100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

[Pavati]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Hi, All:

I do like that tea, 3J. I just discovered some mango tea that makes delicious non caffeinated iced tea. I think the brand is Stash.

MyLuck - 6 months is amazing. Keep it up. Glad DH is along for the ride as well.

I was with a friend today who I hadn't seen since I quit drinking. She said "good for you, I just hope you're still fun" in a joking but maybe slightly defensive way. My sister piped in with "oh, she's a LOT of fun, still. Just as much if not more..." Made me feel good that she sees me still laughing and having a great time without booze.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to work for me on Monday after a week off. I actually like my job, but my, I have had a great week off, too.

Pav

[TJAF]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Pavati;1651384 wrote: Hi, All:

I do like that tea, 3J. I just discovered some mango tea that makes delicious non caffeinated iced tea. I think the brand is Stash.

MyLuck - 6 months is amazing. Keep it up. Glad DH is along for the ride as well.

I was with a friend today who I hadn't seen since I quit drinking. She said "good for you, I just hope you're still fun" in a joking but maybe slightly defensive way. My sister piped in with "oh, she's a LOT of fun, still. Just as much if not more..." Made me feel good that she sees me still laughing and having a great time without booze.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to work for me on Monday after a week off. I actually like my job, but my, I have had a great week off, too.

Pav

Happy Easter All. I'm a guy so my preference is good coffee, sorry no tea for me. Regarding anxiety, Valarian has been my go to, just wish it didn't smell like yesterday's socks. I like the idea of Yoga but I'm as stiff as a board on a cold winter morning. Gonna have to work on that. Otherwise I have my 87 year old Mom in for the week and If I'm still AF by the end of the week it will be a miracle (just kidding).

[Byrdlady]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

TJ, if push comes to shove, booze up your mother, not you!!! :H:H:H

MyLuck your AF time is amazing! I bet you feel like a Queen!!
:crowned: Congrats!!! B

[skullbabyland]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

MyLuck- so so happy to hear of your 180 days, that is FANTASTIC. Hope you're feeling great about it!!

[Samstone]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

way to go there MyLuck. 180 is orrreeesome!

[Myluck]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Thank you all - l do feel like a queen indeed!!! A little nervous today as my DH went to training to NC and will be back only tomorrow. I am hoping he will do the right thing - there are going to be social event with all his co-workers. Ughh. I believe in him.
The other day I had lunch with my friend at work - we go to hot yoga together. I stated to her that I was 6 months AF and asked her if she wanted to try AF for a little but to see how she feels. She had horror in her eyes: " I am not ready to give this up" - like it was some sort of treasure!!!like it is a candy and she is a kid.

[Samstone]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

MyLuck
people will stop drinking when they are ready, I know you had good intentions for your friend but it is such a personal issue. The ego can be a rather fragile thing. The best you can hope for is that your friend will take a good look inside and ask herself honestly openly whether she needs to stop drinking for a bit.

Sam

[available]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I agree with you Sam, if someone had of said to me you should give up, i would have shot darts at them, while thinking indignantly who are they to tell me what to do. The would have definitely have been right but we will only stop when we are ready to stop and it doesnt matter what anybody says.

ML big congrats on your 6 months, huge achievement and if you ask me if i want to stop drinking forever then my answer is yes please.

[skullbabyland]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Yep, I think the best thing we can do for others is just live as healthy and sober as we are able and perhaps others will notice that wer'e doing better in life and inquire with us about it if and when they are ready to. I've had a few friends now ask me, "wow so you cut out booze completely", you look healthy etc. and they know they can talk to me about it if they choose to. Sometimes I feel full of pride in my accomplishments and I need to remind myself to bring my ego down a bit and remember to be humble... I'm only one drink away from a fall at any time.
Recently Pav posted a podcast where they talked about how the brain needs at least six months free of alcohol to really reboot to a place where it can be healthier, and let the dopamine centers readjust to healthy reward behaviors etc. I really think it's true, I'm coming up on 6 months next week and I'm finally feeling like my old pre-drunk self (though I know the addiction can be re-triggered anytime, so I'm still vigilant).

[Myluck]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

My husband came back from his trip today and I asked him gently about the social and how it went. He said he saw people getting louder as they were drinking while he was drinking water (I am very proud). He said that he saw other people got all loose and relaxed and they all looked like they had fun. I asked my DH if he thinks he had less fun. He said that he thought about it and it was just "different" and he felt that he was not part of the crew. Any ideas on how to respond?

[available]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I think we all feel we are missing out on something. I know when i was in thailand (alkie capital,bar every 5 feet) i too felt different. People looked to be having such fun, relaxing with a drink at dinner and during the day to quench their thirst. I so wanted to be like them but i am not, nothing will ever change that fact and thank god i dont have to do it too often. Whats fun about waking with a hangover or blacking out. At the end of the day we are "different" as we are alcoholics.

[Pavati]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Also, I think it is perspective. I have a group of friends who we do a lot of stuff with - they were my fun drinking buddies (but also my best friends in the world). I rarely got really drunk with them, but we often got silly and into intense, alcohol fueled discussions. Since I have been sober, I have hung out with them several times - I was up until 2am in a bar in a crazy conversation that made me laugh - in other words I still was one of them, but I got to drive myself home and feel great the next day (while they most certainly did neither of those things). At first that night I was bummed I wasn't drinking, but I got over it very quickly.

So, I guess with strangers it may be weird - alcohol is an extremely effective social lubricant. But with good friends it was pretty normal. For me anyway.

[Pavati]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

And credit where credit is due, Skull - NoSugar originally posted that podcast. I am just a disciple.

[Myluck]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

I posed this question because I don't feel I am missing something. Like Pavati, I can hang out with people who drink and I can have fun w/out next day consequences.

[Lavande]

100 Day Club members/Maintenance Thread

Years ago someone here suggested taking your focus off of AL, decrease it's 'importance'. Start to think of it as the poison it really is. Imagery is a good tool
Also, mind your own business because what's in someone else's glass is none of your business :H

You are absolutely right Myluck, we aren't missing a darn thing!