Less Alcohol- June 2018- One Day at a Time
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"I'm so glad I don't have to drink." I don't think of this as "Day 2 and counting." I just feel good not to feel hungover, stressed, conflicted, nauseated, and deprived (of that poison that makes me so unhappy).
I feel the same way. I remember when I really realized drinking was actually becoming a problem for me. It was when I got up one morning & thought, "I don't want to drink today." But realized that I likely would drink today. I'd "try" to make a deal with myself & then repeat the same pattern I'd been repeating for too long, make the deal in the a.m. & as my day progressed, I'd start making a different deal & promise myself I'd only have one...well...maybe two! Three max!! I remember thinking of my alcoholic ex-hubby!! It did begin to feel like a prison.
This is a process and the real test will be when a big stressor comes along. I've had one situation recently that would have definitely required a bottle of wine to calm me down, but have decided to deal with it differently. So far so good
One day at a time. I can do pretty much anything for one 24-hour period! So can y'all.
L
VE BEING SOBER!!3 -
My first thought when I woke up this morning was, "I'm so glad to be a non-drinker." That's a new feeling for me. Much more pleasant than, "Lord, help me make it through Day 3." I'm finding that just changing my perspective in this small way is helpful for me. Hopefully it continues to be--early days.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, whatever your plans. My plan is to drive to "peach country" and get some peaches. Apparently this was a very good year for the Texas peach crop. Smoothies, cobblers . . .5 -
@JenT304 @donimfp For me, I feel like alcohol is my prison and I keep going back to prison. I like how you both paraphrased that.
Had a few drinks last night, didn't even enjoy them but was out with friends. Today, I feel awful. Back to prison. I will buy that book today and read it. I need some hope.
For the next ten days, I should be fine. I'm going on vacation with extended family and they dont drink, so I wont be tempted.
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lorrainequiche59 wrote: »
I've been doing some work on mindfulness through a meditation CD a former therapist gave me. I've been consistently meditating for a couple of weeks now & realize that time will tell how it benefits me. I think the key is consistency. Does anyone have any personal experience to relate showing the benefits of mindfulness training?
I have been meditating for 5 months now nearly every day. I do know that this article speaks about escaping suffering when you do mindfulness meditation. I can relate to that. I know I feel quite different and much calmer after I've meditated.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-courage-be-present/201001/how-practice-mindfulness-meditation1 -
I love this group. So many awesome posts here. I am going on vacation tomorrow and need to finish up a bunch of work and pack, meet with my dog sitter and water my lawn. I will see all of yall in July.6
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@trishfit2014 We love you, too. Safe travels!1
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https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10678084/less-alcohol-july-2018-one-day-at-a-time#latest
The July thread has been posted!! See you in July!
@NovusDies Thanks again for your efforts to organize and synthesize our collective, helpful tip list. I think I successfully copied it!
For our newer friends, wait until you see the list of tips and hints we have for you on the July thread. We aren't experts, but from our sincere desire to have less alcohol in our lives, we have a beautiful resource list for YOU 4 -
I am glad to have found this site I feel it helps me appreciate the trials we all go thru in life I find sometimes I approach my food the way I used to approach my drinking. If I get angry I want to eat or a bit depressed how about a cookie. When you say the prisons are all of our own creation that's seem to really resonate with me. I am sober over ten years and have lost over 170 pounds and my psyche still can reach out and bite me in the butt some times. I appreciate the thought of mindfulness as when I am roaming around the kitchen for no reason but to try to find something to cheer me up I have to avoid mindless and embrace mindfulness to get me to walk out the door without eating8
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@donimfp Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that book. I once posted a quote on here about "habits are the only prison where the locks are on the inside. When we are ready we simply stand up and open the door and walk out to freedom." I love this image.
I like this. Yeah, good image. Thank you!4 -
I was thinking today about the events that can make drinking tempting. Like parties, BBQs, weekends, etc etc. Not to trivialize losing someone we love in death, but there are some similarities when we give up alcohol. It can be like a best friend (and the worst enemy) and there is this grieving process that follows the death of a drinking habit. And just like when someone significant is no longer in our lives there are all the "firsts" that are the hardest to get through, but once the first year has passed, each event that passes after that doesn't have the same pull. At least this is what I hear from others who have passed the year mark.
I suppose it is building a life that fills the void. I think for me this month has had more lonely moments. Not that I didn't have lonely moments before, but I would just pour a glass of wine & be cured temporarily. But it was always just temporarily. Now I need to find other ways to fill the void, one brick at a time.11 -
@lorrainequiche59 “I suppose it is building a life that fills the void.” WOW. Talk about some real talk! Feeling the same lonely moments and realizing that my way of dealing before isn’t the way I want to deal now... Thank you for sharing this 5
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I really wanted to start to drink in moderation when I'd completed a dry February.
But it just seemed to be far less mental anguish if I choose to remain AF for now, rather than having to quit again, then decide when to drink, and then quit, repeatedly. Too much thinking required.
Humans get tired from thinking hard and naturally avoid it in general. (See Pulitzer Prize-winning book about logic and psychology, "Thinking, Fast and Slow", by Daniel Kahneman.)
I still would like to be a moderate drinker one day. Never say never again.
But right now, I just don't need the worry of the merry-go-round.6 -
Day 5 done and dusted.....I am starting to remember it gets easier day after day8
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I am glad to have found this site I feel it helps me appreciate the trials we all go thru in life I find sometimes I approach my food the way I used to approach my drinking. If I get angry I want to eat or a bit depressed how about a cookie. When you say the prisons are all of our own creation that's seem to really resonate with me. I am sober over ten years and have lost over 170 pounds and my psyche still can reach out and bite me in the butt some times. I appreciate the thought of mindfulness as when I am roaming around the kitchen for no reason but to try to find something to cheer me up I have to avoid mindless and embrace mindfulness to get me to walk out the door without eating
That thinking that I have had about alcohol certainly I can see it with food, too. I want to be free of the food prison, too.
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Today, I looked forward to NOT drinking. I drank a few last night; felt queasy and lacking energy today. So today, it was a no brainer I would not be drinking. No decision making involved. No way did I feel like it. I cant wait for tonight's great night of sleep! I also bought Jason Vale's book. Can't wait to read it! Good night all! Can't wait for July to arrive. Love a clean slate. I have high aspirations for July - it's my birthday month and i want to give myself the best gift- sobriety. Xo6
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My June progress report: C+
Good effort, sometimes lacks focus, at times impulsive, needs to stay the course and be mindful
19 drink free days in June so far
10 days with 1-3 drinks
Great improvement compared to last June where I drank 30 days.
See you on the July thread!
How did you do this June?
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »My June progress report: C+
Good effort, sometimes lacks focus, at times impulsive, needs to stay the course and be mindful
19 drink free days in June so far
10 days with 1-3 drinks
Great improvement compared to last June where I drank 30 days.
See you on the July thread!
How did you do this June?
@JulieAL1969 Well done!! That's a pretty well-balanced month.2 -
I spent June on the merry-go-round @Orphia mentioned but have felt so much better the last 3 days. I AM up after midnight but that's ok. I look forward to no obsessive thinking, planning, regretting in July. Vale contends that that kind of "sobriety" is so painful because one is still under the influence of alcohol, obsessing about it constantly. I think I said back in January that if I have to spend my life thinking about alcohol every day, I'd just as soon be drinking it. I guess that's why his statement rang true to me. I've never wanted a life of slavery to alcohol--whether drinking it or avoiding it. Right now, I'm celebrating being a non-drinker.6
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JulieAL1969 wrote: »Dopamine is released in excess by the consumption of alcohol.
And chocolate, LOL!
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My June was pretty standard. I mostly stuck to one night of drinking and one cheat meal on a weekend. I occasionally had a weekday event where I had a few light beers but I always hit the gym first to negate some of the calories.
I got a nice 10 hours sleep last night. 100% sober and no alarm to wake me in the morning.
Today is my nephew/godsons graduation party. I’m gonna let loose and celebrate with family. Just spent an hour at the gym and there will be lots of swimming. So a lot of those empty calories are burned4
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