Dedicated to the quit we love

[Ginger999]

Very insightful Spirit! Now I'm off for a big hike. That damn AL boredom brain won't catch me!!

Enjoy your day everyone and stay busy!

[Spiritfree]

Very insightful Spirit! Now I'm off for a big hike. That damn AL boredom brain won't catch me!!

Ginger, in all of my beginnings of quitting, hiking in the mountains was my only answer to 'not' drinking. Not only did the observation of the small stuff in the woods help take my mind off of alcohol, but so did the fact that I would not be able to hike very far if I had been drinking. Hope your hike goes/went well.

--sf--

[little beagle]

I found jigsaw puzzles a way to keep my brain and my hands busy.

[SHADES_of_IDAHO]

Great idea. You can glue them on boards and frame then hang on wall. Thee are so many clever ones. I love puzzles and have collected many over the years.

XXXX
SHADES

[little beagle]

Good to see you still here with us Shades. You are often in my thoughts.

[All done drinking]

Hi SHADES_of_IDAHO,

I haven't seen you post anywhere before so welcome to MWO and thanks for posting on this thread! We'll be discussing a new topic each week over on this thread as well as sharing anything we feel the need to - to help us all stay strong in our recovery.

Addy :love:

[All done drinking]

FIGHTING OFF CRAVINGS

Sometimes the hardest part about quitting is fighting off the cravings to drink. When you were caught up in drinking you may not have noticed that a lot of people drank less than you did as you probably were drawn to people who drank as much or more because then you didn’t have to really face the fact that you were drinking too much. Now is the time to observe others that don’t drink or drink less at parties and you may be surprised to see that they are having a very good time without alcohol. You also may notice, and cringe…at those who drink too much and you may start to feel slightly embarrassed for them.

It has been said that it gets better in time with cravings and urges when we choose to abstain. The fact that we are not re-introducing alcohol into our systems certainly helps. For me (who was never a big drinker and not physically addicted to alcohol) I believe I was psychologically addicted. My urges and cravings come when I see the commercial on t.v. glamorizing drinking. I also liked the social aspect of it (a drink was always a good excuse to get together with a friend). So, the topic this week is how do you fight the cravings and urges to drink when it happens to you?

Addy

[Spiritfree]

PURPOSE OF THREAD:

• Weekly discussions: A single topic relative to abstinence will be the primary focus for discussions
• Sharing positive experiences relative to abstinence or becoming abstinent
• Comments and sharing about all other previous topics (or new topics any poster wants to bring up)

The thread is meant to be "all" inclusive -meaning that no one should refrain from posting for any reason (other than posts to create turmoil). Of course this is only interpretation of this thread and I believe that has the ability to be a long running, active, participatory, helping kind of thread .



WEEKLY DISCUSSION: WEEK 01
• TIPS AND TRICKS THAT CAN HELP AVOID RELAPSE

WEEKLY DISCUSSION: WEEK 02
• KEEPING BOREDOM AT BAY

WEEKLY DISCUSSION: WEEK 03
• FIGHTING OFF CRAVINGS

[NoraC]

Hi everyone....

Fighting off cravings is my downfall. I have been really trying to focus this time and seeing the cravings for what they are.
I had an incident this weekend where my husband mentioned that he might have a beer next Saturday. We are going away for a night for a little getaway. (My hubby was definitely an alcoholic - drank to excess. However, he has recovered and very rarely drinks now. Maybe a couple of times a year, he'll have a beer) Well, he said that and my brain just went into almost 'panic' mode. Oh my gosh, am I going to drink? Should I drink? I don't want to drink. I have 3 weeks AF, do I want to blow that?
Anyway, I played it all out in my head and I know that I do not want to drink. So, about an hour later, I told him that it was fine if he wanted to drink but that I didn't want to. He immediately apoligized and said he wouldn't drink.
So, I think that playing it all in my head did help me this time. I have been really trying to focus on staying connected here. Doing things for myself.
I also took an antabuse. Sometimes, it is just better to take that so that I don't play that endless loop in my brain until I end up caving and buying that alcohol.
Anyway - this time I really thought about it from picking up the drink until the next day or weeks of being in the cycle again.
It helped.

[Starfish1]

Nora, You are doing GREAT! I am so proud of you! Thanks for being a great role model here!

Not to get off track, but, just like you, I think that fighting off cravings has always been a big downfall for me. I have done it (fought them off) in some of my quits, but usually, I just gave in to them...like a big sissy!!!

I am taking AB again too and this does help a lot, with all the monkey chatter (will I or won't I)...but, as you know, we still get cravings....

So, I am going around the world here to address the weekly topic and say that the best thing I know of to fight off the cravings is to EAT. Eat good food, eat it Often and eat A LOT!!! Someone (I think it's Byrdie) says it's the silver bullet.

I am having to force myself to eat well right now because I am constantly worried about gaining weight and right now, I would love to be 10 pounds lighter, but, I keep telling myself that IF I drink instead of eat, I'll still feel "fluffy", but I'll be drunk AND fluffy. Not a pretty site and no fun at all.

[All done drinking]

Nora,

Good job for waiting and then making a decision. Someone told me that once, to just wait 15 minutes to think about it and more than likely when the 15 minutes is up, the craving will have subsided. I also ask myself a question at times like this, which is "Do you really want to sacrifice long term benefits for immediate gratification?

abcowboy gave me stellar advice the first day I joined the AF threads. He advised in weak moments to take out that letter I wrote as to why I was quitting to remind myself of the reason for coming to this decision. I have also put reminders in my phone, various sayings to help keep me strong in weak moments, things like "The short term pleasure of alcohol is not worth the long term problems it causes", "Will this promote or hinder the achievement of my goals in life?" "Don't forget how remorse goes out the window the second the hangover goes away." "Never trade what you want the most for what you want in the moment." Feel free everyone to add more to this list!

Most importantly, don't forget that we can't go back and start a new beginning, but we can start today and make it a new ending. Nora, you've been 10 days behind me and you're still 10 days behind me - not 11 or more. Keep it up! We can do this.

Addy (All Done Drinking...Yes!) :love:

[little beagle]

For the first 3 months, maybe a little longer, I would treat myself to a big DQ blizzard when I had a bad craving. I really didn't substitute, rather used it as more of a weekly treat. Trust me, after a sweet, rich, chocolate treat like that you don't want to drink. And I put weight loss on the back burner. No I didn't gain weight, but I didn't really lose any either. But no one cared. I was a much happier, funner person to be around. Everyone noticed my smile and happy mood, not my waistline.

[abcowboy]

Geez LB, now I want to drive down to the DQ! But I did have a Magnum double chocolate ice cream bar for desert!

I’m very fortunate that in this, my final quit, I don’t suffer from cravings or worry too much about triggers. They just don’t bother me. And I only have God to thank for that.

But I can tell you that a big key to sobriety and serenity is to make sure your head is full of recovery so that your butt will not lead you to relapse. If you are thinking about drinking again, or having an urge to relapse, think about how wonderful and easier life is now that you are not drinking. Think about the horrible consequences you used to have that you do not have now. Think about the effect on others and yourself acting out of anger or drinking will have.

Think back to every time you picked up the first one, and remember how the first one was not the last one. Remember how you picked up again when a feeling, person, place, or situation triggered you. Remember even the "little" consequences like hiding your booze, sneaking around to get it, and lying about doing it. Remember how you smelled after drinking and how you wasted time and money dealing with drinking. Remember how you ended up in dangerous places. Remember how your drink of choice did not work after the first time it buzzed you. Remember how you later tried to drink more later that same day when you promised yourself you would not drink again. Remember how you had to drink again just to avoid feeling sick. Remember how you tried other alcoholic beverages and how they did not make you feel any better either. Remember the days spent just trying to feel normal. What else can you remember that will prove that your drinking won't be different this time? We all call it “playing the tape to the end” but, it usually works. If nothing else, give prayer a chance….it can’t hurt and it’s free!

[NoraC]

Cowboy, I'm saving this post. You hit the nail right on the head.

[All done drinking]

I shared this article years ago here and want to share it again. I retrieved it from another alcohol website and the author gave permission to repost it. It is really so spot and fits so well with our subject this week. Please read and contemplate.

Bluesky's Story
I've been trying to moderate my drinking since my teens, and I'm now in my 40s. I finally came to the realization that, for me, abstinence is the only way, but like you, I have harbored reservations and have given it another try. It never works out for me, but still I don't learn. You see, my memory is selective. I tend to forget how sick I felt each day, the hangovers, the blackouts, the puking, the worrying about how I appeared to other people, the remorse I felt every single morning when I woke up. I was beating myself up and yet I continued. Who does that? Social drinkers don't do that. But alcoholics do.



As we struggle with cravings at times, it is so important to remember the truth of the bad times with alcohol, not the good times or romantisized memories of it, but the pain it caused, the remorse, the guilt, the shame, the hangovers. The times of looking in the mirror and saying to ourselves, "I can't believe I did this to myself again." Write it down, so you can remind yourself with phrases that help your selective memory. Stay strong friends.

Addy :love: