Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Stella has a special gift for you today K9 :H


Rainy, Rooni & anyone else suffering from the evils of AL - I know you are learning that AL is never a good choice for us. I will not try moderation because everytime I've tried in the past I have failed miserably. I just want you to know that you can live a fine, happy & peaceful life without consuming any AL

Hello & welcome Catbuddy!
Glad you decided to join us & just maybe your sister will be inspired to do the same.
Have you read the MWO book yet? It's a great place to get started.

Hope everyone is having a good Tuesday
Lav

[lolab]

Newbies Nest

catbuddy, thanks for sharing the story about your sister....that's great motivation and like Lav said - maybe it'll be enough to help her, too.

[mama bear]

Newbies Nest

Welcome catbuddy and best wishes and much health for your sister....
Howdy Newbies...hope all are well!

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Catbuddy,
Thanks for sharing your story. I can "hear" in your posts that you are serious about quitting alcohol. What do you plan to do differently in the evenings (or whenever your drinking time was)? For me, I was an at-home-only drinker, so changing my environment was important. I rearranged the furniture and moved a couple of lamps and sat on a different couch. ANYTHING to make my drinking "spot" look different. I had to disassociate my living room from thoughts of drinking. It may sound simple, but it worked! The first couple of weeks, my daughter and I watched a lot of DVD's, ate pizza and popcorn and had a few "sleepovers" in the living room. Things I never would have done drunk. Keep posting and let us know how you're doing. If the cravings get real bad, clean out a closet...that will distract you! Remember, a craving never lasts as long as a hangover. Ride it out, it won't kill you.
K9

[Fin]

Newbies Nest

Day 1

Going for it again. Found two beers in my fridge last night and drank 'em up. Tonight's gonna be a bear with our weekly band practice where the beers typically flow. Ahhh, this sucks so-so bad.

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Hi Fin!

Yeah, it sucks...no other way to put it! BUT..I found that it sucked LESS than going to jail on 2 DUI's. It sucked less than wasting thousands of dollars. It sucked less than waking up to anxiety, shame, embarrassment, guilt, remorse, and a body full of bruises that I had no memory of getting. Fast forward through the buzz into the next day's hangover...which seems harder, abstaining or recovering?

You can do this. Stay strong!

K9

[limonada]

Newbies Nest

Day six, and still going strong. Had a long conversation with my best friend yesterday about how I just should never drink—I won't continue to make exceptions when I go upstate to visit her anymore. It was actually helpful to use one of the analogies I read on here (apologies to whoever authored it...I can't remember!) that for me alcohol is basically an allergen, like a peanut allergy, except instead of getting puffy and wheezy, I go crazy and turn into an asshole. And no one tries to convince a person with a food allergy to "c'mon, just have a few bites!" so she shouldn't try to tamper with my resolve in the name of "fun."

She hadn't tried this time...yet...but she was definitely one of the contributing factors to my breaking my last 8-month sober streak, which turned into a 14-month drinking streak (trying to moderate, often failing). And she *had* told me that "this detox of mine isn't her friend"...to which I said that it's certainly *my* friend, and if it's my friend and she's my friend, she and my detox are going to have to learn to be friends.

I haven't had any serious cravings yet. The worst ones usually come after a few weeks, when I start bargaining with myself that it's OK, and am sitting at a bar waiting for takeout food or strolling past a restaurant patio with loads of people drinking white wine in the sun. I live in a bustling downtown area, so that's a constant danger. But so far, so good.

And things are already improving between my boyfriend and me. Not that they were ever BAD, but when I'm not drinking, they get downright blissful. We're lucky to have each other. He's going through some crap right now, too, yet we still manage to be loving, happy sanctuary for each other. He's never been a big drinker since I've known him, but he told me he'd cut out his occasional beer-drinking in solidarity, because it means that little to him. I'm secretly hoping that my resolve in the no drinking, no smoking, no drugs, no caffeine thing also inspires him to quit smoking...but I would never try to force it. He'll quit when he's ready...or he won't.

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Limonada,

A quote that always makes me laugh is "I'm allergic to alcohol, I break out in handcuffs".

Sadly, for me that is true. I can laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny when I was locked up with my cellie named Diablo. She kept stealing my shoes.

I'm glad your BF is doing good as well. I wouldn't force the smoking issue on him. I quit 37 days ago, and nobody could have forced me. I had to do it when I was ready. Be patient, it will happen.

Next time you see people drinking white wine in the sun...fast forward to puking in the toilet. That's the reality of alcohol.

Stay strong, you CAN do this!

K9

[patrice]

Newbies Nest

K9Lover;1386433 wrote: Limonada,


Next time you see people drinking white wine in the sun...fast forward to puking in the toilet. That's the reality of alcohol.

K9

Yes K9, that really IS the reality !!!

Patrice

[Catbuddy]

Newbies Nest

K9Lover;1386391 wrote: Catbuddy,
Thanks for sharing your story. I can "hear" in your posts that you are serious about quitting alcohol. What do you plan to do differently in the evenings (or whenever your drinking time was)? For me, I was an at-home-only drinker, so changing my environment was important. I rearranged the furniture and moved a couple of lamps and sat on a different couch. ANYTHING to make my drinking "spot" look different. I had to disassociate my living room from thoughts of drinking. It may sound simple, but it worked! The first couple of weeks, my daughter and I watched a lot of DVD's, ate pizza and popcorn and had a few "sleepovers" in the living room. Things I never would have done drunk. Keep posting and let us know how you're doing. If the cravings get real bad, clean out a closet...that will distract you! Remember, a craving never lasts as long as a hangover. Ride it out, it won't kill you.
K9

So, my danger zone is my kitchen and food shows. I love to cook. As an example, I'll pour some wine and start chopping veggies, getting ready for a great sauce to come. Might be 6:00pm, might be 9:00am, scenario is the same. I just decide I want my day to stop, want to feel a release from pressure, and so it goes. I will need to dissociate cooking from drinking.

For the near term, no more cooking shows; watching singing/dancing competition now. People doing something other than consuming. And I will take my son out, now that I don't have to worry about drinking and driving. And I will leave the kitchen once we have eaten. And I will stay out of the bedroom unless it is time to sleep!!! I just exited the world about five years ago when I broke up with my husband, and have been falling apart ever since. So I need to upturn many bad habits I'm in right now. :new:

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

Catbuddy...mine is sitting here watching TV and cooking dinner with dh doong nothing to help...sigh....need a new routine.....
Dottie

[Fin]

Newbies Nest

Day 1 Hell

K9Lover;1386415 wrote: Hi Fin!

Yeah, it sucks...no other way to put it! BUT..I found that it sucked LESS than going to jail on 2 DUI's. It sucked less than wasting thousands of dollars. It sucked less than waking up to anxiety, shame, embarrassment, guilt, remorse, and a body full of bruises that I had no memory of getting. Fast forward through the buzz into the next day's hangover...which seems harder, abstaining or recovering?

You can do this. Stay strong!

K9

This totally sucks! I have to key in on the next day guilt and remorse. Those are the demons I hate facing in the morning. Grrrrr...I'm so pissed off right now. I also have to remember how hard it was to quit chewing tobacco, but I did it. I can do this too, but have I told you how much this SUCKS?!

[K9Lover]

Newbies Nest

Fin,

Doesn't this SUCK? :l
The morning after anxiety finally made me quit. I hated, hated, hated not knowing what I'd gotten up to the night before. It could have been anything from raking the lawn in the rain to mooning the guy at the liquor store to driving drunk....or all of the above.

What doesn't suck is waking up knowing exactly how you spent your night, what you said and did, and not feeling like the world is crashing in around you.

What can you do tonight for a distraction? Go to the library, take a walk, take a shower, organize your socks....do whatever it takes.

Dottie...go OUT to dinner and a movie...tell DH you need a break from your routine.

[finallydone]

Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters! I haven't been here for awhile. But would love to say Hi to all my friends here. Honestly I have been busy with work and school so I just take time on my thread to post. But if anyone is new here and wants to know how wonderful and life changing this place is. I am a prime example of it. Love you all!:h NNCD

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

K9 I am going upstairs and watch TV alone with the cats...doggies are the downstairs pets and cats are the upstairs pets...they dont get along very well together.....work tomorrow so I go to bed earlier.....
Dot