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    Newbies Nest

    Byrdlady;1608368 wrote: Morning, Nesters.
    Welcome back, Badger. No time like the present, let's get this thing started and begin your new life. There is no drink that feels as good as being sober does.

    Available, Jan 31, 2010, I gave up vodka because my hubs was on to me...he found my stash and had really had it with me passing out at 8 on the couch. I switched over to wine because I'd never had any problem with that. (BTW, AL is AL no matter what form it's in....don't madda...wine was vodka with a mustache) That's when I found this website. I was ready to quit when I joined....I knew the jig was up. I got a few days in and was wandering around the boards one day and happened across the moderating boards. Those folks seemed to have it all! They had CONTROL, self- discipline and got to drink! And were happy! It is amazing what the addict brain reads into things....so that was the year I tried to moderate. I never drank harder. I would go several days sticking to 2...then 3. Then VIKING GOBLETS of 2 or 3, but was quickly on my way down. Then I tried just drinking every other day, then on weekends or whatever...the trouble was that when I finally allowed myself the AL, I grabbed onto it like a drowning person...it literally WAS my life preserver. I drank out of panic. My hiding it and sneaking around about it GOT WORSE. It was the worst year of my life in terms of what AL took away. One day I went to empty my hidden empties and I had 37 one liter boxes! And I still didn't quit!! It was only when my hubs left me that I had to make a choice (and it was a hard one at the time, believe it or not) Get sober and HOPE he would come back to me or drink myself to death and give in to it. Those were my ONLY 2 choices. Thank God I fought for my life back. Being a slave to AL is worst prison sentence there is. I am reminded of that movie 'Flight' where Denzel Washington said he didn't have another lie in him. So that is why the year I was 50 was a train wreck. I have never seen anyone successfully moderate on these boards long term and believe me I look. NOT ONE. EVER. (if that tells you anything) Those are pretty strong words....that's why I try my best to help people get that hope of moderating out of their heads...because as long as hope is there, people won't let go of it. They can't let go of the addiction until they starve it to death, that's the only way. I'm not making this up, either....one drop springs it back to life, it is like the most stubborn weed you've ever met....one ounce of life in it and it will take over. Funny, in the South, Kudzu is like that and now here it is a supplement to help with cravings...I also thought that was ironic.

    The reason this 'habit' is so hard to beat is because this is addiction...big difference. It can be beaten tho....there are plenty of examples right here to prove it. There's just one thing you gotta do and that's not pick up the first drink. It really does get easier....if it stayed as hard as it does that first week nobody could do it. Stay the course and starve this bastard. AL has done nothing to help me at all. I hate it.

    Long day today....my step son in law's memorial service. Thank God above I am sober. Byrdie
    Byrd my thoughts are with you today, funerals are never good and being so young also is so sad.

    Thank you for your honesty with why it was your worst year drinking. I can relate to all of what you said though Byrd i was impressed with the 37 litre casks. My immediate thought was "god i didnt drink that much" but if i had to hide and collect all of the bottles i am definitely sure I did. Its funny that I used to read posts and think that i didnt drink that much so i am not too bad. As you say it is amazing what our al brain tells us. I, like you read the "mod threads" after a few days af and thought YES YES YES i can do that. I think it was a reason to celebrate with a VIKING glass also. Why did i not listen to you wise ones, because i didnt want to believe that i could NEVER drink again EVER. That was my hardest thought to get my head around. I loved my best friend, i cherished him, he was my confidante, my advisor, my world. How could i just let him out of my life permanently? It clicked when after my last try at moderating and definitely not succeeding that I realised you and Lav and every other wise person on here was correct. If i was to succeed in getting al out of my life i had to realise that i could never ever drink again. That was when giving up became easier, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The not fighting with myself is a blessing and Byrd you are my greatest inspiration in this battle which is getting so much easier everyday and for that I thank you and Lav and K9 and Dot for your words of wisdom on here. Its not easy to give up al but it is doable. Thank you.
    AF free 1st December 2013 - 1st December 2022 - 9 years of freedom

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      Newbies Nest

      Sixty the alarm going off was not fun but once i got to work it was good. Lots of people to chat to so not much work done and traffic was wonderful. A bit of warmth in Melbourne would be novel though, starting to feel like winter.

      Today i went for a coffee date and it was funny but the one person i noticed was the person with a wine. Could have been 1000 people there and i would have noticed that glass. I just looked at it and thought, good on you that you can drink that, i know i cant. I did not feel sad, i just accepted that that is not me anymore and I hoped he didnt have an al problem.

      Good on you Hyper for day 9, have been watching you 4 and its going quick those days.

      Welcome Tree and settle yourself in, as you know keeping on here is great in our battle to give up
      AF free 1st December 2013 - 1st December 2022 - 9 years of freedom

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        Newbies Nest

        Well done on 5 days AF, Tree! Find a perch, get some butt velcro from Mr G, and, as Avail said, settle yourself in.
        14 October 2013 was the first day of the best days of my life!

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          Newbies Nest

          Hi All,

          I have been absent from here for too long.

          I am back, and ready to tear this year apart. I am focussing on day by day, and keeping myself motivated towards my goals.

          When I become demotivated, I drink. Simple. It is escape from my failure.

          Happy 2014 all.

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            Newbies Nest

            MAE nesters!

            Brydie, I am so sorry for your loss. My heart and good thoughts go out to you today.

            Woke up to -22 degrees with wind chill of -47. I am surprised my dog even went out to pee this morning!

            Today is day 3 for me, I already feel so much better even if tired from not great sleep last night.

            Wishing everyone a warm or cool day depending on where you're at.

            Happy Monday, Blar. off to work, hope my car starts at the end of the day.

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              Newbies Nest

              Good morning Nesters,

              Welcome back Tree! Settle in for a while!

              Tavistock, my friend in MN emailed me last night about the -25 degree temp
              Be careful out there!!!

              I have a busy day ahead including work, exercise & a visit from my daughter & granddaughter.
              No time for me to get into trouble

              Have a great AF Monday everyone & remember to be grateful for every single AF minute you have!!

              Lav
              AF since 03/26/09
              NF since 05/19/09
              Success comes one day at a time :thumbs:

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                Newbies Nest

                Good morning Nesters, today is day 3 for me, it has been difficult since my brothers passing, but so far so good.

                Thanks Knine for your encouraging words, I have done this before and I know I can do it again.
                I have had some serious issues with my siblings since my brothers death. The first one is for 8 months my eldest sister one and only would plan to go see my brother and when I called to make sure he was up to seeing us we had already called the day before to see about going down, it is a two hour drive.
                I would be told my sister her husband and brother were down and he was exhausted. So I would say that is okay I understand.
                After a few months, actually the summer I began to get upset for never being included, my brother and sister in law could not understand, they would simply shrug, I tried not to dwell.
                After Dennis passed, I approached my sister and asked why she never included me or told me they were going, her response is I have no regrets.
                Now my youngest brother is siding with her and we are not talking either.
                Please remember one thing, when this all started I was not drinking, or very very little, for some reason it was under control for the first time in a long time, my sister drinks alot more than I do, her son lives right beside her and she has told me she does not remember going home, more than a few times. They always have drinks in their hands and always ready to offer one. So that is not the issue.
                This has all made it so difficult to accept my brothers passing for I have no family to discuss things with, I do however have my man, he is wonderful, a none drinker and very supportive of how I feel. So I think it is time since I have a whole new year to make my life better, it is time to let go of the negative things in my life even if that means my youngest brother and eldest sister.
                Thanks nesters for letting me rant, well you had no choice now did you, but you read, and that I must say thank you. Enjoy your day

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                  Newbies Nest

                  Morning, Nesters....
                  I appreciate the hugs!! What would I do without my friends here??! This place keeps me sane! Thank you all so much.

                  Moretoit, I can identify with control freak relatives. The best advice I have is to go over to the @#$%^^&**&^! Thread and blow off some steam. Not trying to make light of anything, but writing it down over there will do more good than trying to reason with unreasonable family members. Getting that distance from AL is the best thing you can do to heal all areas of your life.

                  Back on our heads today....hope everyone has an easy day. xo, Byrdie
                  All you gotta do, is get thru this day. AF 1/20/2011
                  Tool Box
                  Newbie's Nest

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                    Newbies Nest

                    MAE--

                    Off to work, heigh ho heigh ho.

                    Happy Monday, all. So happy to be heading to work after 5 weeks sober - no holiday regret or depression. Phew.

                    Stay strong - we can do this.

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                      Newbies Nest

                      I heard you all like speeches. And Day 54 might be an odd day to give a speech, but I just realized that this is the longest I've gone AF since I admitted to myself that I drank too much. And thankfully, I have no desire to drink again. The misery is still fresh in my mind, and I'm so much better off in so many ways by not drinking. A BIG thanks to everyone here for your support!

                      In no order, here's what works for me:

                      1. Get all the alcohol out of the house. I know it's a tough thing to do. I struggled forever with it, but you just have to do it. If you have any open bottles, pour them out. Stop whatever you are doing right now, get up, and pour it out before you even have the chance to think what you are doing. That's what I had to do. I had to give away my unopened bottles because I was too weak mentally to pour them out. Actually, I was so weak, I had to ask my wife to give them away. She said she would give them to her brother, but I suspect she threw them out. Whatever it took to make them disappear though. Go straight home after work. Change the way you drive home if you need to so you don't go past any liquor stores. Get the alcohol out and keep it out.

                      2. Keep busy. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you aren't drinking while you do it. I started by cleaning the house. Then I started going to the gym again. Then I cleaned my closets. Then I restarted an abandoned hobby. I go for a walk. I watch TV. I go to the movies. I go shopping. I hang out with friends. I take day trips. Do anything. Keep busy, take your life back.

                      3. Get support. Having someone I could trust and talk to, or some place I could go and talk openly and honestly, was essential. For me that's my wife and MWO forums. I tried to do it on my own, but that didn't work. Getting my wife involved was helpful, but she doesn't have a drinking problem, so some things she just doesn't understand. That's where MWO forum fills the void for me. Everyone here gets it, because everyone here has been through it or is going through it. I post in the roll call daily, and read the nest several times a day. It doesn't matter who or where, get support. It doesn't have to be your spouse or MWO, it could be AA, your church, your parents, your children, your best friend, whatever works for you. There is no need to do it alone.

                      4. Have a plan. Have some excuses ready for when someone offer you a drink. Lie if you need to, or just say "No" and don't offer an excuse. When you go out to a restaurant, order iced tea, or soda, or water. If you go to a party or some place where you are afraid they won't have NA options, bring your own. It gets easier after the first few times, and now that I've done it for a while, it's natural.
                      11/5/2014

                      [moon] [guy] [shout] [two] [horse] [three] [rockon] [worthy] [spin] [allgood] [two] [dancin] [shout] [baby] [fist] [celebrate] [dancin] [rockon] [welldone] [bouncy] [applause2] [dancing] [lucky] [worthy] [llama] [shout] [horn] [three] [applause] [hyper] [dancegirl] [black] [bumpit] [sohappy] [horse] inkele: :applause2: :yay:

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                        Newbies Nest

                        Support

                        Hi Elvis
                        Thanks for the advice - day 54 seems an awful long way away for me

                        In terms of support, I too check and read the forums as often as I can. I have made a conscious effort to stop my constant use of Facebook and instead spend my time here , hopefully a positive substitution )
                        I gave myself a wonderful present on Christmas Day 2013 - a future free from the guilt and pain that alcohol causes....

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                          Newbies Nest

                          MAE nesters! Just checking in. All's well here, just busy.


                          AF since 12/26/13

                          "...........just put one foot in front of the other and move forward. One step at a time." Chris McCombs

                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dJ97Vwoup4

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                            Newbies Nest

                            MAE all,
                            -6 here wind chill -20...going to stay in today. They wont be fixing the leak today, and the vacuum broke this morning....renters emailed me to say sink is not running at all....I am selling the darn place.....Yep I am running way...someplace warm....
                            Dottie

                            Newbie's Nest

                            Tool Box
                            ____________
                            AF 9.1.2013

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                              Newbies Nest

                              Dottie Belle;1608978 wrote: MAE all,
                              -6 here wind chill -20...going to stay in today. They wont be fixing the leak today, and the vacuum broke this morning....renters emailed me to say sink is not running at all....I am selling the darn place.....Yep I am running way...someplace warm....
                              -6!!! We have a roaring fire here and it's about 9 degrees )
                              I gave myself a wonderful present on Christmas Day 2013 - a future free from the guilt and pain that alcohol causes....

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                                Newbies Nest

                                Thanks all,
                                I am definitely very good at perching because I have watched my chickens do it constantly. I wonder if that is why I dreamed I had them back again. I found them a new home in May due to the thought of moving, my health (back issues) and my addiction. I am hopeful that I may be able to have them again in the future as I continue to progress.
                                It is mild in my part of AK. We are so thankful the sun is coming back. Being dark at 3 pm doesn't help with only drinking at night, cause it was only light for about four hours. I am just glad I don't live in Barrow! Starting day 6 off with a wonderful attitude and I have to thank Little Beagle for my new mantra, which, surprisingly, I think I have been searching for for 7 years! I will post it later. It will give me something to look forward to when I check in again. Even though I do not have the slightest urge to drink (the last month I was somewhat forcing it down my throat as I was fighting throwing it right back up-perhaps my own aversion therapy) I do find this community as reassuring as a fresh breath of air or sunlight after a very dark and torrid storm. Thank you!
                                Day 6 AF
                                :earth: Tree23

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