Newbies Nest

[Neo]

Re: Newbies Nest

Well for me it's day 1 complete after a slip. Shower ,shave great meal for tea loaded with my concoction of alcohol fighting supps and looking forward to some sleep and feel great atm. Welcome Yello and well done on 4 days

[lifechange]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters!

Hi Choices! I just PM'd you and am happy to see you here.. you basically just answered the questions I had.:happy2: Well done on 10 days and on dealing with the stressful situations head on. And how exciting about the studium.!

How are you holding up today, Hypernova?:hug:
and Pauly?:love:

I still don't have anything exciting to say. It's raining and cold, like Autumn, so I'm taking advantage of the days by holing up and staying cozy.. lots of movies and hot tea, taking advantage of the break in heat/humidity. I hope everyone is doing alright.. will check in again later. xx

[Pavati]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi, Nest:

Reading back, I can see that a lot of us deal with extremely stressful, hectic lives without alcohol. Good to see and good to remember.

Have to run to an early meeting. Thank goodness I'm not hungover!

Pav

[wagmor]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hyper - I can't really add much to the other responses, but I'm sorry to hear of your slip. Frankly, I'm amazed you were able to do one beer per night for three nights. I think as NS said, that might have been more dangerous than a more dramatic fall off the wagon, as it could have insidiously tried to lure you into trying to moderate. So glad you hopped right back in the nest and shared your story. Buckle yourself in tight and keep posting and racking up days - you'll be well into your quit again in no time!

LC - I agree with the others - as much as you might want to help Andre more at this point, ultimately he will need to make that decision himself. If he's still coming by somewhat regularly, even though not engaging with you as much, hopefully he knows you're on his side and he'll reach a point where he can break whatever cycle he's in. Must be hard to watch though

YB - great job with your jogging in the eves! What type of new business are you building?

Mr V - that's very sad and frightening about your niece. I hope that rehab brings her the help she needs, not just with the al but more importantly with whatever underlying issues led to her fall off the wagon. Thanks for sharing this though - it lets us lend some support, and it also serves as a reminder that none of us can take our quits for granted.

Choices - sorry to hear about the botany test, the flood, and all the other stresses. It seems that sometimes they do come in groups, but you didn't drink and that's a huge positive!!! Your studies sound very interesting and helpful. Will your program go into things like L-Glut or other supplement usage, specifically for things like al? I thought about that career path at one point about 10-12 years ago. Ultimately went a different direction, but still have a keen interest. I'll look forward to hearing your updates.

Hellos and waves to Ava, Lav, Pav, Byrdie, NS, G-dude, Neo, and everyone else I'm forgetting at the moment (sorry). Hope you all have great MAE!

[Guitarista]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hola friends,

Hi Wags! Good to see you back on the horse Neo. keep it going mate.
Good to see you back too Hyper. It could've easily gone the other way into oblivion, so look after yourself friend.
Yo Choices! 10 days is double digits. Gr8 work buddy. Emotional (di)stress is my danger zone, so i am trying to train my mental approach and how i manage my thoughts daily - via daily meditation practice. It's something i can at least try, it's free, no drugs or side effects, and it's backed by thousands of years of study/success stories.

Day forty something. Reclaim your precious life! Take it easy out there.

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Stressful day at work, I have a customer that is absolutely impossible. He went over my head today to my boss. I guess he didn't like what I had to say. I swear, I wanted to strangle this man. Then another customer promised me a nice order today and he didnt come thru. Im hitting the road tomorrow and will be gone until Sunday night. So glad Im sober, drinking didnt cross my mind once today, even with all the pressure. Learning new ways to cope is key, it isnt easy but AL is not an option. Stay strong, everyone. Byrdie

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Sorry your customers are such A-holes Byrdie
Wishing you safe travels!

Welcome back Neo!
Be sure to update your plan & get all your triggers covered.

Choices, glad to hear of your 10 AF days, great work! Good luck with your school program. If I was a youngster I would definitely go for something like that

Emotional stress certainly is a common trigger, one of my biggest!
At this point in my quit I can clearly see where I 'hit the wall' with everything going on in my life. I ran out of healthy coping methods & nothing was improving or getting better. I consciously chose to dive into a bottle of wine & just stay there until I could 'figure things out'. Well, obviously that was a stupid choice especially because I had no idea how hard it would be to climb out. That is a choice I will never ever make again. I am grateful to have finally learned that AL is never the answer to any discomfort, emotional or otherwise.
Learning to let go of negative thoughts is a mighty tool. Pushing the negativity right out of your head really works. Learn to distract yourself

Wishing everyone a safe night in the nest!

Lav

[lifechange]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters!
What a difference it makes to have a bit of sun!
Good stuff there, Lav.. thanks for that. It pertains to my mind set a bit because though I'm not drinking and feel good about that, I haven't been putting enough (any) time into things that make me feel better physically and mentally. I've been using distraction as one of my main methods of dealing with cravings and situations I'm not comfortable in.. which is fine, as I gave myself 30 days with no rules except staying sober. The past couple of days I noticed that I've been more negative and I think it's due to too much sugar and not much exercise.. So today, at 21 days, I've decided to work on that. It's the problem of balance.. Like many of you, I'm a real "do it well or don't bother" kind of person and I need to chill out with that thinking as far as this goes.. I want to be gentle with myself and look to find sustainability rather than some kind of crazy. So that's my goal today.. cutting down the sweets and heading to the gym. Getting to the gym is my goal!:happy2: Usually that turns into a bit more..

Byrdie, you have a hard core job! Good for you for staying strong and not letting it get you down. Your state of mind is my goal! I'm sure you'll be doing a lot of baking first chance you get to come down...:hug:

Super on day forty something Gman! You're rockin' it! We'll be celebrating 1 year just twenty something days apart from eachother!

How are you doing today, Yello? and Neo (glad to see you back!) and Hypernova (saw you on the roll call!!) and Pauly? How was your meeting Pav? are you still doing a lot of hiking in your time off?
Wags, how are you feeling now physically? have you been getting in some rides? and Ava, hows little Mads? I always laugh out loud, literally, when you mention the village idiots! Hope it's going alright today.

Does anyone have exciting Summer vacation plans?
Big hello and hugs to NS, Mario (where are you?), Mr V, Marylou, Choices.. and everyone stopping by or flying by today..

ok, time to stop procrastinating!!!
see you later!

[Londoner]

Re: Newbies Nest

Just checking in. Have been off work for 4 days. Mainly in part to guilt, but also because of my system being out of wack.

I have a massive black spot on my night out during the weekend. Had lost my sense of self, and am worried what happened during that period of time. Maybe this dark hole is what I need - to realise, actually alcohol has the potential to a) change me completely (and it has eroded my sense of self over the last decade) and b) put me into dangerous situations. Situations that could potentially be life changing.

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Londoner, thats exactly what happened to my friend Ann. She went out one night, and considers herself to be lucky to be alive today. She put herself in danger, and many others. The things that could have EASILY gone the other way. Al just isnt worth it. Not even a little bit. So glad you are here.
I made it to Orlando had all kinds of dlight delays. My poor boss isnt here yet. He may not get in til midnight. Just about all the joy is out of flying for me. So the show starts tomorrow, wish me luck!
Hugs to all, Byrdie

[Lavande]

Re: Newbies Nest

Good evening Nesters,

Our two days of pretty decent weather has come to an end. The next three will be filled with rain, wind & gross humidity, yuck.
I hate having to keep dogs & chickens locked up & I even have two extra dogs here that I am watching for my son for a few days. How lucky am I? Ha ha!!

Londoner, why wait until it's too late? Just get back on your plan & get started again Challenge yourself to 30 days AF & be amazed how much you will change in that bit of time. Glad to see you back!

LC, 21 is great, happy for you! Keep pushing the negative thoughts out of your head - they're all BS. Keep practicing that & you'll be pleased with the results, promise

Byrdie, glad you arrived safely, hope your boss does as well. Try to have a good weekend, please.

Hello to everyone & wishing a safe night in the nest for all!

Lav

[lifechange]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters!!

Londoner, scary stuff there. I can't remember whether or not you've given yourself 30 days free of alcohol before? I know you have it in you.. I remember you to be someone who likes sport and taking care of yourself. Two things have helped me a lot these past 22 days.. one is making the strong commitment not to drink no matter what and no matter who! Anything else goes, but no drinking and no drugs, which could lead to drinking. The other is checking in here and posting often.. any little thing that might be bothering me, I come here to let it out. Each day after work before I do anything else ('cause usually I'd either drink or be full in planning at that point of the day) I come here to read and post and ask for help and strength. Honestly, it's a life changer. Join us here and do whatever else you need to do to free yourself. You mentioned therapy.. have you been able to look more into that? Let us know how you are..

Lav, I feel for you with having the locked up animals.. do chickens hate the rain? How many do you have now? Already after 3 weeks I'm feeling mighty pleased with the results!! 22 days doesn't sound like much time but I feel like a different person compared to that sad and bloated, feeling completely out of control woman I was.!

Byrdie, GOOD LUCK!! Let us know how it goes.

So I managed to make it to the gym yesterday and only did what I wanted to do.. which wasn't a lot as I wanted to be able to move today! I sortof can.. and I ate real food instead of so much candy and I definitely feel better for it today..
Off to work.. Wishing everyone a good day. xx

[Londoner]

Re: Newbies Nest

Hi Nesters!!

Londoner, scary stuff there. I can't remember whether or not you've given yourself 30 days free of alcohol before? I know you have it in you.. I remember you to be someone who likes sport and taking care of yourself. Two things have helped me a lot these past 22 days.. one is making the strong commitment not to drink no matter what and no matter who! Anything else goes, but no drinking and no drugs, which could lead to drinking. The other is checking in here and posting often.. any little thing that might be bothering me, I come here to let it out. Each day after work before I do anything else ('cause usually I'd either drink or be full in planning at that point of the day) I come here to read and post and ask for help and strength. Honestly, it's a life changer. Join us here and do whatever else you need to do to free yourself. You mentioned therapy.. have you been able to look more into that? Let us know how you are..

Lav, I feel for you with having the locked up animals.. do chickens hate the rain? How many do you have now? Already after 3 weeks I'm feeling mighty pleased with the results!! 22 days doesn't sound like much time but I feel like a different person compared to that sad and bloated, feeling completely out of control woman I was.!

Byrdie, GOOD LUCK!! Let us know how it goes.

So I managed to make it to the gym yesterday and only did what I wanted to do.. which wasn't a lot as I wanted to be able to move today! I sortof can.. and I ate real food instead of so much candy and I definitely feel better for it today..
Off to work.. Wishing everyone a good day. xx

Keep up the good work LC, you're always a good voice to hear.

I've made 60 odd days before. And then it creeps back in. I think I've come to realise that certain people cannot be in my life; at least for now. Until I become a source of strength and am suggesting more active pursuits for those in my circle.

Drink leads to drugs in my case.

I'm back to focusing on building positive habits; one at a time. Currently working on meditation as that helps a lot with the monkey mind, shame and negative self talk.

Goal 1 = 30 days.

Thank you again.

[Byrdlady]

Re: Newbies Nest

Quick check in before the trade show. Hope everyone has an easy Friday. Its just another day of the week, NOT a ticket to BoozeVille! Byrdie

[Orimus]

Re: Newbies Nest

[MENTION=19568]Londoner[/MENTION], I found it helpful in taming the monkey mind to have a bit of a ritual when meditating which meant for me lighting incense and sounding chimes as an 'entrance' to meditation. I got curious so looked up http://www.zeninlondon.org/participate-join-in/. It's Zazen rather than regular meditation but sitting in a group was also helpful to me. Another link that you might find interesting/helpful: http://www.refugerecovery.org/