Newbies Nest

[little beagle]

Newbies Nest

Ican keep up the fight. Good job.
Minstar I hope your frustration level gets better the longer you remain af. Mine has. I understand a life filled with so many negatives. Not drinking is a great positive and it really improves your outlook.
C-dev I am really proud of you.
Rahul I know one thing. If I lost my quit I would be very upset with myself. To me its like trying to push a giant boulder. It takes a lot of momentum to get it rolling. The longer you stay af, the more momentum you pick up. Drinking is like having your boulder fall into a hole. It is even harder to get started again. Each stop, the hole gets deeper, the harder it is to get that boulder rolling again. Don't.
I was with my daughter last night. We sat up all night because her boyfriend is having huge drinking problems. She had to tell him to go. Not a pretty thing to see. Al is devastation. For so many people.
Even in the midst of all of that, old al perched up on my shoulder and whispered sweet nothings into my ear. I feel so cheap and dirty! Yuck! What a sleezy bas#@rd.

[MinStar]

Newbies Nest

Thank you everyone. Sorry quick list as I have to get up for a couple of hours work. I did not succumb and have woken albeit before my alarm, bright eyed. Horrible wonky neck sleep from a few nights ago has had me in pain the lat couple of days. Last night was awful as I had a constant headache- or maybe that is 7 days AF kicking in! Gosh don't think I have had one of those in a few months :-))

Well done CD- you really are an inspiration. To go there and ado all you did and not touch a drop is fantastic. Take on Vegas- what next- the sky is your limit! Congrats!

Rahul- stay strong. Hope you're feeling better

LIfe change iCAm, little beagle , NC, lavande, Bydeie and trinity, anyone else ice missed. Happy Sunday x

[lifechange]

Newbies Nest

Good morning, Minstar! I'm so glad you're feeling better this morning!! Like Byrdie always says, there isn't usually a bad day following a bad day. Thank god. Isn't it a huge relief, waking up bright eyed after an evening of struggling? I'm super proud of you for hanging in there--it's so worth it.

Nice to see you back, CDev. Cushy hotel, eh? Is it still so warm in Chicago this time of year?

Rathul, Get yourself in that NO WAY NO HOW mindset BEFORE you go. Change your 60 day goal to I will do it, like Byrdie said. As Cdev has proven, Vegas can be fun without al. It's a challenge, another way to strengthen your resolve. But I think it's important to straighten out the mind ahead of time. Keeping an open door is so dangerous, as you already know--We're all here with you!!!

Off to the flea market for a little look around-- see you all in a bit!

[trinity8753]

Newbies Nest

Hello everyone!

Congrats on fighting the temptation Ican - i had this problem the other night with having people drinking in my garden i was so tempted but glad we stayed strong:goodjob: minstar Congrats on 7 days AF and staying strong too last night! I did find the food helped massively helped as i was full up and didn't fancy a load of beer on top of that!

Just a quick visit before i get ready to go to work in a bit. Because i didn't drink last night i was up this morning and took the little guy to the park to play football, he had a great time. So much better than just lounging around hung over waiting to go to work and dreading it because im rough again. Working through til midnight so i will get home and straight into bed and theres no al in the house.

Hope everyone is having a great day, thanks again to you all :l

Trinity - 3 days af and going strong on day 4!! xx

[little beagle]

Newbies Nest

Yeah Minstar. One whole week. :applaud:

[Softy]

Newbies Nest

Hello all. JC told me to check in here and she is the Boss so here I am! I have already posted a statement of intent under "Here we go again..". I am going for it but under no illusions as to how hard it is to get off the drink. I hope I can help others by my tales of woe and (hopefully) success because I find posts from others on here to be truly inspiring.

[Lavande]

Newbies Nest

Good morning Nesters,

Hello & welcome Softy! Having the intention to quit is the first step - good for you!
Putting together a good working plan for yourself is a must, check out the great ideas in the Tool box

Congrats Minstar, you're doing great!

Hello to everyone & wishes for a great AF Sunday for one & all. I'm going shopping with my grandsons so I will be BUSY all day!

Lav

[C-Developer]

Newbies Nest

Rahul,

I just wanted to share with you a few techniques that worked for me, and will hopefully be of help to you as you make your way to Las Vegas coming up.

1) Be the "Company Man" at the conference. By that, I mean act as if you are the fucking CEO of your company. Wear your nicest suits, talk a big game to co-workers and colleagues, and get out of your comfort zone and go talk to some of the heavy hitters that are present at the conference. If yours is anything like mine, you will likely have a few industry figureheads there that everybody is talking about , so be ballsy and walk up and introduce yourself to these guys. The more your mind is in work mode, the less you will think about drinking.

2) Eat big meals. Almost nowhere else in the world are you going to have such outstanding cuisine options than in Vegas. World renowned chefs and restaurants that score a perfect 10 on the Zagat survey are a dime a dozen in Vegas. Invite people out to dinner instead of wasting time during the cocktail hour at the conference. Also, be sure to hit up the bartender immediately and get Soda water with lime, or some other "prop" drink in your hand while you are mingling with the crew.

3) Be the high roller gambler! Normally I would never recommend that you drop money on table games, but under these circumstances it just makes sense. Play 5 dollar a hand blackjack, or something similar, so you can grind it out for a long period of time even if you are getting a run of cold cards. Your Hotel will also likely have a sports book parlor, which is another good place to waste time by placing bets and watching the games that you place a bet on. Who knows, you might even go on a run and end up being one of the big winners of the evening, which will give you something to talk about at the conference.

4) Take advantage of the amenities of your hotel. From massages in the Spa from women with Double D's, to PGA Tour level golf courses, virtually anything you have an interest in is a phone call away at the concierges desk, so why not treat yourself for being a good boy and not drinking? What happens in vegas stays in vegas right?

5) Make sure that you take your laptop and check in here frequently. It really does help to have that motivation and support structure in place. Sometimes that little bit of motivation is all you need to keep you on the level.

You can do this, and you can have fun doing it. There will of course be temptation, but you will feel like a rockstar when you are on the plane heading home with the knowledge that you came and conquered.

C

[broken halo]

Newbies Nest

welcome softy :hug

One of the things I have found out over the last couple of days of struggling? Everyone who is sober seems so together. Even me. Newsflash? I am not! But we are better together my friend. Get cosy, huddle up. JC is a very wise woman. :l

[Byrdlady]

Newbies Nest

Good Mooning, Nesters! No, that snot a typo. We have a Moonie today! Our very own stellar Minstar is celebrating 7 full days of AFreedom!! To the untrained eye, this may seem like celestial dust, but in our world of addiction, 7 days speaks volumes! You can bet your asteroids that we are standing behind you 100%. Well done, Minstar! Here's to many more moons ahead!

:moon:

C-Dev, that post has "Tool Box" all over it, you should put your "How to survive Vegas" tips in there. We are so proud of you for staying the course....those pictures are awesome...wow, what a nice room! So those are the killer beds?? They look scrumptious!! Thanks for posting the snaps, we love visual aids around here!

Welcome, Softy!! JC is one of the wisest folks I know, so you are smart to listen to her! We can help you get this monkey off your back for good this time! We are glad you are here.

Broken, so good to see you. I noticed that same thing, sober people DO seem to have it together. Why don't THEY struggle and flail around like I used to? I think that it is the flip of the switch inside our heads that makes that change. It is the ACCEPTANCE that AL is NOT an option. We are just going to have to find another way to cope because AL is off the table. What I see on these boards day after day....year after year, are the people that let it back in under any circumstances are the ones that continue this internal fight. I wish I could do a Spock maneuver and place my hands to the heads of struggling folks and let them experience the peace that can be had when you TOTALLY ELIMINATE ALCOHOL from the equation. It's a nice place up in my head now...before there was constant chatter and quilt/shame/remorse. It was a living hell in my head. There are many phases along this journey, but once you get thru to the other side, you'll be much stronger. There is NOTHING like MindPeace. You can trust me on that one, I've been on both sides....this side is 1000 times better. Stay the course no matter what and no matter who. You will never regret it!! Stick close if you feel vulnerable.....in this case, distance from your support system is the enemy! Been there and done that, too. Now that I think about it, I seem to have done everything the HARD way....dammit. I wish I had listened to Lav better.....and SOONER! UGG....no, I thought I was different!! In this arena, we are all more similar than different....we may have different paths, but the destination is the same. It's only the scenery along the way that changes. I'd put in my GPS of sobriety the fastest roads, highway driving, no tolls. Get quit and STAY quit is the easiest route! You have reached your destination!!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday....GREAT to see my fellow travelers!!! Byrdie

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

Morning all,
I am feeling a bit better but had some sort of anxiety attack this morning...no wonder with all going on...this is such a mess but I am hopeful to get some sort of normalcy back at some point...I am a stubborn Irish gal and dont like to be down....
dottie

[MinStar]

Newbies Nest

Hey all!
Thanks everyone for the congrats. I love moonies lol
Quick post as dinner is on- am going to catch up and write more soon!
Welcome softy! Pull up a seat! Dottie- hope you're ok- what do you think triggered the panic attack?
Trinity! I am so proud! Would you hae thought you could do 3 dya! How fun to spend the mornin with your wee man! Here's to the same tomorrow!
Will write more soon people!

Thanks especially to Byrdie and lavande who always have positive thoughts sayings advice comments.....

[Dottie Belle]

Newbies Nest

Min I have not had the best week...so I think that might be the cause...too much going on with no answers..
dot

[Rahulthesweet]

Newbies Nest

trinity8753;1553420 wrote: Hello everyone!

I did find the food helped massively helped as i was full up and didn't fancy a load of beer on top of that!
xx

Trinity stuffing your self with food really helps forget the craving. This really helped me and I cannot imagine myself without food in last 30 days or more.

[Rahulthesweet]

Newbies Nest

Hello nesters,

Being AL free is great .. Everyday I feel better and good about myself.

Byrdlady: I followed your suggestion and changed my signature.

Cdev: thanks a lot for the survivals guide in Vegas...

Have a nice sober day you all ..