Less Alcohol ~ OCTOBER 2022 ~ One Day At A Time

Lilylady3k

Happy Birthday @MissMay and @forestdweller1 and !!!!!

Lilylady3k

Sept accountability: 1 days AF
Alcohol: 1 days (2 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.

10/1 - 2 wine; Girls Trip with mom & my sister to one of mom’s friend’s 90th birthday
10/2 - AF @ home

lmlmrn

Happy birthday @MissMay just a year separate us in age! I can be the older sister you almost always wanted LOL

Went out this afternoon and had a beer. It was more of a boredom thing for us. oh well.

Tomorrow I am starting on some sheet rock work lol should be interesting.

As for our homeless folks. @Womona this is a new bunch that has taken over. the others left a few weeks ago. The local police can't/won't do anything because of ??? you fill in the blank. Our tax dollars at work.

dvmmcw8273

Quiet Sunday- I was feeling blue and thinking a canned margarita would taste good. Then I knew I wouldn’t only have one and that I would then binge on something then feel like crap.
Oct 2- AF

Breathe57103

Alcohol free today. Took a balance and control class at Club Pilates (it was all breath work and stretching)... a nice way to ease back in. I did not go for a walk but managed 13k steps doing stuff around the house. Bought all healthy food at the store and ate well today. One day at a time.

10/1 A
10/2 AF

Have a great week!

joans1976

Hello group! 🦋
Maybe a sober October?

10/1: AF
10/2: AF

pezhed

@Breathe57103 Your post brought tears to my eyes. I hope Arizona brings positive change for you and you settle in nicely. It sounds like you have yourself set up for success there.

@ahoy_m8 that trip sounds absolutely amazing! Wishing your stepmom healing.

@MissMay happy birthday to you! Good job separating from your new "friends"!

@forestdweller1 happy belated birthday to you!

@Womona such a soupy time of year! Sounds delish.

I need to set some restrictions around my drinking days. Yesterday I did okay (3 drinks) but Saturday I was really off the rails. It's like a weird backlash to not drinking all week I think. That plus the strength of the beers I'm enjoying right now (porters and stouts mostly). That's two Saturdays in a row of overindulging. I'm not sure of the best approach because I don't want to put so many restrictions on myself that I rebel, if that makes sense. I will figure it out. Glad to have you guys to help me stay accountable.

MissMay

Good morning.
Thank you for bday wishes.
My day was relaxing. Met up with relatives in the area( older than us by 12 years)

Husband and I walked(have not driven car anywhere since arriving Sat at 2:00, walking everywhere)to a lovey bistro for dinner. I had ONE Gelato rum martini. More a dessert than a drink, very light on alcohol.

We were so LUCKY to not have been affected by hurricane Ian at all. The area(Okaloosa, Florida)that we designated for destination was originally targeted as the point of landfall for Ian before we took off from Maine.

Unfortunate and so very sad and devastating for Fort Myers and surrounding areas that lost so much and now are facing the task to rebuild. 😪

I count my lucky stars everyday ⭐⭐⭐

Ok house hunting today YAY.
Helpful prayers to find an inexpensive 3 bd/1bath house/duplex on one floor with maybe a garage and patio?
Is that asking too much🌴🥥🤣

OCTOBER'S ACCOUNTABILITY:
1A(1 drink)
1AF

ahoy_m8

@pezhed Your comment about coloring outside the lines after a week of good compliance resonates with me, and like you, I would like to understand this about myself better. If I understand it, maybe I can change the dynamic to make the desired behavior easier to do. Maybe we can be thought partners to drill down on what's happening here.

I have pondered it in the context of will power as a limited resource. After a week of sticking to all the goals, maybe my reserve of will power is low? If that is what's happening, then maybe I need to find ways to stick to goals that don't use so much willpower? M-Th AF has really helped me here, because once it became habit, I don't use so much willpower to abstain. But weekends are a constant negotiation that drain the willpower tank. Sunday, the last day of the week, is my danger day.

I have also pondered it in the context of dopamine receptors and neural pathways. I'm not a neurological scientist, so the biological stuff is difficult to grasp. That first drink (or even the idea of the first drink) releases a dopamine hit. But all the drinks after that may be chasing off the aftereffects of the last drink (agitation, anxiety, depression). I saved this article because I thought it did a fair job of explaining in layman's language. Interesting but long. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/27/an-ex-drinkers-search-for-a-sober-buzz

ahoy_m8

Apologies to all who aren't interested in this topic. This is the kernel of the article linked above that stayed with me:

Koob, with more than forty years studying alcohol abuse, began by trying to understand the “molecular cascade” of dopamine-triggering signals that alcohol sets off in the brain.
Back then, his assumption was that people drank to feel good. But, through the decades, he has come to realize that a lot of drinkers, especially people who have been exceeding recommended limits for years, are really attempting to ward off feelings of anxiety, depression, and tension—which can be the beginnings of alcohol withdrawal—by taking the next drink.
“I spent half of my career trying to understand how we feel good, and now I tell people I spent the last part trying to understand why people feel bad. There’s a ‘feeling bad’ part that is often underestimated when it comes to relapses.”

Lilylady3k

@MissMay - Have you considered looking for a home in Latitude Margaritaville? It is a 55 and older community with houses like you describe.

@ahoy_m8 - I ran across the same article. Interesting. We are not alone!

Breathe57103

AF today. Worked, took a Pilates class (I have a long way to go to get back to where I was), joined Stretch Zone (cried while talking to the employee when we finished...maybe the stretching and breathing released something), now off to a massage (hope i don't blow away. Its so windy i have already retrieved a chair from the pool.) I crave physical touch so bad.

Tomorrow I will be golfing with 24 people I don't know from my housing development. Maybe I will find some new golf friends.

Ate healthy and under goal all day.

10/1 A
10/2 AF
10/3 AF

joans1976

Hello group! 🦋
Maybe a sober October?

10/1: AF
10/2: AF
10/3: AF
Doing some serious resting up, I feel like I could sleep for 3 days straight and still be tired.
Good news is mom doesn’t need surgery on her knee (🙏) bad news is she has to wear this monster of a brace on her leg and she is very uncomfortable. And everyone around her is going to hear about it. No driving either. Six weeks. We’ve been through worse and will definitely make it through this.

joans1976

@MissMay Im sorry I missed wishing you a Happy Birthday on the right day but I’m glad you had a good day! I’ve been thinking about you with hearing everything on the news and am glad you are safe.

@ahoy_m8 Welcome back! That picture you posted was lovely, if I could paint I would paint it and hang it in my living room.
You’ve touched a nerve with me on your article, I come from a long line of self medicaters (sp) who suffer from anxiety and depression.
I’m sorry to hear about your stepmom, as if leaving for vacation isn’t stressful enough! You made it though!

@forestdweller1 Happy belated to you as well! 💐

Stockholm_Andy

October
2 x A
1 X AF

I chose to drink in Sunday after saying I wouldn't which was stupid. However, back on it yesterday and will be again today.

Lilylady3k

October accountability: 1 days AF
Alcohol: 2 days (4 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.

10/1 - 2 wine; Girls Trip with mom & my sister to one of mom’s friend’s 90th birthday
10/2 - AF @ home

10/3 - 2 wine; last of the Joseph Drouhin Rully Wine
10/4 - Plan AF

pezhed

@ahoy_m8 thanks for sharing that article and your thoughts. Your idea about willpower being a limited resource really hits home for me. It does seem that way. I can feel it crumbling as the days of the week go on. Last week, in order to make my 15 days for September, I had to abstain on Friday and it was so difficult I couldn't believe it. So then my backlash happened on Saturday when the floodgates open. I do hope that M-Th becomes a habit for me so it doesn't use so much of my willpower just to make it through the week. Then maybe weekends will be less challenging. Super interesting thoughts about any drinks after one chasing off the effects of withdrawal. I always thought of it as thinking "the first one made me feel good, surely the next ones will make me feel better and better". But of course that last one can have the complete opposite effect and lead to the mindswirl and anxiety and whatever other physical effects in the middle of the night.

tmbg1

10/1- A
10/2-10/3-10/4- AF

Womona

@ahoy_m8 really interesting article! I’m glad non-alcoholic beer and liquor have come such a long way, even though I don’t reach for them. Gives people some good options. Alas, non-alcoholic wine may never be a successful development. “Like ripping the backbone out of the product”. Yep.

I also thought it was interesting how the feel of the glass, the ritual of opening the bottle, the setting in a cozy bar, are so important to the experience. I don’t enjoy my club soda/cranberry nearly as much if it isn’t in either a martini or a wine glass!

Speaking of which, just had one of those, which makes me AF tonight!

Lilylady3k

DH bought a dozen bottles of nice wine and opened one this evening. But I skipped tonight! I'll plan wine for tomorrow's steak night (Wed).

October accountability: 2 days AF
Alcohol: 2 days (4 drinks)
Goal: Limit 1-2 glasses per day; 12-16 AF days per month. Aim to drink no more than 2 nights in a row.


10/1 - 2 wine; Girls Trip with mom & my sister to one of mom’s friend’s 90th birthday
10/2 - AF @ home

10/3 - 2 wine; last of the Joseph Drouhin Rully Wine
10/4 - AF
10/5 - Plan wine for steak night
10/6 - Plan AF
10/7 - Plan drinks with friends