Newbies Nest

[Guitarista]

Hiya Nesters,

Beaut posts here as usual. This thread is so good to plug into regularly because there is always someone facing a challenge and i find it educational, enriching and inspiring to read everyone's different take on things. Love it. What a joint eh?!

I am absolutely loving being sober. At 50 plus days it's early on, but i've been through so many 30, 60, 100 etc. AF days recently that there's not so much a pink cloud anymore, it's more of a realization of personal potential and peace of mind and knowing this can be how it is and ongoing and.............................loving it!

Go for gold y'all. G

[Hanna]

Hey all

Any of you familiar with booze free buddies? Heard about it on the bubble hour. Just looking for additional on line supports.

Thanks

[Turnagain]

Interesting discussions as always - and like the down-under g-man who is getting on top of it all and our strong, sensible and sweet NS have pointed out, healing the damage is truly a process.

Alcohol damages everyone - each and every time, and of course, over time, it damages some of us to the point where we become addicted. Every single drink sends out a 4-alarm signal to every cell in our body because alcohol is a toxin no matter how it is dressed up. And, since alcohol metabolizes quickly as a sugar, it also easily crosses the blood brain barrier. The BBB is intended to be like a moat around our most precious organ to keep the bad sh*t out. But since our brains run on sugar - glucose - alcohol just piggybacks right in sashaying around like a big ol' trojan horse that owns the place and then lets loose with all the mayhem. This happens every single time anyone drinks. No BODY is exempt. Even those 'abnormal' people who think drinking a potent, toxic drug is 'normal.'

And speaking of normal...Pav and all others who want to beat themselves up for not seeing addiction coming - please repeat after me:

Addiction is NOT my fault!

Alcohol was and is and will always be the problem. Sure, we 'chose' to drink - but how many of us really understood just how damaging this drug is? The facts aren't really out there. Some of us still have a hard time accepting the fact that ...every drink damages every time. No exceptions. And I can say with great certainty that I have NEVER met anyone who chose to be addicted. Hello? Big Alcohol? Take your obfuscation of the damage this drug causes and shove it! Thank goodness that irrefutable, solid science is finally coming to the surface to counter the false narrative about alcohol and alcohol consumption. Drink Responsibly? Huh. Where's the campaign to shame Big Booze into Selling-their-Drug-and- Revealing-the-Truth-about-the Toxin-Responsibly? I'm waiting.

Moreover, the fact that we have managed to find our way FREE of an addiction that is still woefully misunderstood is something we should be very proud of. It's time for a major rebranding of all this...but that's another subject for another day. Thanks for letting me vent and rant! I'm a little passionate about our tribe of freedom fighters!

Back to the topic at hand....

Personally, patience hasn't always been one of my stronger traits, but it has certainly improved a lot as a result of going through the biochemical healing process. And while we can't do anything to change the march of time, I was grateful that those ahead of me shared ways to accelerate that healing. There are three basic changes we can make to turbocharge the healing. And as many of us have discovered...we actually have an even BETTER life than we did before addiction. Now, how awesome is that?

1 ~ FUEL IT

Can't say enough about this. We have to help our entire system heal and that starts with putting good stuff in and keeping all bad stuff out. And as NS reminds us, ever so firmly, but kindly, sugar will kill ya! We spent a lot of time damaging our bodies with the jet fuel of sugars. Besides changing what we put in, we might also need to replace the vitamins and minerals alcohol robbed us of. Some practioners even advocate mega-dosing on certain supplements while the body is adapting back to normal operation.


2 ~ MOVE IT

Exercise is a HUGE factor in getting the biochemistry back to normal after years/decades of brain assault by alcohol. Exercise releases a constellation of healthy chemicals in between our ears. Not only does it help patch up the damage - it also allows us to deal with the bad stresses so much more effectively. And for so many of us, STRESS, is one of the major triggers to drink, right?

3 ~ ReWire IT

Meditation and Gratitude will put you in the fast lane when it comes to creating happy, new neural pathways between your ears. This is where I slobber about how grateful I am to Lav for sharing the information AND for inspiring by example. Again - these practices exponentially accelerate the process of biochemical repair. I'm no new-age hippie here...but learning how to 'quiet' our brains and focusing on the good in our lives and the good in others is powerful medicine. The more you do it, the better the brain gets.


onward - my heroic friends...

Laura

[Guitarista]

You are a big big star Laura! :llama:

[Turnagain]

Oh - almost forgot my favorite new beat-up brain pic! This should be on the label of every bottle of booze.

Quite sobering. Just cause we can't see the damage doesn't mean it's not happening. And, as I told hubby, by the time we DO see damage from alcohol...well...it's generally too late!

[enzo'smom]

thank you all so much for your "in between" comments…..I really can't tell you how much that helps me. Really and TRULY.
But I have a confession to make. Despite lots of meditation and gratitude which I practice every day, I have a HUGE resentment this week. I HATE Facebook during school holidays. I know, I know,….just don't go on…you are right….but it is sort of an addiction of its own that I have. I don't post a lot but part of my routine is to look at Facebook to see if anyone has posted any pictures, etc. Problem this week is that it seems like everyone in my town is somewhere tropical this week! It is so annoying. Someone actually said "heard it was cold up north…..meanwhile, this is what my day looks like" OMG, I want to strangle that person!! JK…but really, do you have to be so smug and obnoxious?

OK, I feel better. thanks
Now, I am going to make my gratitude list…..and then I am going to binge watch netflix, read a little and then fall blissfully asleep SOBER.

[NoSugar]

I guess we can close the Nest now and just leave up Turn's post which pretty much says it all :wink:. Thanks, Laura :hug:

[Turnagain]

LOL NS! How about you and me and JEnzo hop the next jet to Maui - book a posh condo on the beach and then post tropical pictures of all our AF fun in paradise to all our freezing friends back home?

Anyone else wanna come along? :dancegirl::fairy::rara:

[NoSugar]

Don't tempt me! It is going to be around zero F for the foreseeable future here... Boy, could we all have a BLAST - and remember every minute!

[daisy45]

Hi..I haven't read back. Unfortunately 2 nights ago I fecked up!
No excuses. I got in a position where I lost it....still am.
I was away for my first night in a hotel in years with my daughters and cousins. At breakfast my daughter got a call for me to call my cousin urgently. We had to pack up and go home right away. She had handed her kids over to the authorities as she had a mental breakdown again. I fostered 2 of the kids for 6 months a year ago.
They want me to take them again. 3 months, 4 and 6. By the time I got home they were in my house with my daughter. Have spent 2 days wrecking my brains to see how I could do this. Today, after a lot of thought, phone calls etc I made the decision that I could not....I cannot even explain how broken I am...my kids are in tears, I am. We are keeping them until a decent home is found....a mess! These poor babies...I seen them go through it all before....this will be worse.
I feel responsible as I was their only source of help. Taking them would impact adversely on so much in our lives....I am eaten up with guilt. I love these kids....I cannot even explain.....

[TJAF]

Daisy. I am so sorry for your position. Yes you love those kids but you did not put them in the position they are in. Fate is a tough customer and it isn't fair. If in your heart you can't handle the stress of caring for those children then forcing the issue can only end badly. You are an alcoholic and your priority has to be your health so you can be the best help to your family in the long run. Be strong and single minded now. Get well and the rest will take care of itself. Good luck

[Pinecone]

Daisy, thinking of you and sending support.

[actiongirl46]

Daisy, I'm so so sorry to hear what you are going through. Your heartache comes through the screen. I cannot imagine. Even if you can't care 24//7 for those very young children, you can still be involved in their lives, yes?? And if that is the case, they are very very lucky. All the best, don't beat yourself up, if this is the best decision for you and your family that has to come first. My thoughts are with you, hang in there.

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

It's pretty late here but I wanted to hop in & wish everyone a safe night in the nest!

Daisy, I am so sorry about your cousin & her children - that's very sad on all accounts.
Please don't continue to beat yourself up about this situation. It is not your responsibility to handle all this on your own. You need to take care of yourself first & your own family. Please stop & think about what you are doing to yourself in the long run. We are here to listen & to support you & we certainly want what is best for you :hug:

Turn, thank you for your epic post!
It covers a lot of territory & I am sure lots of folks will benefit
I can't even remember exactly how I felt but I do remember hitting a flat spot somewhere around 7 months. I do very much remember feeling enormously proud of myself as I approached the one year mark. I felt I was finally able to trust myself once again & I don't ever want to lose that feeling again. I am not perfect but I am reasonably happy & self-confident. AL solves no problems, only makes them worse!

Wishing everyone a good & peaceful night!

Lav

[Kelpie]

Hi Newbies Nest, I am trying to quit alcohol again, I have been quite a heavy drinker since I was 16, so nearly 34 years later..... I gave up smoking 6 years ago, so don't understand why I can't seem to get my head around this. Idrink most nights of the week if not 7, with 4-6 full strength beers, 2 vodkas and 2 glasses of red(large). My question is, has anyone had success with Deprinol??