Newbies Nest

[Justme Again]

Today is my day 9!

The first day was crap. Drank about 4 liters water and a couple activated charcoal caps every 4 hours.
Then two days of good sleep and appetite returning.
Now I struggle to sleep and eat like mad! And smoke up a storm!!
Was agitated when I got home today. Was a looooong friday. Took it out on my kid. Stared at half a bottle brandy my ex left here and swiftly moved on.
But I did drink my child's cheap cool drink after she fell asleep and ate chocolate I hid from her on top of the fridge! All of it!! And I hate sweet stuff!!😄

[Justme Again]

There is a couple of us on those shaky first days. Really helped me to read how you are experiencing it. It helps with motivation. Thank you!

Lavande- my weekend will also involve some gardening. The seeds I planted last weekend are starting to show. Gives me endless joy. The growth. The new life that resonates in me!
Also tackling boxes of stuff I just couldn't sort out last few years due to depression. Due to AL.

Shocking, because I used to be so organized. I really want to reach the point where I get back what AL took. My health, my mind, my abilities.

Have a good evening, friends!

[available]

Morning nesters

A cool day in Ausland but i do like the cool weather.

Justme, thrown out that brandy you dont need temptation around in the early days. God my sugar intake was unbelievable when i stopped drinking and i still have a sweet tooth but i prefer that to al. I just ate as it was preferable to drinking al and feeling like crap. Things settle down as time goes on.

Ican i found my emotions all over the place in the beginning and somedays i was just looking for an excuse to drink when i think about it. I was so angry and sad that this was my life, why did i have to get addicted to al when others were ok, why didnt others understand how hard it was to stop something i loved. I was furious when i seen my family drink but i know now i was just feeling sorry for myself and deprived. Just because i had a problem didnt mean they did. They could drink "normally" and i could not say drinking 2 bottles of wine, 7 nights a week was anywhere near normal. Keep going it gets easier. Once i did 30 days i realised i wasnt a normal drinker at all and plodded on to 60 and beyond. Now i am a normal non drinker and i dont have any problems with that. Its who i am now, just like 2+ years ago i was a raving alcoholic.

Price, yes we all find what works for us, for me it was being on MWO 24 hours a day, reading, posting, getting rid of al, keeping out of situations or events that may entice me to drink, eating like a horse and just trying to look after me and listening to the people who had gotten sober and leaving my ego at the door and being honest with myself that i had a big problem with al. I figured if the oldies had gotten sober and did it then they were doing something right. Your husbands problem is his problem just like yours is yours. Fix yours and he may just follow and see the benefits of not drinking.

Oh Kensho i am so sorry about your blender. I would have been so pissed with myself too. When i do something dumb/stupid (as i call it), my kids will laugh and me and i just want to punch them in the face as i just feel horrible. The positive is when you get it fixed you wont do it a second time. Its hard to drag the positives out of the negative but try it, it does work.

Have a great day and take care x

[Byrdlady]

Just me, great job on Day 9, so proud of you!!!
Yes, today got the better of me, Im still pissed off! But Im sober!
I found that eating was the silver bullet in fighting off cravings, my sweet tooth was in overdrive also. Getting hungry and an AL craving are very similar so stay full! Keep up the great work!
Kensho, hang in. Stuff happens. I figure that Ive saved $10 a day since I quit drinking so when crap like that happens, I just have to think Im still way ahead. I hope you can get it repaired! My step daughter just got a Vitamix, quite a blender! Hugs to you!
Stay strong everyone! Together we can beat this!! B

[Ican]

Sounds like you both had rough ones Byrd and Justme! Glad you are sober -
After my shitty morning fussing at my daughter and my husband , I actually had a great day. I asked my daughter to dinner and we had a long talk. We are actually doing something again tomorrow ---- day 5 done

[Dutch1988]

Wife and daughter not home tonight, catching up on walking dead and eating snacks. Alcohol crossed my mind, but I am doing too good these days to risk screwing it all up. Happy Friday all

[Price]

Hello All, Day 4 and here's the point when I feel like a normal human being and am so glad to wake up on a Saturday morning not regretful of what I did last night and not hungover. Full of plans for the weekend to get caught up on home stuff, a bit of work, some reading and self care and an event tonight (in which I'm not tempted to drink). So far, I'm on the same pattern as each and every time I've stopped.
What is different though is reading MWO and all of the stories. I'm dreaming and fantasizing about what it would be like to make it past 6 weeks (which was my longest in 16 years). I see so many out there with so much time sober under their belt and know thats where I want to be. I'm looking forward to posting each day and sharing where I'm at and seeing how everyone else is doing. There are also quite a few of us in just our first days and its good to know I'm not alone there.
One thing I have not done before was journal or keep any sort of daily track of how I was feeling, but MWO is giving me the chance to do that and I'm so grateful for that.
So many of us have the same sort of shit we are contending with each day - work stress, family matters, etc...
I have a strong intuition and lots of anxiety and when I drink, I don't listen to or feel either one, and when I'm sober, if I don't pay attention to them - I want to drink. I actually eventually do drink. So, that's new information for me. If I get that sick or uneasy feeling about something, someone, an event, activity or whatever, I'm going to listen.
One of my hard drinking friends had a wedding shower for a mutual friend on Thursday night and asked me if I was still not drinking and if not, she would pick up some lemonade. I just opted out of going all together. This time, I decided that I just didn't want to be uncomfortable at all or deal with it - and certainly not in my early days.

justmeagain, ican, and byrdlady - I really enjoy your posts. Thank you for being my new friends and I hope to do so for a long time.

[Lavande]

Good morning Nesters, happy Saturday to all

Looking forward to being outside in the warmish sunny weather that's been promised to us! Time to get the veggie beds started, yay!

Price, your post reminded me that I pretty much stayed glued to my house for several months after I quit. I seriously wanted this quit to be my last quit & wanted to do everything possible to help myself along. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that I finally ventured out when I felt strong in my quit, we owe ourselves that much! Good for you!

My younger grandson will be staying overnight tonight for no particular reason - it's his turn, ha ha. He just turned 5 so he's a busy guy.
I hope everyone has a plan for an AF happy & healthy weekend.
Make it a good one!

Lav

[Eloise]

i stayed close to home for about 8 months Lav! no kidding. :eyes:
i just did not trust myself.
i can remember so clearly going shopping one day, passing a cafe and seeing a sparkling glass of white wine on a table. omg, it was screaming my name!!
experienced the same scenario last week, but the screaming wasn't quite so loud; i could still hear it though!
unfortunately i am going through similar experiences with sugar and cheese these days.
feeling a little tired of having to be so determined about all this, but carry on because I know it is the only way forward.

Do whatever you have to do to get to day 7 Price! I will be patiently waiting to give you your first 7 day award.

[Byrdlady]

Good morning, fellow nesters!
A good night's sleep does a girl good!
When I have difficulties like I did yustaday, I put to use the same skills I learned to get sober. Put the priorities in order and work thru them a step at a time.

Price, so happy you are adding AF days to your count, they add up and are something to be proud of! MWO was a lifeline to me...and still is. It doesnt take long to realize that scratching that itch only causes the wound to open wide. Distraction was a big key for me and eating. When I had a BAD craving, I ate. Rememebr how you feel at Thanksgiving when you dont want another mouthful of anything? Do that if you have to, having a full tummy helped me over those rough edges. To this day, I still eat before I go out to a social function so I am not ravenous when I get there. It was weird to eat for me, because I drank my calories all those years....eating is great (as it turns out!). I gained a couple pounds in the beginning, but over time I got those off and 13 more. I have always fought my weight, who knew most of the battle was a result of AL. UGG!
Hope everyone has an easy day! Im putting the finishing touches on my packing for vacation next week! Byrdie

[Pavati]

Hi, All:

Good to see those of you in the first days and weeks supporting each other. Ican - that "me, too" feeling is the benefit I find from being connected here.

Price - I read a lot about relapse because I wanted to avoid it. I have a healthy fear of alcohol and didn't want to risk going down that rabbit hole again. I found it interesting to read about the stages of relapse, as the signs begin well before one picks up the drink. Here is one link to the 11 phases of relapse, but there are many sites that talk about them: Steps of Relapse - Stages of Relapse - Warning Signs | Hamrah

Dutch, hope you enjoyed your alone time. I still have thoughts of alcohol, too, but thoughts are easy enough to let pass by.

Has anyone heard from LilBit?

Happy Sober Saturday.
Pav

[NoSugar]

Sounds like you're all noticing and appreciating how great it is to wake up with no regrets. I've never heard anyone express sorrow about not drinking the night before, or on vacation, or.... but tons of guilt and remorse about choosing to drink. If you keep noticing and being grateful for every little thing in your life that is better because you don't drink, it becomes so much easier to move past the cravings that plague us for awhile. Coffee tastes better. Working out because you want to, not to "sweat it out" or to prove you are "fine" is so much more rewarding. Remembering that you ate the nice dinner you made without having to check the trash to see what you actually made is such a relief! Cravings are a small price to pay for enthusiasm, energy, joy, self-confidence, and all of the other wonderful things that drinking steals from us. Sober life isn't perfect, of course, but I've not had one single experience in the last 3 years that would have been improved by drinking - not ONE!

Kensho, I'm sorry about your blender. But isn't it a relief for it to have been just a normal mistake and not something you did because you were drunk or hung-over??? I couldn't forgive myself for anything when I was drinking and so was neurotic about doing everything "right". Of course I'm bummed when I do or say something stupid now but can forgive myself for being human. (It is a little bit of a drag to discover that some dumb things are really me, I must admit - I've lost my "good excuse").

The other morning when I woke up I couldn't remember whether I'd sent the pet-sitter an e-mail the night before about something she needed to do. As I looked through my "sent" folder, I had the sickening memory of doing that almost every morning to see if I'd sent any e-mails the night before. I rarely post on Facebook, but I'd feel compelled to check that, too. And then there would be the surprise box arriving from Amazon every once in awhile. Technology is great (I likely would still be drinking if not for the internet so I'm eternally grateful) but it can be dangerous in the hands of a person who drinks too much!

It's great to see new people in the Nest. It's hard to write when there's not a new audience. I feel silly writing the same old things, as above, to people who I know have read it before. But when you're trying to re-wire your brain, repetition of ideas and slightly different words really help. I hope it benefits someone else to read what I've written but the thing is, I know it helps me to organize my thoughts and put them out here. I'm reminded of what I've gained and never want to lose. I encourage all of you to "publicly" write your intentions and struggles. Commit to posting here before you drink. Give your nest-mates a little time to respond. Just the pause to post might be all you need to break the reflex to drink but if you wait for a response, it surely won't be to go ahead 'just this once'. We wouldn't all be here if one were ok. You might not feel it yet but you're going to be amazed at how beautiful "none" can be.

xx, NS

[Price]

Thanks for the link Pav - I'll read it. I'm loving my newfound community! And everything you said NoSugar is SO true.

[Rahulthesweet]

Hello Nesters.

I have been travelling the whole week and today I am glad to behome. So feltlike putting some 80's music and looking at some old post I made here on my way out :

https://www.mywayout.org/community/just-starting-out-/87859-didn-beauty-world.html

This was 3momths for me. I remember I then started jogging , rather realized long jog can be so much fun.

Life great sober !?

[Rusty]

Isn't it a relief for it to have been just a normal mistake and not something you did because you were drunk or hung-over??? I couldn't forgive myself for anything when I was drinking and so was neurotic about doing everything "right". Of course I'm bummed when I do or say something stupid now but can forgive myself for being human. (It is a little bit of a drag to discover that some dumb things are really me, I must admit - I've lost my "good excuse").

Loved your post, NS. Yes, it IS a bit a bit of a drag that some things are really me, too. Yup, I have lost my "good excuse" as well. Thank you!:welldone: