Hi. I am back to day one. But I am going to put it down to experience and carry on trying to keep sober.
Hi, glad you are trying again. Equiped with your experience you will certainly do well. Good luck
One day at a time works pretty well, as does substituting ‘being sober’ for ‘trying to be sober’…sometimes making that shift in our mind and words helps more than you would think. Keep moving forward and building your sober toolbox.
What do you plan on doing different this time to avoid another relapse? What made you relapse? Taking note of our triggers and addictive behaviour helps when trying to break the cycle
Just having money in my pocket is a trigger. I don’t purchase drink to take home. Because I only drink in a pub. I have done that routine for so long that it seems almost instinct to me. It was like on Monday, I had an important appointment to attend in town. All the time I walking there I kept telling myself that once I had been to the appointment I would go straight home because It would be the safest choice for me. But with almost without thinking I naturally went the other way and ended up at the pub. And as they say the rest is history. Stress is a big trigger too.
Changing habits do take time and alot of willpower, try walking a different route and avoiding pubs, leave your bank card at home and only take the money you actually need on cash without pub money. Little changes can make a big difference
You give awesome advice👍
Yes indeed she does
Thank you, I try my best, my problems with alcohol were psychological and habitual so went down the cognitive route, I started with doing a CBT which helped me loads in noticing triggers, analysing my thoughts and planning a week at a time in advance to gradually change my routine
I love cbt. It’s huge in my treatment😀
I used to feel like my legs had a mind if their own. They would take me to the pub after work. Or the offie. Often both. I’d go for 1 pint, knowing deep down it wouldn’t be just 1. Then by pint 2 I would have decided I’d have a 3rd then buy a bottle of gin on my way home, where I’d drink it in secret. I’d stand in the bathroom and swig from the bottle.
Eventually you have to push past that pull to the pub. Physically shake the thought out of your head if it helps. It helped me. Recognise what the alcohol does to you. Accept you can’t drink. Each day you succeed you get a little bit stronger. It’s fucking hard, but you can feel better and you deserve to.
That sounds about right SarahJ. Although I stopped continuing to drink once I got home a long time ago. Not that I am sugar coating the fact that I have a serious problem.
For me, it was my corner convenience store. I was like a robot, step in the door, turn right, 7 steps to the beer cooler, 2 more steps to the wine rack, make my selection, up the aisle to the register, pay and leave.
The first couple weeks after quitting, I’d find myself standing in front of the cooler or rack, without even thinking, realizing I came in for milk or some other sundry. After the 3rd or 4th time, I stopped going to that particular store, and drove a bit further to one seldom visited during my drinking days.
Another habit I had to consciously break was my end-of-day routine: close laptop, walk to counter, grab wine, pull cork, pour glass. That first week I’d find myself standing there, like walking into a room and forgetting why you went there in the first place. I fixed this by taking martial arts classes. Now the routine is close laptop, change, grab gear bag, go.
For me I changed everything even my job as stress was very nice trigger at the end of shift and I just automatically go to shop for drink, do not even remember journey, only paiment bit.
Now even when go to those shops I used exclusively for drinks( I had to alternate for some unknown reason as that dayly intake would be noticed) remember all that walks o shame pretending to buy it just additionally to some other stuff…
Been to my previous job place lately and just remembered all that stress and nearly gone that shopping route again…
I am at day one too… and I feel like I should just keep using bc I don’t want to face the reality of what I have done or the consequences
Shit. We’ve all been there, most of us hundreds of times.
I said what’s the use for years.
3 days away from being 18 months sober now, and I’ll tell ya, it’s worth all the grit, grind, mood swings, and uncertainty.
Pick sobriety back up, being sober is the most punk rock thing you can.