Less alcohol- February 2018- one day at a time

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  • MaryBethHempel
    MaryBethHempel Posts: 513 Member
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    springsweet wrote: »
    MissMay wrote: »
    springsweet wrote: »
    It still baffles me that some people have never experienced a blackout. :open_mouth:

    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.
  • SunnyDays930
    SunnyDays930 Posts: 1,572 Member
    @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-meditations
  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,738 Member
    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.

  • SanDiegofitmom
    SanDiegofitmom Posts: 303 Member
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    Polo265 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!
  • snoo61
    snoo61 Posts: 549 Member
    Alzzi76 wrote: »
    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 :)

    I know you can do it!
  • snoo61
    snoo61 Posts: 549 Member
    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!

  • MissMay
    MissMay Posts: 3,738 Member
    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.
  • ehseeker
    ehseeker Posts: 515 Member
    [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.

  • ehseeker
    ehseeker Posts: 515 Member
    @Alzzi76 For something to hold in my hand and that I find tasty I like a tall glass with diet tonic and lots of lime. You can do this. Think how proud and good you'll feel the next day.
  • ehseeker
    ehseeker Posts: 515 Member
    edited February 2018
    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.
  • runtodayamyrun
    runtodayamyrun Posts: 59 Member
    Alzzi76 wrote: »
    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. :);):p

    Thanku every1 for your help B)

    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!
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    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.

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Polo265 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.

    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.
  • dressagerider1020
    dressagerider1020 Posts: 108 Member
    thanks for all the meditation/sleep links, I'm trying them.
  • springsweet
    springsweet Posts: 184 Member
    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.
  • springsweet
    springsweet Posts: 184 Member
    SanDiegofitmom wrote: »
    JulieAL1969 wrote: »
    Polo265 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!
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    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!

  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    @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.
  • kittybenn
    kittybenn Posts: 444 Member
    @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.

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