Day 1

[corinne628]

I just have a question! This is my first day I will be AF in years. Could someone tell me how do you break the routine? For me there are certain times of the day that I just drink. for example 3pm i always have 1 drink that just relaxes me from work then dinner then continue from there. So now it is 3:37 and i really want a drink... Probably just from habit.

[OverIt2007]

Day 1

Hi Corrine,

Im curious, do you continue drinking until your drunk to the end of the night? If you want to change, then just dont pick up that drink! Its probably just habit, like you said. Lots of us drink out of just habit. Why dont you read around here for the next hour or so without a drink?

Looking forward to getting to know you better! Were all here to help in whatever ways you need.

Overit

[Rusty]

Day 1

Hi Corinne,

Welcome to MWO! This is a wonderfully supportive place so please post and/or lurk here often.

I don't know what your living situation is....but I live alone and I had the same habits you had and I found that if I do an intense workout at the gym right after work and bypass "cocktail hour" the workout blasts the craving for my nightly wine right out of me.

Key thing: Come up with a written plan to change your routine. Go window shopping for a new outfit, go for a walk, anything to get past the witching hour.

I am now AF after 3 1/2 years of heavy drinking. I used Naltrexone and Baclofen to help me quit...and I ordered the meds right off the internet. Check out the Meds Forum here.

I'm sure others will be responding to your post throughout the evening. Best of luck in your journey,

Rusty

[techie]

Day 1

Hi corinne. You need to find some other activity. Take a walk Do something that removes you from the routine as usual. It is habit. Check these tools out...https://www.mywayout.org/community/f1...box-27556.html

[spuddleduck]

Day 1

i agree. if you can change your routine. i found having a long bubbly bath helped. i would get something nice AF to drink, whatever is your favorite. its all about not having that first drink. think about the next day, how good you will feel to be on a new day AF. come here and read and post, i find reading other peoples stories and triumphs inspiring. you can do this.

[K9Lover]

Day 1

Hi Corinne,

What others have said is absolutely right...it IS a habit. When I first quit, I couldn't fathom what I would do during my long evening, now I can't believe how fast the evenings pass, alcohol free. The first few days I would recommend changing your routine, if you are an at-home drinker like I was, get out of the house. Go to a movie, take a walk, go to the library, read a book in the park, anything. After a few days, you'll notice that the urge isn't quite as strong, then you can start looking into the "whys" that you drink, boredom, lonliness, etc. Take a look at the thread entitled "ODAT Tuesday June 15" (ODAT = one day at a time), we talked a lot today about not really wanting that first drink, but somehow felt the need to have it anyway.

Whew, didn't mean to go on and on! Let me back up and say :welcome:...you're in a great spot for support. Keep yourself busy for the next few hours and let us know how you're doing.

K9

[K9Lover]

Day 1

p.s. to my last long post

A bath is always a good idea too, and if you have any, put about 2 cups of Epsom Salt in it. Make the water as hot as you can stand it and soak for 20 minutes. The salts restore minerals to your body that the alcohol has been depriving you of, and they will also relax you.

Good luck today!

[4myhealth41]

Day 1

Hi Corinne,

:welcome: I'm pretty new here too ~ Day 23 AF for me. The others have given good advice. Stay busy, break your routine, read the boards frequently, and take it day by day (or even minute by minute or hour by hour). I started this as a challenge to myself to see if I could make it just one day without beer. Here it is day 23 and it's getting easier every day. You can do it!

[corinne628]

Day 1

Thanks everyone. I usually only drink from home so Thanks for the suggestions. I am going out for a walk now. :thanks:

[corinne628]

Day 1

Sorry for not introducing myself. I guess i should have done this already. I started drinking after my daughter passed away in 2005. To me this does not seem very long after reading some of your stories. Anyway, i started to only have a drink each night right before bed, to help me sleep and keep the nightmares away. Well, the one drink gradually increased from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 and so on, now start to drink at 3 (when i get home from work). now 5 years later and I don't want to drink anymore. i always feel like crap, My husband knows i drink but has no idea how much I hide most of it. I am pretty much tired of this. No one knows except we live in a small town and there is only one small liq. store here so I see them all the time. My drink of choice is smirnofff Ice. and Wine (must be red).

Today is a start to regain my life. I just hope I did not wait to long. I have read some of your stories and quiting seems to be brutal.

anyway, thanks again for listening.....

[eire go brea]

Day 1

Hi Corinne,
Not best placed to advise you RE AL but just hope that you and your family have received some decent support/ counselling regarding your massive loss ( can't even name it, being the Dad of 5 kids!)
I'm not where I want to be regards AL but I have learned, as I think most here might agree, that whatever the problem, AL is not the solution.
I am on the first step of what I hope to be a long journey , and I hope if I am a good traveller that you may accompany me on the way.If I fall by the wayside, be assured that there are those here on MWO who can take up the baton and try to guide you out of the darkness you have come to know.
I wish you all the best in your journey and any Irish luck that might rub off on you!
Eire :l

[Guest]

Day 1

eire you have gone to the heart of the matter when you say '...whatever the problem, AL is not the solution...'
Therefore, besides getting rid of the alcohol, the problem (or problems) need to be resolved as well.
We tend to focus here on the AL. I think in quite a few cases it is a symptom of a greater malaise.
Still working this out and any comments would be welcome.

[Doggygirl]

Day 1

:welcome: and congratulations on your decision to free yourself from AL bondage. I completely agree that whatever the problem, no matter how horrible it might be, AL is NOT the solution. In my life, I THOUGHT AL was the solution but in reality, AL just made everything worse.

When I first quit drinking, I made a LONG list of things to do. New things, old things, "chore" things, fun things. When the cravings would hit, I would pull out my list. It was helpful to me not to have to *think* too hard to find somthing else to do in the midst of a strong urge.

I was encouraged early on to look for the smilarities you have with other problem drinkers rather than the differences. I wish I had known to do that many years ago. Might have saved myself some grief. Instead, I looked at other heavy drinkers and found the ways I was NOT like them. That didn't helped me as I fooled myself into thinking I didn't really have a problem. And on down the spiral I went. Until I could no longer deny it, but it got much more difficult to solve.

I sort of look at life with AL like an elevator ride down in a tall building. We start at the very top floor when we take our first drink. Then it's just a matter of which floor we decide to get off on. The elevator DOES go all the way to the basement which is 6 feet under. Good for you getting off on a higher floor than that.

Onward to Day 2!

DG

[K9Lover]

Day 1

Hi Corrine,
How did you do last night?

[corinne628]

Day 1

Well, not so good. I could not sleep, finally around 1 i came downstairs and got into the wine. I am so tired today. I am picking up some sleeping aids today and hopefully tonight will go better. I am usually sleeping by 10 pm so today I just feel like crap. I left work early today... anyway, i will just try again today.......