Day 1 or 100 tulips and snowdrops say #browniesnotbeer

[CoffeeLover90]

Didn't think I'd be worthy, being so new to these threads, but an amazingly brave woman managed to drive past a shop today and not give into cravings. And I was one of the people that were thanked. I'm humbled.
I may not post on here daily, life, child and pets demand attention but I hope people find what I have from this- encouragement, reassurance and no judgement.

It's been almost a year since I began drinking 3 to 7 days per week. In that time I've many failed attempts to stop or moderate.
I'm now on my longest dry spell since my first attempt. Day 21, with @AFmammaG beside me.
I have no plans for September. I'm in an hour by hour, day by day situation.
I will do Sober for October. Definitely. No doubt.

#browniesnotbeer came to mind when another poster mentioned they'd 'rage ate' a brownie rather than pour a drink. I've turned to food but balancing that with exercise and telling myself it will be easier to cut out chocolate. Although I could be lying to myself there...

www.mumsnet.com/talk/alcohol_support/5066932-day-1-or-1000-all-welcome-on-the-tulips-and-snowdrops-thread?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

Morning all!
Welcome and a massive well done to @ijustneedtokeepbreathing amazing achievement.
Day 16 here today. Still have this cold lingering and today I feel wiped out, been quite full on this weekend though.
Have cut right down on energy drinks, without even realising. Down to one can a day from 4. Tomorrow will try half a can, cut it down gradually as I know when I stopped before I had terrible headaches.
I agree with the diet thing too, it's definitely been linked to drinking. I've only 2 takeaways, McDonald's (mostly to award child) and an Italians. Didn't feel like anything heavy and greasy.
For the first time I can see the bloating reducing on my face.
Christmas shopping has begun!
I feel really good today. Despite it being Monday.

Haven’t caught up but just wanted to pop my head round the door and say I’m here. I have been drinking and didn’t want to drag anyone down who is now halfway through sober October.

I will catch up and stop hiding but my heads a bit all over the place.

@AFmammaG bless you, hope you can come back soon so we can try to help. You've got the strength in you, you've shown this before.

Thank you @CoffeeLover90. Lovely to see some on here hitting 50+ days, running 5k’s and feeling so much better in themselves.

I didn’t want to come on and say I’m drinking and I’m fine because that’s never really the case is it? I have no plans for the next 3 weeks so hoping to quietly jump back on the wagon and see where I am after half term. I’m always anxious during school holidays so don’t want to commit to a target right now.

Well done on all your achievements, it really does add up after a while. Slowly chipping away is the way forward!

Welcome @ijustneedtokeepbreathing , that's brilliant on your 3 months!

Well done on the fast 5k @Chance21 !

You both sound in a good place @CoffeeLover90 and @growinguptobreakingdown , pleased for you. I am 2 months sober today! I did the event sober on Saturday - just had lemonade in a gin glass so no questions asked. I felt nervous and awkward and didn't know many people there but tbh I would have felt exactly the same if I'd been drinking, I would have just relied on booze and probably been a massive twat going around people.

@AFmammaG sorry to hear things are hard. You were quiet and sounded stressed last week. Hope the next few days improve for you; reach out on here if you need to talk xx

Morning all 😊
sorry to hear that @AFmammaG hope your ok lovely, please don’t worry about dragging anyone down I’d like to think we was all here for each other no matter the situation. Believe me I may be hitting achievements and goals but I’m not bringing up little ones anymore and what you mums our doing is amazing I can appreciate how hard it is to even get five minutes to yourself let alone setting goals. So don’t be hard on yourself you’re a rock star!! Dust yourself off and go again better days are yet to come be kind to yourself 😊

Thank you @Steppered well done for Saturday!! Exactly that, would have still felt awkward either way but you got through it so that’s a massive win!! Happy 2 months sober!! 😊

@MissSmith80 @Chance21 @Steppered @ijustneedtokeepbreathing and anyone I missed - well done on your anniversaries - incredible achievements. And well done to everyone still trying, even if things are not going so well. You are here, and that is an achievement in itself.

@AFmammaG hope you are ok and are being kind to yourself. You have so much going in and you have got lots of dry streaks behind you and more to come. Maybe just now isn’t the right time for you.

I am sorry for not catching up properly and not checking in more often. I am at over 400 days dry now and I am not thinking about this stuff really any more so don’t feel like I can be a great support. Am not being smug - I just don’t know what to say. But I am here, following your journeys and rooting for you.

Thank you @BoilingHotand50something wow great to hear you’re doing so well!! You’ve earned the smugness 😊 you should be so proud of yourself. I get the not having much input but hearing how far you’ve come is a great post to read and gives us hope that anything is achievable thanks for the support 😊

@AFmammaG you're not dragging anyone down. I joined these threads in the pits of drink. And you lot pulled me out. Always come back and know we're here.

Evening everyone.

Today was day 4 of my second dry year and I mentioned that I was worried that I'd get into the mindset of it being okay to try and moderate, inevitably the 'wine witch' came calling.

But I played it forward and took a couple of evenings to reflect and it's as simple as needing a new 'self improvement' to focus on the next thing, not drinking - check, so what's next? It's going to be getting back on top of my weight gain through pregnancy and 200k worth of alcohol calories per year. So clean eating, plenty of water and get moving is the plan.

Wish me luck, I've got 3 stone to lose so it's not going to be quick I'm excited to be on the brink of something that I've known I need to tackle for some time - reminds me of the day I decided I had to quit drinking!

Hope you are all having a reasonable week - the one thing I know is that we are all doing our best and that's about all we can ask of ourselves

Thank you everyone. I just wanted to share that DH decided he was going to have red wine yesterday (on a Tuesday?!) and I didn’t drink. I have made progress.

Best of luck with your second year and for the weight loss journey @MissSmith80. Small changes make all the difference and I find consistency is key. I put on 3 stone with each pregnancy and have almost managed to get back to the figure I had before…. I’ll admit it’s a constant battle though.

Just saying hi. Bit of me fights very hard to keep drinking. I’m losing atm

Afternoon all 😊
hope everyone’s week is going well I’m glad we’re half way through!!
have a date night planned up London in a couple of weeks and I don’t know why but I found myself really romanticising having wine with dinner it’s like a cabaret and Halloween circus acts etc and I googled the restaurant and thought oh look at those people enjoying themselves oh look she’s got an espresso martini oh they serve them that would be nice!! Literally these thoughts come out of nowhere I’m really trying to figure out if something has triggered this thought process or wether this is just how it is and I will have to work harder at times to keep the temptation at bay!! It took a lot of my time up and is still in the the back of my mind today!! I’m definitely having a wobble!! I know I don’t want to drink and I know even one glass would make me feel like crap!! Probably be overpriced disgusting wine anyways!! 😆
Im glad you’ve found a new mindset and have set some new goals @MissSmith80 like yourself the wine witch is trying to rear its ugly head!! I need to literally step on it and remind myself of all the positives think I’ll go minute by minute on that occasion. But it’s good to hear it does happen to us all, wish you lots of success but you’ve done amazing you know you can do it even when the wine witch comes knocking!!
great to have you back @AFmammaG and well done for not drinking last night!! 😊
sorry to hear that @Iamaf i hope you can start a fresh a come back on board!! I know the temptation is extremely hard especially in the early days don’t let alcohol win take back your power you really don’t have to pick up that drink, buy some chocolate keep busy listen to a podcast go to bed early what ever you have to do for today 😊

@AFmammaG @Iamaf How are you both?
I've had the thoughts. It's like shouting tonight. I've not been well, hard day at work, well actually I accomplished nothing there because I let my mind drift.
I feel a but let down by myself already so thought why not? But I'll jump off the takeaway wagon instead. Kebab possibly.

Well @AFmammaG and @Iamaf you are not alone.
Fell off the wagon last night after an impressively bad day at work and a dinner planned with a friend I only ever drink with.Total wine witch drowned out everything.
HOWEVER I have to see it as a data point. I actually had to force the 1st glass down, I made 2 inappropriate jokes which luckily she thought were funny, we were with a non drinking friend (driving) and I'm going to have to text and apologise for potentially offending her.I got bugger all sleep and I feel crap today and disappointed in myself for falling into a bottle of wine so easily.I'll learn from this .Also I said no to going to the pub from the resturant and went to bed when I got in.So half 3/4 bottle of red wine drunk when it could have been so much more.Fecking alcohol.It's so bloody hard!

I also wanted to say to everyone struggling this is the only place I can be honest about this so please do not feel you should avoid this group if you are struggling.I've been known to lie to the Try Dry app so for me being able to fess up is really helpful.

Morning all, thanks for checking in @CoffeeLover90 I’m ok. I have a strong plan not to drink over half term. I have lots to keep me busy and would like to finish October dry.

I love the honesty on this thread @growinguptobreakingdown I’ve left many others on this site when I’ve broken but this one just welcomes you back. I hope you are feeling ok this morning.

Morning all 😊
I love the honesty on this thread I hope you’re not feeling to bad @growinguptobreakingdown I know how difficult it is I’ve been feeling the same this week!! I’m hoping I can get through it and realise I’m just having a moment and it will make me feel like utter crap if I was to give in You still managed to keep it to just a bottle so that’s one win because I honestly think if that had been me I would have thought I’ve done it now I may as well go to the pub and make a night of it!! Every time we do relapse/or drink in general we will learn something from it and hopefully realise that we’ve been tricked into thinking alcohol brings us joy!!
very sad news today about Liam Payne and I’m sorry to say I reckon alcohol or drugs maybe both were definitely involved and it’s sad that when under the influence too many people loose there lives so tragically. On a better note hope everyone is ok and if you’re struggling please reach out 😊

@Chance21 yes very sad about Liam Payne.Who would wish fame on anyone?
I've had a dreadful hangover all day which is a major factor in wanting to stop.3/4 bottle of wine now hits me like 3 bottles.Had a nice day in London with DH but it would have been better without feeling nauseous and dehydrated. It's just poisonous to me now.I've gone to bed to watch rubbish TV.So day 1.I did manage 28 days though so I'm not beating myself up.

I think it's good to concentrate on the positives. So you drank less than usual, managed 28 days, even 2 days in a row. All positive.
Think reading the responses from those who have long given up is really helpful. It shows the journey to get there is never straight forward and we'll have 1,000 blips before then.
Day 19 still unwell. Think that's the only reason I didn't give in last night. Didn't get a takeaway either, only managed toast.

Thanks everyone- it’s so nice too be mentioned! Was feeling like sloping off as a failure so it’s really nice to know hat everyone is welcome. growingup all I can see is the 28 days! Wow! Total respect. DH brought white in and cracked it open, so.. I managed 1 glass. It’s cutting down at least. WHY do I know logically all the bad stuff then as I’m cooking it all goes out the window. Even though I know it means hours if feeling crap? Mad.
so proud of everyone that’s doing this.

Hope everyone's okay. All good here, just had quite a busy week. I'm in 2 minds about posting this because sometimes it used to piss me off a bit when people were posting their achievements and I was trapped in a hangover/drinking loop!! (I'm such a sulk!) But I know this is something worth talking about and one of the things I strived for the most.

I've hit 2 months and for the last 5 or 6 days, I have caught myself several times going "oh! I haven't thought about alcohol for HOURS". God, that peace is so nice and I know it's something so many of us desire. I just haven't thought about it. I have my soft drinks or tea and I don't even think about it. I go about my day and realise I catch myself having gone hours being engaged in something else. God ladies it is everything.

That's not to say I'm complacent. Or smug. Fuck no. I have to be away next week for work and I'll be surrounded by booze so it's not like it's all plain sailing. I feel more confident I can handle it than I would have done a few weeks ago? But I know it will be tough, being out of routine, one the go 17 hours a day ...so I will be checking in as much as possible (complaining).

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend x

Also like to say that I drank from age 13 to my late thirties. I've been trying to moderate and deal with my alcohol seriously for 4 years now so it does take time, many day 1s, for me many vicious cycles/blackouts/worsening hangxiety and dark thoughts. This is a marathon, not a sprint. None of us are failures, we are here, we are trying x

Hey all 😊 happy Friday!!

ahh feel like the fog has lifted and I’m no longer obsessing on date night and drinking!! Think because it’s Halloween weekend and that was always an excuse to go wild!! 😂 but no podcast have yet again helped my wondering mind snap out of that!!
managed 10k today on the treadmill so proud of myself so I am feeling great will be the endorphin release!! Can’t recommend enough.
I agree with @CoffeeLover90 @growinguptobreakingdown need to concentrate on the other positives small steps and wins!! Well done for not giving in to either @CoffeeLover90 hope you’re feeling better. @Iamaf cooking must be a trigger for you as you pair it with drinking like a lot of people do actually I’ve never been much of a cook myself so and eating was always cheating!! I just wanted the drink to a point of skipping meals so not to consume extra calories crazy times!!. And you’re not the only one I know how bad the drink made me feel but it took a long time to realise I’d better stop!!

Hey @Steppered whoop whoop 2 months amazing work!! You should be proud!! I get what you mean about not thinking about alcohol and that’s a joy in its self I’ve had the opposite lately but feel like I’m turning the corner again. Like you I know I will never be safe and these thoughts come out of nowhere or triggers etc!!
definitely check in when your away especially if the wine witch awakes again! I know what mean about the constant battle with moderation I myself had the best part of 20 years trying to implement normality in my drinking it was fun until it wasn’t and the blackouts were becoming more frequent!! I really hope to a higher power that I never experience that again.
on a brighter note I hope everyone has a rested weekend enjoy waking up hangover free we can do this 😊