Less Alcohol- July 2018- One Day at a Time
Replies
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@erikNJ I was just thinking about you and your post appeared. Sounds like the ball game was a great time and without beer, no bloating or munchies. I hope you ate an extra hot dog!2
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@salleewins Thanks for your message. I agree. Let's all be kind to ourselves. Xo0
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »Last night, I reached out to a friend who is an addiction counselor. I called him crying and said i need you. We talked for a half hour and today I'm meeting him to talk. I think his presence in my life will be helpful.
This takes a lot of courage.
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@lorrainequiche59 Thank you, my friend.1
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »Last night, I reached out to a friend who is an addiction counselor. I called him crying and said i need you. We talked for a half hour and today I'm meeting him to talk. I think his presence in my life will be helpful. He's taking me to my first AA meeting - I know some people love it and some people don't , but it may be the hope I need. I don't want to live always teetering on the edge.
P.s. My friend says it takes 3 days for alcohol to leave the system. So, that's good news. i always thought it was ten days.
@ErynVee great weekend for you! Like someone on our thread says, you are exercising your will power muscle.
@snoo61 Great job ! You set a goal and was under it. And you probably slept soooo well. Xo
Good for you! I'm impressed with your courage. Let the adventure begin!
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@snoo61 Thanks so much. Yes, I love your spin: Let the adventure begin.
I woke up and felt relieved that I feel good today. I'm looking forward to the meeting but I must say I hope I dont cry sitting there.6 -
For July, (and probably August), I want to start drinking only on weekends, and only 6 drinks a day then. Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday, all three if it's an especially rough week.
I hope I'm not too late to join this thread, but I could use the support.
I am... not so good at the moderation thing. For a couple of months I was drinking 10 shots of vodka a day and not eating much. Good weight loss strategy but people do tend to worry, LOL.
As today is Monday, that means no alcohol for 4-5 days, starting today... woo. Psyched. Not really.8 -
@JulieAL1969 Congratulations on a positive step in your journey
I have been wondering since I found this site how to react to some of the posts. I sometimes read something and want to scream no that's not a good step. I am hesitant to say things at times. I think it might be because when I was drinking I could react badly to people who were offering advice, making suggestions that I knew were right but made me angry to hear it from them and not from me. I am a relative new comer here and don't participate nearly as much as some others so I tend to keep my opinions to myself.
I realize every journey is different and we each have to make our own way and seek our own path. I feel we are quick to say great job to one another but avoid pointing out what we feel may be an error in judgement sometimes. This is a hard journey and we need as much support as possible even if it isn't always positive
I had a family member say to me in the very beginning when we were discussing AA, something that infuriated me to the point that I vowed to show them and it helped me stay AF. I never went to meetings or felt it was for me. I was told " What is an alcoholic who doesn't attend meetings? A DRUNK. Since in the beginning I was not ready to acknowledge that I was an alcoholic being called a drunk was hard to take especially by someone very close to me.
My point I guess is we have to be ready to hear the good and the bad sometimes to keep us on track
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@JulieAL1969, you are SUCH an inspiration. I am hoping for a wonderful experience on this step of your journey.
I finished reading Jason Vale's "Kick the Drink . . . Easily" last night for the second time. I know he says don't read it twice, but the first time I breezed through it so fast it barely registered. This time I believe I came to the "Come to Jesus": moment. With my husband by my side, at 1:30 this morning I celebrated a "final drink." My first thought upon awakening this morning was, "I'm free." I believe that.
His Nelson Mandela metaphor is very powerful for me. Imagine Nelson Mandela leaving prison after 25-plus years, and looking back at the prison and saying, "I'm free. But I might go back in there just on my birthday or other special occasions . . . or maybe when I'm really stressed out . . . even if that might mean I stay there for the rest of my life." Absurd!!!! But that's what I've been doing with alcohol. I noticed last night how poison and prison are just one letter apart. For me, I plan to associate alcohol with both words, and if I find myself doing the absurd thing of going back there, I am right behind you, Julie.8 -
@Ke22yB Great post! I appreciate it. And yes, I am the first to read something and think oh, dear that's not a good sign. BUT I also feel that each one of us knows deep inside the truth- either we are or are not an alcoholic. I know I am one.
I've even told several friends over the years that I think I'm an alcoholic- but they say to me, "oh no, you're not! just drink water between your drinks. Just set a firm limit- only two drinks. OR You dont drink in the morning, so you must not be an alcoholic ." People mean well, but it didn't do me well to hear those type of affirmations from friends. Because deep down inside, we all know if we are or not.
That was a sad, funny joke - even though you probably didnt laugh at the time. It hurt.
Thanks for your post; it means a lot to me.2 -
@donimfp I read his book and am nearly done. He makes good sense. I will re-read too. Because I tend to rush to get to the point and miss some good nuggets of information.
Excellent metaphor with the prison and poison message.1 -
SoulOfRusalka wrote: »For July, (and probably August), I want to start drinking only on weekends, and only 6 drinks a day then. Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday, all three if it's an especially rough week. I hope I'm not too late to join this thread, but I could use the support.
I am... not so good at the moderation thing. For a couple of months I was drinking 10 shots of vodka a day and not eating much. Good weight loss strategy but people do tend to worry, LOL.
As today is Monday, that means no alcohol for 4-5 days, starting today... woo. Psyched. Not really.
Welcome to our thread! Post whenever you want and let us know how you're doing. Also, look at our first page on this July thread for awesome list of helpful hints/topics of interest. Our friend @NovusDies synthesized many of our posters ideas into a brilliant document.3 -
@JulieAL1969 - thinking of you and sorry you're struggling. You have helped so many people here, including me. SO appreciate you and wishing the very best for you!
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For anyone moderating, please don't think this thread is only for abstaining drinkers. It's not. It's just that this morning, I felt compelled to be transparent with you, my friends. So, please continue posting your own goals, moderating as you wish, etc. I'll lay low for awhile and just simplify my life.6
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@kittybenn Thanks, you've been with me and the others from the start. You are always an inspiration.2
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Just popped in to read the latest updates. @JulieAL1969 You are showing enormous strength by reaching out for help, and by acknowledging the problem you are going to fix. You are in my thoughts!4
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kcn2bluesky wrote: »Just popped in to read the latest updates. @JulieAL1969 You are showing enormous strength by reaching out for help, and by acknowledging the problem you are going to fix. You are in my thoughts!
Thank you so much. I really value your kind words. Xo0 -
Yesterday was my day 1:)10
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SoulOfRusalka wrote: »For July, (and probably August), I want to start drinking only on weekends, and only 6 drinks a day then. Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday, all three if it's an especially rough week. I hope I'm not too late to join this thread, but I could use the support.
I am... not so good at the moderation thing. For a couple of months I was drinking 10 shots of vodka a day and not eating much. Good weight loss strategy but people do tend to worry, LOL.
As today is Monday, that means no alcohol for 4-5 days, starting today... woo. Psyched. Not really.
Welcome, you'll find a lot of support and information here. Its a great group of people.1 -
KingHurlbutt wrote: »Yesterday was my day 1:)
Congratulations! Check out the first page of this thread for information that NovusDies compiled from previous months. You'll find a lot of support here. Check in whenever you can.2 -
JulieAL1969 wrote: »@snoo61 Thanks so much. Yes, I love your spin: Let the adventure begin.
I woke up and felt relieved that I feel good today. I'm looking forward to the meeting but I must say I hope I dont cry sitting there.
No worries if you cry. Its just the alcohol being scared out of you, by your strength!5 -
KingHurlbutt wrote: »Yesterday was my day 1:)
Just get to Day 10 and fly away... Fly away lil bird, fly away5 -
@JulieAL1969 I have a friend who has been sober for awhile (I think 2 yrs) after AA. I personally know nothing about it. But you are taking the first step to figure out if it is for you personally. I look forward to seeing how this works out for you3
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SoulOfRusalka wrote: »For July, (and probably August), I want to start drinking only on weekends, and only 6 drinks a day then. Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday, all three if it's an especially rough week. I hope I'm not too late to join this thread, but I could use the support.
I am... not so good at the moderation thing. For a couple of months I was drinking 10 shots of vodka a day and not eating much. Good weight loss strategy but people do tend to worry, LOL.
As today is Monday, that means no alcohol for 4-5 days, starting today... woo. Psyched. Not really.
It is never too late to join us. I wish you good luck in this journey. A number of us are moderate drinkers here. I myself have successfully cut my drinking to Saturdays only, once in awhile there is a second day but not regularly.
Welcome!2 -
Well
Yesterday was the hardest ever
I went out very early in the morning just to get away from the possibility of having a drink.
It worked
Then at lunchtime my wife had arranged we meet friends at the horse racing, everybody was drinking, then out for a curry with 20 people that all had plenty.
Even I can’t believe this, I had no problems, I didn’t even want a drink
Then today I’ve been ok until 1 hour ago when I got a craving, I went and bought a Pepsi and I’m ok now.
Phew, what a couple of hard days.10 -
@andysport1, hang in there. I can relate to your feeling after Day 10. A "few" times that Day 10 has actually led me to think, "Wow, I did 10 days, so surely now I can enjoy one drink." I've finally learned that is lying to myself, but I do understand feeling very tempted around the 10-12 day mark.
It's 4 a.m. CDT here in the U.S., so it's 10 a.m. for you now. I hope by now you are feeling much better. Julie often mentions the "6-second" nature of cravings. I hope the last few hours have been good for you.
I'm up at 4 a.m. after having slept 1 hour. I've been out of touch lately trying to help my mom navigate a situation in which a business partner is taking very unscrupulous advantage of her, and she is having trouble standing up for herself. And yes, I've used wine to "comfort" myself. Stupid. It is not a comfort, and this sleepless night is a tough reminder. So back to non-drinking, which is much much better for me.
I believe I have discovered that I am not as anonymous as I thought on this board, so I'm backing off a little bit, but I'm certainly following and appreciate all the good thoughts.
Thanks very much and thanks for sharing your story, I hope you sort things out.
One day at a time1 -
I went to lunch today at a Tex-Mex restaurant that just re-opened after an extensive remodel. To get to the restaurant part, you now have to go through their new, huge bar that is a cathedral to the worship of alcohol if I've ever seen one. The wall is full of individual lighted glass cases, each featuring a beautiful bottle of alcohol (some probably vintage--they really are pretty). After coming to the conclusion that I have to regard alcohol as a poisonous prison for me, I felt like I needed to go to confession for being in there--and I'm not even Catholic. Just an observation of how attractive and alluring people can make alcohol in order to sell it. I get it that that is their job, but driving home through this college town, I was again bombarded by billboards, bars, and liquor stores attractively pushing alcohol. I think one day soon I might do an experiment and see how much time I can go through a normal day outside of my home without being subtly encouraged to drink. My guess is it will be under 5 minutes. Interesting.11
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@snoo61 Thanks, I’m doing ok. Hey well done yesterday.
@lorrainequiche59, no I don’t write in a journal, but I’ll give it a try
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andysport1 wrote: »Well
Yesterday was the hardest ever
I went out very early in the morning just to get away from the possibility of having a drink.
It worked
Then at lunchtime my wife had arranged we meet friends at the horse racing, everybody was drinking, then out for a curry with 20 people that all had plenty.
Even I can’t believe this, I had no problems, I didn’t even want a drink
Then today I’ve been ok until 1 hour ago when I got a craving, I went and bought a Pepsi and I’m ok now.
Phew, what a couple of hard days.
I'm glad you made it through, sounds like a day of wins. ):3
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