January Mod Squad

[Eve11]

January Mod Squad

mightymite;1252689 wrote: Hey TMH,
I lurk from time to time on the AF sites and they say when they were modding that they hated the planning and waiting for when they could drink... Does this resonate for anyone?

In answer to your question, I can totally relate to what some of the AFers are saying and for some of them it was probably too much work and anxiety waiting for Friday or Saturday to come around and they got to a point of just wanting to remove the anticipation and stress of all of that. It sounds like you are able to do what is called "harm reduction". You realized you had something troublesome with the drinking that you were doing and decided to not drink so much etc. but keep controlled drinking in your life. Harm reduction is a great plan for the folks who can do it and a good way to start removing excessive drinking from anyone's life to see if they can still keep it in their lives but in a controlled manner. The problem is, most folks who have problems with drinking, can't control it 100% of the time so they are always at risk for a big fall if they overdo it without intending to. For some folks, that risk isn't worth keeping in their lives and they decide to just put the stress and anxiety aside and learn to live a one day at a time AF life. There are times for me when I finish that 2nd glass and actually feel a little sad that it's Sat. night and I just had my 2nd drink and now I will be waiting until the following Friday before I have a drink again. Sometimes that bothers me and I guess I am just like the people you are describing. I believe there is great freedom in the AF lifestyle because they don't have to deal with thoughts like that anymore.
:l
Eve11

[Lila]

January Mod Squad

interesting answer, Eve. And, you sure have cut down a lot! How do you feel? I always feel happier when I cut down a lot.

[Eve11]

January Mod Squad

Lila,
Although I was never a big drinker and more of a binge drinker(my binge would be 4 or 5 drinks on a week-end night maybe twice a month) I felt that I could moderate my drinking rather than totally abstain. I do recall being surprised when I joined this site because I thought it was a site where everyone was moderating (like moderation management) and didn't realize that the majority abstain. As I have stated many times, I think we all have problems who come here or we wouldn't seek the site out, but I do believe with knowing triggers, setting limits, and supporting each other, that some people can moderate successfully. I have also appreciated the fact that most everyone respects each other regarding our individual choices and our personal paths to recovery. I know there have been problems in the past, and because of that, I may tend to post too carefully here, but we do deserve a safe site here where we don't have to feel that we are walking on eggshells for fear of what questions we ask to try to understand how things work or how others feel or think. With that being said, we have been very lucky to have very respectful AFers who come to our site to add their feedback. MWO is a wonderful place for all of us! On a personal note, I am on a mission to keep coming to get the support I need to be successful in my world of modding, and so far, so good.
:l
Eve11