Staying DRY

[MrsSippie]

This is a continuation of the last thread DRY We are all doing our best to abstain completely from alcohol.

Well, I'm still here, and still as grumpy as a wet cat. But I'm sober. I'm taking myself to the cinema this evening to stay distracted while I'm like this.

well done Rabbit ! one grim day over and tomorrow you will be so much better than f you had been drinking tonight.

I'm plodding on as before really. One foot in front of another. Trying just to keep going. I know some decisions need to be made a t some point but I don't have the energy, courage or resolve to make any of them right now. The Bills are paid this month and there is food in the fridge. I am sober and noting awful has happened.

that's enough for now...

sober hugs and tea to all

Hi
Hanging in there here. no desire to drink but still feel hungover.
dd2 is ill and I expect a bad night but I am in bed already.
Hugs and tea backatcha Sorcha.
tea really is great stuff.

Hugs and tea Sorcha
I'm hanging in there too!! Had a V scary thing happen, I won't go into detail but I there was a fire in my home. Small but still very scary.I managed to put it out but another 60 seconds, ( a piece if furniture was on fire) it would have been uncontrolable. It wasnt anyones fault, just a freak accident but it really shook me up...Another wake up call as to my surroundings. I feel like I've let "life" overtake me and I just try to keep my head above water, unable to be the master of things like my weight, alcohol, unhappiness, financial spend...with the attitude of...oh this sucks, I'm fat, broke, miserable, drinking again...blah blah blah, kids are driving me crazy, and not being able to really DO anything about it. I've been thinking, is that really the way it has to be? I don't think so. I'm hoping not! Things are slowly falling back into place!

Being sober REALLY helps!

Thanks all. Still sober.

cakehappy, ive had afew times when things have happened and I've had to think what the consequences would of been had I been drunk. thank goodness nothing did, have to concentrate on the here and now.

had a lovely lady at AA meeting yesterday, 4 weeks sober and looking good on it.i thought of all us on here, its the first meeting I've been to where the women outnumbered the men.
It was a good meeting, some powerful shares. I am going to go to one tonight, was going to give it a miss, but theres a great girl going who has picked up a drink just short of 6 month's without, so want to show my support.
I remember my relapse , awful, awful time, but I use it positively to keep reminding me what my life will be like if I pick up that first drink.
off out to my garden, got 10 ten trees to plant, another monetary gift from sobriety. had a good idea yesterday if I was starting to stop I would get a money box and for every day and evening alcohol free I would put £1 in it. on a particularly bad day when I needed cheering up I would buymyselfa treat, obviously not the liquid type

have a good day ladies, all stay safe from the dreaded monkey, alcohol, sitting on your shoulder

Hi everyone. Sorry have not been posting. I am reading though. I felt like I did not deserve to post, because I have not yet been AF. Today is the day though. DH surprised me with the idea that we go away for a week in August to Spain. My first thought was how badly I wanted to be sober, so that I could really enjoy it, and not spend the week in a fog.

Bought masses of daffodils earlier today as I was inspired by the post upthread where the poster (sorry, cannot find it now to namecheck) now has a garden that looks like Kew gardens. :)

Also, had the most brilliant news today. My best friend is pg after 18 years ttc. It was a total shock as they had given up trying for a baby. :) THAT bit of life affirming news made me want to stop this self destructive cycle I am on too.

no chips, day 1 fabulous what a great incentive, s Spanish holiday I'm jealous
why don't you do my £1 in a jar idea, to save spending money for yourself on holiday.
good luck with day 1, stay positive x

LOVE the idea of £1 in a jar. :)

My DM gave up smoking a number of years ago, and she put the cigarette money into a jar. On her no-smoking anniversary, she bought herself a beautiful emerald and diamond pendant necklace.

Right. Off to find my jar. :)

hi all
So glad to hear about your friend, nochips!
I am shattered today, bad night with dd2, but feeling better anyway. Just a bit more sane and together, a bit less achey.
Or different kinds of aches....

Hello everyone! I feel like i've been away from here for ages. So good to see so much positivity

Not masses to report. Just that I still wake up so happy I didn't drink the night before,and can look at myself in the mirror and not hate totally(!) What I see there.
I managed a 3 mile run yesterday and 40 lengths of the gym pool today which I was really proud of as haven't been swimming for a few months.

Yes,life can seem dull at times and I am really going through lots of stuff in my head that was so clearly obscured by drink, but i'm thinking that's good! Ds is 14 tomorrow!!! Which is amazing. He's so lovely.

Have a great evening. Xx

Hello again!
Well, I am in bed with a cup of tea and my lap top and some work that i want to spend an hour or so on. I have done okay. There were times (my usual start times) when i thought I would not make it. But I got through the first trigger event (getting home from school) and then after that it seemed like a shame to give in. Someone said that cravings only last 10 minutes.... I kept that as my mantra when the cravings struck, and it really worked! So, I feel good. I honestly cannot remember the last AF day I have had, barring pregnancy. This is really big for me. Thanks everyone for the advice. I have my jar, and I have put my £1 in it. :)

Congratulations MrsSippie for your DS's birthday!

Morning all. Congratulations nochips on your first AF day. This is the start of a new you.

I'm doing well. Posting has slowed down as the days rack up (on day 19). I'm feeling good and still no cravings. It's not the alcohol I miss, but I can see how easy is would be to have a drink. DH drinks, we still have alcohol in the house, and I do sometimes worry that because the habit is so engrained, I could 'take a drink' without thinking!

I'm having drunk dreams that are always horrible, so it feels doubly great to wake up sober every morning.

Moods are good, I've been walking with the baby every day so I feel like my body is waking up, and I am enjoying moments of pure, simple happiness. I really think this has to be it for me. Drinking doesn't suit me at all: I get very very ill when I drink too much; I feel very depressed for days after; it affected my health (I'm sure it was to blame for repeat MCs)... I am allergic to alcohol in conclusion! Sober, I am happy, energized, focused, positive, and I sleep much better. It's that simple. I have to stay sober. I want to stay sober.

Hope you're all feeling positive too.

Good morning. Thankyou Mistress. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling shivery, but then woke up this morning at 5.10 am, bounced out of bed, took the dogs for a walk and considered baking a cake.

Day 2 today. :)

I hear what you say about feeling happy and positive. For the first time in so long I actually woke up and did not hate myself. DH came home late last night and had a glass of wine, and for the smallest moment I thought I would just have a sip, but then thought how much I would hate myself this morning. Peppermint tea worked much better.

I know it is early days, but I have a party to attend in 2 weeks, and I am already planning on saying casually 'Oh have given up for Lent'. I am role playing it in my head. I have to do this. I know it has really affected my health also, and I am also prone to depression so alcohol just is not helping.

Drinking does not suit me either MistressofPemberley. I think that is a nice, simple, truthful way to put it.

Thanks again everyone. So glad I joined you all. Thanks for the inspiration.

day 2 nochips well done
I wouldn't think of the party yet, one day at a time and i know you will feel so different by then, so well and healthy and proud of yourself, saying no won't seem an issue.
lovely sunny day here, no work, weekend off, this time last year the perfect excuse to drink, this year the perfect reason not to
have a great day all, sober and safe x

Morning all

Day 16 here; still sober, still safe, still anxiety free. Waking each morning without the crushing fear and anxiety about the 'night before' is priceless.
Haven't been tempted to pick up, when I've tried to stop in the past I'm usually counting down the days until it's 'acceptable' to be able to class myself as 'not having a problem' and to be able to start drinking again, but my mindset this time is totally different. Baby steps and all that!

well done nochips the first few days are the hardest. Before you have established any new patterns, before your realise that you CAN manage without drinking. And good that you recognise when and what the triggers are. Mine was when I started cooking particularly - having another drink to hand when I start cooking helps me...

please don't worry about the party yet. By then you will have 2 weeks under your belt, you will have started to notice some positives and you wont want to go right back to day one again .. these things will also help strengthen your resolve.

And Mistress AMAZING !! really well done - that's almost three weeks :-) You already sound so much more positive and as though your self esteem is starting to recover.

Keep going rabbit and cake you are doing really great - one day at a time..

waves to Sippie

and disco sixteen days ! Fab a doo

Waves back

I got a bit choked up this morning. We were clearing ds bookcase out today when I came across dd1 old diary - well sheets of it from about 9 years ago. She was 14. It tore me up, lots of 'mum drunk again' or' why can't mum just stay sober for one day'. I know I should have left it but the words just jumped out at me.

Horrible.horrible.horrible.

Well done nochips! How do you feel today?

Day 5 here. I am getting the filthy cold that has been making dd2 so miserable (ALL BLOODY NIGHT) but that's ok, because it's a sunny day and I have no meetings and have a day to just get through work.

MrsSippie, don't dwell on it. I know it hurts, but this is now.

I have been reading "Dry" by Augusten Burroughs again, and it is funny. I haven't been the sort of drunk he was at the beginning for a while but I do remember those nights out in London on a Monday night - a quick one after work, why not - fuck me, how is it THAT TIME?

I need to get to a meeting I think

Hi again,

MrsSippies . The thing is , that will never be you again. You are so strong.

I am okay. Tired and headachey and feeling really cold. I am determined to power through today though and see how I am tomorrow. DH has bought us one of those M&S meal deals, with wine. I have bought Becks Blue. I have told him I am 'staying off it' for a bit, but not how I really feel about my drinking. We had a massive fight about 2 years ago over my drinking, and since then I have cut down a bit.... and gotten much better at hiding it. I am not sure if he knows how bad it has been.

I also bought 24 strawberry plants. Developing a garden habit seems much healthier!

I

Oops. In was trying to say I don't knowing how much longer I can do this.

It sounds so cowardly but the noises in my head (not literally) Are driving me mad. Facing up to reality, remembering how awful things were when I was younger, so much pain. And finding the diary and seeing how awful as a mother I was. I don't want to remember it or have it so clear in my mind. Drink makes that go away :(