Dry 14

[glad2016]

This is the thread for all those who are living, or committed to living, life free from alcohol.
Go sober warriors !

Morning, so good to be hangover free at 8 on a Sunday morning.

pillow sounds like you and dh have had busy weeks. Maybe have a chat tonight when dc are asleep and discuss what you both want and how that works.

sybil hope your ankle is feeling better. Ice and rest and it'll be on the mend soon.

We bought an ancient caravan 2 years ago to take away for weekends with a certain group of friends. These weekends were non-stop drinking sessions. Even when I was drinking I hated them. Someone always argued/got hurt/emotional. So we are selling it. It seems drastic but I do not want the temptation of these weekends. And I think dh is pleased as its a total pain to tow.

Hope everyone has a nice Sunday!

Also the posh float sounds amazing I'm going to try that definitely.

I'm not sure if it's a change caused by my not drinking - we used to get pissed in the evenings very regularly, and now I'm mainly reading, so we're not together as much - or just the usual settling-in type problems I have feeling at home again every time I've been away. He's still in bed - going to give him a very long lie-in because he's been solo with the kids all week. Hopefully we'll do something together this afternoon.

How is everyone else? I was really really pleased not to be hungover on some of these hot days we've been having.

We had rain here today - which cooled things off a bit but has now made it steamy :( I am having a quiet day - we all were very busy yesterday and are all a bit worn out today so tv, bit of gardening and some mending for me I think. Have a good day everyone else

Hi all - hanging in here although am in same holiday house as last year so lots of reflection on what brought me here. I didn't have a single AF day last year's holiday. No car crashes or bad behaviour, just putting it away night after night, drinking too much.

So last night come evening of the first day....realised I need to get mock tail hour sorted. AF beer - 3 different kinds available in the local supermarket. Had 2 with a bowl of crisps while dinner cooking.

Trying to get 4 kids to bed - 2 mine, 2 friends. 1 wobbly 7 year old wanting her mum and 2 bolshy ten year olds pushing the envelope. Just about done it but not without having to give my one a telling off- she is pretty much incapable of doing what she's told without arguing. Fingers crossed.

Just back from Bluedot festival. Quite a few people drinking and lots of bars, but I honestly didn't miss it

There was alot of sciency stuff to do with the kids - which was brilliant

I certainly didn't miss getting up with a hangover in a steaming hot tent. We camped with friends who don't drink - and even my dh who enoys real ale didn't pack it away like he usually does. Significantly we had no moaning from the teens and no arguing between us... and our money lasted way longer than usual - although we usually bought our own booze if we were going to a festival in the past. Another + point is remembering the bands and the event!!

I looked at my diary and today is day 49!

How are you lizzytee? I've been having some of that reflection myself recently - it's not easy, is it?

louiseaaa Bluedot sounds great. It's the end of the month and I've just checked my bank balance and we're about 350 quid better off than we usually are this close to payday. It's really shocking - because this has NOT been a cheap month with some unexpected one-off expenses. I dread tot think how much I must have been spending on booze.

Hope everyone else is doing well and keeping AF.

Thanks pillow I'm good today - sorry about last night's ramble...kids all settled down and slept thankfully. Day 38 here since I decided to make the change. So glad I found this corner to sit in, it's been such a help.

to all of you

Hi all, I'm sorry I don't post very often...... But I do read the thread every day and love seeing your posts.

A couple of weeks ago I had my second sober holiday after quitting on 28th December this year. We had 11 nights just outside Malaga in Spain. It was fabulous with beautiful hot sunshine every day.
I'm very proud that I didn't drink and as a bonus DH didn't drink anywhere near as much as he used to do. (I was the driving force when it came to our alcohol consumption, he just kept me company and would stop when he'd had enough)
As a result I was up fresh as a daisy at 7.30 every day. That meant I gained a full day and a half of "conscious life" when compared to holidays of recent years. At least 34 hours of consciousness gained over the 11 day period.
I'm very happy about that.......

likeahurricane THANK YOU for posting that. I never thought of it before.

I have to say there's a lot I am not liking about 'conscious life' right now. I guess I need to work on that too.

It's weird. I thought stopping drinking would be the hardest thing. But actually being sober is pretty hard. I need to find another things to fill that time with.

Your holiday sounds amazing!

Anyone heard from Lily or Lucy recently?

Can anyone link to the sober blogs please?

Here are a few I've been reading:

ahangoverfreelife.com

tiredofthinkingaboutdrinking.com

soberatsixty.wordpress.com

drunkydrunkgirl.wordpress.com

You okay hadron? I am about to put DS to bed but will check in later if you want to have a chinwag and need company or support.

P.S If you are blue and need a laugh, the first time I typed your name I typed hardon

I am stone cold sober, promise... :)

Onewhite it's incredible isn't it? The amount of time I've wasted over the years.....but I did have a lot of fun a lot of the time, so I've just accepted it. I'm not that person anymore, and I can't moderate that's all.

I just read more..... I've always read a lot anyway. These days I usually have a novel and a self help type book on the go. I also meditate which I'm still learning......I have been for a couple of years.

I love Eckhart Tolle and can recommend "A New Earth"

Thanks onewhite I'm ok. I had a drink at the school fete (one) and won a bottle of fizz that I drank over two nights. I just don't want to go down that road again as I know I can't moderate.
I've reset my app to day one and started with resolve!
Hope everyone's ok.

I have also been reading this thread - a very old one - but the stories shared have been eye-opening, scary and inspiring.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/320153-is-anyone-out-there-a-heavy-drinker-active-alcoholic-recovering?pg=1

Crossed with you Hadron - I didn't post the second link to the thread in direct response to your post. It was posted by a woman who was in a very very bad place to start with, but seemed to get a bit of control and achieve a couple of weeks of abstinence before the end. It made me feel very sad so if you're feeling delicate, you judge best if it's the right night for you to read it, or not.

Do you know what triggered you to drink something at the school fete?

I'm a bit scared of booze now. Last week when I was away for work someone put a glass of wine next to my glass (sparkling water in a wine glass) and I picked it up and put it to my mouth by mistake. I didn't drink any - I put it down like it was poison and got up from the table and went outside for a bit. I was TERRIFIED of drinking it because I knew if I did, it would be two bottles and a disgraceful night of behaviour later and I'd have thrown the past month away.

It doesn't sound it was like that for you - it sounds like you caught it and have reset to day one.

How are you feeling?

I'm just pissed off with myself. I have no reason to drink but do it anyway. I think I see it as normal to have 'a couple' and don't want to be the extreme either side of that.
I'm feeling ok though. I think false starts are part of the journey. I'm not drinking for weeks at a time now!

You're doing well. A little lapse isn't worth throwing it all away for and you are back on the wagon. :)

Thanks onewhite. How are you this evening?

Still hanging in there. Blue - not sure why. I have a general feeling of being a bit discontented. I think it is because all the celebrations / treats / comfort blankets have gone and I have to take a good hard look at myself and my life. I am not liking what I see. I have to make some changes. But motivation is low.

I got rid of my cold but I am still getting a bit feverish feeling every afternoon / evening. I have no idea what it could be. I haven't touched booze for 49 days. I was a very heavy drinker - a couple of bottles every night - but I don't think this could still be any kind of physical withdrawal. I'm not pregnant and not old enough for hormonal changes related to menopause (I'm 33). I'm taking vitamins and making sure I am hydrated - have also cut down massively on caffeine but my smoking (which I stopped before I stopped drinking) is creeping back again. I keep thinking perhaps it is my liver packing up or something - but I have no other symptoms other than the temperature and general run-down feeling.

I'm going to try to get a decent night's sleep tonight. Tomorrow is a busy work day so not much time for reflection but I am feeling the need to get away on my own for a bit and have a think about some small changes I can make to fill the void that stopping drinking has made.

Does anyone have any tips or insight into what is going on with me right now?

Evening all, am still af but finding the holidays hard work so far!

I think this is Lily's blog alcoholfree2016.com

Hi pillow quick post as I'm off to work. Is it worth seeing but your gp? Just a general health check and maybe some bloods. Hopefully just for reassurance.

For me I used alcohol to numb a lot of feeling- anxiety about things that need doing, boredom etc. Now it's not there I have nothing to hide them and that's hard. I don't have a magic answer I just know we are better without the alcohol because it never really helps even if it feels like it does at the time. Big hugs to you xx

Hi one I know what you mean. I had expected to feel better but I think it just brings life into sharp focus. Spend some time trying to accept the present and forgive the past. Giving up booze is just one step.
I would love to see a life councillor, just to focus on me. I wouldn't know where to start though!

One thing I would say is that I know I'm not the person I was when I started drinking about 6 years ago and I'm giving myself time to find the new me. It took a long time to get to this stage so it will to get out the other side too. Take care x

Oh dear. Well here we are again and it is definitely day 1. Let's hope Hadron is right about false starts being part of the journey. Was doing fine over the weekend, thought it was sorted again and then old friends came over for supper and they brought wine... I'm really unimpressed with myself but also this has to be a bit of a warning because having gone six months plus af I think I had stopped really paying enough attention. But its been so terrifyingly easy to go back to old habits. This has to stop. Today. So I'm going to try what worked before and say to anyone and everyone that I'm doing a dry month after my holiday. And stick to it. And use all the techniques I've learned over those previous af six months to make it work.

Happily my ankle is much better so should be able to try a run in a day or two and that helps.

ODAAT etc