tired

[888Katie888]

help! i cant seem to stick to it! after a few days, i feel great when a.f. - then i get a bit stressed and run for the store. i always feel guilty! and shitty. and lonely. i really want to feel good-but always seem to want to block out my feelings by drinking. i'm noticing a pattern, but dont know how to control this. i been trying for a long long time. it's so tiring, draining. how can i stick to it.

[42cat]

tired

Just wanted to say hi and nice to meet you. I'm new here, so no real advice except maybe to try positive thought (which I am trying).

I'm also a Weight Watchers member, fighting an eating addiction of sorts (75 lbs gone, 50 more to go - and the drinks are NOT helping!)...... When I get a few days of good eating under my belt and get scared/stressed/etc., and feel like suddenly pigging out, I tell myself, "If you can get a few days, you can find a way to get one more, and then another after that. Find your initial motivation. Look at pictures. Write things down that you can re-read, such as how you're feeling and why you want to do this. Write out your plan. Do something that makes you happy. Keep trying, keep starting again if you falter. Giving up is not an option."

I suppose those words could go for this alcohol fight too.

Hang in there .. ((hugs)) .. and good luck to you, me and everyone!

~Catt

[Doggygirl]

tired

888Katie888 - welcome! I'm just at the very start of this journey too. I want to congratulate you on having strings of AF days in a row!!!! I haven't had even 1 AF day in longer than I can remember - much less string 3 together. I'm hoping today will be AF day 1 in a long time.

Make sure to congratulate yourself for your successes. The times we don't achieve our goals are just learning opportunities. CELEBRATE the occassions where you succeed!!!! I haven't mastered this with booze yet, but I quit smoking 4.5 months ago after 30 years of heavy smoking. Celebrating each little success helped tremendously in my quit. That, and relying heavily on a great discussion board like this one - just geared to quitting smoking.

Catt - congrats on losing 75 pounds!!! That is awesome. I've got 50 to lose as well, and I'm sure hoping that getting out from under these alcohol calories + insulin swings will be a big help.

Best wishes to you 888Katie888 and congratulations for your AF days!!

DG

[Robert Smith]

tired

888Katie888;162131 wrote: help! i cant seem to stick to it! after a few days, i feel great when a.f. - then i get a bit stressed and run for the store. i always feel guilty! and shitty. and lonely. i really want to feel good-but always seem to want to block out my feelings by drinking. i'm noticing a pattern, but dont know how to control this. i been trying for a long long time. it's so tiring, draining. how can i stick to it.

Hello fello Canadians, to Katie in Montreal and Cat in NS from the sponge in NL.
Katie, I cannot offer the how to because I'm still looking for my way out of this pattern too.
I'm your age,well a little older, and have developed a bad pattern over the years. Don't knock yourself out, I feel the journey to AF is long and the patience required is immence.
It is good to see that many of the members are AF by many different methods so read on
and find something that works for you .

Oh, and keep up the fittness girl , it gets me through the day. I biked about 40 K last evening in the mountains, it was wonderfull. Endorphines are the best drug out there and its free. Just have to move them bones to get them.............right ?

The Sponge

[betty boop]

tired

Hi Katie, The longer you do it the better you will feel, you will get through this honey ..........

BB xx

[AudreyR]

tired

Hey all you guys up North

I'm new here as well and want to offer you all a warm welcome and much support. I've found posting here helpful. Robert is definitely correct about excercise and releasing endorphins. I'm trying to go directly home after work and excercise and post here instead of hitting the liquor store. It's difficult after years of the same behavior. We need to support each other.
Best to everyone,
Aud

[hart]

tired

(((Katie)))

It's truly a change of habit that needed. I look at it as changing our knee jerk reaction. Bored, angry, depressed NEEDN'T equal, go get drunk. How about coming here? What about reading, getting a movie, calling a friend? If you can delay the automatically getting the booze of choice u will get stronger.

But you are here! And that's a great step! We all struggle at our own pace. But it's a struggle we all understand and support each other thru.:l

[888Katie888]

tired

Hi, thanks for all the positive advice, it's just what i needed! thankyou. a little boost of morale goes a long way. you're all brave and strong to be here, congradulations on your accomplishments of wieght loss, and quitting smoking! i'll keep in touch here more often, it's a great site, a lot of friendly, warm people. The only way for me to get control (stop drinking) is to keep talking about it, to stay motivated, stay positive, getting some support is so important.

[Doggygirl]

tired

Hi Katie!! It's good to see you back. I am by NO means experienced at this, but since you initially posted I'm on Day 5 AF. Like Catt mentioned - she is finding lots of strategies she uses to help with weight loss are also useful for curbing drinking. (that's not a correct sentence but I don't feel like fixing it LOL so I hope you can figure out what I'm trying to say!!). I am finding that many of the strategies I used to successfully quit smoking apply here too and that has really helped.

A BIG one for me was writing down what I like and don't like about drinking, and writing down all my reasons for wanting to NOT drink. It's a handy thing to refer to when those urges come along. It seems to make it easier to choose not to drink. Here are a couple of my favorite "talk to myself" sayings that I've transferred from the smoking world to my drinking world. (and I stole these wonderful sayings - they are not my own creations!)

"There is nothing in life that is SO bad that smoking a cigarette won't make it worse." (I now use this mind speak for both "smoking a cigarette" and "drinking a drink")

"I can't stop my mind from having thoughts of smoking. I CAN choose not to smoke each and every time the thought of smoking comes along. They are just thoughts, and I'm in charge of how I respond."

"The urge to smoke will go away whether I smoke or not."

"How will smoking make this current situation better?" (I ask that question when a stressful event seems to trigger the thought)

Anyway, those are some things that I've "carried over" that seem to be helping me, in addition to the supps and CD's and support here! Best wishes....keep comin' back.

DG
Day 5 AF * * * * *

[out]

tired

Doggygirl...

Just wanted to give you a quick congrats on your 5th day. Any time we spend not drunk is good and any time we spend drinking is just another learning experience. I think it is awasome how you are applying the smoking cessation strategies to your drinking.

Kattie....we are all trying to figure this out. it really isn't intellectually understandable why we do what we do. it is part of a body urge and a primative part of the brain that pushes us around without words or rationale. The day after a binge feels terrible, hungover, full of remorse. I have no answers, right now I am trying to drink less and not stress too much one way or another. I am not always successful, but I having been slowly shifting my focus from whipping myself the next day to just being more present and aware of what I am doing, thinking and feeling without judging it. so very easy and so very hard. If it means anything you I will not judge you harshly whether you drink or not. Taking any step to improve your situation or your self esteem is great whether or not that involves changing your drinking habits. everything is a process. Take Care.