Newbies Nest

[witts end]

Newbies Nest

Guitarista;1539703 wrote: G'day Nester's near and not so far! What inspiring, thought provoking posts here once again.

Hi Mychoice, I'm no psychologist, just an ex-drunk, but for me i'd reckon.....talk, talk, talk it out with someone you trust and feel safe/comfortable yapping with who will listen to you non-judgementally. For me, i'd remove myself from the situation. Walk away and get distracted with something else as best you can to try to re-set your mood. 5 minutes of slow deep breathing will relax your body physically. Above all, for me it's important to get what's in my head out of it. Onto paper, or talking with someone. Take care of yourself.

Wishing everyone a safe, sober and magical weekend.

G bloke. :h

I totally agree it's not worth going down that road again

[Neddy Merrill]

Newbies Nest

looking for peace;1539656 wrote: Ford, welcome. I'm new to this forum as well, but not new to MWO. I want to post on my progress everyday and to read through some of the latest post to get to know people.

I'm a stay at home mom in my early fifties. I have 2 boys... One is in college and one is 18 and is autistic. That's why I am still a stay at home mom, the 18 year old is essentially like a toddler in many ways so there is still quite a bit of responsibility that comes with that.

I have been fighting this demon on and off for 25 years. Some years have been good and some have been bad. I've basically been trying to control my intake for at least 15 years.... Which is a nightmare to try to do. I'm at the point that I don't want to fight anymore. It's like getting into a boxing ring with Mike Tyson, I'll never win.

So, I'm going to come here daily and be accountable (good or bad). Yesterday was a good day, no alcohol but it took me quite some time to fall asleep. Looking forward to a good productive Saturday.

Best of luck to all.... Looking forward to getting to know you.

To surrender is to win, as they say at AA

[Neddy Merrill]

Newbies Nest

Good evening nesters. A wee friend of ours - broken halo - is celebrating 30 days tomorrow. Please feel free to congratulate her!

[Tess-2]

Newbies Nest

THE JOURNEY

by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles...

I am back with more of Mary Oliver's poem.

Once I had made a firm decision to walk away from alcohol, I was bombarded by the "voices of alcohol" who kept shouting their bad advice. I thought: I can't really stop drinking, I need a drink, now!!, This is ridiculous - everyone drinks, I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, I am not strong enough to do this. On and on it went. Also, The voices of other people were inviting me to drink, The TV was telling me that cool and sexy and athletic people drink, Glossy magazine ads assured me that the only way to have fun was to drink.

Our friend Elvis wrote this earlier today:

Elvis;1539620 wrote: .... I had read up on sugar cravings so I knew what they were. I'm pretty sure I read half of the internet by this point researching alcoholism. I apparently can't look at alcohol either yet. I have to fast forward past beer commercials or change the channel. My wife had a glass of wine with dinner last night. We had discussed this and I told her I would be okay with it, but it was in my direct sight and the wind was blowing just the right direction I could smell it, so I had to ask her to move it out of the way. ....

Way to go, Elvis!!

That's the way it is in the beginning of recovery from addiction to alcohol. The whole house begins to tremble and the cravings tug at our ankles.

The early part of the journey required me to turn a deaf ear to ALL of the voices and a blind eye to ALL of the images that offer up their very poor advice. I tuned-in, instead, To people who loved me and supported me, To decent TV programming, To books and magazines that were a source of encouragement. I made any necessary changes, even really tough changes, so that I had a fighting chance.

If you would like to read the remainder of "The Journey," you can Google it. It's also on YouTube.

It is a privilege to journey together with All of you.

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

TheSunFlower;1539528 wrote: Thinking out loud. I overheard a conversation recently where a woman blamed society/small minded people for her brother's alcoholism and why he never got help. At first I was inclined to think this woman just wanted to blame someone other than her brother.

Then I started to think about what my kids are being taught at school about alcohol and drugs. How awful it is to be an alcoholic or addict. Shame, shame, shame....

I got me to thinking....had I somewhere along the line been led to believe that being an alcoholic was so bad and shameful that it somehow fueled some of my denial....slowed my acceptance to what I knew to be true?

What if kids were taught that its not a bad thing? But that it is important to recognize the signs and this is what they are? I know for me it was not an overnight development of alcoholism. Rather a gradual process and had I been able to see where I was headed before it got to full blown alcoholism, when its harder to quit...would that type of education led me in another direction sooner?

I don't know. I do think its interesting how many women do quit drinking during pregnancy even alcoholics...because they have been educated on the dangers.

Hi, Sunflower - I've been thinking about your post all day. Then, on FB I ran across this and it made me think of you, and what you seem to be doing - forgiving yourself .

[little beagle]

Newbies Nest

Thank you Byrdie for saying what I was thinking about Allen having all that al in the house.
Nefer and mychoice I know what you are talking about when dealing with Anger and Stress. I have both in abundance in my life right now. Before I would drink at them, now I have different strategies for dealing with these issues. I have named a few in earlier posts but another is to come here. It seems that just knowing that others are in the same situation really helps.
Nefer I am really glad you are joining us. We have a lot in common and I am hoping you will share some of your living sober strategies with us newbies.
:dog::dog:

[3June2013]

Newbies Nest

Crap I lost my previous post where I was trying to say hey to everyone, argh.

I'm going by memory here in between two 12 hour shifts, bear with me!

Little beagle I love New orleans! I was there a while back with hubby, we did a ride in a swamp boat, a ghost walk, saw a fortune teller on Bourbon Street, had a fabulous dinner up on a second floor balcony overlooking the French Quarter, ooh I could go on. Love it there!

wino7 good on you doing your research, looks like it's working for you!

cyn day 3 fabulous keep it up!! L4P thrilled for you too.

Elvis, I wonder if your wife would consider going without her wine for now?

ford, hope you'll feel you can open up a bit?

Londoner happy to see you are around and still AF!

Tess, Lav, Neddy, sunflower, guitarista, hey there!

Byrdie glad you've recovered, you're a good auntie!


To be continued.....

[3June2013]

Newbies Nest

MyChoice;1539665 wrote: Friends, any practical suggestions how to deal with stress and anger? Before I would turn to my old friend AL, but I'm looking for ways to avoid that, yet all alternatives such as count to 10 when angry, think before speak didn't really work for me, which of course made me even more irritated and caused an internal volcano to erupt. Do you have any recommendations? Any thing you have tried that worked for you and stuck around? Each time I get upset I feel hopeless, it almost feels I don't know any other ways to deal with problems other than drinking. Any suggestions are welcomed! Thank you much for sharing your experiences and ideas! Much love to all.

Hi there my choice! I think for starters you might want to work out what is making you angry and stressed?

[3June2013]

Newbies Nest

witts end enjoy your family time in Brisbane!!

Neddy hope your broadband issues are resolved quickly we miss you!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Great posts today!
Have a wonderful night in the nest...tuck in and we'll see you tomorrow! It was a good day! Byrdie

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters!

I had a wonderful day reuniting with my nephew & his family today, it's been a long time between visits

Anyone interested in doing a little reading on Mindfulness - take a look at this website I have subscribed to for many years (you can do some free reading too):
The ToDo Institute: Mindfulness, Procrastination, and Gratitude using Morita and Naikan Therapies

I truly believe you can redirect anger, resentment & hostility & put that energy into something positive & useful for yourselves
There is no need to waste your time battling all that or drinking at that stuff.
Another great resource is 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle & 'Buddha's Brain' by Rick Hanson. All of these resources have helped me move forward & change old ways of thinking & behaving.

Allan, I really hope you have a plan to rid your space of the AL once your company has consumed what they want. Why purposely place yourself in a potentially hazardous situation like that?

LB, I did do some fun shopping in the French Quarter. I especially remember some interesting meals there. Hope all is going well for you.

Greetings & good night wishes to one & all. Have a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[broken halo]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters!

It's a lovely Sunny morning here, I am just getting ready for work. I wanted to check in and say hi before I go. I had a great sleep and feel fantastic today! Have a great sober Sunday my Nest friends, old and new

[TheSunFlower]

Newbies Nest

NS...thanks for the picture.

Off to bed....I have been going through paperwork that needed thrown away....time got away for me! And I wonder why I have sleep issues....

But it feels great to be getting things organized and cleaned out.

[Neddy Merrill]

Newbies Nest

Good Morning Nesters near and far.

Just checking in to wish every one of you a happy AF Sunday and to give a big shout out to Broken Halo who is celebrating 30 days AF. That halo is well on the way to being mended I think!

[Tess-2]

Newbies Nest

Hello ALL Nesters,

It's about 4:00 on Sunday morning and I've decided to get this day started.

Broken Halo - Huge congrats on 30 alcohol-free Days!! It's been fun to watch your progress over the month. You are an inspiration!! I hope this workday goes well for you.

SunFlower - I'm not one to sleep much either. I agree that it feels great to get things organized and cleaned out. I hope that your short sleep is restful and that you have a fabulous Sunday!!

Neddy - Good morning to you!! Any fun plans for the day? We have a couple of friends coming over this afternoon. Hubs will barbecue and I will make two or three salads. These friends don't drink alcohol so no worries there, which is nice. Happy Sunday!!

Have a beautiful AF Day!! :strawberry: