Getting through xmas

[stirly-girly]

Getting through xmas

U-Buns, Stirly again.
Wow, ultra triathlons!! Good for you. You and Chill have yet another thing in common.

Let me say a word to Popeye first. We've never met but you may have read a few of my posts. Please, don't even think about having the tiniest of sippies. Almost a year AF - just hold on a couple of more weeks and you'll have done it and how cool is that!!!:yay:

U-Buns, I know it's really hard when friends and family can control their drinking (or think they can) and want you to go along with them - and sometimes keep up at the same pace. There are excuses you can use to not take the first drink. (if you take Antabuse, you yourself know the biggest reason why you shouldn't have even one drink) When someone offers me a drink, I like to say that since we tend to eat more over the holidays and consume more calories that I'd rather eat the extra calories than drink them. Let the others think what they will. Some other excuses that JC suggested is that you have been having problems with your stomach, are on meds and that alcohol is strictly forbidden. There are lots of little white lies you can come up with and if someone has a problem with that, it's their problem. Just don't let them drag you down. LIke, sorry, guys, I've been indulging a bit too much lately and decided to give it a rest for a couple of weeks. Then see how much better you feel after even such a short period of time.
Alcohol is a very powerful drug but we are not powerless before it. The decision to have a drink is ours. If you don't open the bottle or the can of beer and pour yourself a drink, the drink can't get out. It's powerless, not you. You give it the power if you drink it. It's so very complicated and yet in a way, so simple. The power is actuallly in your hands. You just have to take the first step and not open the bottle or not take a drink that is offered to you. The majority of alcoholics can't moderate their drinking. We like to say we don't have a "turn off" switch. Someone else said our brains are wired differently. That's what I believe and after reading so many, many posts the last couple of weeks here at MWO, it seems that it is true.
Keep reading the posts. Write whatever you want. We are all here to help each other. You CAN not take that first drink, and you definitely can wake up in the morning with a clear head and a little smile, knowing that you managed to get through a whole day and night AF. If taking the Antabuse is what you need to do, then do it.
We're all here for you and for each other. Will be following your posts. Take, care.
Stirly
:huggy

[Popeye]

Getting through xmas

One of my nieces did that too and ended up in hospital....

I've had to simplify everything in my life to be able to understand what's important and what isn't; what other people expect and what I'm prepared to deliver. There was so much nonsense floating around in my head and I'm getting to know myself a little better.
So much has happened over the last few years and I'm just finding some peace of mind at last. I've hurt a lot of people and been hurt but today's a new day and I'm making the best of it.

[gyco]

Getting through xmas

u bunny

ultrabunny;774647 wrote: Hi

So I'm sat here pretty hungover and feeling like I have hit rock bottom. I have a broken heart, massive debts, terrible job, single mum, the list goes on...

I know that although things are bad, I have a home and my kids are great (and healthy) and I'm healthy too (although if I keep going like this I won't be) But what I really want to do is to stop drinking. I have been fighting this for 15 years now and I'm so tired.

If I bite the bullet and do it today, I have to get through xmas and new year sober, with everyone trying to get me to have a drink, they don't get it that when I start, I can't stop. It's like I hate myself so much that the only way I am happy is when I'm drunk but then it's always end the same, me crying and in a mess. My kids are so used to me being like this now, it's the norm.

This is the 3rd xmas that I have been unhappy. I don't want another xmas day with me drunk and crying. I need to find the strength to get through it sober.

Thanks for letting me wibble on, I guess I'm looking for support here, I can't (and don't want to) go to AA.

UBx

good morning u bunny,yea Christmas is a no brainer,all tht booze,no one sits on you and pours it down your throat,you sound very dedicated,sound like a great mom,been through some tough times lately,like many other people these days,,ive been thru the same as you,umpteen dozen times,[drinking tht is]i say to many here,for me its not hard to stop drinking,its staying stopped and wanting to,i beleive many here have taken supplements,for some it works,some even go other directions,take naltrexone,drink all you want,and gradually get rid of this ailment,ido beleive it has helped some here,theres even a thread here just for that group of people,sometimes hospitalization works,institutions,counselling one on one,, dam even AA,there are so many ways to stop,my dear it is all up to you,there are many people here that will guide you and stand behind you,you've found a great site,another way of approaching you alcoholism,ive started marking my calender,in oct07 to dec i had 67 days sobriety,in 08 i had 217 days,in 09 i will have, if i make it to the end of dec. 174 days,so you can seethere is hope,,i always have to be aware of my alcoholism,or it will come back,like a nt mare,in your dreams, but it is no dream,i do wish well on your journey,by the way bunny it is not adviseable to stop drinking cold turkey if you consume a lot of alchohol,the dt s can kill you ,either cut bak gradually or see a doctor for help,preferably one that has been trained in alchoholism,good luck to you gyco:welcome:

[stirly-girly]

Getting through xmas

U-Buns.
Gyco is right about that. When I suggested you take Antabuse, I assumed you had already seen a doctor. I have stopped several times cold turkey and I know other who have done so with no or very minor withdrawal symptoms. That's not for everyone, tho'. Each person's body reacts differently to each substance we do or do not put into it. Wishing you the best however you decide to go about it...
Stirly
P.S Gyco - WAY TO GO!!! :rockon:

[ultrabunny]

Getting through xmas

Ok, I have just bought some nice food (sausages and mash yum) paint for the bathroom, taken the dog for a walk in the wood and I have taken a Antibuse tablet and I've told my best friend that I'm going AF for Xmas - phew!

So it all starts today and I'm going to start everyday by reading posts on here to remind myself what I'm doing. I know that once the hangover goes, it's so easy to start boozing again.

I have also got to remember to not get too hungry or tired, simple stuff but big booze triggers for me.

So so so glad I found this site today.

[Popeye]

Getting through xmas

Well done!

[stirly-girly]

Getting through xmas

Hi again U-Buns
I have never taken Antibuse (probably even spelled it wrong in former posts) but from what I read on Wikipedia, if you drink after taking it, you could be in for a really nasty time. Keeping that in mind will probably stop you from taking even one drink
Sounds like you've taken some big steps today. Telling your best friend is major. That way you have someone who knows what you're trying to do and will support you through it.
We're glad you found this site, too. Again, welcome....Stirly

[Chillgirl]

Getting through xmas

UltraB
Sausage & mash...YUM YUM :sausages:
You sound So much more positive that the 1st post today
Thats absolutely brilliant....!!
:goodjob:
This site is a Godsend to me before I found it I felt so alone with this addiction,
ODAT is also a great approach ONE DAY AT a TIME
when I think about never drinking again it seems such a huge thing to take on but
I CAN promise myself I wont drink today..

Stirly thanks for all your great coments im going to read through them again tonight
when I have more time...
:thanks:

[stirly-girly]

Getting through xmas

Chill. It helps me as much to write them as it does for you to read them. I've finally found the courage to get all of this out in the open and write about things I was afraid to even think about. Stirly

[Chillgirl]

Getting through xmas

Stirly I know exactly what you mean!
It just occurred to me today in fact that this has been the best therapy ever.

Writing these threads has been the most honest I have EVER been with myself in my whole life.... Wow is that BIG?

I feel for the 1st time strong enough to do this

:l

[stirly-girly]

Getting through xmas

Chill - Of course you're strong enough to do this. You just needed some friends willing to hold your hand along the way. You've found us. We'll catch you if you trip, we'll pick you up and dust you off if you fall.
We're all here to help and support each other and ourselves on the road to living a better life...Stirly

[ultrabunny]

Getting through xmas

Blimey, I just watched http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP0InrPZpjg[/video]]this...

That's enough to get me through Xmas I think. Seriously scary stuff.

[mel09]

Getting through xmas

I've been with another site for quite awhile, I know several people there who have been sober since December last year, beginning before Christmas - they just decided that they were 'done', and it was time for them to quit. I'm just looking forward to this Christmas being better for me than the last, it was diabolical. All the best and welcome to MWO.

[Lissie]

Getting through xmas

Hi UB
I'm the same. Decision day today. Stop drinking or lose even more. I face a lonely Christmas because my relationship is gone and I'm heartbroken.
I am having to count my blessings but the love of my life is seeing someone else. And mostly because of what an unpleasant cow I become when I'm drinking. Doesn't even take much. THe bottle is no friend to me.
Take heart. They tell me in the chat room that great changes are on the way. So its day at a time and steady progress. Once we both stop crying for ourselves and how we've ended
up like this. At least we're doing something about it now.

[stirly-girly]

Getting through xmas

Hi Lissie.
:welcome: to MWO.
My name is Stirly and I just want to tell you that you've come to the right place. I landed here quite by accident in Nov. this year and joined Dec. 1st. The support and care that has come my way since then has been phenomenal. You will find the same helping hands reaching out to you.
I tend to talk a lot, but it's just because I am so enthusiastic about MWO and totally believe that people who have a problem with alcohol, admit that they do, and truly want to change their lives, will find the help they need here.
My advice to you is to read a lot of the posts, especially in the Newbies Nest and the ASAP threads. There you will find people in the same situation and frame of mind that you are in now. You have come to a place where you will feel that you are not alone, that you have finally found a wonderful group of people who are going through or have gone through exactly what you're going through now. We are all in this together for one purpose. To live a better life than what we've been living up til now. Whether that means moderation for those who can manage it, or total abstinence (AF - alcohol free) for those of us who chose that route, the end target is the same. A better quality of life. A life where we control the drink, it doesn't control us.
Welcome again, Lissie. We'll be following your posts. Write what you want to. Ask what you want to. We are all here for each other and for ourselves...
:huggy Stirly