Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

[Farm Girl]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Hey Muppet - your AL demon is the one asking this question! I can't add a lot of what everyone else has said, but I can say that I don't miss the guilt, anxiety and feeling like crap every morning after drinking. I had the same issues with the evenings - I paced at first. Keep busy! Being AF is the only way to live the life you were meant to live!

[Boss.man]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

After you do it a bit, it happens. Someone calls, or there is some emergency, or you need to help someone. In my drinking days I would have escaped, and never helped. When I'm AF, I can get in the car and help someone out, even at 11 at night.

Being able to be there for your spouse, or your family is not only better, it's key to being a whole person.

[Muppett]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Thanks people.
I'm scared. Don't know how to lie my life A/F.
Seeing the Dr on Monday and will find out just how bad my liver problem is.
I WANT to be A/F but I don't know how.
You will all help me I know.
Thanks xx

[tictak]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Muppet,i know just how you feel.I to wonder how i will cope without alcohol in my life... what else do i do to occupy myself.
I have cut my wine consumption in half since coming on here but its really not good enough,i know my health is being ruined,my liver aches and my colour has changed.Really need to get back to the docs,just working up the courage.I think that if you are told your liver is damaged that will give you the insentive to give up,i know it would me.

[Bustedchalk]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Honestly it really depends what you wanna do with your life, for some people that don't wanna waste money, feel like shit in the morning, have no remorse and regret, and take care of there body then AL free is the way to go and they'll never regret it. Other people have different goals and outlooks on life.

so going AL free will be as good as you want it to be.

[dancingon]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

I find myself agreeing now, whereas I didn't when I first started visiting this site. I finished Alan Carr's book, and although he talks some good sense, there were one or two issues I can't quite agree with him on, and I was worried that my mind might use these against me during urge times. I've now come to the point where I realise that it doesn't really matter how it is for anyone else, it matters how it will be for me. I can list all the negatives of drinking, but they never put me off before, so I prefer to think about the positives of not drinking. Before I turned to Al, I was able to cope with stress, grief and problems without it, and with a much clearer head to find solutions - so no excuses anymore, because I've had a hard day or my ex has upset me. Once upon a time I used to enjoy wine for the taste, but now I can't aford to drink the best and it would be gone just as quick as a $5 bottle, so what a waste of money!

Most people seem to find they get bored when they don't drink. Why? Because we wasted so much time doing nothing much except drinking, until we lost the motivation to do anything else. It takes time to get your energy back but once you do you realise that you can achieve a mind-blowing amount in an evening. I think you need to plan for it though, because if it was your habit to sit alone (or with certain friends) and drink at night, you might want to avoid that. Plan to do something, be somewhere else. Get a DVD and enjoy the fact that you can remember it all the way through the next day. Play, or write music. Is there anything you've often wanted to do, but could never be bothered? Now might be a good time.

I agree with whoever said that it feels great to get a call at 11pm and still know you're fine to drive. I know I've let my teenage boys down a few times on this front, when they could've used a sober Mum to pick them up. Now my two youngest will be able to rely on me and that feels good.

[byebyebridgetjones]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Living with alcohol is such a cyclic thing. We end up isolating ourselves so that we can drink, and then, lo and behold....... we're isolated.....so the options narrow as to what we can do to to break the cycle.
Most of us I think, will have neglected friendships, interests and activities. The very things which could be the building blocks of our new life.
I'm starting to think of alcohol as the worst kind of 'best friend' there is. Monopolises our lives, gives us a false sense of power and security (on it's own terms only, of course), isolates us from our own strength on many MANY levels. Alienates us from the positive people that we need around us to live a better life. Erodes our self worth and credibility.
Seems a strange thing to say about an inanimate object, but the immediate gratification is just not worth it.

Sheri.
One of the best posts I've read...
IS geting drunk as good as it's cracked up to be ???????

Let us know how you get on on Monday Muppett.
Bridge.

[Rags]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Hi Muppet,
A few years ago I rang Nestles to find out how much caffeine is in Milo as they don't state it on the tin. A cup of milo has the equivalent caffeine of 3 strong black cups of coffee!!!! And zillions of mothers give this to their kids every day.

Gee, doesn't Bridge write a good post. There's nothing for me to add. Except maybe find a substitute for milo that isn't loaded with caffeine. You may find it a bit more relaxing .

[mollyka]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Lost a big long post again aaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh! Ok to cut a long story short I agree with all the above and then a tangible reality - I don't know how much you drink/drank but I drank an awful lot in a very expensive country, so I reckon I was drinking between 150 and 200 euros a week, thats 7500 -10,000 euros a year. I see you are in Australia, that is roughly 10,000 - 14,500 Australian dollars a year I was drinking - you work out your own outlay, over say another 20 years if I lived that long I would have drunk 290,000 Australian dollars not allowing for inflation!!!! Its like winning the lottery!zwink:
Molly

[Guitarista]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Great post's Dancing on, and Bridget. Alcohol is a very cunning beast, and when it takes over our mind's, of course, it can kill us. It kill's us via a slow suicide, or by other means. Drinking. What a serious waste of my time!

Best wishes Muppet, and curtail the muppetry sooner rather than later mate.

[spuddleduck]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

just read bridges post.. sooooo true. im getting my building blocks firmly cemented in. friendships, interests and activities are coming back. when i was drinking i just wasnt interested in anything.. apart from drinking.

[LVT25]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

YES!

[mama bear]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

DITTO ALL THE ABOVE...........

[mario]

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?

Is A/F REALLY that wonderful?
Muppett


it sure is and i would never ever hope to go back drinking,what a waste of a life i had.