Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

[islandrules]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

I am glad I found this sight. Have done 30 days AF a few times, but always slip back into old habits. Just ordered the book this morning and hope this will give me the structure and support I need to succeed!

[mollyka]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Fight club rules ok!!

Hi Liath,boozer,red,amcal,beaches,spacebb,mstall,pudd ytat,sunshine,determination,tirgs and islandrules aka FIGHT CLUB!! Would love to do September. The reason I named everyone so far is that I am on day 3 AF and feel SO much better than 2 days ago when I could hardly name myself. Still madly struggling and havent slept yet but shakes are gone and I feel mildly functional!! Lets do it together, this has to be better than how we were? scary tho.

[namaste]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Hi everybody..been back to MWO for several weeks now, back on the topamax for 2 weeks but haven't made any commitments around being abstinent until now, but woke up this morning feeling ready to make Sept an AF month (cringing slightly as I type this). I've done it before..15 years, and many months at a time. I guess I've been drinking most days now since June..was AF for several months prior to that. I've taken my husband on this roller coaster ride as well..a co-dependent kind of thing. He has exercised abstinence with me for years at time, been the alcohol police at times, but over the past few years, prefers to just join me (it's easier, or it just enables him to feed his addictive nature)..offering to pick up wine daily, whether I ask for it or not. I'm finally putting a plan in place that is not dependent on what he does or doesn't do. So, that is where I am. September!

[Liath]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Hi everybody! Sunshine, puttytat, trlgs, determination, and the rest of us who have been around here a little while. Welcome to all the newcomers to fight club! And don't worry about the thirty day thing, I think we all wan't a lifestyle change forever! ODAT. I am actually excited about September. I spent about half of August AF and that was not so good. But this is the month that I have to turn in all of my grad school applications and take the GRE so I have no time to waste on AL. Unless I decided to give up my dreams for drinking and that would be crazy.

I am sure that we all think about things we might be missing out on due to drinking. I'd love to hear about the goals everyone has in mind after ditching AL. Motivation! Have to run but everyone take care!

:bat:bat Fight club!

[colbe]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Ii was recommended by some of my buddies here to join this fight club. It is VERY needed, I am losing it. Too much pressure and stress. AL is the ONLY thing that helps at this point in my life, and I feel horrable about it.

[sunshine_gg]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Nice to see you over here, Colbe!!!!

Well then.. lemme see... motiviation, is it?
Without AL... I am a better mother, partner, friend.
Without AL... I am a better me.
Without AL... I can feel better about myself and make others feel better about themselves.
Without AL... I am a more positive person.
Without AL... I have something resembling a memory.
Without AL... I no longer have inexplicable bruises and nicks.

Oh gosh... honestly, I could go on for an hour... but I'm afraid the dinner bell (aka smoke detector) is going to go off any second! Better go check on it! :H

[mollyka]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Hi Fightclub

Day 4 AF, woke up feeling very down in the dumps, lots of reasons and no particular reason. Motivation, wouldn,t know where to start.
Have my children respect me
Be able to deal with my domineerin husband without him telling me all our probs are down to AL
Feel that I'm not going to die young (youngish! I'm 53)
Money saved was spending between 20 an 30 Euro a day

Hope you all doin well today
:h

[redhibiscus]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

I deserve to be sober for so many reasons...for myself most importantly. Alcohol takes away everything good from me. My spirit, my intelligence, my health, my attitude, others regard and respect, my ability to fulfill my home and work obligations, and my relationship with God. So my motivation to be AF in September and hopefully beyond is motivated by wanting desperately to regain my self-respect, enjoy a spirit and attitude filled with love and hope, have honest relationships with others, take care of my home and do a great job at work, and have an ongoing relationship with God.

I am scared though. Yesterday I started thinking about wine on the weekend. The little voice srarted with crazy thoughts like...it would be fun to have wine on Sunday...everyone will expect you to drink...it will only be one day...it's a holiday weekend. Right in the middle of the day these thoughts attadked me and this is nothing new for me. So, Help!!! THis is how it starts for me. Then, by the time the weekend rolls around I am weak and buy wine. Any suggestions.

[Beaches]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Red I know exactly how you feel. We wake up with the morning resolutions and motivation and as the day creeps on we start weakening. Then AL wins. This is my day 1 so I'll be a day behind most of you. Have had a lot of pressure in my life coming at all angles and this is why I need to be AF. To keep my head straight.
One thing that worked for me, in the past, was to buy a drink replacement for when I would usually have wine. I found that I like Diet Tonic water with Lime, others like Tea etc. Just find a replacement at that witching hour.
Good luck to all in the Fight!

[puddytat]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Hi to all on this beautiful, sunny Sept 2. I'm feeling excitement and fear both in the pit of my stomach. Mollyka, definitely know what you mean be scared. sorry you're having a rough Day 4. My goals for when I'm sober and free of this Beast are modest. Just to climb back up out the hole that has become my non-life, and start working hard and quit hiding from everyone and every problem.

I used be kind of successful, outwardly: home-owner, well-paying job. But accumulated work-stresses and office politics kept me going back to AL, and finally quit that job, and had trouble dealing with the next two jobs -- started drinking really, really heavily was certainly part of the problem, but also kind of a solution for the anxiety. Finally realized I'm so much in the wrong field, but what to do? I still don't know the answer there, but need to figure it out right quick!

hang tough Fight Club!

[Savannah]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

HORRAY FOR SEPTEMBER!!

:applaud:@ EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO BE AF!!

[puddytat]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Sunny G, thanks for posting your motivation! Love it. ... glad you're noticing changes.
I'm dealing with some cravings right now, they'll pass (Day 2) came here for strength.

Also just peeked at afternoon suburban newspaper:
1) 1 guy lit a cig last nite, and fell asleep drunk in the easy chair -- didn't wake up until the fire dept was hosing him down (he and the chair were on fire) - he has had 4 OWIs
2) a lady got her 5th OWI and faces 10 yrs prison -- she was acting weird at Bally's Hlth Club, so they called the cops, who tailed her, then found her car full of Vodka, tons of prescription pills, and marijuana
3) a new 24-bed addiction inpatient center is being built 5 miles away.

I'm so sick of addiction ... sick of it!!! FIGHT ON.

[Determination]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Good afternoon everybody! Colbe - welcome to the Fight Club!

Tuesdays are turning into my set-back day. Sigh. Third Tuesday when I have blown it - and each time it has been a result of stress at work. I need to spend some time searching for alternatives for handling stress.

So....Liath - as to your question, my goal when I get AF for good - hmmmm I haven't really thought of a goal. Need to think on that.

[Liath]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Oh Colbe- I am sorry that you are having a rough time. I know that drinking seems like the answer to every problem after a while, but in the end, it IS the problem. We MUST stop or curb our drinking and then begin the painfully slow process of retraining our brains. So much AL messes up our pleasure centers so that we can't feel pleasure without it, also we can't cope without it.. Stick around, we will help each other.

Mollyka- Hang in there. In the past I have gotten pretty emotional after a few days AF. Maybe because I was suppressing those emotions for so long. I still have the urge to drink the minute I hear bad news, but now I sometimes don't act upon that impulse and it fades. Progress!

Boozer- Still here? I will PM you if you need someone to talk to.

Thanks Sunny and Red for your responses. Det- You are doing well despite setbacks. And beaches, I do understand about the stress. I am facing loads of it myself. Amazingly, life really is EASIER without the hassle of obtaining AL, drinking AL, and dealing with the consequences. We just need to keep reminding ourselves of that!

Puddy- You MUST be looking at a Wisconsin newspaper! Don't we have the most out of control drunks in the the entire U.S. in this darn state. I know how hard it is, and i am pulling for you!!!

[Beaches]

Welcome to Fight Club- September Edition

Just wanted to say Good Morning to the Fight Club. Well all my good intentions went down the tubes the first 2 days of Sept. So hoping today I get my butt in gear. I have already taken my baclofen, L Glut, True Calm and Kudzu and plan to do the same later in the day. My hardest time is when I get home from work and look around the house and think. WOW there is so much to do and then my 3 kids (twins will be 7 and 4 year old) arrive about 10 minutes after I get home then it's back to the rat race.
I know I need to find some time to myself. That would help tremendously.
Good luck everyone and keep fighting