I'm so tired of this

[sunshinetoday]

I'm so tired of this

Welcome Westies rock,
Glad you posted. I have been here not quite a year but I have come so far thanks to this site. I no longer count the days I am AF because I can look back on the last year and count the number of days I drank on one hand. I'm a habit kind of person, and once you get out of the habit of drinking and start new beneficial habits it becomes easier, in time of course. Exercise is a great help, as it will kick in your endorphins and in no time you will be looking better and feeling better than when you were drinking. I say use whatever helps you. I am looking forward to your posts, and I wish you the best of luck!

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Hi Westiesrock,
Someone recommended "The Artist's Way" to me years ago, and I have loved it ever since. The author, Julia Cameron, quit drinking at a certain point in her life, but that is not central to the book - because of that book, I have written "morning pages" in a journal for many years, which has been a great solace as well as a tool for self discovery...maybe you could get it at the library, just to see if it appeals to you.

[westiesrock]

I'm so tired of this

Hi Farfalla,
I received the book and workbook yesterday. I wrote my first morning pages this morning! This is the first time I have ever kept a journal so at first it felt a little uncomfortable to me but was amazed after 1/2 hr I has easily written the 3 pages. I was quite surprised at the end of the 1/2 hr that a message/theme was present in what I had written. Wow! Maybe there's something to this! Almost to the end of day 3 AF. Feeling pretty good. Slight headache that I believe is the withdrawal from the amount of caffeine I was consuming in the diet Coke I was mixing drinks with
Thanks for your reply!

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Hi Westiesrock,
I'm glad you're enjoying the book - I did, and now your remarks make me want to get it out and do it all over again. Some days I scribble more, some less; some notebooks I throw out, (the ones which turn out to be REAL "whine journals,") some I actually keep. And, boy am I glad they invented caffeine-free diet coke, wish it were available everywhere! Good luck on your journey..F

[westiesrock]

I'm so tired of this

Oh they have caffeine free Coke here. I drank it for awhile but you see I was falling asleep after a couple of drinks, so of course I switched back to the caffeinated version. I could stay awake which meant I could drink more....

I like your avatar! I'm still working on figuring out how to reduce a photo small enough to get it on here.

Day 4 and feeling wonderful. I am finally free. That feels so good to say! I can't remember how long it has been since I went a day without drinking - maybe 20 years?


I tell myself "I am a non-drinker who CHOOSES not to drink". And then smile to myself.

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Hi Westiesrock! I already tried to post a carefully worded reply, but then for some reason, I was not allowed to post it, so it went away...will now try again.
I should have said, yesterday, good luck on OUR journey, as I, too, am working at becoming a happy non-drinker! Thank you for the kind words re my avatar..I think it was one of the ones on the MWO website, as I am not particularly good with tech stuff. I was wondering if, by chance, your avatar might be a picture of, dare I say it, Westies???
Some of your remarks remind me of myself...for YEARS, I read & searched (while I drank!) for a key which would explain to me WHY drinking was so important to me, thinking that once I figured that out, drinking would become a non-issue for me. Unfortunately, I guess it simply is not that straightforward, at least for me...but with the help of MWO - the book, the supps, the hypno cds - and the info from the forums, (esp the tool box - I think it is in the Abstainers section) I have finally achieved some FREE time without my "secret" perma-buddy, booze! So, congrats on your Day 4!

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Aha! rereading the thread, I now note that there seems to be a time limit...guess that's how I lost my first post. Wow. Learn something new every day.

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Aha! Cute pix of a Westie! Glad you put it up! F

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Hi Westies! How are you doing? I found my copy of "the Artist's Way" but have not really looked at it again, yet. Hope you are ok...having "stalked" here myself for many years, one of the NUMEROUS great things abt. MWO is that the program meets people wherever they are...it has helped me to "sneak up" on sobriety, little by little, a few days here, a few days there, which (while perhaps minor in the big scheme of things!) feels to me as though it has saved my life! I am enjoying the fitness thread which Mighty Mite has begun for March...reading it, I mean, as I am more of a bookworm than an exercise person...let us know how you are. F

[westiesrock]

I'm so tired of this

Hi Farfalla! I am doing great! I actually had to look at a calendar - 10 days completely AF!!!! Struggled a bit with insomnia for several days, but that seems to be improving. First day at the gym today!! The trainer said she'd take it slow with me I become very sedentary in the winter. I'll head over to the Fitness thread. I can use all the tips I can get. The counselor I am seeing (who mentioned that she works with an AA group), stated that it is VERY common to self-medicate stress/depression/anxiety with alcohol, not that it is a good thing. We are working on learning constructive stress management techniques. I knew in my heart the maddness needed to STOP. I re-read Jason Vale's book Quit the Drink Easily and decided that was it - THE END. Over, done with it. The depression has lifted almost completely. Not so much with the stress I feel completely free. No more thinking about it. The morning pages are awesome. She says to not go back and read them until 8 weeks. That will be interesting....

Sounds like you're doing well! It took me a long time to get to this point. Too long. Next up on the agenda - quit smoking. Planning for next Friday. I have Allen Carr's book on smoking (similar to the alcohol one). I plan to re-read it and get ready. Some people say it's worse than giving up alcohol, others say the opposite.

P.S. To avoid getting "timed-out" and losing your typed message, highlight it, right click, copy. Re-log in go to reply post reply, right click, paste. Voila! You don't have to retype it. (Nelz taught me that.)
So thankful for all of the support from everyone here at the forum. I wish I had logged on years ago when I first came to the site.

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Thanks for responding so fast, Westies! I was fretting, as had not seen any recent posts from you. Congrats on the 10 days!! Good luck w. the no-smoking plan. I quit yrs. ago, but then added intensity to my "MUST have a drink every day" scenario...my craving brain is a sneaky critter. I often do some mild daily exercise, but one thing which has stunned me recently has been the addition of SAMe + Bvits. to my daily MWO supp. regime...WITH it, I actually "find the time" to play piano; WITHOUT it, very gloomy thoughts creep in...(my kids don't love me, I should eat worms, etc. etc.) Takes abt. 48 hrs. to kick in, or same time off it for low-level gloominess. Again, congratulations! I am happy you're here!

[FarfallaP]

I'm so tired of this

Oh, and thanks for the timed-out help! F