The freedom thread ( continued ) Riding the rollercoaster of an alcohol free life!

[Fortheloveofgodwhy]

Hello all

This is a thread for people who have decided that life is much better without alcohol!🤩 These threads were started by @Drybird, and they have changed the lives of many people.

Some posters on these threads have been sober for a long time, and some are only just starting. We are a very friendly and inclusive bunch and we are always excited when someone new joins the thread. The only thing we ask is that our posters have given up alcohol completely. Talk of moderation can be triggering for some people, so this thread is not the right place for that (there are other moderation threads🙂).

We are a supportive welcoming bunch. No question is ever to “ silly “ and their is generally someone around if you are struggling

So just come here to chat or vent or check in . Whatever you need as you ride the rollercoaster of an alcohol free life smile

T@Champoopapihank you to for hosting the last thread 💜

And here’s to the next 40 pages grin

Hiya
I used "drink free days" from NHS page.
It was ok.
Now I just mark it on my iPad calendar.

Whatever works I suppose.

@crayonpenny I use the I am sober app to count my days. It reminds me in the morning to make my pledge (not everybody finds this helpful) and asks me at the end of the day how I did. You also have the ability to add your own reminders of why you are staying sober, I tend to put quotes that have resonated with me from the quit lit that I've read.

@Crayonpenny I use Quit That, it’s not booze specific but I had more than one thing to quit😂😂😂

That's great thank you all, I will go and take a look at these!!!

Day 50. Hope all is well with everyone. X

day 15… well done all… this end going mad w anxiety but hoping par for the course…. X

@Namechanged12344 well done you 👏
hope you are feeling some positive benefits

@Crayonpenny i use dry days 😊

Day 17 here. We'll done everyone for keeping on keeping on!

@BunniesBunniesBunnies I was wondering - is your user name inspired by the analogy by Clare Pooley about fields and bunnies?mummywasasecretdrinker.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-obstacle-course.html?m=1

Hello @Crayonpenny I use Try Dry. The little cups of tea graphics make me smile. Congratulations @Namechanged12344 on 50 days - that’s excellent! Did your new job start this week @SavBbunny , how is it going?

@BunniesBunniesBunnies that is a fantastic number! I hope your days keep on getting better. I’m trying to look after myself a bit better and was inspired by your month off sugar a while back. If we can quit alcohol then so much more becomes possible.

@LydiaLurk no my username is random but I read the Pooley blog after and found it an apt coincidence!

@Blackberryblossom the sugar free month award goes to @Breathmiller! I’m not sure I could manage it😁

Aha! Thanks Bunnies! That might explain my lack of success in searching for the thread! I am not sugar free either but I am very much less-sugar.

@AlloftheTime thank you. Yes I am I mean the good days are great and the bad bad but at least no booze! I have been drinking the AF stuff but sometimes even can't be bothered with that! I am often wondering about the forever thing and can I have a drink at this fast approaching event but I just don't need it! I said before about I had a lightning bolt moment (which didn't happen the last time I went AF lasted 10 months) that freedom of not worrying about when the next drink will come and not thinking about the process of drinking and the feelings associated with them
. That fleeting moment passes as quickly as I have downed the wine! Wine was my thing but the anxiety that came with it..it's just not worth it. I do feel my rship with DH has improved and the kids. They were asking me oh I thought you don't drink anymore when they saw my AF beer I said I don't this is AF and they laughed lol but I am a completely different person AF. Definitely less of a moody cow! I did end up buying cigarettes though but going to have to knock that on the head soon.

It is handy to have an app@Crayonpenny but I've been writing them down in a diary .

@Blackberryblossom we cross posted. Hope everyone is feeling much better now!

Bunnies well done on 800 days!! I can remember being in a sense of wonder too at 8 days and then 80, or in fact just the double figures!
Just popping in as was sure some of you were approaching milestones just before me. I will be at a surreal 2 years in the next couple of weeks I've got a bit of stress around at the moment but haven't even thought about adding a drink into the mix of it, it would add nothing of value.
Great to see all the alcohol free miles clocking up with all the new people! There's always hardly any nosecco left in the supermarket, this will be why

@BunniesBunniesBunnies thats a huge number of days!!!
well done you are an inspiration 😊

100percent great to see you on here. 2 years is going to be such a great milestone. I'm a month and a bit to mine.

savbbunny well done* *on your 6 months! Such a great achievement. Hope the new job is going well (if you have started , sorry I'm wondering now if i read wrong)

bunnies 800 days!! Wow! You are right, 8 days seemed such a massive achievement (and it is a massive achievement for those that are there) these bigger milestones seem so far away at the beginning but then they start to rack up. And whether we measure in days, weeks or month or even years, we are really just taking each day as it is.

I came on here because I have succumbed to binge eating tonight and feeling rubbish. But i reminded myself that at least i didn't binge on alcohol so i came on to remind myself of that win. I did feel so good for the month that i gave up sugar and now feel awful from eating too much crap tonight. Stark reminder. It's all linked for me, the same thing that made me have a disordered relationship with alcohol makes me have a disordered relationship with food. I am trying to do something about the food one now that I have a hold on alcohol. Still got some way to go on that one I'm afraid. I do wish that I can find the same attitude to binging food as I do to alcohol now. Alcohol really isn't on my radar most of the time, it feels part of my past, not my present or my future.

@Blackberryblossom
@Breathmiller
I did start the new job this week. Wfh until the end of the sumner. Feels odd. Into London today for a meeting so that is better.
Had a nasty incident yesterday but managed not to fly to the shops. I would usually been raving, writing letters and drunk. I watched the box instead.

I use nutricheck for my food management and it counts the sugar. It doesn't like my sat fat (I have butter) but it is very useful. £23 a year I think.

Have a successful dry day all.

Glad to hear the new job is going well @SavBbunny what happened to the old job and the dollar dollar bills?! I wonder where it went! Well done for watching TV instead of going to the shops I know how tempting that must have been I hope you are ok after the incident.
I'm stressing for other reasons today like high anxiety even yesterday my heart was beating so fast but I didn't drink. I don't want to drink. @BunniesBunniesBunnies funnily enough when I read Clare pooley (who I've recommended to just about everyone ) I thought if your user name! Well done on 800 days wow if I ever get there I will be happy. But you are right because even at the start 4 days 6 days seemed like an awesome feat! Now 51 days later I'm ok but feel a bit meh. I miss @Nouveaunew as we were on the same path bar 1 day and I hope she's doing ok.
Have a good sober day all x

@Namechanged12344 good morning. I had to give up the dollars with the previous company so i could take the new job. Restrictions in the old contract. Big cheese stuff. At the time it felt bloody marvellous to say stuff your dosh! 😂. We needed the money for an easier move but the stress was getting to me and my opponent a total bastard so could have gone on for years. However

56 days was very pivotal to me as it was the longest non drinking period in 18 years. So congrats on 51 days.

@Namechanged12344 51 days is ace🥳
@SavBbunny well done for not reaching for the booze!

@Breathmiller food is so much harder than alcohol in some ways as you can’t just “quit” food and junk food is bloody everywhere!!! Dust yourself off, it was just one night. Many of us have complicated relationships with food for the same reasons we have them with alcohol and it’s hard. But from where I’m standing you are such a strong person with an amazing attitude to life and self care. I’ve learnt a lot from you. Onwards and upwards!

Morning All,

Day 3 here, not the biggest count but I'm pleased with progress so far.

Hope the new job is going well and London isn't too hot @SavBbunny. I've driven into work this morning and it's getting pretty warm in the North, sitting at home with my feet in a paddling pool feels fairly appealing at the moment.

It sounds like yesterday was a bit tricky at times. I had a bit of a blip with some news about my youngest starting school in September. Nothing too bad, just a bit of a surprise with him moving into a class I wasn't expecting. Usually something as simple as that could be an easy trigger but I just onto this and looked at your stories which helped me so thank you all.

Starting day 18 here. I have discovered these from M and S which are a nice substitute for a cold glass of wine! Sugary, but low in calories.

www.ocado.com/products/m-s-8-assorted-fruit-flavour-ice-lollies-514967011

Have a lovely day everyone.

Back for the zillionth time. Day 2. Said no to a wine at lunch and resisted sending OH to the off license last night to accompany our takeaway so feeling proud and committed to really making a go of it.

savb well done, on the job and the resistance.

Welcome back tomelette. as bunnies says onwards and upwards.

Thanks bunnies, I'm* *feeling a bit rubbish this morning, physically and emotionally so your words helped. I'm going to have a quiet morning, licking my wounds and resting then get my head in gear for work later. I've noticed that if I'm tired or overwhelmed it doesn't help anything.