Your best advice or tool

[Alcoholic]

Hi everyone:

What is the single best advice you can give someone to stay sober? What is the one tool that helps the most for you?

Alcoholic

[choice]

Your best advice or tool

My best tool was MWO. Posting and reading here and reading books about alcoholism. Not putting myself in drinking situations.. and when I couldn't avoid that having a plan. I lost some friends who at the end of the day turned out to just be drinking buddies. That part was hard, but well worth it. Also HALT.. if I had a craving I'd run through that. Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired... then I'd surf the craving. ODAT. All good tools and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few!

[kuya]

Your best advice or tool

Without doubt ....... Change your thinking!

The successful quitters here share something, no matter how different they may be in other ways.
If you are 'giving up' alcohol because you think you 'have to'. If you think that you 'have a disease' that 'normal' people don't , and you ENVY people who can 'drink normally'.......... You will struggle and probably fail.

This is DEPRIVATION THINKING.

if, however, you have 'quit' drinking because you have realised you are consuming 'poison' which, though common, is NOT NORMAL. You will be so glad to be free of this madness.

This is GRATITUDE THINKING.

some people stay in deprivation thinking for years, they are never happy, they lapse, they are dry drunks.

Shift your thinking and it gets easy ....... Honestly

[K9Lover]

Your best advice or tool

Helping others here has helped me in more ways than you can imagine. Knowing someone took to heart something you said reinforces your own committment.

[Wildflowers]

Your best advice or tool

kuya;1395100 wrote: Without doubt ....... Change your thinking!

The successful quitters here share something, no matter how different they may be in other ways.
If you are 'giving up' alcohol because you think you 'have to'. If you think that you 'have a disease' that 'normal' people don't , and you ENVY people who can 'drink normally'.......... You will struggle and probably fail.

This is DEPRIVATION THINKING.

if, however, you have 'quit' drinking because you have realised you are consuming 'poison' which, though common, is NOT NORMAL. You will be so glad to be free of this madness.

This is GRATITUDE THINKING.

some people stay in deprivation thinking for years, they are never happy, they lapse, they are dry drunks.

Shift your thinking and it gets easy ....... Honestly

Bingo This is the difference in being happy about it & being miserable about it!.... Now sure I have times I miss it, but it's rare these days. When I do, I figure out where it's coming from & I get busy.

Very important, #1 is being honest with self. I don't drink or think about alcohol like others do. In a healthy way. Acceptance of this!

Don't forget your last drunk.

Yes, we are individuals, but try not to get so caught up into being super unique. It may cause isolation! Very dangerous for us folks! Tho we like to think were special & we are , but many of us have big egos. Sometimes it's being masked from places of pain, anger, loss & hurt to.

In middle of project. There is more. This is a good start! Let some of this sink in for a while. I was told to try & not get to overwhelmed & figure it all out at once. Kind of like my drinking. Give me one & I want more. It's great to brain storm, have lists & all. Take it easy! Your doing grrt :l

[kuya]

Your best advice or tool

K9Lover;1395119 wrote: Helping others here has helped me in more ways than you can imagine. Knowing someone took to heart something you said reinforces your own committment.

How true K9, someone here made me cry yesterday by sending a thank you PM. And nearly nothing makes me cry.....but that did

[kuya]

Your best advice or tool

Wildflowers;1395122 wrote: Bingo This is the difference in being happy about it & being miserable about it!.... Now sure I have times I miss it, but it's rare these days. When I do, I figure out where it's coming from & I get busy.

l

So very true, I have moments when I miss the oblivion of drinking too, but they are moments. Then there is that jolt of reality...... One hour of 'pleasure' followed by 23 hours of sickness, anxiety and pain.

No thank you, no more for me please, I am full!

[Wildflowers]

Your best advice or tool

kuya;1395124 wrote: So very true, I have moments when I miss the oblivion of drinking too, but they are moments. Then there is that jolt of reality...... One hour of 'pleasure' followed by 23 hours of sickness, anxiety and pain.

No thank you, no more for me please, I am full!

Exactly!

I had forgot to mention about the deprivation verses gratitude thinking that I learned here at MWO & elsewhere b4, is that when we are in deprivation mode thinking, we can get into pity mode. Yanno what can possibly happen then. Poor me, poor me, pour me a drink. So, very important to have gratitude thinking. OK really must run now.

[Alcoholic]

Your best advice or tool

Everyone:

Great suggestions! I'm going to practice saying, "I don't have to drink" instead of "I cannot drink."

Thank you all!

Alcoholic

[Slaythefear]

Your best advice or tool

CHANGE YOUR THINKING!!!

It is from a thought that an action grows.

The tools can change as you move along in your path, but I feel this is number one. I replied to your post and Ima's post on the Newbie thread. Your actions will follow your thoughts. Rule the mind or it will rule you. I use that in my signature because I think that is where the battle for anything begins. In the beginning that is hard and your brain may not be working so well, so fake it until you make it if that's what it takes. Create the thoughts that work or the head game until your actual brain begins to clear enough to really believe them as the truth.