30 day commitment.. who's in?

[Kimberley]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

ok I can't go into chat- I'm just in the 'lobby'. How does this work??

[Determination]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Kimberly -

No advice on lobby of chat! I haven't used that function yet. I just wanted to send hugs your way - you made it 17 days - that is huge. So, you took a step back. It is what you do after that step back that is important - if you dust yourself off and go back to trying to be 30 days AF - you are still ahead!

It is a marathon, not a sprint. Long term goals versus short term set-backs!

[Liath]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Kim-
Lobby is the place you go when you get into the chat. If you are the only one in there, then nothing happens except you should see your avatar there. On the other hand, you may not be connected, hit 'connect' (in the first drop down menu I believe) I wish I could chat with you but we are NEVER online at the same time. Nevertheless, I will check. I suggest that you post a new thread, "need to chat" or something like that and some people will jump in. I am so sorry that you are having such a bad day, and that you are getting caught in the drink-to-avoid-hangover cycle. Do you have to work tomorrow? Can you dry out today and then sleep in? Is there anything else you might do that will be comforting and pass the time? Maybe even go to bed early and sleep it off?

[Kimberley]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Hi all,
Luckily Sunny was online and able to chat to me, so that was great.

I have had to take today off as I am in major migraine mode - I made up a lie for work and said I would work from home. I hate that. My body just won't let me get away with it anymore. What annoys me is that I really want to stop but stopping is making me feel like I have had my face beaten in with a shovel.

I had 20 mins extra sleep, a shower and did makeup but it took me twice as long as usual and I still feel awful. I really set myself up to go in but there is no way in reality that I could. My eyes aren't even focussing properly.

Argh! Roll on tomorrow when will feel rubbish but not unable to go out ( hope).

Hope you're all doing better than me

[sunshine_gg]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Kimberley :l

Hope you are recovering today and tomorrow will look brighter! Btw.. I started a 7.5 day pact thread! Check in when you can!

[Determination]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Well....I made it another 7 days AF and then yesterday - poof. I had a horrible stressful day at work, and a colleague offered to go out with me for a beer. I *knew* I should have said no - too weak to resist and order a lemonade. But I found myself so stressed and just tired of fighting and so had a beer, which led to another and then bam found myself getting a bottle of wine on the way home. Which, even when I was buying the wine, I couldn't figure out why considering the last time I had wine it didn't taste good. Ditto - this wine didn't taste good, but I just couldn't stop myself.

So, dusting myself off and starting again. My "lesson learned" - I need to figure out a plan for these stressful days at work so that when offered a beer, I can have an alternative plan so will be able to say no. Any suggestions?

[sunshine_gg]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Hey Determination... so sorry to hear about your evening. But.. you've got 7 days - nobody is going to take that away from you. A while back someone started counting AF day out of ALL days, instead of just AF days in a row... I found that to be more positive. It doesn't make you feel like you have to start all over again. So, you're 7 days AF out of 8

As for how to cope with the temptation... I'm not the right person to answer that... I suck at it. I'm planning on revisiting the toolbox thread.. have you had a read through it yet?

In any case... time to brush yourself off and get back on track... we're all pulling for you :l

[Determination]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

sunshine_gg;701992 wrote: Hey Determination... so sorry to hear about your evening. But.. you've got 7 days - nobody is going to take that away from you. A while back someone started counting AF day out of ALL days, instead of just AF days in a row... I found that to be more positive. It doesn't make you feel like you have to start all over again. So, you're 7 days AF out of 8

As for how to cope with the temptation... I'm not the right person to answer that... I suck at it. I'm planning on revisiting the toolbox thread.. have you had a read through it yet?

In any case... time to brush yourself off and get back on track... we're all pulling for you :l

Thanks, Sunshine! I never thought about changing how I think of the 30 days...but I do like the concept of AF 7 out of 8 days rather than re-setting back to zero!

[Kimberley]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Hey all,

Just checking in to see how everyone is. The small amount of librium I had has got me through the day without any particularly dangerous moments - just very sweaty and headachy! I even managed to eat fairly well today and have had lots of electrolyte drinks to replace fluids.

I hope I will sleep reasonably tonight - I know I won't sleep great, but reasonably is good enough as long as it enables me to go into work tomorrow.

I can not let this happen to me ever again - I could've got into serious trouble at work for what I did and I already look unreliable. I can't dwell on this too much as otherwise I will feel so guilty and horrible that I am going to feel even more vulnerable.

I am just thankful for all the support I am receiving on this forum and as my signature now shows I am going to REALLY TRY to ask for help when I need it. This will be key for me.

[sunshine_gg]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Excellent Kimberley! Remember to SHOUT out if you need a kick in the butt... errrrmmmm... encouragement, I mean

[Liath]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Hey gang! I am going on 2 days AF after having a few on Monday night due to a frustrating day. Determination, I read your post and it sounds like you had a similar thing happen to you. I am not beating myself up too much, its bad enough I felt like shit the next day. I think our bodies may be trying to tell us something here?

Kim, I want you to know that I have been there many times before. In fact, my unreliable behavior in regards to work is one of the big reasons I knew I needed to address my issue with AL. I completely understand the feelings you are having. Try to let that sinking feeling pass and use the memory to motivate you NOT to drink. I am 2 days AF and feeling good. This is working for me I think. I am not obsessing about AL as much. I don't want it every day... progress!

[Bree]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Hi all,
Sorry to hear some of you have had a slip, but thats all it was. Put it behind you and get back up here with us.
I was very nearly in the same boat yesterday, just left my 2nd son to boarding school, and I was feeling very emotional (he didn't give a hoot), and really wanted a drink.
Friends were with us leaving their son also, so we went for something to eat afterwards.
I ordered an non-al beer with 7up, and you know what, it did the trick. I had two, and felt a bit as though I had cheated my AF status, but I hadn't. Maybe that might work for some of you.
Between hubbie after burying his father, granny & uncle within three months, son going away to school, uniforms, books, etc, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster time for us.
I am really chuffed to bits with myself for staying AF, can't remember how many days, but heading for my 3rd weekend.

Keep strong

Bree:happyheart:

[sparkleAZ]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

I haven't checked in lately because I have been drinking. I had company last week and I guess that gave me permission to drink, I did mod fairly well but the last few days I have been pretty bad. I am having a hard time staying AL free. I am motivated during the day but cave in at night. I'm not sure what to do, I feel weak right now and can't seem to get it together.

[sunshine_gg]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

:l Sparkle

How about joining us on the 7.5 AF days pact thread? A week isn't soooo much, and we're all in it together! There's strength in numbers, ya know? When the witching hour(s) hit, you could also jump into chat - there are lots of people there, especially in the evenings. If you happen to not find anyone there, just post a chat request in 'Need help asap'... someone will join you! You may also PM me at anytime.. if I'm at the computer, I will definitely answer and/or go into chat with you!

You know the 'thoughts' or 'cravings' really don't last THAT long... if you can just get through it... sometimes, 20 Minutes is all it takes. And, with every AL call not answered, you will get a little stronger for the next time.

[Determination]

30 day commitment.. who's in?

Sparkle - I know what you mean about the night time too. Relaxing with wine after work was my routine. As long as I have not had too stressful of a day at work, I have found that making myself leave the house works for me. So, I will drive to the bookstore, or Target or whatever just to be away from the temptation. When I get home, it is closer to bed time and by that point I have lost the interest. It doesn't always work - I've had 2 days in the last 2 weeks where I wasn't AF because of work stress.

Last night I took the kids with me to Barnes & Noble to look at books - and to get out of the house. And, you know what, it was so wonderful to just be "in the moment" rather than focusing on how long would this take so I could get home and start drinking. I loved that feeling and it reminded me again how when I thought AL made life better - less stressful, I felt "happy, it was a charade. One of my biggest concerns with going AF was that I would find life less interesting - what would I do during boredom, etc. It was and is a shocker that not only is life actually better, I find I have more energy to do things and am not bored. Don't get me wrong, it is still a challenge, and stress is my biggest trigger, but it helps me to at least remind myself of some of the benefits of AF to focus myself mentally on the challenge.