Newbies Nest

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Lola...by the way, congratulations on being a Senior Member!! I think it is a term of number of posts....NOT birthdays. :contrat1000:

Cross post, Allan! B

[theonlyway]

Newbies Nest

Hi everyone! Tis the morning of day 2 and just returned home from a pathetic attempt at a 1 mile jog. Ha. I feel great.

[theonlyway]

Newbies Nest

I'm capable of going 3 when I push myself and I better be ready for this weekend's "Color Run" Anyone heard of this? The Color Run™ *5k of color running madness It looks like so much fun!

[Alcoholic]

Newbies Nest

Congrats, the only way!

Every AF day is worth congrat for because your liver smiles a bit, gets a slight rest and break from working too hard!

[theonlyway]

Newbies Nest

Alcoholic;1403702 wrote: Congrats, the only way!

Every AF day is worth congrat for because your liver smiles a bit, gets a slight rest and break from working too hard!

Haha, thanks!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

I am reminded that we've had so many folks reach the 30 day mark recently, it's worth mentioning that the question of 'is that all there is?' arises. I wrote a note to Allankay back last month after he got his hat. He was feeling a little flat....
I wrote this:

As I mentioned to a response to Allan yesterday in his thread....he'd reached his 30 day goal and then felt like a bride coming back from her honeymoon...NOW WHAT? I was explaining to him that breaking free of alcohol is, in effect, ending a relationship. And I mean a long-standing, hard-core, abusive, solid relationship. In essence you are going thru the 5 stages of grieving. Anger (what brought you here..."I'm SICK of this crazy life!"), Denial (Maybe I'm not all that bad! What was I thinking? Other people drink as much or MORE than I do' I think this is where the biggest Pity Party is thrown...it comes after the first 2 weeks and before day 30), BARGAINING ( why don't I try to moderate? Other people are able to do it...if I could just have one precious glass of _____ I'd be ok, THEN I'll get right back on track..), Depression (Is THIS all there is? Where are the balloons? Is this as good as it's ever going to get? ' Well shit...'.) and finally, acceptance. Let me tell you, this is where it's at. You finally are able to accept that, NO, you CANNOT drink ....AT ALL. Not one, not ever.....and you are ok with this. This is the stage where you can see AL for what it really is....a DRUG. Some people abuse drugs and some people don't. We do. Each stage in grieving is very important. Once you can see what is going on and that you aren't going crazy, it helps...at least it did for me. What you are going thru is the natural stages of loss. If you stay the course, I promise it will get better....I can also make a promise the other way, too....if we stay on the path we were on....well, you get the picture. I can assure you there will be a day where you don't even think about AL! As hard as it is now....it seems hard to believe. As hardcore as I was, I can now come to the end of an evening and think...I'll be dam, I didn't even think about it. THAT is amazing! You will get there...it just takes some time. Please hang in with us...you can do it! If I can do it, you can too!!! Byrdie

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Hello & welcome theonlyway!
Glad you found us, please settle in for a while

Welcome back Snapdragon!
Stick around & let us help you get a good start on your journey. What's your plan?

Lola is 1000 years old today, really?? :H :H

For Starfish, Dottie & anyone needing to calculate AF days - use this:
Date Duration Calculator: Days between two dates

[rooniferd]

Newbies Nest

Day 1

I apologize to everyone in the nest, but I messed up. I didn't "take a damn pill" for a few days, and look what happened. What triggered it? My stupidity. That's what. I thought I would test the waters to "prove" that I really couldn't handle it (because I was thinking it just might have learned to handle it).....right.....

I took the pill earlier today, so no chance of me drinking for several days, even if I wanted to.....

God, I want this cycle to stop. I've had enough. Seriously. This is ridiculous.:eeks:

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

Byrdlady this was exactly how I was feeling today...flat...is this all there is??? having several of the conversations mentioned above with myself....
Thanks for posting..u must be a mind reader???
Dottie

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

roon I was having the same thoughts...good thing I cant drive right now...
Take care and get back up, dust yourself off and we are here to support you.
Dottie

[RunningCourage]

Newbies Nest

Lavande;1403746 wrote:

Lola is 1000 years old today, really?? :H :H

Is she? Oh. Missed that.

Boy that IS old.

Lola - this is for you...

[allankay]

Newbies Nest

Dottie, Star, I think Byrdie has made a very good point. One of the lowest moments had been right after my day 30. I felt like crap for almost a week. I had incredible support here but eventually I had to sit down and re-evaluate my life. Sober life is very different and you may need to set new goals right around day 30 to keep yourself motivated.

My goal was to lose 12 pounds by Christmas, find a new job that would be a step up for my career, find new people that would complement my new lifestyle. Well I am happy to report that I lost all the weight that I wanted with 6 weeks to spare. I got an incredible new job that I am starting next Monday; the only thing left is to surround myself with positive, healthy people... I could not have hoped for better results in such a small time frame. Life without AL is worth living and I find it much easier to make important life changing decisions.

So you should look at your 30 days as your college diploma. Now you have the rest of your life to look forward to. Set new goals, meet new people, change your life; you will be surprised how quickly it can all turn around.

ALLAN

[Starfish1]

Newbies Nest

Hey Roonie- It's okay- Like you said- Now you know! And besides, you've had a little practice, just like the rest of us. Good news is, you get to start over on the first of the month again (easy counting that way . We're here for you :l

Congratulations on your 1000th post Lolab!!! You are such a wise one and such a blessing for all of us! :thanks: for all you do here.

And Byrdie- :heartsnflowers: on top of everything else you do around here, you are not only a mind reader, but a mind healer. I was crying as I read your post because you have explained exactly how I have been feeling. The sad part is, I have had quits before and couldn't even remember this part myself. You have made me feel so much better. I did not go through ALL those steps again (I have totally given up on the bargaining dream and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can't moderate), but I think I am in the depression step- which is the last step before I start feeling really great, I think

Anyway- I have made a copy of your post and I may just sleep with it under my pillow for a few nights. Thanks again!

:h Star

[lolab]

Newbies Nest

rooni - so is the new plan to take the pill no matter what? I feel kind of at a loss because I don't know what mind games you end up playing when you're taking antabuse....You've taken the pill now - please stick around - post and tell us every day that you ttdp? :l

ok OK enough with the OLD jokes...:H

Allan "the only thing left is to surround myself with positive, healthy people..."

AHEM.....look around you! OH.....I guess you meant in the real world.... You'll get there....heck - look at what you've done already!!!

Thanks for all the congrats on my seniority...If they handed out that ranking based on LENGTH of posts rather than NUMBER - I'd have been a senior a looooong time ago!:H

[Starfish1]

Newbies Nest

Cross post, Allen- and Thanks- I was also thinking that same thing this morning-maybe I got it from you (LOL), but really, 30 days was a nice big achievement and now I feel like I need another "carrot on the end of my stick" so to speak. I will think on that. My weight is only slowly dropping, but I am trying to have a healthy diet. I have a pretty good job, so don't see a change in that arena. I am NOT a marathoner and last time I tried to make believe I was I injured myself. I am thinking about setting a goal of walking x number of miles- oh yeah and surrounding myself with positive people (got that one in the bag)

Thanks!