Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

[Tipplerette]

I have been lurking around and find this site to be very inspiring. I have absolutely no willpower in anything I attempt but luckily I don't have any other horrible habits to shed except over-doing the drinking. Right now I am at home with the Flu so I had time to organize my new supplements. I have ordered the hypnotherapy tapes and think I will try to abstain for the month of November. My wine drinking habit is limited to splitting a bottle each night with hubby. I know you are all thinking... so ... that's nothing.. but for me it is. I think about wine on the way home from work and know that my brain is very addicted to wine. My body is not. I am sick as I said and haven't drank in two days but for me that's nothing because I just want to sleep. Being hardly ever sick, I drink daily. On the weekends I often drink more. I am a little person so the alcohol affects me more than hubby who is 160 lbs. I know I am rambling. I think the only reason I want to go AF in November is because I actually don't think I can and that scares me. With no willpower can I succeed? What I am the most scared of is increasing to a full bottle to myself and then 2. Sometimes if hubby doesn't finish his glass I pour it into my mouth. Yikes. Any advice?? By the way I am a 53 year old Canadian women who is in a great relationship with no reason to drink except URGES.... STRONG URGES. THANKS.:new:

[Determinator]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Tipplerette, big welcome to you!

yes, you most certainly can do this. you have to really want it though. Honestly I think times of sickness are great times to drop bad habits because you already feel like crap. I hope you like the hypno as much as I do. I listen every night and find it helpful and restful.

[Tipplerette]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Thanks very much. My problem is self-doubt. One thing I know and that is I am a lot of fun sober. I don't need to be drunk to have fun. So what's been stopping me. Do you think it's possible to have an emotional addiction to alcohol but not a physical one?

[Beaches]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Welcome! Trust the people here and take their advice, you can do this!

[retteacher]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Tippy: I started w/smaller amounts of AL & gradually progressed to a whole (big) bottle of wine almost every day. I didn't tolerate AL well in the beginning, but built a tolerance as I went along. I was hungover, blacking out, & throwing up on a regular basis. I knew I had a problem when I came to MWO in April 07. It took me 2 years to finally say "enough is enough...I have to get out of denial & stop fooling myself into thinking I can drink like a normal person." I don't know if you're at that point yet.

For me, the answer is to come here to MWO & make connections w/people. I also attend AA meetings & have admitted to the closest people to me that I'm an alcoholic. That has made me feel accountable.

Good luck, Mary

[Doggygirl]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

:elcome: tipplerette!

If YOU think alcohol is negatively affecting your life, then stopping the madness is the right thing to do. Once AL has his hooks in us, things tend to just escalate over time. Whether you are physically addicted or not...what does it matter? If you are not happy with how AL affects you, then you are making the right decision to work at dumping AL.

The urges can be strong especially in the early days. I like to take things one day at a time - or even one hour / minute at a time if necessary. Always know that the more AF time you build up this way, the easier it will get.

I wouldn't trade my sober life for anything - no matter how rough the journey has been at times.

Strength and hope to you! Read and post often. Join in on some motivational threads such as AF Daily and many others!

DG

[Suni]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Hi Tipplerette,
Welcome!
Your story sounds very similar to mine. I didn't drink great quantities either -more often than not a half bottle with hubby every evening. Sometimes a bottle if I felt like more However in the end it was EVERY evening of the week with the very odd night off. That pattern has been going on for years. (We are similar ages) And recently - I have felt that my tolerance for wine is going up. It takes more to get the same effects. So 3/4 of a bottle or a bottle were becoming more the norm. Like you I felt I had no physical dependence-no shakes, withdrawals and no day time drinking but def. strong psychological urges to drink every evening. I have absolutely no desire to go down the road of being out of control and I was determined that I was being given the chance to do something about it while I still had a choice in the matter. My one big fear was that the habit had become very ingrained and I was afraid that I would not be able to stop.
What a silly thought that was! I am now 15 days off and it has been no problem pysically. I have had some psycolgical urges and some despair over the thought of not drinking ever again which felt a bit like grief but I got over it in a day or two. I am cautious about feeling premature success and am taking a day at a time but it really has been a lot easier than I anticipated. I chose to abstain completely because I have tried moderation in the past and it worked for a while but I always went back to the old patterns. I am long enough in the tooth to know that once your toleration increases, it doesnt suddenly decrease. I have no intention of suffering more than I need to over this, so for me absitnece is the intelligent route.
This website has been my-way-out for sure. It has given me the will, the daily support of other abbers, the hope, the wisdom, the research, the knowledge the PLAN -everything I needed to get started and keep going.
Don't be afraid. Just because you haven't succeeded in the past is no indicator of what you can achieve now. Your past is not your potential! With the right attitude and a well thought out plan you can do it like the rest of us. Stick around and post as often as you feel like. I will support you with pms if you like too.
Good Luck and I hope you feel better soon,
X Suni

[Lavande]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Hi Tiplerette,

Welcome to MWO, this is a good place!
By all means make your plan, commit yourself and just do it!! You can do it, lots of us have already.
Please feel free to join us on the 'Newbies Nest' thread for lots of support as well

Wishing you the best,
Lav

[Emmy]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

:welcome: Welcome Tipperette ~ Our stories sound the same , athough this is the first time that I have tried to go 30 AF , SUCCESS !! I am now 35 days AF.... yippee , I did it and like you I didn't know if I could ~ I never got drunk , never threw up , never blacked-out , I just didn't think my obsession with wine was normal. I was starting to get into the habit of having a glass of wine everyday and something just didn't feel right about that ~ anyhow , I found MWO , started reading the posts and decided to try 30 AF days.. Now I'm wondering what to do now.. should I have a glass of wine @ the Halloween Party tonight ? I'm afraid I'm afraid WHAT IF? What if tomorrow I want another glass , BUT , what if tomorrow I don't give it a second thought?? BTW , my husband doesn't drink , he never did , an occassional beer here and there , but never buys it for the house.. I'm glad you found MWO , you'll love the support of everyone here , I guess I'll post tomorrow and let everyone know how the party went , in the meantime , any feedback is appreciated..:l Em

[being me]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Tipperlette< everything that you are saying is me to T. I am a 54 year old australian. I can go without a drink but I have to put myself out of harms way. I love lunches with two glasses of wine but I found it was starting to affect my work and I was trying to have that extra wine before I went back to work so I purposely cut my lunch hour to half an hour so that I dont have the time to go out of the office. I dont have alcohol in my home because I just dont have the control not to touch it. THe only difference between you and I is that I am recently divorced. He was a huge drinker and I had no control not to drink with him. I am a big binge drinker and weekends are chaotic.

[Winefree]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Hi tipple, what I have read is that if you think you have a problem with AL, then you probably do. Some of the things you said, like not knowing if you can do it and wanting it after work each night are troublesome signs....I got to the point even if I said in the morning I wasn't going to drink tonight, I couldn't pass the liquor store without stopping and getting some wine and I always had a good reason.....it was a bad day, it was too busy, I'm stressed about this or that, etc. It became am obsession....
This is a great place, lots of support and advice.
You can do it, if you put your mind to it. It took me a while to get serious about it, but I am finally 6 months AF and plan to stay that way.

Winefree

[another sunny day]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

starting today on af for this month, have been trying all week, got two days in, and the wine obsession took hold. Not right to drink everyday, and then get up in the morning and say not going to drink later and then!!

Got to do this, need my evenings back, and go to school/work happy healthy.

[Tipplerette]

Can I do my FIRST AF month ever??

Thanks Guys

A big THANKS to all of you who posted to my first thread ever. Suni, I had already noticed our similarities and tried to send you a messge with no success.

I just got back from an overnight to St. Sauveur de Monts which is a lovely ski town near Montreal. My hubby surprised me and we stayed, not in the usual motel but in a swanky 5 star hotel and had a wonderful time with live music (we became instant friends with the husband and wife singing duo) and a four course fancy shmancy supper. I guess I am leaving the alcohol days with a bang because I had two martinis while shooting pool in the bar and 2 glasses of wine with dinner. We usually drink our homeade wine and this high end stuff was potent. We both were getting out of bed and drinking water all through the night. On the two hour drive back home I suggested we try a few days AF which hungover hubby eagerly agreed to. As I said his urges don't seem as strong as mine. I want to go further than a few days but as one of you said, one day at a time.

Where there's a will there's a way... hope I can find the will. Thanks again, guys.