Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time
Replies
-
JulieAL1969 wrote: »springsweet wrote: »springsweet wrote: »It still baffles me that some people have never experienced a blackout.
I guess I am not really understanding what your experience of blackout is. I have had too much to drink at times and passed out. Or to much to drink and don't recall the entire evenings events. Is either of those what you mean?
Please refer to pages 14-16 in 'Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget' by Sarah Hepola. She describes it well, as only someone who repeatedly suffered from blackouts can.
But to paraphrase, at some certain point, your blood reaches a saturation point and shuts down the hippocampus, the part of your brain which makes long-term memories. Just shuts down. No more memories. Your short-term memory still works but only lasts less than 2 minutes (which explains why wasted ppl repeat themselves). They vary from person to person, and are very sneaky. And you can be highly functional during a blackout. I'll never forget my good friend from college telling me about the night we met when he helped me puke up a bunch of whisky, but in between barfs, my speech was completely coherent. I seemed fine, besides the fact I was slumped over a stranger's toilet. Some blackouts are worse than others. Sometimes you may have a "brownout", which Sarah explains with the example, "Perhaps you remember ordering your drink, but not walking to the bar." I've had too many brownouts to count.
Many people confuse blacking out with passing out. Oh how I wished I passed out instead of blacked out. All those nights I said hurtful things to people I loved... so much damage and regret.
Anyway, hope this answered your question. I highly recommend that book though. I hated for it to end.
Yes, it was a great book. Excellent. It was a journey reading it. Sometimes, I thought, wow she was a serious alcoholic. Most other times, I thought "Oh my, I did that, too." Hiding how much I drank. Stopping after work for a few drinks before going home pretending I worked late. Happy when husband left to go out, and I would throw myself a little party making manhattans since no one was home. I didn't have to quietly get the bottles out of the cabinet so they wouldn't clink as I took them out. Falling asleep on the bathroom floor, because the room was spinning. Crying and saying things I regret to my husband. Ouch. Accidentally calling my mother at midnight after drinking and waking her up. Trying to speak normally to her so she wouldn't know I was slurring.
I agree , it would have been better to just pass out. The blackouts or brownouts left so many unanswered questions of what I said or did.
Thanks for sharing how the brain works. Very important information. Xo
I am just reading it now...about half way through. It is a great book.1 -
#40...free and feeling great! It is funny how when I started trying to cut down on alcohol, I was just working on holding off for an hour and it was super difficult. That is when I knew how addicted I was. Now, I find it easy as I don't even want it anymore. Thinking back of how it was for me, I am so not wanting to go back to that.11
-
@JulieAL1969 That guy sounds like a jack#$*. He is probably insecure about his own drinking habits.
For those interested in trying it, here is a great free site where you can listen to guided meditations. Some are very short so you can just try them out. I just sit comfortably, close my eyes, and it hit play on the computer. Very calming.
http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations3 -
Well i planned to drink yesterday...but 7 glasses of wine plus peer pressured into taking a shot....and i definitelty felt some of the dreaded shame today!
Going to revise me plan a bit because ive noticed the last few "planned" drinking days have lead to binges. Id rather drink more days of the week...i.e. a glass of wine with dinner...than be completely dry for days only to let way way too loose on my partying days.
There was a lot a lot of dancing, and all in all it was one of the best nights out with friends ive had post having a baby. We rented a private kareoke room and i am pretty sure the booze DID make that much more fun. Hahaha
But today was not as much fun as it could have been.
Anyway new plan is to keep a running tally/drink total for the week. Hopefully this brings more stability to my alcohol moderating. Current goal is 9 drinks total per week! Considering i CAN drink that in a single day (!) i am hoping i can find success! Keep up the good work everyone!6 -
jenifer7teen wrote: »
Anyway new plan is to keep a running tally/drink total for the week. Hopefully this brings more stability to my alcohol moderating.
This is how I keep track...with a visual tally to see.
Hope it works out well for you too.
3 -
JulieAL1969 wrote: »Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
At my meditation workshop today, they also mentioned that people like "Headspace". Other meditation experts the teacher mentioned were Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. At the session today, I learned that there are many forms of meditation. The teacher said meditation can be life changing and it doesn't have to be complicated. A person can start with 2 minutes. And then work towards 5 minutes. Sitting quietly , focusing on breathing in and out. That's how simple it can be. Hope Headspace is good. I am going to download it too!
I have used headspace for about a year and a half. It’s been sporadic lately but it was a life changer when I needed to create some calm in my head during a season of intense anxiety and racing thoughts. Totally recommend!3 -
Second weekend AF. This includes going to a pub and not drinking xs 2. I stuck to seltzer water and lime while family having beer etc. It has been challenging but still AF as of tonight. I feel like I'm gaining back control of my life. Feels good.
This thread is extremely helpful and encouraging to keep going.7 -
My tally in the last 22 days is 18 AF and 4 days where I had some alcohol (but not excessive). I am beginning to believe my daily glass or 2 of wine was just a habit rather than an addiction. I don't really even think about having alcohol now and it doesn't bother me if my husband has a glass and I don't. I don't try to find a NA substitute - just stick with water. This thread is really helpful to me. Now if we only could have the same support for my Diet Coke habit!5
-
Hello,
I need to tell u guys so i can stay strong. Im holding a party at my house for my friend. They are really heavy drinkers. I hoping i can get through without being giving in. I want to b able to tell u tomorrow i wasn't a die hard 8 -
-
So I've been sucking at sticking to my limit this month. I've only done it one night. A weird thing has happened the last 2 nights, at my usual "crack open a beer" time, I haven't wanted one yet. Don't get me wrong, I eventually do, but I don't have one until I really feel like it. Maybe I'm paying more attention? But maybe I just won't feel like it one night...wouldn't that be something!
4 -
Hey guys, .. im not waiting till the morning to confess. I was typically poured a drink with my friend. I ended up having it and diluting it with mineral water through the night. So i would have ended up having 1 shot all night. Im a 1/2 die hard.
Thanku every1 for your help
6 -
Did not plan to start my Sunday as a drink night but it did happen. With that in mind I kept to no more than two.
Valentines Day is going to be rocky because Hubby likes to have an entire bottle of bubbles brought to our dinner table when we go out on that night,. Wait until he hears I DON'T want an entire bottle. The s**t may hit the fan. Lol
Have a happy and clean Monday friends.4 -
Day 24! I left Saturday for a quick out of town trip with my life long best friend and we did not drink a drop! This is a huge deal as we normally would have bought a box of wine to get us through the night. I was definitely more at peace with not drinking than she was because she mentioned drinking A LOT, but still we did it. It really showed me how much my thinking has changed because I wasn't noticing the lack of alcohol unless she mentioned it. That was an awesome realization!7
-
[quote
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight. [/quote]
There is a channel on YouTube I listen to with headphones when having trouble sleeping. He's a hypnotist called Michael Sealey. He has a variety of sleep and meditations on his channel and his voice just puts me out.
2 -
So, no alcohol yesterday. Cutting back on my 'casual' drinking of 1 or 2 every day. Last night when feeling I 'wanted something' I got myself a glass of cherry kefir. LOL Something tasty and healthy instead. I think for me it's about developing new habits.4
-
Sigh...I've joined so may of these, one of these days I will actually stick to it. I have actually gained weight over the last couple months due to alcohol & it's frustrating. I know I would feel better without it, hell I was sober for almost 10 years at one point. Going to try to follow this thread & hopefully get more inspiration to quit.9
-
Hey guys, .. im not waiting till the morning to confess. I was typically poured a drink with my friend. I ended up having it and diluting it with mineral water through the night. So i would have ended up having 1 shot all night. Im a 1/2 die hard.
Thanku every1 for your help
From my original post I meant "die hard" as the ones who gave up drinking completely. Die hard to the cause of remaining AF. Maybe this is why I couldn't figure out why you thought is was funny either, lol
But anyways, way to stay strong with diluting your drinks, that's an awesome idea!3 -
I'm in the zone (for the moment) and feel so much better AF. This thread helps remind me of the positive things that come from not drinking.
@fitand50inSD, I agree with you that it's a habit. And habits can be broken.
As far as weight loss goes, it's only going to keep me from my goals. I've started drinking 0 calorie flavored water, although it's probably all chemicals, so that will need to go, too. But for now I'll stick with it and focus on the weight loss, planning ahead and being prepared.
4 -
Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
If Headspace doesn't work, there are "sleep songs". Moby has an entire album of them. There's also a piece called 8 hour deep sleep. It's on youtube, so it's streaming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txQ6t4yPIM0
There are quite a few deep sleep pieces out there. I like "binuaural beats", personally.3 -
Another dry night (last night). I went to yoga from 5-6, and by the time I got home I was starving and started cooking dinner. Normally, that goes with a glass of wine. I spent maybe 2 seconds on that thought and then went on with my evening and didn't think about it again. Whoot whoot!12
-
thanks for all the meditation/sleep links, I'm trying them.3
-
Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
Yes, that's very common. Have you tried melatonin? It works very well for me.2 -
SanDiegofitmom wrote: »JulieAL1969 wrote: »Cardinals_3 wrote: »Anyone else have trouble sleeping after you quit or cut back? Any recommendations? I've been waking up A LOT at night. Someone at work recommended taking GABA supplements--I took one last night and I did fall asleep easily but then was up half the night. I fell asleep ok at a reasonable hour and slept until about 1:30 am but then I was wide awake and could not fall back asleep until about 5am. I'm not really a big fan of tea--I thought about trying a sleepytime tea or something like that.
YES! I'm on my 32nd day and only manage 5-7 hrs of sleep per night. I do take the magnesium citrate supplements and drink either Sleepytime or chamomile tea in the evening. Last night I downloaded 'Headspace', a meditation app. I'm anxious to try it tonight.
At my meditation workshop today, they also mentioned that people like "Headspace". Other meditation experts the teacher mentioned were Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. At the session today, I learned that there are many forms of meditation. The teacher said meditation can be life changing and it doesn't have to be complicated. A person can start with 2 minutes. And then work towards 5 minutes. Sitting quietly , focusing on breathing in and out. That's how simple it can be. Hope Headspace is good. I am going to download it too!
I have used headspace for about a year and a half. It’s been sporadic lately but it was a life changer when I needed to create some calm in my head during a season of intense anxiety and racing thoughts. Totally recommend!
I also use Headspace. Like it a lot!1 -
Good Monday morning everyone!
So this weekend, I drank only a little bit (2 glasses of wine fri night, 2 1/2 beers yesterday). Again, I don't regret it but I noticed some things:
1. 2 glasses of wine Friday night were lovely. Exactly what I planned and I didn't feel it the following morning.
2. Yesterday we went to an NBA game where the beers are $13 each. So I originally wasn't' going to have one, but once we got to the game, i started craving one, so I got one. That led to me having another one at home. I opened a third one but only drank about half because my husband got home and was upset about something, and helping him feel better took precedence over me finishing the beer.
3. I think I felt those beers this morning when I woke up. I wasn't hungover, but I just felt a little "off" and groggy.
4. Overall, it was a much better weekend drinking-wise than I would have had before this challenge. So yay!
I could have done without the extra beers last night. I realized at one point that I wouldn't have wanted those beers after I got home if I hadn't had the one at the game.
Also, I am not going to lose a damn bit of weight if I continue to drink AT ALL. That is obvious. Which just drives absolutely crazy.
I'm looking at a week AF coming up though! I should feel much better by Friday.
Also, I read all of 'A Happier Hour' this weekend and loved it. I started 'A Girl Walks Out of a Bar' and I'm really into it. I was reading that yesterday afternoon while having my beers at home, and I admit, her story really prompted my cravings.6 -
Oh boy, @JulieAL1969 I am jealous of those teas! They sound like they'll be interesting and tasty. I do hope your husband gets on the solidarity bandwagon for that event. But good for you for deciding to go, exercising your sobriety muscle and not worrying about it (at least I hope not worrying about it too much).
My total weekend drinking consisted of three, 4 oz. glasses of wine. They didn't thrill me and I'm not sure why. Just want to say, again, to those of you who are still dry since Jan. 1 that I really don't think you're missing much. I hope that helps you a bit if you're fantasizing about how great it would be to start drinking again. I'm feeling myself creeping back to being completely dry. I'm getting to the point where I would take food calories over alcohol calories anyday.
Anyway, we went to our favorite beach bar last night (my husband and another couple) and my husband and the other woman got pretty drunk. Her husband and I were DDs, and I didn't miss the booze at all. The band was great, we had a lot of fun, I just kept chugging my club soda and/or Diet Coke with lime and was fine. I found myself getting more and more irritated, though, at the drunk people as the night went on. I've got to get a grip on that, because not too long I WAS one. I was just sitting there having this feeling, like, I'm tired of this, tired of you and it's time to go. I kinda hate myself for having that attitude, though. It's not that they were drunk (as far as I'm concerned, that's totally up to them and none of my business), it's just that they were getting pretty crazy, making no sense, being super loud and kind of embarrassing. I don't know. I'm surprised at myself and need to figure out how to handle being around drunk people, LOL!6 -
SanDiegofitmom wrote: »After 30 minutes of talking I realized I had no desire for that second glass. What?! I had fun and feel great this morning. Grateful for changes and moderation and looking forward to a dry week ahead.
@SanDiegofitmom - I'm right there with ya. That was exactly my experience this weekend. I had no desire to move on to a second glass. I am thinking if I'm only having one glass, though, I'm not going to drink mediocre wine, LOL. Actually poured out a bottle this weekend after trying one sip because I didn't like it. I figure, what the heck, if I'm going through less than one bottle a week I can for sure afford some great wines!
4 -
@dressagerider1020 Your post on being addicted to smoking was brilliant. It's one that I'm going to read over and over again. The thought you've put into pondering who you are and the way you want to live your life - amazing. Thanks for sharing that.1
-
@JulieAL1969 - I'm a meditator, and I think you would like Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. I also like Joseph Goldstein. Tara has a podcast, and it's great. I love an app called Insight Timer. Tara, Jack, Joseph and others are on that app and it's free. Can't say enough good about it. You can search their guided meditations by what you want help with, such as recovery and healing, sleep, stress and anxiety, etc. It's been particularly helpful to me when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.
Android version here, and IOS version here.1
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions