Newbies Nest

[narilly]

Hi Evan, nice to see you here.
I don't know too much about withdrawal stuff but Lav had some good advice.

One day at a time Evan, you can do it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the USA.

[Byrdlady]

Morning, All and Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, in keeping with the family theme, my oldest brother who was flying in for Friday has now bailed out on us. In keeping with Peppersnow's wonderful post about enjoying it moment, I could get bent out of shape about this. We boarded the dog, made non refundable hotel reservations....BUT I'M NOT going to stress over this. I should know by now that this is how HE operates and nothing I can do will change him.
We are loading the car and heading out the door!
4 years ago, I would have a suitcase full of booze (hidden in the liner) and my purse full (complete with hairspray bottle filled with wine). I'd be concerned about when I could sneak it and my breath and 'acting' normal. I will be among non drinkers so I'd have to act halfway normal. Getting sloshed was the only way I knew to cope....but I have learned all new skills and a big part of that is ACCEPTANCE. My family isn't perfect and neither am I.

Evan, welcome aboard! In this thread alone, there is about 7 years of GREAT history to read. Whatever YOU are feeling, someone else has walked there not too long ago. Our stories are so similar it's frightening. Just remember, there are only about 4 hours of 'witching hour' to get thru, and just take it 15 minutes at a time. If you got thru the LAST 15, you can get thru the next 15. We are so glad you found us! Glue yourself in and we can help you!

Travel safely. everyone! XXOO, Byrdie

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters & Happy Thanksgiving if you are celebrating

Enjoying a little sunshine this morning after yesterdays snow event ~ nice!

Byrdie, your story reminds me once again why I am so grateful to be free & clear-headed. No, we will never be able to change another's behavior no matter how hard we try. So your brother doesn't want to celebrate with the family, screw him it's his loss, LOL. I hope you have a wonderful holiday with the rest of the crazy family

Evan, hope you are still here with us. If you have any questions please just ask. We do our best to protect our young ones.

Wishing everyone a wonderful AF Thursday & Thanksgiving if you are celebrating. If this is your first AF holiday, relax, enjoy & be proud of your accomplishment

Lav

[Evan W]

Wow, thanks for all the support from everyone. I will do the MYO download and yes I have a very supportive al-anon wife, who has been waiting for this for years. So a week from tomorrow this plan goes into action, due to work I'm afraid to start until I can take time off if needed. So I'll read the program and pray and worry until then. Glad to have found this group and thanks again.

EW

[Elvis]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[NoSugar]

Welcome, Evan, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Maybe you can help set yourself up for success next week by progressively decreasing the amount you drink each day. Heck, you might be nearly AF by the time your planned day 1 rolls around :smile:.

Hey, Open Halo, how are you doing? I hope you're feeling better than you did a couple nights ago and are ready to get this done once and for all. Maybe you could write down in (excrutiating) detail what happened and how you felt. Then, when those bad memories fade, you can read that if you're ever tempted to have "just one" or if you convince yourself that you can drink moderately after all.

Be thankful, Nesters! There is a way out of the hell we managed to get into. Choose not to take a drink and be grateful that you have the choice. As Pav's avatar says, we've had the power all along - and today is a great day to use it!

:heart: NS

[Matt M.]

Hello my friends,
Just checking in, just getting off from a double shift, that was an absolute ass beating ( tis the season) have one day off then back at it tomorrow! Joy. :thatswhack:
Going to fry some turkeys and be thankful for what I have in my life, and today I'm not going to drink.
Stay Hard my friends!

[See the Light]

Happy Turkey Day all- Hope everyone has a stress manageable AF day

Turkey Song- Adam Sandler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47e91Nc0Mag

Evan- Glad you are here...you picked a good day to think about going "Cold Turkey" (it should be really cold a week from now), but note that it can be a very serious experience depending on your current health, medical history and amount of drinking you were doing (and it sounds like a lot)..It can be done, be aware of the signs and don't do it alone .. Like Lav said...drink lots of water..I also suggest B Vitamins especially B12 and Niacin..I put some references for the symptoms of withdrawal, a self withdrawal guide and a link to a thread I have for natural help for withdrawal and the related anxiety..please be careful and have a plan...you can do this..Go and Gobble up life

Dangers of withdrawal

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/alcohol-withdrawal-symptoms-treatments

Self Detox Guide

http://www.wikihow.com/Self-Detox-from-Alcohol

B12 for AL withdrawal

http://www.livestrong.com/article/468734-why-b12-for-alcohol-detox-information/

Natural Supplements Guide

https://www.mywayout.org/community/showthread.php?90739-Natural-supplements-for-Depression-Anxiety-and-Alcohol-Cravings-Withdrawal

[Mstall]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I've decided to make it to Thanksgiving, arriving just before dinner is ready and leaving shortly after. It is obvious that I am sick so I'm sure the family will understand.

I wonder how much more awful I would feel had I been drinking the last 5 days.

I am grateful for this sober day.

[MossRose]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope you all have a sober and enjoyable day. I just talked with my mom and am bracing for a bit of family drama, but I'm not even interested in drinking AT them. (TY Byrdie). Truthfully, I used to show up at dinner with quite a few in me already. Always made me edgy from the get go. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's the truth. Today, I feel refreshed, clear headed and thankful. I'm actually looking forward to a family meal...even if my family is a bit nuts.

Evan, glad to see you have joined us. I don't know much about withdrawal except that it needs to be handled with care. If you need medical assistance, please get it. As the others have already said, life is so much better straight up and sober. There is a way out, and posting here was a great first step. Best wishes to you.

Byrdie - thanks for the crock pot turkey recipe. I'm going to give this one a try.

Take care all.

[narilly]

STL, awesome links! I hope they help you Evan. There are so many resources out there now, we are lucky.

Well it snowed a bunch overnight and is hovering aroung -5C right now but going down to -22 tomorrow. Brrrr... some cold turkey up here

I have the day off tomorrow and have NO plans to drink. We are going to Cowboys (country bar) on Saturday and then our Christmas Party. I am looking forward to good food, talking to people and actually being able to pay attention to a conversation and remember it.

Soft Focus, hope you are well.

Have a great day!

[KENSHO]

Good gosh it's hard to get a moment to read and post here. I hide in the bathroom and my daughter passes notes under the door and is waiting when I open it! Exercise and a dead phone have left me just slipping into bed at night without checking in.

But I will tell you that it's going rather well. The family knows I'm not drinking, so they don't ask. And I gave to say that it's been quite a deterrent to see them all (including my husband) indulge nightly in food and drink. He wakes up saying he slept like thit and he is sluggish and forgetful and grumpy. I want so badly to say... Then don't drink so much! But I just revel in the fact that I feel golden, energetic, mentally and emotionally in tact, proud to be me. It's like watching people trapped in a way of life that they cling to, but that helps them in no way. It's like watching an old version of myself.

Welcome EVAN. Glad you are here. MSTALL, your plan with your family sounds good! LAV, sorry your chickens are doing the snow dance! We are enjoying an 80 degree day in Phoenix! I boast only because in a few days I will be back to the Rockies where it will be gray and cold.

One thing I wanted to share is that my son and I found a strange fruit at the grocery yesterday, called a "Rambutan". (It looks like a big hairy male anatomy part, and we all had a good laugh at it)! My point is that we can still find things to focus on that are playful and fun and completely exclusive of family drama. Find the things that fulfill US, and then just love others as they are (Buddhist thought for the day).

Stay grateful everyone, don't play into the idea that you have to drink and take care of yourselves!!

[Pavati]

Hi, Everyone:

Happy Turkey Day here in the US. Thanksgiving is a holiday that I notoriously drink to much for. I ALWAYS had a cocktail when the party started (and if I was hosting, probably one before), and then usually dinner was later than expected, so I'd have another. Then wine with the meal - and more wine, and more wine. I don't usually drink wine, and I didn't regulate it well. Because the meal always starts earlier than usual dinner time, this left plenty of time for drinking after as well. I have more embarrassing Thanksgiving stories than I care to think about. I have visited neighbors sloppy as can be (several times - visiting them is a tradition - always insisting on going even though I really shouldn't have been in public); I once got in a repetitive political discussion about the Korean War (I had just read a book and kept bringing it up, but I couldn't really keep the facts all straight, and I was talking to a Korean War vet); one time our baby kept crying and my husband and I couldn't sooth him until we realized that neither of us had fed him dinner (two house later!!!)

Then last year. The Thanksgiving Massacre! The day itself was ok - I did drink too much, but didn't embarrass myself, but it started my total body anxiety hangover weekend that led to my FINALLY throwing in the towel and admitting I couldn't drink. All I can say is I am SO grateful for that awful weekend - I needed something like that to finally convince myself that I am not a normal drinker, never will be.

This year, my son and I cooked dessert (a real feat for me - a non-baker, savory eater). We had a great time. It is a beautiful day here (sorry, Stella), and I am off on a hike this morning. Dinner will be delicious and fun (sorry folks, not too much family drama here - my drama-inducing sister isn't around for this one), I will indulge in all of the food with no regret, I will be the designated driver to get us home, and I will remember that I am truly thankful to have the demon alcohol off my back.

I hope everyone steers clear of triggers and things that will lead to drinking. MStall - I said "no" to several things when I first quit - I was tired and didn't have the patience. Your being sick is a good excuse to cut out early, or not even go if you don't want. Byrdie - yum on those crock pot turkeys. Sounds like they would be moist and delicious. Pepper - I LOVE the Bubble Hour - they say so many things that I think!

Good riddance to the Thanksgiving Massacre (thanks, Nar and G)!

xo
Pav

[Running4life]

Hi
I am joining you in the nest. Day one and need a cozy place to rest.
R4L

[Pinecone]

Hi Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here! If you are going it AF for the first time, then you have got some real guts! I too have many regretful memories of trying not to act too drunk. I must have been a real s@$t show, though. There are family pictures of me just blistered and I look pathetic. But I spilled my last beer long ago! I'm having a peaceful day. Hot tea, a clear head and walked my dog through snowy woods. I just excercised and I feel great. This afternoon will bring relaxation and overindulgence in good food!

Kensho, I'm so glad your week is going well. Being content in our AF skin is like a favorite pair of pants.

Matt, don't work too hard friend!

Evan, I'm glad you checked in! The one thing I'll caution you about is picking a specific date and saying "I'll quit then." The alcoholic part of the mind will always try to overdrink during the week to make up for the impending "doom." We feel even worse and the hole is just deeper to try to crawl out of. I'm not trying to discourage you. The above is said with lots of compassion and support, but most of all real, hard EXPERIENCE because I did that about a million times. It might be able to work if you stuck to a very rigid taper schedule and use the support of this group extremely rigourously. It might not work too, I don't know or have any experience with tapering.

Moss, great to see you!

Hi NS, Pav, STL, Narilly, MStall! Thank you all for being here.