@SwiftyFifty sorry you went through all that worry, I hope the productivity outweighed the negatives and you can enjoy the results of a tidy and clean house and happy dog. Hope you wake up today feeling better.
@Icecreamhelps hope the quiche was delish!
Last night I went out for dinner with my drinking friend, the first time since I stopped on 6th Jan. She asked me if I had completed the 100 days and I said yes, but I can't remember what day I am on now. She then proceeded to tell me how her relationship with alcohol was different to mine and how she would never stay at home and drink a whole bottle of wine to herself and if she was out she could quite happily drink one glass and leave it that. I felt quite shamed by her honesty, she wasn't being nasty, it was an open opinion. But I couldn't help but feel shame and how much money and time I had wasted over the last 4 years of my life with my habit. Had she been judging me all along?
I used to see my mum drinking every night, she would have a bottle of white wine each night that she would keep next to her while sat at the sofa. She wouldn't even keep it in the fridge! I left my mum when I was 11 due to abuse, and have worried ever since I was like her, which is why I never had children. Turns out I am like her with alcohol addiction.
I look back again in shame, at how I spent 3 weeks off work at christmas drinking a bottle of red wine every day (21 bottles!). I logged everything I did over that time so I knew what to tell people when I returned to work. I realise that all those activities I completed over 3 weeks is now what I can complete in one weekend sober. The productivity we all have now at weekends is amazing, it is a common theme on here how much cleaner and organised our houses are and how much more time we have to do things, how much earlier we get up in the mornings after a good sleep (which admittingly only improved for me after 90 days).
To end my offloading (sorry), for those still in the early stages of sobriety, and dealing with the cravings, try to reframe them as - its not a craving for alcohol, its your body telling you it needs nutrition and care. Try not to name the feeling as wanting wine, but instead recognise it as a need to have a glass of water, go out for a walk, drink tonic water or other sparkling drink, try and eat better, go to bed as early as you can get away with (sometimes I am in bed at 6.30pm!), wake up proud of yourself for not waking up with a hangover, when those cravings hit, its not alcohol, its a need to look after yourself. Your body is missing the chemical alcohol gave you, so replace it with something else (chocolate helps obvs, sod the sugar). But think of it as something your body needs because its getting better, and recovering, create a new habit that will benefit you in the long term.