of my stream of consciousness that I don't drink but it is a positive thought I have about myself. When a big event is coming up, I don't wonder how I'll manage but it occurs to me that I'm so glad it's not an issue. Maybe someday I'll go for days without even thinking about it but I can't say it bothers me now. When I was drinking, I was thinking about getting it, consuming it, removing the evidence, and how much I hated myself day in and day out - this background affirmation is great compared to that! Have a good weekend!

[Lizann]

I so understand what you're talking about BG. Not me today, maybe someday. I had a very stressful situation this afternoon and thought about drinking, a lot. Instead I forced myself to do something "busy", I cleaned out a cabinet. Involved no real thinking but the urge passed. Mother I went outside, are you ready for this, helped hubs sand the pool deck! It felt so good to be doing something, constructive, different and didn't require much concentration. Long story short made it through another day. Hubs did accident,y drop a 2 by 6 on my foot, but alls well that ends well. Good night guys!

[jane27]

BG, what a great post. I had similar feelings - not that I was being super productive or anything, but more so just putting sooooooo much energy and intensity into NOT DRINKING. And it does feel unnatural- like someone's holding your eyes open to prevent you from blinking....but I think it's really just a learning curve. Kind of like the way theres a lot of soreness when you start an exercise regime after a long period of being sedentary. The feeling slowly dissipates but it takes time. It was vital for me to hold a rigid anti drinking posture in those early months even though it felt all consuming. Vital because everything else was working against my quit. Years and years of drinking will gear you up to NEED alcohol. Just shy of 4 months is when I felt it let up some. From then on it just gets better and you start to feel more free and normal- but the mental conditioning is a big requirement if you want to STAY sober. The good news is that life begins to improve and keeps on improving- it's such a relief and a treat frankly, that doing the work seems more like a valuable insurance policy than compulsive grunt work. Hang in there. Xoxo

Ps NS, loved your post.

[BeachGirly]

Thank you everyone. All of this really does make sense.

NS - great thought to turn it into a positive happy grateful thought. I wish I had thought of that. That is so in line with how I have been trying to live and be lately. Thx

Also Jane - the analogy to exercise is great. Of course there is going to be an adjustment. I should not expect to just quit and never think of it again. It has been such a huge part of my
Life for the last 10 yrs - I need to readjust - exactly.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and encouragement - I needed that today.
Not sure why - just doubting myself? No thoughts to drink, just thinking of life's paths and changes I guess.
Hugs to all of you!!!

[jane27]

BG, doubting yourself is a far safer bet, than putting your feet up on the coffee table and saying, 'ok, I got this thing. what next.' You'll see....it will all start to click, and the days adding up is your best friend. Proud of you. X

[open halo]

I have replaced AL with exercise..and am reaping the rewards and benefits. It's still difficult to keep it out of my mind though, thanks for so many wonderful and insightful posts,about keeping drinking and NOT drinking out of our thought process, sometimes it can really wear me down. Have a wonderful weekend everyone !:hug:

[Lizann]

Thanks guys, just what I needed to hear today. Mornings seem to be so difficult for me. I just have so much anxiety. Not quite sure how to handle that. It does get better as the day goes along. My oldest is coming by in a bit. Looking forward to that.
Today is the day that my son was to leave for Switzerland . Still no word on the word on the work visa. I'm a little sad for him too. Hoping my mood improves as the day goes on. Have a good one guys.

[BeachGirly]

Hey - I went to a cidery for lunch today. Everyone else had tastings and drinks. I ordered a lemonaide. I even ate a healthy clean meal- no sugar except the lemonaide.
It was a nonevent!

Whoot whoot - I have been worried about this one, as we live in wine country with vineyards everywhere.

I did it.

Hope everyone is having great weekend.

Off to work for me .