The freedom thread ( continued ) Riding the rollercoaster of an alcohol free life! Alcohol support for those wanting to give up drinking.

[SavBbunny]

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
Thank you to @fortheloveofgodwhy for hosting the last thread 💜
And here’s to the next 40 pages grin

What a lovely message @Crunchymum❤️❤️❤️ I love this thread too, it’s so supportive! Feeling a bit brighter already after reading some of these messages this morning❤️

Morning all
Popping in on my allocated time on my phone. I did a trial run yesterday and boy, is it hard! I sometimes think my phone is an extra limb.

Welcome to maeve and massive congratulations to crunchymum.

Good luck with the house viewing and enjoy your son being back.

It's always amazing to see the transformation from when people start to the changes that happen when these days start adding up. crunchymum you sound so positive! Yes, of course life can still be hard and we get grumpy and foggy and tired and messy but for me there is something about the fact I know it's not down to drinking that helps me. I can address the issue better and there's not the underlying feeling of shame that it's because of alcohol.

bunnies I think what you said is important - you know that your tendency is to isolate yourself so do small things to make sure you don't over do that isolation. I do the same. I retreat to my own space, which is fine in moderation (ha - sorry), of course there are times where i need more peace but when it's becoming a way to hide too much and it makes me feel worse then I try to do things like make sure I go and be with my family more. Even if just sitting downstairs with them instead of hiding away in my room. Or get outside for a bit each day. Small steps.

onewildandpreciouslife sorry to hear that you are surrounded by drinkers, it's not easy at these times. You're not them though. Play the positive film forward. Think how much better you feel in the morning and how much better you will feel after the holiday knowing you did it without caving.

And one of the great things about this thread is it is a fab place to get those moans out. So moan away my sober friends .

@Crunchymum whoop and congrats. 200 days, think of all the money you have saved (or spent on shoes, laser, lipstick) like me.

Bunnies you are the Don of the not drinking, we salut you.
I love September me. I am winter born but love a crisp morning. Tweed jackets and stew.
I am planning big things before Christmas. Feeling excited.

Awww thanks @SavBbunny

To be honest with the increase in CoL I couldn't afford to drink now 🙃

I too adore autumn and winter.

September isn't my favourite month as it's the anniversary of my mum's very sudden and unexpected death in a few weeks but I adore all things autumnal and wintery. Especially Christmas!!!

I am coming round to the idea that this year will be a sober one. I've never, ever, ever not drank at Christmas as an adult. Even when pregnant I had a few glasses at Xmas and New Year (my 7yo and 4yo are both mid January born so I was over 8 months with them at the time of drinking but yep I had a drink even whilst pregnant!!)

@Breathmiller good luck in your quest for less phone time. We really are worryingly dependent on our devices (smart phones rule the world). My eldest is at the age his friends are starting to have phones but we want to resist as much as possible. He is still 2 years away from secondary school so if we can hold out until then? But yep I'd say at least1p kids in his class have mobiles. They are all maximum aged 9 😫

My phone is my alarm, I literally start the day with it.

I find what you say about isolation very interesting. Having 3 young kids makes isolation very difficult but as I'm now permanently WFH my world has shrunk so much. Some days I don't have a proper conversation with another adult.

Isolation actually helped in the early days of not drinking. There is no way I could have survived a social event in the first months but I'm alright now. I do sometimes have to force myself to do XYZ. But it's usually worth it

I agree if you someone is prone to isolating themselves, it's good to nip it in the bud. It's very easy to become too isolated.

@Onewildandpreciouslife I hope you have woken today with a clear head and a bounce in your step and everyone is feeling grey and unmotivated and crap. Vindication is amazing!!

• 10 kids in his class have phones

Congratulations @Crunchymum !

Thanks everyone. Yesterday was a weird one, full of introspection. I think the analogy of going sober being like a bad break up is really true -I’m staying somewhere that I’ve been to regularly over the years, and everywhere has some association with alcohol with it. The pub where I always had a pint, the restaurant where I’d always take a photo of the sun shining through my wine, the long walk where I’d get impatient to get to the next drink stop. I’m glad that’s not me any more, but it used to be fun, until it wasn’t. Ah well, onwards!

Hi all… day 3 here, I feel really tired and am itchy and uncomfortable in my own skin! Now worried I’ve done myself serious damage - anybody else experience this and can tell me how long it lasts?

Well done on day 3 @SallyAny - it’s very normal to feel rough in the early days. By day 3 the alcohol should have physically left your body, but it takes 10-14 days for the chemical balance to sort itself out. The cortisol takes about 10 days to get back to normal, which might explain the itchy feeling.

Drink plenty of water, take multivitamins, and be gentle with yourself.

It might be worth plucking up the courage to see your GP if you’re worried about the physical damage. Then at least you would know what you’re dealing with.

But be proud of yourself- your body and mind will thank you for this!

@Onewildandpreciouslife thank you - drinking so much water forever on the loo!

I've been lurking on this board for a very long time and was encouraged to stop drinking.

I'm proud to say that today is my Day 366 of sobriety.

I've passed a full year!

Everyone on this thread has been an absolute encouragement even to those who don't contribute but we see you.

Thank you xx

Woohoo @elp30 that's fantastic. Well done. Are you a very different person from the one this time last year?

That’s amazing @elp30 😍😍😍
Congrats!!! A year is absolutely brilliant!!!
And I love posts from people who have been lurking on the thread, fighting their own battles and smashing it! You did indeed smash it! I hope you enjoy this moment and treat yourself to something nice to celebrate this amazing achievement🤩

@BunniesBunniesBunnies yes I feel your pain with the children/work/school hols juggling act

It’s bloody hard @Kindtomyself! We’ve had some really fun times this summer and we were fortunate to go on holiday (which I realise many people are not) but the last few weeks of juggling work and the kids were HARD. We don’t have family nearby to help out so either we bankrupt ourselves on holiday clubs or we try and work around eachother (not really possible). We did a bit of both so know we are both poor and knackered😂😂😂

In GOOD NEWS🤩 I just dragged myself out for a run and I feel sooo much better. It was only a short one but OMG, the difference it makes for me. Just saying hi to everyone I meet and enjoying the fresh air and nature and feeling grateful for being able to run. What a gift.

BunniesBunniesBunnies 1 - Dark Pit of Despair 0

@elp30 congratulations. A year.
If you feel you what to share tell us the best bits.

Mine is sleep, skin, weight. And of course I have lost 'the fear'.

Checking in and huge congrats to crunchy!!
so pleased for you. I know you’ve had struggles at times but look where you are now? I have always admired posters like you who shared their stories openly.

have a good weekend all I’m off to make a list of pledges for September as I’ve stalled a bit in my self care and don’t want to get complacent.

@elp30 👏 you star!

Congratulations to the long termers.

I saw my liver on an ultrasound yesterday. It looked like something Michel Roux might flash fry. It's apparently perfect. God only knows how!

Massively proud of my perfect liver.

Day 124

@DeedIDo That description of your liver😂😂😂 Well done you though, that’s great news!

Morning all.

Morning everyone. Phone usage going well. I got sooo much more done yesterday and felt great. Finding other things to do when my hand automatically reaches for my phone. Lessons learned in stopping drinking are really helping. Finding other, more useful, nourishing things to do to distract. Having a toolkit of options. And just getting through the tricky times knowing they'll pass.

Happy Friday all. Here's to livers that are flash fryable.

Congratulations @elp30 well done on making such a significant milestone 👏

Glad the phone embargo is going well Breathmiller

It's the last day of the holidays here and I am exhausted 😩 I wanted to do something nice with the kids and I just CBA (the older two are going to the Jurassic World exhibition at Excel tomorrow with daddy so I don't feel too guilty)

Think we'll just go and feed the ducks, hit the local nature reserve and have a babycinno.

I need to get back to a better routine. Usually by the time I've dropped all 3 (fed, clean and clothed) children to school and have started work or chores.

We're all currently in PJ's, the house is an utter tip and I'm already debating "oven surprise" for dinner so I don't have to cook properly 😅

@Crunchymum are you me😂😂😂 That sounds like me word for word😂😂😂 Though my partner has the kids today as I’m working, so fortunately I don’t have to think of something “fun” to do with the kids that we haven’t already done 183638 times over the last 6 weeks😂

Wow @elp30 that's amazing well done!

I also need a better routine for sure the only thing I'm lucky about is I'm not having to work and look after kids not sure how people do it without pulling their hair out literally! Jurassic world sounds cool. I'm doing cinema with 1 kid and the other kid has to stay at home with WFH dad (who's job is VERY IMPORTANT). You won't believe but I was in the gym last night at 9pm (usually would have downed a bottle of wine at that point and about to comatose go to sleep, rush the kids to sleep, rush everything so I could have my glass beside my bed...tragic writing it down). But yay go me. Early days (bloody again!) But I'm determined .

Also I actually popped on to say someone mentioned AG promoting mod but I saw this this morning hopefully the picture link will work. Bit confusing as it's AG the naked minds Instagram account and it says why it doesn't work and she's talking about it but then right below 6 steps to mod. Weird. May even email her for clarification. Haven't finished her book but did start the 30 day alcohol experiment some time back but never watched the videos daily.