Newbies Nest

[shueaddict]

Newbies Nest

Good morning, checking in on day 4, I know Jason Vale said don?t count the days but this is helping right now; reminding myself just how long it took me to get to these few day s AF makes them that much more valuable.

MWO ? what a fun thought !!! ? my song is Diana Ross?s appropriately named ?Love hangover? (I bet my mom felt the love hangover after having me).

Shelly T ?When I quit cold turkey for the first time I had very similar symptoms ? headache and nausea but what did me in was extreme fatigue mixed with a good dose of depression. It lifted after 2 weeks. Do take supplements, they really really help ? Lglutamine, GABA, 5HTP, vitamins. The ladies who quit at the same time but were on Lglutamine as least had a lot less symptoms.

Juja ? you have a good song, sweetie.

To all the rest, wish you a great AF day full of determination.

[FreeFly]

Newbies Nest

Day 5 begins

My song was "Get off my Cloud" by The Rolling Stones :H Lovin it!

[Prairie Fairy]

Newbies Nest

Hi Shelly -

I share Shue's opinion on this one. If I am all stocked up on the supplements- I do better.

I pretty much EPIC fail without the L-Glut wherever I go - tucked in the handbag - but being on the hypoglycemic side - I start talking stupid when my sugar goes off. I have used a glass of wine for years as a quick fix for that as it's straight sugar - but having the fast dissolve L-glut chewies in high dose in the hand bag keeps me sane and out of the wine section while shopping. No l-Glut means little chance I am fighting the alien since the he has a biological hold - not just mental.

Shue is right about GABA - if you get anxious about not having your AL of choice - it calms those impulses...just get it on-board, have some tea and it should pass.

Lastly - I've since found l-theanine - the active ingredient in green tea - which actually can be shown on brain scans setting down upset brain waves. I had taken it on it's own with no effect but ran across a blend for Source naturals which combines it with the GABA, magnesium
And taurine which are typically deficient due to AL and needed during withdrawal. It's called Theanine Serine. Since switching to the blend - I am having a million times better results and only have to carry the one bottle.

Best wishes -

[lolab]

Newbies Nest

Hypernova, that is a strong post...."if you quit don't start again no matter what" I will heed your warning...

Welcome Chicha - and shelley - and yes - it's perfectly normal to feel off - it might come and go for awhile.

I'm glad everyone's cruising along - seem to be doing well! Byrdie, thanks I will check out chillgirl's thread too - it sounds like aworthwhile read.

I Have to get some things done this morning...plus I have no words of wisdom.

Oh and history was made the week of my birthday! :H In more ways than one... - the Beatles held all top 5 slots with number 1 being Can't Buy Me Love.

[Pinecone]

Newbies Nest

Good morning,

Shelly fabulous work on your 8 days! I will also recommend vitamins and supplements, especially Vit. C, B and plenty of hydration. Drink plenty of water, eat well and get good sleep. I don't know about you, but most of us are experts at neglecting our bodies. When you take away the numbing alcohol and the deadening hangovers, I think we tend to notice the little things our bodies are doing in spite of our best efforts to ignore it! A little routine maintenance and TLC will go a long way.

Have a wonderful AF Friday everyone!

[Unwasted]

Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters,

Just wanted to stop by and post something from Smart Recovery. It's a bit long, but has a few very good points. Sorry, the spacing came out strange.

The emotive component may be a central area to work to work on to build tolerance and emotional resilience. Both procrastination and substance abuse involve some level of low tension tolerance and discomfort dodging activities, such as following a path of least resistance.

Procrastination is easy and you can slide into an illusion trap by telling yourself you?ll build
tolerance later, or you NEED to use right now because you had a bad day, or you can?t stand the tension of not drinking or using. This vicious procrastination-substance abuse circle includes a specious reward in the form of an immediate relief from tension. That relief just rewards these two self-defeating problem habits, thus increasing their chances for re-occurrence.

Effectively curbing dual procrastination-substance abuse habits normally involves a
comprehensive plan, tools to execute the plan, and a deliberate exercise of free-will, or the ability to choose a productive path when you could have yielded to irrational drinking thinking beliefs and impulse.

By simultaneously refusing to capitulate to procrastination and substance abuse urges, you act to shape your life direction by executing rational choices. Through exercising these choices, you avoid hassles associated with drinking or using. You gain productive advantages. This learning, experimenting, and progressive mastery approach marks a path with greater promise for positive change than a vague hope, such as ?I need to do better later.? This hope is an illusion than moves in tandem with procrastination.

When it comes to coping with procrastination or substance abuse habits, I know of no quick fix. Quick fix techniques may create an illusion of progress that is rarely more than a placebo effect that soon wears out, leaving you frustrated and discouraged. Paradoxically, if you choose a challenging ?long-term gain? path, and act to stay on it, you will have simplified your life, have less reason to feel stressed, and have more reason to experience a higher level of self-efficacy. This is a belief that you can organize, regulate, and direct your actions productively.

Relapse prevention for procrastination is part of this self-efficacy process. But that is a plus. When you get to the point where you concern yourself about relapse prevention, you have made progress.

A key relapse prevention approach involves completing a weekly cognitive (rational), emotive, and behavioral checklist without procrastinating! For example, (1) Do I experience drinking thinking and act to debunk it? (2) Am I accepting that I?ll have cravings and feel tempted to drinkuse, and allow myself to live through them without acting on them? (3) Do I take problem solving actions to contain and control drinking behaviors, such as buying or using addictive substances?

You may stay sober and clean forever. However, when it comes to procrastination there are so many nooks and crannies in life where procrastination urges lead to procrastination diversions it is impossible to be perfectly consistent and never procrastinate again. Nevertheless, productive gains in major life zones where procrastination recurs can feel like paradise compared to the alternative that comes with (1) a sense of lack of control and feeling overwhelmed by things left un-started or undone, (2) diversions along troublesome pathways that keep leading to the same dead-end results, (3) false promises to do better, handicapping yourself by giving yourself reasons why you expect failure, and making up excuses to explain away negative results so as to avoid blame.

By jointly addressing common components in both procrastination and substance abuse, you can accelerate and strengthen your self-help efforts. As a byproduct, the outcome is likely to prove productive and satisfying.

A life-time life-style change process of stretching your resources to actualize them is neither simple nor easy in the beginning. It becomes less difficult in the long-run compared to seeking easy paths to meet complex challenges.

[Irie]

Newbies Nest

lolab;1237038 wrote: morning! quick post - but I wanted to make a suggestion Irie. I hope you don't mind! Change your thinking to WHEN I make it through day 3, I will be on to day 4....and will have just the start of an amazing AF life!

I am still amazed by the things I am learning - and how different life feels every day...rather than running in that hamster wheel of being unable to break away from alcohol. Take away those "ifs" and you'll be rid of that tiny 1% of you that is keeping you from succeeding...:-)

I'm taking your advice to heart, Lolab. I've clawed my way back to Day 3 after letting myself off the hook last Day 3. So, it's Day 3 again, Friday, and my birthday, to boot! So WHEN I make it through today, I will have a lot of reason to be proud of myself, I will be on to day 4... and will have the start of an amazing AF life. Thanks, Lolab, for the help with the mindset. I will be back tonight to post my success.

There are a lot of us right now doing really well. Let's ALL power through this weekend. The holidays are over, and for those of us that got derailed by that, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work!

[canadian gal]

Newbies Nest

Hey Shelly. I am on day 8 too. Actually I feel really great and I am not taking any supplements. As for the headaches, are you drinking enough water? I tend to find that I drink more coffee than usual after quitting al, so if you are drinking more coffee and not enough water that might have something to do with it. As for being tired, it is really common for people who quit drinking to develop anemia which can make you feel exhausted. This happened to me the first time I quit, then I got some iron pills and felt great. Everybody's bodies are different though. I have no experience with the supplements, but everyone on here knows what they are talking about.

Hope you feel better soon

[lolab]

Newbies Nest

awesome Irie!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!!!

Just think how proud of yourself you will be tomorrow - floating on a high that you enjoyed your birthday without alcohol!

I will share something with you. My birthday last year was part of my coming undone. I was just past 30 days - and I was doing a pretty good job of staying off the vodka but was "enjoying" a little wine here and there. That little bit of wine on my birthday (and it was my birthday so I started ealier!) put some weird idea in my head that my family was up to something and had some huge surprise in store for me....as the day went on and nothing happened I kept drinking and got more and more disappointed and by the end of the day - pissed off. :-( It's embarassing and makes me very sad...I ruined my own day because of alcohol. And I kept going until Sept 26.

It won't happen in 2012.

Have a fantastic weekend, Irie. :h In the whole scheme of things - to think that in a few short weeks you can feel so differently - it's so worth pushing your way through the tough times in the beginnning - keep your chin up and that determination in your voice.

[canadian gal]

Newbies Nest

Happy birthday Irie! Have a wonderful day! The best present you can give to yourself is to stick to your plan and stay sober! You can do it and we are all proud of you too!

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters!

:bday7: Happy Birthday Irie!
Sober birthdays rock!!!!!!

Welcome to the nest Shelley!
Congrats on your 8 AF days, :goodjob:

Can't believe it's Friday already!
Wishing everyone a terrific AF day!

Lav

[mylife]

Newbies Nest

Good morning guys!

Love hearing all these "birthday songs"! Juja is right - it gives some insight into all those posting. Canadian Gal - I had to laugh that you've never heard of Who Can it Be Now - Men at Work. It's a great song!! I guess I'm just OLD!!

Scottish - I had the same craving yesterday and also had an AF beer after work. It was just fine - but actually I prefered the tea I had before bed.

UW - thanks for the post - read it on another thread.

Hope you all have a fantastic AF day in the Nest!

[mylife]

Newbies Nest

PS - cross post Lav - Hello!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRIE!! :l:h

[dinnysis]

Newbies Nest

Day 3 for me today! Think last time I did that was 2009. Spent last 2 nights reading posts. I really want to carry on so will stick around if ok. Any encouragement really would be welcome. Thanks. I posted on "I DID NOT DRINK YESTERDAY" thread last night and was reminded about having to have a plan, so I got me one and I am going to stick with it. The cravings were brutal last night but I know it will get better!!!!

[Prairie Fairy]

Newbies Nest

Just got the chance to look up the song - " Let the Sunshine In". Fifth Dimension

I don't even know that one - will have to YouTube it on the phone at lunch