Good Evening all. Day 5 for me. I find at about 3:00 to7:00PM is when I want to go get the alcohol and drink. I am hanging in there. How long (I know this varies) will I be in this uncomfortable detoxification of my body due to alcohol? I know I did not get this way overnight. Does anyone have any input? My head feels even more clear today. I just keep thinking....If I can get through this detox, I'll never have to do it again. Thank you God, for letting me have another day sober. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
The more we get used to passing up the urge to drink at certain times, the more "normal" it becomes to NOT drink at those times, and we start to think about other things more, and about alcohol less. It is a habitual thing... we come to AA with such set-in-stone habits, created over years. We come to expect alcohol at certain times, or in certain moods, and our body lets us know it! But the more we practice abstinence, the more natural abstinence feels to us. We are always throughout our lives subject to the fleeting thought of a drink, but we at least get out of the regular habit of thinking about it over time spent resisting and staying sober.
Our job (to ourselves and those around us), is to stay sober. Just like when we learn a new job in the workforce, it takes some time for us to do things right, and without really thinking about it too much. Same way when we stop drinking. If we used to sit at a computer 8 hours a day, but now we are starting to paint houses for a living, our bodies are sure to want to sit down a lot at first! But slowly we become conditioned do performing the new job. But we have to keep climbing up that ladder every day, and grabbing that paint brush, until it feels normal!
AA and continued abstinence builds our sober "muscles". And the Steps help us to stay sober each day, long enough to start developing those new habits and "muscles". We need to keep up with the Steps so that we don't become weak.
This is just one way I looked at it. There is so much more to it than I have written here, but I hope this helps, and is good and simple comparison.
Hope you continue on the path of recovery, and so glad to hear you have made it five days. That is great!
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~Your Higher Power has not given you a longing to do that which you have no ability to do.
Thank you so much for the insight. I have heard that as time goes on, that it gets easier not to want to take a drink. I reached the point last week where I am just sick of being sick. I hate the way I feel afterwards, both mentally and physically. Basically I have come to the realization in my heart and not just my head that I have NO control over alcohol and my life has become unmanageable and that I cannot drink ANY alcohol.
Praying for the obsession to drink to be removed worked for me. It took a while, but eventually my prayers were answered! I had the WILLINGNESS to have it removed! Now if I can only do that with cigs! But, not willing to let go of that yet!!!!!
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"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. "
lani wrote:Now if I can only do that with cigs! But, not willing to let go of that yet!!!!!
We admitted we were powerless over nicotine, that our lives had become odiferous.
Putting down cigarettes was harder than stopping drinking for me. I found a group in NYC that was restricted to members of AA but we talked about cigarettes rather than alcohol. Without that meeting, I probably would have started smoking again. Whenever I see the price of cigarettes advertised at a gas station, I am very grateful that nicotine is no longer running my life.
Putting down cigarettes was harder than stopping drinking for me.
Me too! Funny thing was I only smoked when I drank, until I quit drinking. Didn't take long in sobriety for me to be a 1 pack a dayer! Then I learned that I had to replace the "things" I'd quit with other things. So, I started eating Gummy Bears everytime I wanted a smoke......Now I'm hooked on Gummy Bears.
Rebecca, I'm glad you're here. Replace drinking with meetings.....It DOES get easier. The program is RIGHT on, those guys knew their stuff. The longer we dont' take a drink, the easier it is not to....For me it was "paying dues". I paid them with abstinence 1 day at the time.
(((hugs)))
Jen
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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
The longer we are without alcohol in our systems the easier it gets. For me, late afternoon and early evenings were always a trigger time. So, I kept myself busy and headed off to as many meetings as I could.
And, it really does get better. Just hang in there.
Take care,
Carol
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss
Hi Rebecca! Keep it up, one day at a time! I am so blessed today because I made a decision and ACTED upon it! The new friends and experiences Ive had are irreplaceable!!!
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"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have. "
hello rebecca congrats from down under, thats not the cemetry by the way but south australia, being sober and straight is actually very enjoyable, seek it out with AAs help and you wont be dissapointed. cheers peter.
Thanks. I am replacing drinking with meetings. The desire to drink has lessened somewhat but is still there, just not as strong. Day 6 for me today! Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, I think I may be one of the lucky ones, I never went through the detox and dt's etc, just the craving drove me mad in the first 2 days, but since I have been reading all other people's stories and realisng what alcohol was doing to me, I feel wonderful, I am going to my first meeting tonight, I know I must sound like a stuck record to some people here, but I am really excited, I can't wait to have a new life, and a better one at that, I am on day 4 and loving it!! Hang in there - take care Deirdre
Hi Rebecca, Keep up the great work. We humans have habits and once we are used to them that is what we feel the need to do or even think about. But as we change habits the new habits become what we get used to. It is just a matter of time as we change the bad to good.
It is said to take at least 30 days to get used to new habits. But also we as humans find negative easier than positive. Negative is a short cut to things but positive takes work.
I know for me in all the areas I was used to drinking like mowing the lawn or going out to eat or grocery shopping and all of those things that this past week I had trouble to do them without thinking of drinking but once I did not drink as I did those it felt great. So the great feeling of not drinking and doing those things is what I want to have as a habit because it is a much better high.
Good for you! I'm glad you did not have to go through what some of us have gone through. I heard from other who have had it much worse than myself. You should be excited! I have been back to AA meetings for three weeks now, and I am on 1 week today of sobriety! I am excited too! There IS a new life out there for us all who suffer from alcoholism, a life that is better. God bless with your new meeting......just keep going back! Rebecca
Good Evening all. Day 5 for me. I find at about 3:00 to7:00PM is when I want to go get the alcohol and drink. I am hanging in there. How long (I know this varies) will I be in this uncomfortable detoxification of my body due to alcohol? I know I did not get this way overnight. Does anyone have any input? My head feels even more clear today. I just keep thinking....If I can get through this detox, I'll never have to do it again. Thank you God, for letting me have another day sober. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
