Newbies in need May day 11

[aduggan]

Good morning everyone! Have to keep it short and sweet today cos I have to rush. Have a great day everyone. I made it past half of 30 yesterday - yipee! On day 16 today.

[doodledoll]

Newbies in need May day 11

This is the beginning of day 2 for me. I often get to 4 or 5 days without much effort, then I feel fine, and forget how grim I feel the morning after. I'm aiming for moderation in the long run, so will have one glass if out for lunch (once a week), but nothing in the evenings, which is when I forget to stop. If I manage 30 days (nearly) AF, I will think about what to do next. One day at a time, though.

[jane rees]

Newbies in need May day 11

Hang in there!

Ducky! I could sooo relate to your evening cooking dinner with the neighbour...and a nice cold glass with convivial banter no doubt. You are the kind of friend I have always actively sought out hoping they would drink as much as me...your neighbour probably went home and opened another bottle!! It's Friday night which is usually a big one for me and it's 6 pm which is a dangerous hour for a drinker trying not to drink...so Ducky, hang in there with me please!! ...yet another cup of tea...
Jane

[bird]

Newbies in need May day 11

Good morning all,
I received book yesterday "The Easy way to Stop Drinking" by Allen Carr. I got about 1/4 through it and it seems pretty good.More on it later. I'm on day 6 and am feeling pretty positive about quitting this time for good. I've been trying to quit for years and years and tried many things but I think this is the time it's gonna happen. My kids are old enough to see what a struggle its been and I hope it will help them to stay away from it.Congrats adug over the 2 week mark. Janice-sorry about your Mom. Retteacher moving into 1 week . I'm right behind you.Ducky-hang tough,still havent seen my froggy. Welcome Jane. You are in a good place. Luck to all.Bird

[Janice]

Newbies in need May day 11

Hi everyone, Day 12 for me and feeling better today. Coming up to that dangerous time of the week "the weekend" but feeling positive. I keep checking the post cause my cds should be here any day now and I am so looking forward to trying them out! Still feeling absolutely shattered when I wake on a morning and I've never slept so well as I'm doing AF. It must be something to do with our bodies adjusting. Think I need to step up the exercise part of the program - that might help with the tiredness. At the moment, I'm swimming once a week and thats it. Whats everyone else doing?? Have a great day - see you later. Janice

[Lorelei]

Newbies in need May day 11

Had wine last night so my AF counter returns to 1 today. I don't feel bad about drinkng last night because I didn't drink to extreme excess like I used to. I definately like that I went 8 days without drinking and have begun to develop some strategies to lead myself away from mindless drinking. Thanks to all of you lovely people here at MYO I am beginning to no longer feel controlled by booze!

-Lorelei

[bluesky]

Newbies in need May day 11

Good day to everyone, just a quickie as work is calling, day 5 AF for me today, but how does one get through the w/e I ask myself, for myself I know that I shall have to decline any social invitation, I have never in my life (apart from pregnancies) been able to say no thankyou before and once some of us take that first one....... Anyway one day at a time. Feeling fantastic being AF but still feeling it's not real as I haven't yet had any temptation put in my way.

Like you Janice I am sleeping so so well and swimming for exercise, brilliant. In the meantime I'm awaiting the arrival of my books/cds and supps.

Good luck to everyone and have a great w/e.

BS X

[bluesky]

Newbies in need May day 11

Lorelei

I would love to be able to do that could you possibly share your strategies? Good for you!

Thanks

[Lorelei]

Newbies in need May day 11

Bluesky

I try and make plans with loved ones on most nights of the week so there is no opportunity to slip up. On bad days I'm not afraid to cry at random moments (alot of my most recent drinking has had to do with grief). I try and take each day as a new day and try and minimize the time I spent thinking about my past failures. If I do end up thinking too much I just try to have a good cry and let it go. For the record crying is a relatively new thing for me. I've always tried to maintain a tough exterior but it has left me with tons of emotional baggage that I have kept repressed with alcohol. I also have a wonderful boyfriend who struggled with his own dependancy issues some years back and is very supportive of everything I'm doing. He knows what I am going through and just helps me along in so many little ways.

Oh and by the way when I say I don't feel bad about last night I mean I don't feel emotionally bad. Physically I feel sluggish and blah.....another definate encouragement not to drink.

-Lorelei

[bluesky]

Newbies in need May day 11

Lorelei

Thank you so much for sharing that with me, it really helps. We all have our emotional baggage don't we? You are doing great and I think it's fantastic that you are finally able to cry, a good cry now and again does everyone well. It's wonderful that you are not feeling bad about slipping up one evening, I think that's an achievement in itself. Yes doesn't drinking make us feel awful the next morning, I think one of the best things (apart from the relief of not hurting our loved ones) from not drinking is the wonderful way we waken in the mornings and oh isn't it great not to worry about what we might have done the night before?

Courage and thanks again, take care

BS X

[Kathy123]

Newbies in need May day 11

Hi everyone,

Congrats to those who made it through another day!

Since I caved in (big time) 2 days ago, and hence felt like crap all day yesterday (physically), it was quite easy, practically a no-brainer, for me to refrain from drinking yesterday. It was a blessing in disguise that I slipped up like that--after 4 sober days, b/c there was such a strark contrast between how wonderful those 4 days felt, compared with how hellish I felt all day yesterday. It really sent the message, "WHY would you do that to yourself?" Esp. since I'm the type who absolutely cannot stop after one drink--it's a given that the next day I'll feel awful.

So, at least for present purposes, I'm not even tempted. If you don't count the evening I messed up, I have 5 AF days under my belt. Today will very likely be the 6th.

BIRD -- I read that book several months ago. I think it is excellent. Once I finished reading it, I didn't have the slightest interest in drinking. Please do read the entire book. Everything he says makes perfect sense, and I think he helps you see, one chapter at a time, the "big picture" of what the dynamic is that's going on, and why there is just no reason to continue drinking. I was drinking very heavily and just stopped suddenly after that book, and didn't drink for a week. Obviously, I snapped, and got back into this mess again. However, I think I would have continued staying sober if I'd had some sort of support, such as this board, in addition to the new way of thinking that the book gave me. I think that book + ongoing support will be very, very effective. Best of luck to you!
--Kathy

[Lorelei]

Newbies in need May day 11

Well suck back that warm and fuzzy feeling I was feeling about myself.

Apparently there was a HUGE accident yesterday near Jeff's work and he was worried all night about his coworkers. He REALLY needed to talk to me and I was out having my wine. Now he's mad at me. I feel like a jerk and I just had a cry in my office. I didn't even realize there was a HUGE accident. I have been working really hard on being AF and moderating when I do drink but now I just feel like a screw up and my self esteem is quite low.

:upset:

[ducky]

Newbies in need May day 11

Wow, it is hard to keep track of everyone! Janice, glad you are feeling better today. Jane, I am a great drinking buddy. My neighbor likes a couple but she is probably the one who went home and went to bed while I poured one last one. Last night was much better; I had just 2 glasses and slept great. It is my goal to remember how much better I feel and cut myself off.

Lorelei, sorry you are bummed. But if you went out and moderated that is great. You could not have known about the accident so don't connect that with your not being available. We are all so tough on ourselves.

Hi to everyone else. I'll have to take notes as I read so I can respond better.

I hope everyone has a great w/e. Sunday will be the hard day for me for a variety of reasons. I am really hoping to exhibit some self control. My neighbor and my MIL will be here. Enough said!!!

[Kitty]

Newbies in need May day 11

Hi everyone,

Well done Bird being on day 6 and Janice being on day 12.

And Lorelei you sound really upbeat since your slip which is great. I had one last weekend but like you I am starting to find coping strategies. I think it's really important not to be too hard on ouselves when we slip.

I got a diary today and am using the year planner in the front so I can plot my non drinking days. It's like the drink tracker but I just put a bit x for af days and highlight any days I have a drink. It's good because I can carry it around in my bag.

Since coming back to this site I have seen a real change in my drinking, in 17 days I have only drank on 3 days and I haven't been drunk now for going on 3 weeks. I'm 5 days af now but I do have family drinks this weekend so I'm just going to try my best.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Kitty

[ducky]

Newbies in need May day 11

Great job Kitty!

I was running errands today and having a dialogue with myself...feeling a bit pizzy because it's so hard for me. So I said hey, if you want to moderate it will be an effort to control yourself, maybe for a while and maybe for ever. If you cannot deal, quit! Gave myself a nice talking to. I still want to try mods...

I feel a little bit better for some reason.