[QUOTE=Mighty Mouse II] I realized that I am not running to a bottle of wine. I am running to the opportunity to relax, to remove myself from the stress that surrounds my life.
As some of you may recall, a few days ago, I raised the issue of "I drink because???" For me ths was the beginning of a process of evaluation of just why I drank. During this process, I realized that one of the primary reasons why I drank was to deal with all of the stress in my life. Once I realized WHY, the next step was to find out how to remove the underlying source. Since my reason was stress, I began a series of activities that would provide me with relaxation. After dropping my son off at school (on my husband's day off, I go around the corner to Starbucks and have a small, healthy breakfast while reading the Paper. In the mornings now, I take a bath with aromotherapy candles and music (the type that gets you pumped). Since 4-6 p.m. is a difficult time for me because my husband isn't home yet, but I want to start cocktail hour, I use that time to go to the exercise room. After exercising, I really don't feel like drinking. So I don't mind waiting as much. Exercise is a form of relaxation in a way. The body accelerates during the exercise, but relaxes afterwards. It is very helpful for me. And last night, after dinner (and only had two drinks - we didn't even finished the bottle), I decided I didn't want to drink anymore, bu rather, to turn to another form of relaxation. My husband and my son were stunned. But, I decided while I was relaxed, but still had enough energy to move around, I would stop drinking and take a bubble bath while I read magazines and listened to soothing music, sipping hot herbal tea (I had bought Gardenia aromatherapy bath stuff at Bath & Beyond).
The point is that I have found a major tool to solving my drinking problem. Instead of starting my day frazzled, feeling that each new stressor was adding to an already burdgeoning day, I am starting out the day fresh and ready to tackle it. In the evening, instead of using wine as the only relaxation tool, I am stopping and adding other sources to the mix. It is really working!
I am sharing this because it is a major breakthrough for me. I would encourage everyone to ask themselves why they drink and begin looking for solutions to that problem because it really helps in dealing with the actual drinking. At least for me; it really did help me tremendously. I have to also say that another piece of this process was having all of you that I could talk to about all of this, discuss it with you. A place where I could share my inner thoughts about what I was doing.
Thank you very much!
MM
As some of you may recall, a few days ago, I raised the issue of "I drink because???" For me ths was the beginning of a process of evaluation of just why I drank. During this process, I realized that one of the primary reasons why I drank was to deal with all of the stress in my life. Once I realized WHY, the next step was to find out how to remove the underlying source. Since my reason was stress, I began a series of activities that would provide me with relaxation. After dropping my son off at school (on my husband's day off, I go around the corner to Starbucks and have a small, healthy breakfast while reading the Paper. In the mornings now, I take a bath with aromotherapy candles and music (the type that gets you pumped). Since 4-6 p.m. is a difficult time for me because my husband isn't home yet, but I want to start cocktail hour, I use that time to go to the exercise room. After exercising, I really don't feel like drinking. So I don't mind waiting as much. Exercise is a form of relaxation in a way. The body accelerates during the exercise, but relaxes afterwards. It is very helpful for me. And last night, after dinner (and only had two drinks - we didn't even finished the bottle), I decided I didn't want to drink anymore, bu rather, to turn to another form of relaxation. My husband and my son were stunned. But, I decided while I was relaxed, but still had enough energy to move around, I would stop drinking and take a bubble bath while I read magazines and listened to soothing music, sipping hot herbal tea (I had bought Gardenia aromatherapy bath stuff at Bath & Beyond).
The point is that I have found a major tool to solving my drinking problem. Instead of starting my day frazzled, feeling that each new stressor was adding to an already burdgeoning day, I am starting out the day fresh and ready to tackle it. In the evening, instead of using wine as the only relaxation tool, I am stopping and adding other sources to the mix. It is really working!
I am sharing this because it is a major breakthrough for me. I would encourage everyone to ask themselves why they drink and begin looking for solutions to that problem because it really helps in dealing with the actual drinking. At least for me; it really did help me tremendously. I have to also say that another piece of this process was having all of you that I could talk to about all of this, discuss it with you. A place where I could share my inner thoughts about what I was doing.
Thank you very much!
MM