Annoyance was a trigger for me. And as a drinker, lots of things annoyed me. Have you noticed that too? Little things. Things that didn't really matter if you thought about it. But I didn't give myself time to think about it. I simply reacted in the same way - annoyance, aggravation. They called for the instant relief of alcohol. And I was happy to oblige.
When we realize we must not give in, I think for some time we still have the same annoyance response, we just battle the giving in to alcohol to dilute it. This isn't easy, is it? Even though abstinance itself weakens the aggravation meter, it's still there.
Luckily for me, my quitting paralled an exploration of spirituality and mindfulness. I hooked up with some sites that many here know. TUT TUTs Adventurers Club: Explore the power of thought & creative visualization to manifest dreams!, Daily OM DailyOM - Nurturing Mind Body & Spirit, to name a couple and I get emails to help remind me of things; to redirect my thought patterns. Those suckers are hard to redirect sometimes, you know?
The message below came to me and I thought about the part where it says the aggravation is seldom worth the cost it exacts. I thought wow, no kidding, especially for an alcoholic. You might look at this as a tool to use in those moments so that you may learn how to quickly release those feelings and move beyond simply battling the alcohol urge in response to them.
From The Daily OM:
"In the stress of a singularly tense incident, differentiating between an inconsequential annoyance and a legitimate challenge can seem a monumental task. Ask yourself whether the emotions you are feeling will be as vivid in a year, a day, or even an hour. As focused as you are on this moment in time, your reward for letting go of your emotional investment may be the very happiness and harmony of being whose loss you are lamenting. Needless aggravation is seldom worth the cost it exacts. You cannot distance yourself from life's inconsistencies, irritations, and upheavals, but you can relinquish your desire for perfect order and gain peace of mind in the process."
Best to you in your journey. Please try to continue to explore new avenues to move further and further beyond addiction. It is an exciting way to grow.
When we realize we must not give in, I think for some time we still have the same annoyance response, we just battle the giving in to alcohol to dilute it. This isn't easy, is it? Even though abstinance itself weakens the aggravation meter, it's still there.
Luckily for me, my quitting paralled an exploration of spirituality and mindfulness. I hooked up with some sites that many here know. TUT TUTs Adventurers Club: Explore the power of thought & creative visualization to manifest dreams!, Daily OM DailyOM - Nurturing Mind Body & Spirit, to name a couple and I get emails to help remind me of things; to redirect my thought patterns. Those suckers are hard to redirect sometimes, you know?
The message below came to me and I thought about the part where it says the aggravation is seldom worth the cost it exacts. I thought wow, no kidding, especially for an alcoholic. You might look at this as a tool to use in those moments so that you may learn how to quickly release those feelings and move beyond simply battling the alcohol urge in response to them.
From The Daily OM:
"In the stress of a singularly tense incident, differentiating between an inconsequential annoyance and a legitimate challenge can seem a monumental task. Ask yourself whether the emotions you are feeling will be as vivid in a year, a day, or even an hour. As focused as you are on this moment in time, your reward for letting go of your emotional investment may be the very happiness and harmony of being whose loss you are lamenting. Needless aggravation is seldom worth the cost it exacts. You cannot distance yourself from life's inconsistencies, irritations, and upheavals, but you can relinquish your desire for perfect order and gain peace of mind in the process."
Best to you in your journey. Please try to continue to explore new avenues to move further and further beyond addiction. It is an exciting way to grow.
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