Holiday

[caysea]

Hi All
First Congradulations to all who made it through a holiday weekend without drinking.
I think for many holidays, family gatherings, parties are the hardest to deal with when we first stop drinking. All of us with some good sober time, I am sure, can remember worrying about planning and making it through our first 4 of July ,St Patrick’s day, Christmas’s or what ever holiday. It is a big deal!! This is a foundation block that you need to put in your recovery. It is not just another day added to your total. It is a test of your commitment and something we all have had to deal with.
So again congratulations to all that have strengthened their commitment to living sober.

[mollyka]

Re: Holiday

Hi Caysea -- Indeed - and when I started thinking about getting sober(ish) - those were obstacles that I never dreamt I could overcome - and with total lack of understanding of sobriety I thought I could just 'have a few' those days and then revert to sober - what a laugh!! an ironic laugh obviously... and other things - going to my mum's for lunch - ffs - how to navigate that without wine -- sounds pathetic now but they were huge hurdles back then -- but I found each time I overcame a festival or occasion (Christmas was the first one I navigated - probably at least 10 years ago long before I actually got full time sober -and then the others followed - now - they ARE just another day - but important to realise we are re-wiring our thinking every time we overcome the initial temptation.. good to see you round! 10 years this year yeah????

[Mick]

Re: Holiday

good morning Caysea ,hope you are well its nice to see you on here ,there are so many folks up and go ......
in a lot of cases never to be seen again.July 4th is a special one for me,not because of any connections to the land of the free, but simply its the day I chose to give up after a heavy session on helping to rid the world of vodka and high alc .beer.My birthday is on the 5th,and for some reason I had the thought ..sort yourself out or you aint going to see another one son!!So I did ,with the help of some good folk on this site...No well after tomorrows,one last drink scenario,no plan ..that was it ..
First obstacle was a friends wedding ..and he is Scottish too..and there was plenty of falling down juice on the go,but thankfully got thru that ..Sad times ,grief,illness bereavement happiness ,boredom,frustration ,been tru them all now ..and each and every one has been dealt with ,in a way that didnt involve a bottle of artificial life.Anyway lovely to hear from you 10 years in May ..well done xx

[Lavande]

Re: Holiday

I found the holidays & other special events to be not quite as difficult to maneuver as I had imagined
Getting past the fear of those potential failures takes a lot of strength & commitment but it's not impossible.

I think the perfect replacement for fear is trust & learning how to trust ourselves again!
We are doing this!