Newbies Nest

[Rivergal]

Thanks for the link Nar.

[Rivergal]

Thank you all. Climbing in bed early for is sure to be a restless night. One day at a time.
My new plan- checking in here a lot, lots of water, and nutrient- rich food. Not sure how to handle my anxiety though- prayer, Calm app, sleep, posting here, and remembering how precious life is. I will die if I continue this way. Good night.

[Lavande]

Good evening Nesters,

Rivergal, glad you are back in the nest with us
I highly recommend the MWO Hypno CDs if you have them. If not tune into a guided meditation online, they are very helpful when learning to calm yourself without AL.

Byrdie & G - I'm going to buy a nice stapler for the nest to prevent y'all from going without shoes & jeans, LOL.

Great to see everyone checking in & making themselves accountable. We can all defeat the beast - one day at a time
Wishing everyone a safe & comfy night in the nest!

Lav

[narilly]

Way to go a River. You are worth it

Thank you all. Climbing in bed early for is sure to be a restless night. One day at a time.
My new plan- checking in here a lot, lots of water, and nutrient- rich food. Not sure how to handle my anxiety though- prayer, Calm app, sleep, posting here, and remembering how precious life is. I will die if I continue this way. Good night.

[Mr. B]

Thank you narilly. I've been a for over a year. If I can quit beer and whiskey you would think I could guitar the dope. I'm hoping I succeed this time. I mean I'm gonna this time, if it kills me.

[Mr. B]

Alcohol free

[SHADES_of_IDAHO]

Rivergal - Just the fact that you came back speaks for itself!!

My life had been pretty good before I stopped drinking. But every week, incrementally, bit by bit, as miserable as I felt sober, life got better because I didn't drink. The "obsession" to drink started to fade at around 3 months sober. I started to develop realistic goals. The need for daily naps started to go away, and I had energy to meet my goals.

The voice that tells you that you can have just one to enhance your autumn experience is lying to you. Nothing about the beauty of the season, of pumpkins, changing leaves, or crisp weather has to do with pouring alcohol into your system; that's your alcoholism wanting to feed itself. And that AV isn't happy til we're dead.

Find the support you need to stay sober. It's worth it!

You have so much to share. I am a mom of an alcoholic and I lean from reading UR posts hope u remain sober and see how much help u can share with others gives me strength to fight for my son and help others by my story too.

[SHADES_of_IDAHO]

Alcohol free

The mind is free the body and soul. UR life is now under UR control. I am so happy for u!
Sobriety is an Awesome state of being!

[See the Light]

I feel so out of control where I simply want to hide from everything. I do not know why I am here posting- i don't deserve to be. So they say it gets easier with time- that hasn't been my case. I am losing this fucking battle and I hate it, myself, and all of the people i hurt. I hate living so dishonestly. I am just not sure I can do this on my own.

Rivergal- The getting better with time is a function of how fast you learn to cope with feelings and life without AL..some people deal with it faster than others I think. I'm in your camp..if you have used AL as a crutch to deal with things in the past as I have also, leaning to deal with everyday life without it is dam hard, no doubt about it. I don't like anger or sadness or anxiety or boredom..so it does seem like the AL makes them go away for a bit..but those feelings only come back worse. Life is going to happen, but it can be managed without AL..many people do it..its a leaned skillset that quite frankly many of us who drink/ drank never learned correctly (myself included). Cry, be angry, feel stressed...be alive...but then find ANOTHER way that is not AL to make them go away (exercise, meditation, etc.) and you will still hate the disease, but NOT hate yourself...stay here and keep with it and you will find a way through...and the people who you have impacted want what you want as well...for you not to drink and be the person you are without it...they will forgive you, so start by forgiving yourself

[TJAF]

Evening all (at least in my part of the world) good stuff as usual. I have been around this site for over a year now. Mostly reading and occasionally posting. Some observations :

This is really hard stuff and its ok to admit that. For those of us who have spent most of their adult life drunk this is our biggest challenge. Knowing that you need to ask for help is what makes the nest a special place. I am convinced that I never want to drink again but that doesn't make it a certainty. I am still here because I know that I am a drink away from falling back into the hell of alcoholism

There are some really special people here. BYRDIE leads the pack of long time sober. I know I can always count on these folks to offer a hand. Don't be afraid to reach out to them. They wont bite (at least most of them)

No need for bravado as I said this is really hard and everyday sober isn't paradise but by God its way better than my best day drunk.

No matter how bad you feel or how high that wall seems you can do this. It is possible to be sober. Just know that no matter what, never get complacent

Hang in there newbies it really is a "one day at a time" process but time does fly by!

[Pavati]

Hi, All:

Rivergal - you've gotten some great advice here today. I hope you're tucked in nice and safe. For anxiety I found that exercise really helped and continues to help. No matter how tired I was I got myself out for some sweat, and the release of the endorphins helps you feel better.

I told an old but newly rediscovered friend today that I don't drink (we were talking about her dad being an alcoholic). She said something like, "my sister and I talk about how much is in my family, and my sister admitted that she has a cocktail EVERY night." It made me realize how I thought my drinking was "normal," but it hasn't been for some time.

Cowboy, I'm with you. Life was pretty good before I quit drinking, but it has gotten better in weird and unexpected ways. I think I talk about that here a lot, but another example is that my son just broke his arm and I am NOT fretting, anxious, worried about school/sports/etc. I am calm, helping him, and know he will get better. I honestly think that this change in my outlook is due to being sober. I never knew that my worry was related to alcohol, but apparently it was! Yes, Ava and STL - my relationship with my kids is better, too, as I am so much more patient and present in their lives.

And speaking of wardrobes - I actually wore shorts to work the other day (yes, it has been in the 80s here), nice shorts mind you, but the hem decided to give out, so I had to use scotch tape to fix them. Never thought I'd still be doing fixes like THAT at my age, but whatever works.

Off to bed. Have wonderful, sober evenings. Take good care of yourselves, especially those of you feeling fragile or just starting out - focus on what you're gaining from being sober, not on what you are supposedly losing by not being able to be "normal." Who the hell wants to be normal anyway??

Pav

[KENSHO]

Hi Lovely people. Working late tonight. I HATE working late. NS, I have referred to your thought that I "should get a little lazier"... boy did that resonate with me. Who ever told me I had to be wonder woman? Do it all? Why do I push myself so hard? I moved a little slower yesterday and really enjoyed myself. SO, I'm going to do bare minimum tonight and then enjoy slipping into bed. I LOVE my bed. Such a relief when I can sink in. I would like to "sink in" to more places more often, like the couch or my back yard. I watched my mom refuse to slow down her whole life and she is still very high strung. I hope to learn to calm my mind and body more - it's one of the reasons I used to reach for a drink. Yes, I said "used to" Nighty night everyone - and keep posting Matt, LavB. Miss your thoughts and humor.

[narilly]

Kensho I love that too, get a little lazy. NS comes up with some good stuff. I am in bed and I love my bed too.
Goodnight everyone. Thank you for all your great posts.

[Mr Vervill]

Nothing dishonest about coming here and posting. You're fighting it, girl.

[KENSHO]

I am AMAZED. I indulged so little during my "slip", yet I can't get the thought of a drink out of my mind right now. Really annoying.