The Sober Squad- Alcohol Free Living

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  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    @salleewins We must have been posting at the same time cause as I posted mine, I noticed you & Julie had commented....Sorry about your Dad...dates definitely trigger the loss. I like your reasoning process working through the consequences of drinking & think you covered all the bases. 7 months is fantastic & to go back to that monkey on your back....NOT worth it as you concluded!! I'm sending you a hug <3
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,155 Member
    Hey there! I use to drink daily from morning to night time.. one day after drinking so much on my 23rd bday I woke up with so much pain and then went to the hospital and was told I have a damaged liver so since the day after I haven’t drank at all! I’m going to be 25 in dec so that will be two years without alcohol and lemme tell ya.. I think bout it constantly and I’m surrounded by it and all I wanna do is pick up a nice cold beer and enjoy these hot summer days it’s been a rough year and 8 months but I’m hanging in there 🙄😭

    You are so strong and determined. So proud of you! Keep it up and when you miss it just think in small terms, “just for today I wont drink. “. Hang in there! You are amazing!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Hey there! I use to drink daily from morning to night time.. one day after drinking so much on my 23rd bday I woke up with so much pain and then went to the hospital and was told I have a damaged liver so since the day after I haven’t drank at all! I’m going to be 25 in dec so that will be two years without alcohol and lemme tell ya.. I think bout it constantly and I’m surrounded by it and all I wanna do is pick up a nice cold beer and enjoy these hot summer days it’s been a rough year and 8 months but I’m hanging in there 🙄😭

    @talialovely

    Wow, that sounds really tough!

    But liver failure would be even tougher!

    And do you think you were drinking to avoid responsibilities, or avoid social stress?

    I've learned that the problems look even worse when you can't think clearly from drinking.
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    joha5603 wrote: »
    And I needed to quit while I was ahead... still healthy, no huge disruption on my family, didn't hurt anyone, etc. Thanks for listening. Tonight is one of those nights, I’m feeling a little lost.

    I'm new to this and don't know how the quote function works so forgive me if I screw it up... Yes, same for me. Most of the time, no problem (I think this is called "maintenance drinking" , then about once a week, tie one on and go big... before you know it, hangovers on a Tuesday. NOT COOL. And me too... no DUI, never hurt anyone (except myself), and I drove drunk at least 3 times with my kids in the car. I had a feeling my luck was running out and SOON I'd probably hurt somebody, so I said STOP. I don't know how long my STOP with last, but it's what I need for now. I've heard (from AA) that it can be harder for folks like us b/c we didn't have a big traumatic event that has triggered out desire to quit, just an awakening.

    Dont feel lost, @RubyRed427 ... we're in it together. :)

    [/quote]

    You're forgiven about the quote thing. I had the same issue & was helped by someone here, so it's my turn. It appears that you deleted the quote indicator (in brackets) at the beginning along with whatever else of the quote you meant to delete. Easy enough done. So as long as you stay within the 'quote' in brackets at the beginning & the end of the quote, you can delete whatever within that, just don't delete THAT.

    As for your response to @joha5603 that was my experience also this last time...no major screw up in my life, in fact most around me would assure me that I didn't have a problem...of course some of those have their own so not exactly able to judge mine too accurately. Anyway, I too drove drunk (that's the first time I've actually said "drove drunk" usually i'd say I had too much to drink AND drove, like somehow that sounds better LOL) and with my grandkids in the car a few times when I was DUI worthy, not "drunk" but had I gotten pulled over I would have gotten a DUI, arrested, hauled to jail, court, lost my business because I need my vehicle to work, the fine & lawyer fees $20,000 + & on & on & on!! OR WORSE crashed & hurt or killed someone.....eeek!! Hard to even think about that. Just shaking my head!!!!

    SO, I started drinking home alone more & it's SO much easier to fool yourself than a room full of people. I'm rambling now....Anyway, my brother recently asked me if my reason for quitting was consequence driven & I was able to let him know I have a problem & realized it's time to STOP before there are any serious consequences that would haunt me for many days to come. Not how I want to spend my future!!! Like you said, "I needed to quit while I was ahead." And am SO thankful I had my "awakening."

    OMG as I'm previewing my lengthy rant, I noticed that my quote thing doesn't look quite right...and I'm not going to try to fix it cause I may just mess it up more....How the H..E..double hockey sticks I messed that up, I have no idea....If anyone actually KNOWS what they're doing please advise. ;) Oh BTW @joha5603, I'm a self-professed Techno-tard so I'm warning you now. Anyway, in theory what I said works, but.....I have many OTHER redeeming qualities LOL
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    ME AGAIN!! I'm having a weird morning in true Techno-tard form. I've just lost 2 posts somehow. A reply to @talialovely earlier. Please check out Craig Beck or Annie Grace's videos. You're courage & strength is evident in your ability to stop drinking, yet it seems that you're white-knuckling it a bit when you say, "I just want to pick up a nice cold beer & enjoy the hot summer days." There's a lot of support online to make it easier to continue AF. I hope you are able to get some useful information that will help you continue your journey & focus on the benefits rather than on how much you're feel you're missing. AND @joha5603 I realized after I hit "post" that you were responding to @RubyRed427 so I kinda misquoted....

    Has this happened to anyone else or is it JUST ME!! LOL I'm thinking the latter ;) If I hit post this time and see the blurbs I think I've lost, I'm going to commit myself!! :#
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    Ke22yB wrote: »
    I am a new person

    This is my goal!! What an inspiration you are! I really feel a determination this round that I never had before in any of my other attempts, but I never had the goal of stopping for good. It was always with the goal of drinking "moderately next time." OH & proving if I could quit for a bit, I didn't have a problem. I was proved wrong!!

    Anyway, your experience is such a benefit on this thread & I'm so glad that you share your insights with us.
  • donimfp
    donimfp Posts: 795 Member
    I think bout it constantly and I’m surrounded by it and all I wanna do is pick up a nice cold beer and enjoy these hot summer days it’s been a rough year and 8 months but I’m hanging in there 🙄😭

    That must be so hard! I would not have been able to make it as long as you have if I were thinking about alcohol constantly. You must have an iron will! May I suggest books by Annie Grace, Jason Vale, and Allen Carr? All three of these writers emphasize the JOY of going alcohol free. It was only after reading all of them that it finally "clicked" for me, and somehow my mind shifted from seeing alcohol as something precious that I lost to seeing it as a prison I escaped from. Once my mind shifted from "I'm depressed that I can't drink" to "I'm so happy I don't have to drink," my relationship to alcohol changed. I feel stupid giving you any advice at all because I've only been AF for 27 days, and you have been AF for almost 2 years, so forgive me if I seem to be overstepping. It's just that one mental piece that I'm commenting on. It would be so nice for you to feel freedom rather than white-knuckling it.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    Great posts by everyone! Thank you :) I've been at this whole trying to quit for good for awhile now so I know at this point it's all a mental game and how you think really effects how you stay sober or choose to drink,,some days it's easy,some days are atrocious! Have a great day all
  • salleewins
    salleewins Posts: 2,308 Member
    Hope your day is better today Ruby Red. It will come together more and more for you.
  • xdesertfairy
    xdesertfairy Posts: 59 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    Hey there! I use to drink daily from morning to night time.. one day after drinking so much on my 23rd bday I woke up with so much pain and then went to the hospital and was told I have a damaged liver so since the day after I haven’t drank at all! I’m going to be 25 in dec so that will be two years without alcohol and lemme tell ya.. I think bout it constantly and I’m surrounded by it and all I wanna do is pick up a nice cold beer and enjoy these hot summer days it’s been a rough year and 8 months but I’m hanging in there 🙄😭

    @talialovely

    Wow, that sounds really tough!

    But liver failure would be even tougher!

    And do you think you were drinking to avoid responsibilities, or avoid social stress?

    I've learned that the problems look even worse when you can't think clearly from drinking.
    Orphia wrote: »
    Hey there! I use to drink daily from morning to night time.. one day after drinking so much on my 23rd bday I woke up with so much pain and then went to the hospital and was told I have a damaged liver so since the day after I haven’t drank at all! I’m going to be 25 in dec so that will be two years without alcohol and lemme tell ya.. I think bout it constantly and I’m surrounded by it and all I wanna do is pick up a nice cold beer and enjoy these hot summer days it’s been a rough year and 8 months but I’m hanging in there 🙄😭

    @talialovely

    Wow, that sounds really tough!

    But liver failure would be even tougher!

    And do you think you were drinking to avoid responsibilities, or avoid social stress?

    I've learned that the problems look even worse when you can't think clearly from drinking.

  • xdesertfairy
    xdesertfairy Posts: 59 Member
    I think it was a huge part of my depression.. my mom had just been diagnosed with cancer around my 23rd so I went all out! Before then I always drank a reasonable amount!
  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,155 Member
    I think it was a huge part of my depression.. my mom had just been diagnosed with cancer around my 23rd so I went all out! Before then I always drank a reasonable amount!

    Yes I can understand how such a trauma can affect you. It was a trigger.
  • salleewins
    salleewins Posts: 2,308 Member
    My resting pulse is now in the 50s. Almost 7 mo. AF and exercising regularly. Wonder what it would be without caffeine? I don't think it has ever been in the 50s.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    salleewins wrote: »
    My resting pulse is now in the 50s. Almost 7 mo. AF and exercising regularly. Wonder what it would be without caffeine? I don't think it has ever been in the 50s.

    We quit at the same time. :smile:

    Mine was 49 before I quit, and it still is, but I've been exercising regularly for 3 and a half years.

    But interesting you should say that about caffeine. I've recently cut back from 5 coffees a day to 3, just in the past week.

    I'll have to check on my RHR and maybe try and drink even less coffee. Had a look just now and it could have gone down, but it might still be too soon to tell for certain, plus a 30 km run on Friday has skewed the past few days.
  • joha5603
    joha5603 Posts: 102 Member
    My dad got sick and passed away (prior to that I helped him with his chemo for 5 months), I told my husband I wanted a divorce, then I bought a house and we began living in separate households (along with our two lovely children, under 10), all within a 6 month period. Yeah... you think I had reason to drink !?!?!??? Ha ha! I never would have said it at the time, however. If you'd asked me than I would've said I was doing just fine b/c I was still going to work, holding it together, swimming 3-4 days/wk and recently took up running. Sure, I was FINE. Lol.

    Needless to say, I'm doing much better now. :)