i did it!

[Doggygirl]

i did it!

1967;739657 wrote:
today the fantasy was an ice cold bottle of Pinot with a sparkling glass of wine ready to go next to it.
i am still focusing on minute to minute. whatever i gotta do!

Awesome that you see the fantasy for what it is...fantasy. A trick that helps me when I have those fleeting (or longer) fantasy / romanticized fictional thoughts is to keep playing that movie forward - through the over drinking, the bad behavior, the hangover, the trying to remember what I did / said, the mortification at what I did / said, etc. That usually squelches any romantic notions I have about "a drink."

You are doing great!! Onward and forward!! One minute at a time.

DG

[1967]

i did it!

yup doggie girl! i noticed u are continuously sober since 5/08.
this is SO great!
i'm excited tomorrow will mark 10 days without a drink for me.
as time moves on i hope to get back into better and better days.
life is so much easier w/out wine. it certainly make things much more difficult. this is obviously why alcoholism is considered a medical condition. you can't help having the chickenpox either.

i think taking things a minute at a time is a good idea. i read some research on this site that talked about the length of time cravings last and to watch out for triggers. my big one is after work so usually between 4-7. if i work until 5 it makes it even harder as i tend to be too tired for the gym.
but need that 'me' time.
other triggers are 'my hang outs.'

i had done great from 8/7 until around 8/29 when we had a teachers happy hour.
i was going to have one drink, instead i had a lot more.
i made it up in my mind that this 'one' time was okay.
if i had looked at is a getting through not drinking the first few times offered wine, i would have been okay i think. instead i looked at it as though i had to commit to never drinking again.
that seemed like too long.

i'm very impressed you have been so good to yourself, it's worth it huh?

[Gloria]

i did it!

What a fantastic acheivement, WELL DONE, no wonder you are so pleased!!!:wd:

[Doggygirl]

i did it!

For me, the effort (at times, monumental effort!) it has taken to stay sober one day at a time is MORE than worth it. My life is so much better today than it was. "Stuff" still happens - life will never be perfect. But I no longer have that oppressive lonliness and depression that accompanied my last several years on the bottle.

I hope you can find some new things to do after work that are fun and don't involve AL. The gym is a good one of course. Are there coffee shops or craft things or activities like that to get involved in? I was so used to spending all my spare time drinking that I really had to stretch to come up with other things I wanted to do. I didn't even know what was out there! And I'm still discovering stuff.

YOU CAN DO IT!! ROCK ON for Day 10!!

Oh - here is an analogy I think is funny - I heard this in AA. It's about going to the "old haunts" but trying not to drink - being around AL all the time. "If you go sit in the barber chair enough times you will eventually get a hair cut." :H That tickled my funny bone. You have already figured out that the old haunts with a promise to yourself not to drink is a bad idea so you are doing well in "sober school" and learning how to do this.

DG

[1967]

i did it!

Yup! Doing my best.
I missed the gym again today though. Yesterday the electricity was out and today I stayed at work until 5:45... and have lots to do still.

No time for fun that is for sure.
BUT I have a new ploy. I left all but $5 at home and credit/debit cards.
SO when I thought about 'after work??!!" I knew I couldn't do anything because I left the denaro at home! Kept my mind off booze for sure! I thought of it a couple of times but it was brief!
I'm feeling all pleased w/myself.
So made it through day 10.
I really think I've learned that I cannot take 'not drinking' for granted.
It's important I have a clear mind.
How fun is it that people are posting their pictures? I think it's GREAT!