Skullbaby's Progress

[bkyogagurl]

Sorry Skull I am not feeling well today. I slept most the day. I will try to check in the morn & see what is happening

[bkyogagurl]

What is a good time for you friend? 10am can be tough cause I usually hit the gym.
But give me sme times that work good for you?

[skullbabyland]

Usually 9 am to 11 am is good for me, but I can keep the chat window open during the afternoon too.. I'll do that the next couple days. Maybe I'll see you there? Anyone and everyone welcome to join in.

[bkyogagurl]

Rewire: Change Your Brain to Break Bad Habits, Overcome Addictions, Conquer Self-Destructive Behavior by Richard O'Connor.

It's interesting.
I just got done reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown... I could totally relate to most of that book. I think you would enjoy this one.

Hope you are having a fabulous day Hulkman... It is so nice to wake up sober.. I outta keep it up.. It might just become addicting... HA! I'm making a lemon lime cake today if you want a piece... :victorious:

Got a song for you...

Superheroes by the Script

[skullbabyland]

Sweet, thanks BK, I just bought the Rewire book and I'm looking forward to starting it. I've got so many books on my Kindle now I've really gotta get reading more, and watching TV less... :P

Thanks, I'm having a pretty great day so far, hope you are too. I'm glad you feel good waking up sober- it really is nice isn't it? OOh lemon lime cake, wish I could have some! I'll check out the song today too, thanks for the recommendations.

[bkyogagurl]

Skull- been waiting to here an update? How are you?

I should be around at 1:15 if you want to chat?

[skullbabyland]

Hi 1:15 what time zone? I mean, what time would that be in Pacific time? I'll just hang out in the chat room and maybe I'll see ya there

[bkyogagurl]

Pacific.

[skullbabyland]

I'm in there now! I see you popped in but looks like you might have stepped away.

[bkyogagurl]

I totally was there and I did step away... got distracted doing some house chores...
What about tomorrow? When is a good time for you? this is almost comical.

[Lostinspace]

Hey Skull! Long time no speak/update. How have you been?

[skullbabyland]

Good, Lis- thanks for checking in- I'm preparing an update for a couple days from now- this coming Friday

[Lostinspace]

Sounds good, Skull. Looking forward to it

[skullbabyland]

Well, today is one year sober! I posted the following summation in the Gratitude thread-

"Today I'm grateful to be 365 days sober- 1 year to the day. This time last year, I was barely surviving, nursing my last hangover.

It's a bit hard to wrap my head around... I haven't been sober this long since I was probably like 15 years old. Moreso, I'm grateful that drinking, or not, is now a logical choice that I make with my rational mind-- instead of the compulsion to drink against my will. This is proven by the fact that even though I do have thoughts about having a 'few' drinks this weekend to 'celebrate', I've chosen not to- aside from all the obvious addict reasons, it would be against my current health training- eating clean and healthy foods to burn fat and build muscle. The fact that my health is more important than getting fucked up tells me volumes about how far I've come. My training is for the next three months, so that'll take me to the end of January before I will even entertain the idea of drinking or not.

So, that means another 3 months sober, including another whole holiday season."

So yep, I am happy and proud and a bit surprised. Happily surprised that I was finally able to do this. It has been a long haul but a very worthwhile one. A necessary one.

An update on meds- still on 80mg Bac. I stopped taking Antabuse a couple months ago because I felt safe that I was being conscious, present, and authentic in regards to abstaining. Not lying to myself, tricking myself, or playing games. I just genuinely felt I didn't need it anymore- mostly because I knew I was coming within sight of 1 year sober, and the mental/emotional commitment to see that through was solid.

That said, I still keep Antabuse on hand for if I feel I need it. As for Baclofen, I'm considering slowly weaning down a bit. I've been at 80mg a long time now. I'm considering going slowly to 70, then 60, and seeing how it feels, and carefully monitoring for cravings.

Other than that, life is pretty manageable nowadays. It's certainly not the mess it used to be, not even close. I'm still a bit messy, a bit lazy, a lot disorganized... I still have problems with motivation and procrastination, I still have problems with self esteem and social anxiety. I've still got a lot of work to do, and I know it'll likely never be over. But I've made a ton of progress in all these areas. Progress that I couldn't have done while I was still drinking alcoholically. Plus, I quit smoking

Last and maybe most important of all, I'm so so grateful for this thread, this site, and the people on it for giving me a place to belong.

Best, and love, to all.
Skull
October 31st, Halloween 2014

[spiritwolf333]

Hi Skull -I made a post in the General Discussion area. Your accomplishment is simply awesome and inspiring. I truly do hope that others -especially those new to trying to become sober, will read your thread.

The Skull Method, may become more popular than we now know -combing medications, as you did (Baclofen and Antabuse). You have demonstrated to many of us courage, strength, willingness, and survival and this does not go unnoticed. I am quite sure many others will comment once they read your fantastic news.

Skull, I thank you for sharing your hope with me and to the many others that have read your posts.
SW