Newbies Nest

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters,

Happy Saturday to all

Good job resisting the beer Kensho! Much better to be clear headed & proud of yourself in the morning

Momo3 - you are well on your way to 30 days, awesome!

Wishing everyone a great AF Saturday!
I'll be outside as much as possible enjoying this nice weather - what a gift!

Lav

[Mein Sonnenschein]

Newbies Nest

Hi Nest. Over two weeks AF! I'm sorry I have not been in touch... we've been on vaca and I haven't had much time to be on the internet. But I'm so happy with my two weeks AF... I have not done that in YEARS.

But... I'm still so grumpy! Everyday I'm grumpy, even after a cup of coffee and some sugar (yes, that's the next thing to go starting Monday). Plus the horrible headaches everyday. I was expecting this for a while... but for two weeks? Has anyone else experienced this?

Much love and strength to you all today.

[Daevid]

Newbies Nest

To anyone thinking of having "just one".

After 11 years of sobriety, I had "just one" which resulted in a 6-year relapse.

You can make what you like of that information. Good luck and thanks to everyone here for your continuing support.

[See the Light]

Newbies Nest

Great job everyone fighting the AL temptations again... having 1 drink is pretty close to having 2..then...
My last few attempts at moderation were a humerous perversion of 3rd grade math. I read once that if you have more than 2 drinks a day you have a problem. So I decide 2 has to be my limit. By day 2 of this I decide that 3 on 1 day and 1 the next is the same thing, so I "borrow" one from the next day. Well of course next day comes and 1 ain't gonna do it, so I still "need" 2 that day, so I'll just skip a day and catch up. By day 4 or 5 I was "borrowing" from some time in the future that probably exceeded a few weeks and was too hard to track...so screw it, might as well increase that daily limit to 3 or 4. In short time, those #s just seemed small again. I will never play cards with myself for this very reason...

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

I felt a little confused last night that such a high percentage of the people at this fair were drink-in-hand. It made it seem "ok". If SO many people are doing it... makes me have to revisit the "I AM different... I am not a normal drinker" thing. (I would suspect a good percentage of the people there weren't either even though they were drinking). We had a drunk lady come up to us (as you meet a lot of new "friends" when you have a puppy), and she was tanked. Thank goodness that wasn't me, and won't be me.

Thanks for the support everyone and for your experiences Daevid & STL. **CAUTION** One isn't EVER just one. And that's true for me.

I am SO glad I didn't drink last night. !!!!!!!!

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Morning, All!
Kensho, great job of resisting... At events like that ALWAYS expect AL! In fact, AL simply is everywhere AND we are sensitive to it. You will build up your antibodies and become more immune to it all. After all, you wouldn't drink battery acid, and after you get some distance from AL, thats what it is to us. Getting that distance is the key.

As alkies ONE drink IS the problem. Remember, that's addict thinking....if you think ONE drink is going to help you, then you are one of us. Normal drinkers don't think that way.

Stay strong and build up your immunity. It IS worth it. Don't let AL steal one more day of your precious life!!! Byrdie

[NoSugar]

Newbies Nest

Daevid;1694140 wrote: To anyone thinking of having "just one".
After 11 years of sobriety, I had "just one" which resulted in a 6-year relapse.
You can make what you like of that information. Good luck and thanks to everyone here for your continuing support.

Thanks for reminding us about this, Daevid. If you'd like, you could add your story to this thread: https://www.mywayout.org/community/f9...t-6-78410.html. Writing it out might help you as well as the rest of us.

Glad you're here! NS

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

BYRDIE, I did expect AL, but holy cow... it was not a side activity... it was in 95% of peoples' hands.

Anyway, I just felt like logging in and saying THANK YOU to everyone here. I don't feel alone, and I am so very grateful for this place. I would not be where I am without you. :h

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

Checking in; woke up late with a headache but I expected plenty of mornings like that. Taking it easy on myself and remembering that at least it's not a hangover. I also had my first relapse dream right on cue the night after Day 3. Luckily it was a short one, but I was so relieved to wake up and realize it *was* just a dream. It also reminded me we all have different triggers - even in my dream I was drinking alone, because I was bored and online and "no one would have to know." blarg! But Day 4 and still going.

I want to thank everyone who's been talking about the dangers of "just one." I think I'll definitely have to keep in mind "if just one, why not none?" I know I'll never want just one no matter what I say, what I want is "until I feel good" which never really happens.

Here's a question too, for anyone with time: what are your best "get to sleep" habits? I know my sleep will be wonky a bit anyway, but I'm trying to remember what I used to do before it was "a drink before bed." I used to like camomile tea, but I can't think of anything else!

momofthree - That's a really good idea, thank you! I've been loving the lemon juice in water, trying something else wouldn't be a bad idea.

Nosugar - I'll have to check out the relapse thread too, I feel like that would be a good one for me to keep in mind. It's a shame I don't remember much of why I relapsed last time, I only realized I'd relapsed when I was back to daily drinking. >.

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

That got long, I hope everyone's having a safe and pleasant weekend and congrats everyone still trucking. You guys with the big numbers remind me of what I'm striving for!

[LavenderBlue]

Newbies Nest

That got long, I hope everyone's having a safe and pleasant weekend and congrats everyone still trucking. You guys with the big numbers remind me of what I'm striving for!

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

Thanks LavB! You sound so level headed, like you are really ready for this change and have no illusions about how hard it will likely be. I think that is the way to enter into it, but what to do I know? Just keep going - it helps me to wake up every morning and say "I will not drink today, NO MATTER WHAT." You can always think about things tomorrow, but for TODAY, no. Period.

The close of summer has this weekend packed with festivals - music, street, food, etc. We love music and spontaneously decided to go to a different festival tonight to hear a great bluegrass and folk band. This event is a bit more balanced, with a lot of art. Last night took me by surprise, but I feel prepared tonight, and I know this:

I am not a normal drinker. One is too much and would ruin all I am loving about being sober. Waking up tomorrow morning will be so nice without feeling toxic. I am prepared to say "no thanks - I don't want any" - and leave it at that. Besides, the virgin strawberry drinks are refreshing as heck on a hot day!

I may be brazen to attend these events, but I feel life has to go on. We enjoy getting out, buying original art, eating good food and hearing good music and I would prefer to learn how to handle the events rather than be holed up at home. If it feels too hard, it will not be worth it.

Keep up the great weekend work everyone.

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

LavB, To help me sleep I count backwards from 100. I imagine water flowing from one level down to the next, like a water-fountain. If I just count, my mind wanders around, adding the water really helped. It makes me concentrate on THAT instead of work or another problem that might be going on. Hope it helps!

Kensho, great job, enjoy your art show!!! Those are so interesting and always give me good ideas. Have a great evening, everyone! B

[KENSHO]

Newbies Nest

Are you an artist BYRDIE?

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Kensho, I am an artist wannabe. I do make beaded jewelry and those art fairs are very cool ( unless you are in a booth trying to sell your stuff). B