Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

[Tipplerette]

OK Gang, let's start a thread for those experiencing the "Screw it, I'm going to have a drink." moments that invariably lead to slip-ups.

Can we post some truths, facts, reminders, quotes, etc. that will shoot us back to reality when the alkie brain rears it's ugly head and does it's utmost to convince us to have a drink?

It would be fantastic if I, myself, had a thread to immediately turn to at those times when I am NOT thinking clearly but am momentarily convinced that just one won't hurt.

The one below my signature will start the ball rolling:

[MtnMomma]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

Oh that awful Why Not rationale. Only it's irrational. When I get that thought, I'm going to ignore it. See what happens. I like the quote I found under my signature.

[Struggles 106]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

Here's one-alcohol causes nearly 4% of deaths worldwide-more than AIDS, TB or violence.
2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes

[rubywillow]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

Wonderful thought for a thread, Tip. Go well with it!!!!!!

[K9Lover]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

I fast forward to the next morning, head throbbing, nauseated, dizzy, in a fog...and wondering what I did the night before. Trying to get ready for work hoping I can survive the day. Wearing my "hangover" clothes, you know, the ones that are loose and sort of frumpy because you just don't care. Applying extra makeup to cover up my red, splotchy skin. Sitting at my desk all day in a haze. ALL of that just for a slight buzz that wasn't even fun. No thanks!

[one2many]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

I posted this before but I visit it quite often if I ever find myself thinking...a drink would be nice.........


My New AF life is CRAP!
It seems to be a commen theme this week on the boards about feeling let down or unfulfilled by your new AF life...I posted this on another thread but am putting in here too, just to let you all know that you are not alone and this feeling is very normal and happens to us all.



When I ditched the booze....

My life would change....

I would become happier, more confident, everything would slot into place, my troubles would be over, I would be on easy street, Nothing would worry me or upset me, life would be a piece of cake, my brain would work differently, I would be happy all the time, I would no longer have depression or sad thoughts, I would have a wonderful life, people would applaud me, fanfares would sound and angels would sing..

NOTHING prepared me for the brutal reality that this wasn't the case.
I felt cheated and disappointed and somewhat angry that I had put in all the work to kick booze and I didn't feel any different, my life was NOT any better, and yes I wondered why I even bothered...what was the bloody point..you were meant to feel better..right?? It was meant to get better? Life was meant to change.....

It didn't except for...

My clear head in the mornings and the feel of clarity on waking...

No hangovers, headaches and sick tummy..

No flashbacks of things said and done and no cringe factor upon remembering.

The bedtime stories now told lovingly to my children instead of the excuses as to why I couldnt read them as I had to go and relax with first drink of the evening.

The money I have saved by not buying alcohol and smokes.

The compliments I have received telling me how well I look.

The feeling of freedom knowing that alcohol has no hold over me, I have broken free of its power and I am living independant of it.

The problems that are there are now being dealt with and not swept under the carpet in a drunken haze.

The little pieces of me that emerge day to day...new pieces of my personality that have been stifled by alcohol.

The feeling of LIVING and not just drifting along from day to day doing the same old thing and expecting different results.

The feeling of acomplishment, and getting to like myself again ( I am not at the loving myself bit yet but still working on it, we are all a work in progress)

The knowledge that, although I felt like a fish out of water the first few times I went out socially, it is slowly but surely getting much better and easier to handle and when I look around and see some of the antics going on , I feel blessed that I have made the decision not to be the ringleader any more.

The chance to FEEL........I mean really feel...all my emotions...without the crippling distorted illusion of alcohol..I can identify my feelings and deal with them accordingly.

And finally the realisation that my problems are still there, money worries still present, sadness, fear and confusion are with me on a regular basis...BUT I can deal with them now...feel them, understand them and know why I am feeling this way..instead of burying them or intensifying them with the help of alcohol.

In conclusion....life is not all sweetness and light, not the perfect world I did expect it to be..but it is a Utopia in comparison to the one I was existing in and for that I will be eternally grateful.

Oney x

[Cinders]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

Tip,

One trick I use when I am feeling a strong pull and that "grit my teeth" feeling is to pick up one of my joke books, such as Calvin and Hobbes or Gary Larson.

It sounds trite but if you lose yourself in silliness and find yourself laughing and smiling, those cravings magically disappear.

Cindi

[InChains]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

music, i must remember, not expecting alot of fans but lyrics to anythign from lamb of gods new album 'resolution' especially 'king me' are perfect reminders fo why it is you wanted to stop. think of anybody you admire who either got sober or died before they could. make a rpomise to whoever really matetrs to you, doens't ahve to be god (i promised andrew wood, never met the man, no kind of religous leader) then its not just you to let down its them. promise a hero, a friend, a parents, maybe not to their face but in your mind...

[Chillgirl]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

I like thinking up things to do to that nasty little ALCO-MONSTER like chopping him into tiny pieces and feeding him to a horse. :H

Inchy - I like your idea of making a promise to anyone that will make you feel accountable. I made a promise to God (or to my higher self if that sits better) but I made it after hearing about about Patti Davis, Ronanld Reagan's daughter who was a coke addict. She'd been in rehab several times and promised herself and her parents a million times that she would quit but never could. She said she finally accepted that she never kept her promise because she didnt care enough about letting herself or her family down. Eventually she made her promise to God because she knew she would never let him down. I decided to do the same after one night praying for help. I reckon I cant go any higher and knowing that I have given him my word I will never break it.

[Tipplerette]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

Thanks, I'll read these when it happens. Keep them coming!!

Surfing the urges works so much better with AMMUNITION !

[InChains]

Witching Hour Busters .. like Ghostbusters but better !

chill, i'm an atheist but for me music is god, andrew wood was a singer in a band i care about very much, he died shortly before their first album came out of a heroin overdose. he was a really beautiful person, n to me, a true hero for fighting as long as he did n for beign who he was. a few nights back i made a promise to him and to cliff burton, metallica's original bassist that i would fight this. i know i will keep fighting because i would not dishnour their memory by giving in.