Good morning everyone. Im up, Im sober, had myself some coffee and vitamins, ready for the day, ready for work.
Busy day today, first off work and then dinner, cleaning house, shop for birthdaygift and party tomorrow. My son have birthday.
At least a really busy day will help me keep my mind on other then alcohol and stay sober.
Nice Day to you all 
I mean sounds like the right call! And glad you are feeling the positive effects of it now 
Rather than fighting it, is it possible to notice and accept it? Have you ever done any of the Tara Brach Rain stuff? It can be pretty helpful. E.g.
Recognise - label the thought. āI am experiencing some craving right nowā. Notice any thoughts, feelings, body sensations.
Allow - take a pause, give yourself permission to feel this way, its OK. No need to do anything about it.
Investigate - whatās really going on to cause this? Try and approach with a spirit of curiosity. Am I feeling hungry, angry, lonely, tired? Jealous? Why?
Nurture - apply some self compassion. What do you really need? Some time, space, connection, comforting words, a walk, a creative activity? Do that!
Loads of stuff on it here >> Resources ~ RAIN: Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture - Tara Brach
I do not apply this as often as I could! So I will be reading through this today 
You know where drinking leads you, and itās obviously not something you want to do or you wouldnāt be back here. Hope you can hold onto that as well as how much better you feel for checking in this morning with a clear head 
227 days
@icebear congratulations on two months
@Chance had to double check your counter what an inspirational achievement 
@MagicILY stay strong you doing so well, hope your meeting with your partner has some positive outcomes you deserve that.
Hi all, had a lovely river swim last night certainly lifts the mood and energy levels.
Chasing up new job today, fingers crossed 
Another weekend camp organised for a good friends birthday coming this weekend. Not excited about it as they will all be drinking, not judgemental i am the addict not them. But its not how i want to spend my time anymore. So this will be my last one. In the future i will pop in with gift, card and go.
Have a good day all
Been a while since I checked in and feels like lots to update, will try and keep it brief ish 
Went away to a yoga festival with a friend, we volunteered so had to cover a few shifts but got to do a couple of gong baths and some nice relaxing stuff. I didnāt do much physical yoga but Iām just not in that place at the moment and Iām not pushing myself to be. It was so good to be in a field full of people camping! And a sober event so it was all super chill. I was super prepared with my stove and food so ate really well and cheaply the whole time. Russell Brand showed up on the last night, he lives nearby the site. I got to say hi and of course told him about being sober, which I got a little congratulations for so that was pretty cool!
Mainly slept last week as was pretty exhausted, ha. But Friday night went to the pub, where I live they are all pretty close but this one is just down the road. A friendās husband is in a band and they were playing, so I went along. Had a good dance along with some people I know and bumped into. They were drinking, not excessively, and were actually pretty hilarious. It was a good time.
Saturday I caught up with a friend who I havenāt seen for years despite us living less than an hour away. It made my heart so happy. We were dreaming and scheming about working at festivals next summer, organising sober events and generally just catching up. Weāre going to a festival next month with some friends from our hometown which will be awesome.
Monday night went to an open mic night to meet another friend Iāve not seen for a little while. Itās funny I was chatting to someone else about going and they said oh I donāt know, drinking on a work night? Iām like I donāt drink and I donāt work so itās fine by me 
Iāve been thinking about how when I first got sober I just couldnāt ever imagine myself having all this fun. But here I am doing it anyway! 
It hasnāt happened over night, it hasnāt always been easy, but being able to navigate the world sober is so worth it.
Got some possible job stuff coming up, had a message from a contact about 2 days a week. Heās away for the rest of the month so got a bit of breathing space around that. Not sure how I would manage it, I want to explore dance and healing stuff and donāt want to take away from that. I will be honest about it when I speak to him and see what he says.
Today am off to view a couple of houses with land, to see if the dream might actually turn into a reality. Was hoping to see four today as the area is 1.5 hours away but looks like it will be two today and two Friday. Itās a nice place though so will make a day of it with some nice walks etc.
Got a doctors appointment tomorrow morning to get a blood test and review mental health situation. I feel like Iāve been pushing for it for a while but now Iāve got the opportunity I donāt know what I want from it 
so need to have a think about that.
Anywayā¦ That really is the brief version!
Thatās awesome 
Iāve become a big fan of his over the past few years, a genuinely great person I think. His videos on current events are the most balanced Iāve seen. And his meditation channel is cool too.
Lots of nice things happening for you atm. Best of luck with the house hunting, exciting times!!
Day 900
Feeling mostly better now after being sick last week. Still pretty uninspired by work tho. Summer is typically a slow time for me but this year seems slower than normal. And I found out recently that Iām further away from a promotion that I would like than I thought. Itās disappointing but itās cool, Iām not upset about it. Iām fortunate to have the job I do. In someways its good as it frees me up to focus on other things. But it has also had an impact on my enthusiasm for work right now.
A friend and I are in the process of planning a short canoe trip in a few weeks time. Itās great to have something to look forward to and I treated myself to a new tent. Itāll be great to get out of town for a couple of days and we have both said that we want to do more of these types of things. Hopefully itāll be the first of many trips.
My anxiety peaked last week and thankfully seems to be settling back down. I was finding all the video calls at work really difficult and was disassociating quite a bit. Feeling like Iām watching the conversation rather than being part if it. There is an expectation at my work that you always have your video on during zoom calls. Iām not a fan of this āruleā but Iāve spoken my mind on the issue and was ignored. Not much I can do about it 
Have a good day folks 
@Hailstrom 900! Wow! Congrats friend.
Good morning right back at ya,ā¦
I tumbled into a questionā¦
The Corona virus is now 2years and somewhat among us.
My Nala is 3 years and almost 6 months.
Covid virus dogs it said in her vaccination passport which is way older then the first Chinese covid patientsā¦ I am confused 
So she could have been vaccinated like 44 months ago and it existed clearly for a long time before we had to deal with itā¦
Maybe with the vaccination programm our offspring will bark instead of crying for milk
Check
Have a good one yaāll
Thanks mate, you have a nice round number on the horizon too
COVID-19 is a corona virus Joost, one of many (or to be more precies itās the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus). The common cold is cause by another corona virus. Dog corona virus is yet another one Canine Coronavirus Disease | VCA Animal Hospital . Like Nala is a Staffy. And a dog. But not all dogs are Staffies. Right?
Ghehe, not al dogs are staffies indeed but I red the vaccination passport and was just wondering what that was all about
Thnx for the clearance bro
I am sorry to read this. It shows me how very fucking important it is here (more than anywhere else) to signal that I struggle. That I have xyz on my mind. Bc than I can be helped I believe. There are so many steps between the feelings, the thoughts and calling, buying, using. I hope you find the strength to call for help before you use.
Unless I donāt want to be helped. I want to proof that I am bad and a shit kind of person, see I am stupid. Self-fulfilling profecy.
You are stronger than that,Mike!
Wow, congratulations on 900 days
Checking in on Wednesday morning. Soberš
Checking in on day 118. I missed day 90 and 100 because looking on the counter isnāt as important to me anymore 
I measure my milestones differntly these days I guess.
Went on a wonderful holiday with 2 close friends at a national park within the alps ā¦ it was magical and being in place as beautiful with people I love made my depressed ass want to live to the fullest again for the first time in a long time. If that sounds cheesy, I donāt care 
healing takes time, but it happens I guess.
Since I started to open up about my addiction and mental health journey to the people around me, the support hast been overwhelming. I spent years negotiating with myself and running in circles ā¦ asking for help is what set me free. Iām with @Its_me_Stella on that one - it led me out of my dark places, the lows are still there but much more manageable. Maybe you needed to hear that today. 
Also, I guess Iām experiencing the famous pink cloud for the first time since I started to try and get sober over 3 years ago. Thatās why I donāt want to loose focus and come back here more often. I also remeber that my last relapse started out with feeling too secure. So here I am 
Mountain spam incoming:
Congratulations! Great achievement!
@Misokatsu congraations on your year 
so glad to be on this journey with you 
@Its_me_Stella thank you I havenāt heard of that one, will see if I can find it here. Congrats on asking for help
@icebear thank you so much and congrats on 60 days
@Dazercat cool catch 
@Sunny11 enjoy your vacation
@Alisa thank you
@Hopeful777 thank you enjoy your time with your son and I really hope you can start your new job soon 
Oh and I like your new username 
@siand thank you
@050Nl I hope your interview went well
@Jfrat Congrats on 10 months
@Mike69 congrats on 2 weeks
@Mephistopheles sorry about your friends 
@Chance congrats on 37 years mind-blowing achievement
@LeeHawk congrats on 5 months
@anon53116147 sorry to hear this, sending prayers
@apes2020 that bike looks awesome I love Brene Brown
@MagicILY sorry youāre feeling lonely, I hope the conversation goes well and your relationship can move forward
@siand I love Russell Brand, I wish I had his vocabulary to express myself. Iām so happy youāre having lots of sober fun hope the viewings appointment go well
@Hailstrom sorry about the work stuff 
congrats on 900 days enjoy the canoeing trip
1 year no alcohol.
333 days no cocaine.
6 days no disordered eating.
Checking on for yesterday.
One whole year without alcohol! It doesnāt feel real, from the moment I first felt alcoholās effects I thought this would never be possible.
Yesterday, I did what I usually do; woke up, walked to the supermarket and did my grocery shopping, made myself breakfast, chilled with some TV, made myself lunch, went to the gym and swimming (it was a much better experience today), came home, did my meditations, cooked myself dinner, watched last nightās episode of the reality series Iām watching, then built the new cat tower that arrived today, it took forever! So far, they have shown exactly 0% interest 
In active addiction, I couldnāt do any of these things, I couldnāt go out in public, the most I did was drive to the garage to get cash out to obtain, I ordered breakfast online and binged, I obtained, starting using, and that was it until I ran out of cocaine and alcohol, and took benzos then went to bed in a panic because I couldnāt cope with being sober at all. My life was a complete mess, I was a slave to substances and it felt for the last year of my using, like I was trapped in hell. I honestly thought Iād die before I got sober and clean.
And thatās the blessing, I donāt do anything extravagant, just live a simple life, doing everyday things that ānormalā people do, and I am more content than Iāve ever been in my entire life. I no longer hate myself. Iām working on getting my body back in shape, and that makes me feel good. I do my cleaning regularly, I cook for myself again, and Iām present for my cats.
#itsoverstaysober
@Mno nice photo
@Penguin glad youāre feeling a bit better in yourself, congrats on your days and for continuing to reach out
@SoberGuyUSA congrats on all the 1s
@CATMANCAM
That is a fab cat tower! And what a transformation in your life! You should be proud!
