I have been sober now for 2 weeks and 5days but today experienced something that was so uncomfortable I almost drank. I can only describe it as unbelivable anger anxiety scary thoughts I was so angry inside it hurt. I now believe this was probably my first severe craving any good advice. I do feel more comfortable now but it was horrible
-- Edited by fenners on Friday 27th of November 2015 02:25:53 PM
Hi Fenner,
I have held back giving many, if any, suggestions to newcomers since I recently relapsed. (I was told in a meeting that I shouldn't share for a good while--although on this board it is hard to keep my mouth shut :).
Since it has been 5 hours and no one has posted a response, I will say that you are doing wonderful having made over 2 weeks and congratulations on your sober time. Holiday times are tough for some alcoholics in recovery, me included. Hopefully others with longer sobriety time will come on soon and share.
You take care and I hope that you have a wonderful day....and that is just the most adorable baby you are holding!
Theres a thing that happens to us long term drinkers when we quit. It's called PAWS. And it ain't about cats and dogs. It's Protracted Acute Withdrawl Symptoms, or Syndrome, or whatever. It takes a long time for our brains to heal up,, and start producing the right chemicals in the right amounts, before we get back to normal. It can take a year. Or even longer.
The thing you have to realize, is that when you feel like shit, and you want to take a drink to make yourself feel better, DONT. The PAWS comes and goes. You might feel great for a few days, and then, out of nowhere, WHAM!! All of sudden, you feel crappy. But it will only last a day or 2, then you'll feel better again. PAWS is one of the biggest reasons why people go back to drinking. They think "if this is what it feels like to be sober, hell, id rather just drink myself to death". But once you realize that these PAWS symptoms will go away, and then come back, and then go away again, youre more prepared to deal with it.
Ive been a year and a half without a drink, and the first year sure did have its ups and downs. There's still days where I don't feel good, and I can tell it's my brain still trying to adjust to not having alcohol. Give it time, Fenners, it takes a while, but it's totally worth it. You're worth it. You gotta believe that.
Glad to hear you're sticking with it. Keep going to meetings. Everything is gonna get better. Promise.
Hope you're still sober ... those feel'ns, when they come, are very persuasive ... but you need to stick with your gut feel'n and know what the results will be if you drink ... 'play the tape back' ... remember the last time you drank .... and how dead it makes you feel inside ... you have to think, do I really want to go through 'detox' again??? ...
Baba's right, these periods are short ... when they come, you just have to get your mind on something else and get busy do'n something, anything ... I used to get my BB and start read'n, cause the words in there put my think'n back where it ought to have been ...
Hope you're okay ... remember, ... One Day at a Time ...
Love ya and God Bless, Pappy
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Thankyou for your brilliant response great reading. I attended a different aa meeting yesterday which was great but those bloody feelings cameback again today I describe them as overwhelming rage inside very short with partner not good. Cooking dinner and just wanted to explode inside horrible
If this was easy Fenners, more people would stop drink'n, but it ain't ... we have to keep our priorities straight ... we need to keep in mind just how awful our drink'n was ... it made most of us complete and total assholes ... we cared more about that next drink than we did our own kids ... you really don't want to go back to that dark place ...
Stay'n sober is our 1st priority now ... and we achieve that 'One Day at a Time' ...
Get some phone numbers of people at the meet'n (men) ... and when you have these cravens, call the names on that list ... they will help you ...
Hang in there bud, you're do'n great ...
Love ya and God Bless, Pappy
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
In AA we talk about the obsession of the mind, and the phenomenon of craving. The latter only occurs when alcohol is already in our system and is the reason we lose control of the amount we drink. The former is the reason we end up drinking again, even though we know it is harmful. The AA belief is that the problem is centred in the mind. We have to get a defense against that first drink.
The book also talks about having an "alcoholic mind". I had the same rough spots in early sobriety, a few good days followed by black days where I felt the sky was going to fall on me. I couldn't work out why I was feeling like that. I had a sponsor who I talked to everyday, he unravelled the mystery for me by taking me back over the past few days to see what i had been doing and what sorts of decisions I had been making. I still had an alcoholic mind and my thinking and acting was very self centred in nature. Little decisions put me in internal conflict with my values, and get enough of those little selfish acts together and they seem to combine and form into a cloud of doom from which I could see no way out.
Of course I was totally unaware of this. My alcoholic life and thinking were the only normal way for me. My alcoholic mind was setting me up for the next drink. The only way I was able to overcome this problem was to pursue AAs spirtual solution. I needed a complete change of personality, I needed to get rid of that alcoholic mind. As I took the steps, particularly step four, it became clear to me I was my own worst enemy. Through the steps I was able to see what the trouble was, and I was able to have the problem removed.
This wasn't a long process. When I gave up fighting the booze, and began earnestly seeking a Higher Power (step 3), the clouds of doom stopped appearing, and I was into step four before I knew it. At the time I also began working step ten, cleaning up any new mistakes as I went along, and I am sure that saved me a lot of grief too.
Standing at the beginning, I couldn't see or understand any of this. I simply had to take action (maybe on blind faith), and understanding followed. I think that is the thing about the steps, they cannot be understood in advance, only when looking back having experienced the effect.
-- Edited by Fyne Spirit on Tuesday 1st of December 2015 04:41:17 PM
Well said Mike, ... very well put ... Excellent post ...
I hope everyone check'n in on the Board reads your post here ... I went through a very, very similar experience too ... this is great ... thanks for your input, it made MY day anyway, hope it does others too ...
Love ya and God Bless brother, Pappy
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'