Oh my lord! That is so bloody cold! It was a lovely warm 28c here in Australia yesterday and during winter we dont even get down to zero. No snow where I live. I can not imagine how cold that must be! Have a beautiful sober day my friend and stay warm 
3 Likes
@Planipennia I take Naltrexone which works on the reward centre when it comes to alcohol which takes away the good feeling when you drink and I also take Campril which works on your GABA receptors in the brain to help curb cravings. If you visit your GP and ask for both these meds they will prescribe them for you and they will help. I am not sure why you have not been offered anything to help with your drinking. You have to be sober to start them so you should have no problem getting them 
4 Likes
Day 29!!! Feeling really good today, but I have to do a trip into town (I live in a very remote area) to do some supply restock and grocery shopping. In the past this is when I would dreadfully stock up on enough booze for a couple weeks since there are no stores around me here.
I am not tempted to buy anything right now and I’m hoping the nice rainy 2hr drive will give me time to reflect on some stuff and I can get in and out safely.
I called my brother this morning, who doesn’t drink and lives near me, he’s been a pretty big advocate for my sobriety as we are both watching our beloved parents drink themselves into an early grave… I told him I was going to the store today and asked if I could stop by on my way home to check in and have someone physically see that I didn’t buy.
I got this. We got this. Staying sober today!
17 Likes
Congrats on day 7!
I personally thought the first week was the hardest (I know everyone is different) Keep up the good work.
4 Likes
I am so so looking forward to those great sleeps! Still dealing with a bit of insomnia and CRAZY dreams 
but that makes sense since I haven’t actually slept well (passed out doesn’t count lol) I’m 10+ years! 
bundle up! It’s cold and rainy where I am today, but not that cold 
3 Likes
Hi everyone!
Checking in on Day 43 again (as I was one day ahead of myself for some reason) but still sober so thats the main thing.
It is a really early start for me at 430am as I have to start work at 7am and I love my hour to myself before everyone is up to do my TS writing and reading and then some quick yoga stretches before getting ready to go to work.
Yesterday evening was challenging as my husband and I argued and we dont do that often. We have my 15 year old step daughter living with us permanently because her mother is struggling with her mental health. My step daughter has not been performing well at school in response to her mothers erratic behaviour and natural dislike for anything academic and she has fallen behind on school work. It has been a couple of weeks now since she began living here and I asked if my husband had checked her progress on an assessment that was due weeks ago. He said she had finished it. I went to check and she hadnt even started it. I asked my husband how he knew she was finished it and he said because she told me she had. I told him she hadnt started and he needed to be on top of this or she would fail the year. She needs to be pushed to do this work or she would just not do it and take advantange of the fact he trusted her word. We have had trouble with her lying in the past about school work and he always gets defensive when I say anything or catch her out on her lying. I feel if we continue to just let her do her own thing then she will just not do her school work. He got angry for saying anything.
It makes me angry that I am so new in my sobriety but have now had to except this huge change of her living with us (which of course she is welcome, I love her very much) but now feel like he is doing nothing to support her in her schooling like checking that work is being completed, talking to her teachers or monitoring her screen time. She spends all of her time watching movies on her device or messaging friends and no time on school work. She does all of her writing tasks for school on her laptop due to her dislexia and handwriting problems but when I ask her to show me and her dad what she has done for the day she has typed almost nothing. She has end of year exams coming up and does no study. My husband does not seem too worried about this. I dont expect top grades but some effort needs to be made. I find it stresssful that I am pushing so hard for my husband to give a shit about his own childs education. When it comes to my 2 children I make sure they do their school work and always check that what they tell me they have done is actually true. If I didnt check they just wouldnt do it and that has happened with my step daughter. Do I just stop pushing and let her fail? Or do I keep pushing and she hates me and my husband resents me for getting involved. This causes me so much anxiety and makes me want to drink so I just dont care anymore.
Still not going to drink though.
Ree
13 Likes
Wow that sounds extremely frustrating. Thats alot of extra added pressure and stress on top of focusing on ur own sobriety. I think ur doing the best u can to try and communicate the importance of education for her. Do you think there may be other things going on with ur step daughter other than her moms mental health? My mental health stuff for herself? Just curious
5 Likes
I hear u girl. When I used drugs i never had a single dream. Now since getting clean i dream all the time. And they are crazy dreams. My mental health med makes me groggy thankfully so i usually fall asleep well but dont always feel rested getting up. Last night I slept sooo heavy tho. Hope u start getting reatful sleeps soon tho too. Sleep is soo important for our well being 
5 Likes
Thaaaank you. 
1 Like
My step daughter also has social anxiety, sensory processing disorder and ADHD. All of which she takes medication for (antidepressant and Vyvance). So yes there is alot going on for her that has been made so much worse by her mothers illness. My husband is a big softy when it comes to Maddy. She is his little girl (even though she is taller than me and I am 5 foot 8) and he finds it hard to be tough on her when it comes to anything. But i have tried to explain that you can still be tough and be gentle when it comes to encouraging her to do her school work. I just can not seem to get through to him that if he doesnt put in the work now it will make it even worse for her in the future. 
6 Likes
Lol your welcome and funnier thing is, is that it has been raining 
since last night 11-7-22 and down pouring this morning non stop 11-8-22:rofl:
@ReeBee28 the motivation definitely helped, zi have completed all my jobs now and it feels so nice. I wish I could establish a better routine so it stays nice, I got completely out of sync while I was in a bad depression for 7 years and zive never been able to get in a routine since, I find I’m only able to blitz it when I have people coming round. Stranger Things was so good! I’ve finished that now too 
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend and yohr step-daughter, and I am hoping everything works out okay 
@Misokatsu sending strength 
I hope today was better
@HBT congrats on double digits 
@Tyland congrats on your week
@KarenKW I hope your appointment goes/went well
@Rockstar24777 sending strength the camping trip sounds like a much needed break, I’m excited for you
@KrispyMac sending strength I hope things balance out for you ASAP
@Sirluca congrats on your week
820 days no alcohol.
285 days no cocaine.
I finished Stranger Things today, it was pretty epic and left it wiiiide open for another season sometime in 2024, I would have preferred a better ending but trying to be excited for another season.
I also completed the rest of my jobs and I’m proud of that.
Hoping to get back to swimming tomorrow now that the cleaning is all done. The man is coming to try to deal with my candlewax stain first thing tomorrow morning, I know my cats and I will be super anxious whilst he’s here, but I’m really hoping he can remove the stain and I’ll be so grateful if he does 
12 Likes
Thank you for your mention! I am so happy I could help! I got myself a big white board and I plan what I have to do each day and tick it off as I do it. Gives me a visual representation of how much I have achieved. It has helped me so much!
Things are stressful right now but I know I can face them better sober so thats what my biggest achievement will be today. To stay sober 
5 Likes
Speaking of Stranger Things, a lot of this last season was filmed in my hometown in Georgia! The Creel House is about 5 mins from my house and I’ve been to countless weddings there over the years. It was super cool seeing it in the show!
3 Likes
Oh My God… its crazy how small this is!!! Great job! The detail is soo cool! Im super impressed! Whats ur next piece?
1 Like
Checking in. Day 32
10 Likes
Day 5
A more positive day today. I felt more like myself.
When I realised that today it made me stop and think how far I’ve come since I joined this community back in May of this year. Before I would probably have seen the good days as rare moments of sunshine between dark clouds that I couldn’t understand what they were. Now I’ve had enough time (whilst sporadic) to see what I could be.
It’s not easy and I am still getting triggered but each day is another day of freedom.
As @Matt pointed out earlier in this thread, I feel like I have a lot of energy. Today I’ve used some of it but I am also making a conscious choice to stop a couple of hours before bed and just rest, wind down and see this day though.
Looking forward to tomorrow and what it brings.
12 Likes
Afternoon of day 5. Gave up on work early. Feeling stuck and depressed. Headache came back too. The craving to drink is really strong. I’m tired of everything and want an escape. Everything just feels awful right now and for the past few weeks. I don’t feel strong enough to tough it out. On the outside my life looks fine without any major problems. But my mind is so clouded with depression. It darkens every second of every day. I don’t have much of a support network. I don’t want to bother people. I feel like I’m whiny and needy and don’t like that. I probably won’t drink tonight. I changed into my pjs so I’m less tempted to leave the house. It’s only 4pm and I don’t know how to get through the next few hours until I can sleep. I try reading or watching tv but have no focus. And my head hurts too much to really do any exercise. I guess I am just whiny. I’m sorry.
13 Likes
6 months AF today, checking in.
16 Likes
Im sorry its bad. Keep checking in here.
The sad thing is alcohol is only deceiving you into an escape. It doesnt do anything for depression after a time…what hurts you underneath it always comes through.
The last months of using were Hell for me because id keep using more anxiously and never was able to relax. So the cravings lie to you.
Something i did when i felt like you are was comment on other peoples posts struggling with relapse or temptation and encourage them. Easier to find the words for them than for myself. Id also just hide in my room, wait for time to pass, and tell myself i deserve only 2 weeks/30 days alcohol free just to see what its like.
Id also eat and drink, and go to movies. What are your favorite things to eat and drink, if that helps? Id always have something i like to drink around, in the beginning it was pots and pots of coffee.
Best of luck, Karen, I see you fighting. 
5 Likes