AF day Tuesday 17 July

[Mick]

Well good morning everybody..this is the second time of writing ..just done it and lost it..aaargh Coffee and tea on again!!


Well how are we all today?still not helping the taxman with his booze tax?This is day 14 for me and beforew I start I would like to say a big thank you to everybody for their support.especially Flossie and JC from day 1.Also Sausage Shue,Kaslo Lavande Destiniey LiilyE, Porquoi and anyone I have missed. I truly believe that this site is a main part of giving up.it becomes part of life and the process of giving up the al.
Couple of things that I have thought.I am at day 14 now and really pleased,but in the outside world who can I share that with, bearing in mind like most of us I drank in secret and no one knew about the problem,so its good that there is a place where we can celebrate our successes and help each other through the bad times.
The other thing is what I would call a "reality check" this happened to me couple of days ago.Little voice in head says" yep you are doing great at this af business, but its not real.Real is the way you were".I think what that is ,the brain trying to get used to the new af way after being fed with booze for so many years
I was out shopping yesterday and one of the shops I went into was one that I used to buy cheap booze from.As a tester walked past the shelf, picked a couple of bottles up and read the labels, put them down.Did not bother me in the slightest.Some 4 hours later working in the garden, little voice in head says could really do with a drink, so sat down went through my strategy and crested that wave.Just shows you can strike at the weirdest times!Anyway:

Hi Lav how are you ..hows the weather? still trying to get things done by 9am? thats some timetable

So pleased for you porquoi that you never gave in well done another week on the way

Msfreedom welcome glad to see you.Yep you will find there is another life without booze and all the support is here..go for it girl

Shue how are you this fine day?..another coffee?

Turn again how are you?Alaska is on place I would really like to see Been round most of the world but never your way Is it at cold as you think and do you get used to it?

Sausage hows life with you in sunny Jockland..if there is any send it over the wall

LillyE that pamper sounds better than any vino well done you

Right folks I'm off now so here goes for the second time..doesnt work this time looks like I will need to buy a window!!as this computer goes through it!

Have a great af day everybody
Mick

[shueaddict]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Good morning, Mick :hateputer: , you really cracked me up this morning.

I?ll take you on that offer for the second coffee :cupajoe: I will cut back on caffeine later. Now ? if Lifechange has any leftover peach cobbler that would really make my morning.

I am feeling on top of the world today (despite many obvious things wrong with the world and myself) ? I simply want to enjoy life to the fullest and take everything on with joy ? apologies if I disgust anyone with my extravagant enthusiasm. It is my usual state of mind. Which is why I hated the AL fog and subsequent depression so much.

My only regret? Not getting rid of modding earlier , but hey, you live and learn!

Turn is sooo right. I needed to read a huge amount about addiction, how progressive this disease is and take a good look at myself and recognize all that. And that if I don?t stop THERE WILL BE consequences. (Rather large bitter pill missing 16 layers of sugar coating ? big gulp). I was soooooo ashamed and disappointed with myself for allowing this to go so far that I became addicted to AL and that our ? relationship? will never be the same.

I was in mourning for a while, after I split up with the love of my life, Mr. Sauvignon Blanc; for a while I also envied those people who can take it or leave it or enjoy very little of it. I know I am no longer one of them and will never be. Accepting that and moving on. Long live the happy pickle Shue!

Mick and Porqoui get a medal for showing their awesome moves on the surfboard yesterday . Way to go ?cresting that wave?, fabbies!!!! ::rockon:

LillyE ? I can do the chat around 7:00 ? 10:00 AM - GMT.

Lav ? keeping the young chicks indoor might be quite the challenge.

Lifechange ? what are you doing in your time off work?

Ms Freedom ? how are you today?

Wishing a great day for all to come.

[porqoui]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Morning Mick, Shue and everyone else. What a difference a day makes. Made a decision not to dwell on the things I can not change and everytime my Sister Shit came into my head I recognized it and let it go. And it worked. Pretty soon the day was gone and no thoughts of drinking. Day 19 AF and look I think I see that 30 at the end of this particular tunnel. Looking forward to a great day a wishing you all the same.:l

[Lavande]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Good morning Abbers

Just wanted to check in & say hello to Mick, shue, porqoui & everyone!
CONGRATS on your 14 AF days Mick - terrific!

I'm off to pick up my grandsons now, will try to check in later if they give me a minute :H
Wishing everyone a great AF Tuesday.

Lav

[lifechange]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

i know i'm super late! bringing my own coffee this morning, as i'm sure Mick's must be cold by now!!
way to go on 14 days, Mick. and thank you so much for sharing how your dealing with different things that come up along the way. it's helping me to keep in check--and also not get too comfortable.
you sound fantastic, Shue. i don't find it annoying at all! in fact, as i was feeling polar opposite this morning, i decided to get my butt to the gym before signing on and bringing you all down.-- i wish i would've joined you first for coffee. the spirit in your post is contagious. i have to admit i made myself a bit sick eating the rest of the cobbler yesterday. i wanted to finish it off before starting a bit of a "cleanse" today. of course coffee's allowed!!

a big hello to Lav. i'm always so amazed and inspired by your energy and dedication to your g-kids and furry/feathery friends.

i spent some time on youtube yesterday watching clips from the theater production of war horse. have any of you seen that? my nephews were lucky enough to see the play in L.A. and the puppets are amazing. really worth a look. it's a video montage.

hugs to you all and a wonderful sober tuesday!! LC

[lifechange]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

its not even morning anymore!!
Porquoi, i also wanted to say hello to you. i'm proud of you for working through the feelings re your sister. like so many have said, anger and "getting back at" someone (often my bf) has been huge in my drinking career. and like Lav said yesterday, of course it only hurts us. and leaves us weak and unable to cope. we have so much strength when we don't drink, don't we? sometimes i can feel my feet firmly connected to the earth and the energy that lends is wonderful. i hope it will happen more.

[porqoui]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

:thanks: LG and everyone.....It really helps to hear an "atta girl" now and then.

[porqoui]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

ooops meant LC not LG.

[satz123]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Hi Mick & Co
I remember seeing your post MIck 2 weeks ago & I had just started to try AF to stop a daily wine habit in it's tracks .
I am on day 15 today but still wish I was one of those people who can take it or leave it or enjoy very little of it.
I do not know if I can be one of them - I think I can - but then I'm afraid to find out I am not

Any advice ?

[Kaslo]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Good morning Fabulous Abstinence folks. Thanks for starting Mick. You sound pretty great, Mick and you seem to be ahead of the curve in many ways. You can already handle going into a store, and you have developed a very strong coping strategy for dealing with thoughts of drinking. Those are two things that are huge advantages and its all of your own doing.

Can I just say to Shue, also, that its nothing to be ashamed of that you are one of many people in the world with a predisposition to alcoholism. Its not your fault. It wasnt that you drank too much and caused it, its that you had it without knowing, and unfortunately you didnt know to curtail consumption if not stop completely when the four stages advanced. The point is you have successfully stopped, and that is a HUGE achievement, about which you should be very proud. So many of us never can stop, completely and if you watch Rain in my Heart you can see what the result is.

We cant go back and change this, not only is it impossible but also we would not be able to change the progression, it would have happened anyway. AND It would happen again. My eldest has inherited this condition ( I dont believe its a disease, I think its just a combination of characteristics which = alcoholism in various degrees of severity in various people, genetic predisposition is a very strong part of it). She knows enought not to start consuming copiously, in fact keeps none in her house. Every one of us is linked together with an invisible thread.

So hello to all of you this morning, its still morning here, in fact not 8 Am yet, and I have a date with a couple of cans of paint. Its sunny and the river is high. I lost a tree off the beach, it just was uprooted and it swirled away. Everyone have a wonderful AF day.

[Mick]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Hi Satz..well here goes...these are only my thoughts I hasten to add..at the end of the day you need to make your own mind up as to how you go ..but putting myself in your position here

OK I have gone 15 days af free...do I want to go through all that if it doesn't work?

Why do I want to drink alcohol again..bearing in mind this is moderation what buzz will it give me.
What rules am I going to make to ensure that I drink in moderation?

What is moderation, and when am I not going to drink?

If I make this a way of life what is my strategy going to be when I am in a position that I have hit my target.

Would it be easier to say no thanks in company or ok I will just have the one??

In the last 15 days I have dealt with all sorts of problems without alcohol...Now that I am allowing myself limited alcohol, how can I be sure that the first time a problem comes along, I hit the alc?

Can I be strong enough to stick to my limits.. for instance if I say ok I will have 2 glasses of wine per day..can I resist the temptation of "borrowing" from the next day?
There is lots of things you need to be sure of Satz.As I said this is only my personal thoughts,I am sure others have got different ideas
Mick

[shueaddict]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Oh Kas, thank you for the kind words. I did spend quit a bit of time feeling angry at myself. My holistic doctor has also urged me not to blame myself for this. He said guilt is not an a productive emotion (health wise). Nevertheless, I am responsible for what happens next, now that I have all this knowledge.

Wish you a nice date with those cans and hope the worst of the weather has passed you.

Satz - I told myself many times, until recently " Even if I could mod, I'd rather not put any AL in my body. " After reading Jason Vale's book and taking an honest look at what I considered the "benefits" of AL - I came to the conclusion that it gives me nothing positive that I don't already have. The negatives, I am sure you know, otherwise you would not be here.

have a lovely evening, affies, I see the outnet has got the clearance on, time to do some damage to my credit card.

[Kaslo]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

So Mick, are you trying to moderately drink? If so there is a thread for that, here. Just below this one in the directory.

Or do you already have experience with trying to moderately drink and getting into hangovers and problems again, sooner or later, each time? If so you are not alone. Most of us abstinence people (I say with only a year and a half... which isnt forever) have tried going on from abstinence to moderation, and found its a sippery slope.

Maybe one of the reasons you have been as successful as you have obviously been in the past little while is that you subconciously have this back door open, I know that happens. Either way, I am pulling for ya. As Red Green sez.

k

[Mick]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

Hi Kaslo,yep you are probably right..in the past kept saying going to stop..then no I aint really got a problem so I will cut down.I have read quite a few posts on MWO about people cutting down, being able to say no..but it doesn't work for me.If I have a drink it will get necked as quick as possible so that I can get the next one. I cannot do pleasantly tipsy etc..for me its just get smashed, therefore no alcohol is my way forward and I am quite happy with that.I feel better, my moods have changed I am less lethargic and actually I am quite proud of where I am at this moment, so my aim is definitely abstention not moderation
Mick

[Kaslo]

AF day Tuesday 17 July

ok good. and fair play. we will do what ever it takes to keep you here then.

As to why we keep pining for it there are lots of brain chemistry things going on to explain that. That stuff stops after a while. And we can relax and enjoy life without the monkey on our backs all the time.

People need a lot of encouragement and a feeling like others understand. Unfortunately for many of us iquiting AL is an isolated and lonely endevour that is often sabotaged by people very close to us. Often THEY have a problem with us stopping. Lots of road blocks and obstacles but it really is hugely worth it