Checking in daily to maintain focus #52

Day 53

:cloud::cloud::cloud:

So I can say I am that kind of a person who likes to grind. As I start one activity I usually tend to stick and concentrate 100% on it. Sometimes I push to hard and relapse. I was thinking drinking helps me to relax and take a breaks, but that only makes things worse.

There are still things to learn.

It’s hard for me to shift gears on dailies and take breaks. On the other hand I feel good when I am on the rythm. I remember when I was searching for Hope when on 4 years of Depression, Panic Attacks and Dp/Dr - feeling detached occured after constantly having panic attacks [ shortly saying \ not diving deep] let’s call it Higher Power saved me. And I got direct answers on what I need to do. I was asked on what I like to do? I said running - well run more, do that more. I like drums and it clicked that I need rythm in my life, as like with running, I am kind of active meditation needer. There was few more important things on top of that. I worked at nights and my biorythms was a mess. Also informational overload and overthinking. My mind was on top gear overthinking, while the body was on handbrake :warning: Also cold shower is a good reset’er :sweat_smile:

So I started to take cold shower every day in the morning and run a lot. I shut down all Tv’s / Computer’s / Books / even Music! Think about how much impact it does to our subconscious mind. What goes in - stays.

I started to feel some emotional shifts after about a month. I was journaling my emotions and my activities - rating it, how it makes me feel.

:blush::slightly_smiling_face::neutral_face::pensive::unamused::slightly_frowning_face::frowning::disappointed::weary::tired_face::disappointed_relieved::cry::sob:

I was always in that - I do not feel ANYTHING! I feel BAD!! I feel PAIN! But my journal was not lying to me. It was BLACK on white written.

6/10 7/10 8/10 10/10

I started to feel something, little warmth and joy. Not much, sometimes it was like 1 hour of light per day and then suffering for the rest 23 hours. But I grabbed that 1 hour and climbed. It was hard. I remember taking cold shower and not feeling anything. Running but not feeling any joy just a feeling like whole tons of bricks falling down on me and that sneaking panic attack. But I knew that things started to shift and I kept running with hope. In total Darkness… Sometimes even crying. Feeling detached and with no emotions at all. But I kept believing.

And that one hour changed into two hours, three, half of a day and kept growing. Then I even finished my first Half Marathon! Sometimes I felt bad again for day or two or even a week. It was long fight, tooked years to fully recover. It’s been more than 10 years now. I feel Blessed :sunny:

Maybe I still have some slight symptoms time to time, but that’s normal, everyone has up’s and downs. Actually coming from a darkness like that, you start to see light differently, everything changed. You take life as a gift. I am so thankful for this chance to change. I always listened to my Higher power and I am still listening - Every Day! :heart:
I am trying to do my best. I do struggle a lot and I feel sorry, but I also learning not to push too hard. That often leads me to relapse. I am still learning and listening.

I remember I tried to help others. I then registered to Panic Attacks and Dp/Dr group. Tried to give some advices on what helped to me.

But I was wrong. Perhaps everyone is different in a way. For me it was keeping the rythm and other things. For others it might be whole different story.

But the main thing here is to listen for the Higher Power and keep believing.

HOPE

:cloud::sun_behind_small_cloud::cloud:

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I’m sorry you are in rough waters @Juli1 . I know the feeling of a relapse. I had several in my recovery. The feeling of failure, shame and sadness. Feeling so insecure. What helped me that time was trying everything. Everything? Yes, that! All the tips and trick people gave me here I tried. Some worked, some don’t.
The ones that worked I wrote down and kept, the others I let go.
I called it my “sober plan”.
At the end I had a long list of things that helped me:

  • No alcohol in my house for the first 3 months of my recovery
  • No alcohol related events for the first 3 months of my recovery (so no: pub, festival, restaurant, concert, etc)
  • Inform my family and close friends about my sober plan so they can support me and don’t offer me drinks.
  • Avoid the wine/beer section in the supermarket
  • Fill my refrigerator with healthy foods and alcohol free drinks.
  • Buy enough chocolate and sweets to eat for when I have cravings.
  • Look for activaties and hobbies to fill in time. Like walking in nature, run, reading, watch Netflix, listen to recovery podcast (recovery elevator is a good one :wink:), work out, gardening, studying something new, etc.
  • Reduce social media to protect myself
  • Getting a day counter on my phone and smart watch to focus on my amount on sober days.
  • Getting myself a sober peer group to support me in my recovery like TS ore AA.
  • Getting myself a meditation app filled with breathing exercizes and meditation. (Insight timer for example)
  • If I have cravings I try to find out where they come from using H.A.L.T

If that won’t work I come to TS and talk about it. But sometimes just reading all your stories help :grin:

  • I used a vitamin B complex supplement to get more energy during the day. Also I used a melatonin supplement to help me with my sleeping problems in the first few months.
  • Celebrated every milestone! I gave myself a small gift like cake ore a nice t shirt ore whatever to celebrate my effort. At least in my first year I needed that! And gave myself a big gift when I reached my one year: a big back piece tattoo!! :blush:
  • And last but not least: make it as small as possible. Focus on today. Today is douable! If you do that day after day you will get that long sober stretch.

It’s just my list Juli, make your own! And come here to vent before picking up that first one. I gave myself 1 year that time to “fix” myself. If I didn’t make it I promished myself I would go to rehab.
Break the cycle, only you can do that :facepunch:

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#Day 1624 :walking_woman:
I’m in my happyzone :grin:
Tomorrow evening we are going to meet this little red fellow:


She is 10 years old and very anxious right now because of a new baby in her house. The vet put her on tranquillizers :flushed:
But before the baby arrived it was a calm steady cat who loves to cuddle. So I have good hope she will be the right fit for us.
It will be a long travel to get here, we are going to your city for her @Mno :grin:
Today? Fixing a good spot for her behind the couch because I think she will dive behind it for a couple of days (ore more).
I was just thinking…my last cat (the one that died 4 weeks ago) was a part of my recovery. He trew my last glass on the floor.
That was the start of my strech of days.
What would life be without a cat? :woman_shrugging:
Looking forward to be a catlady again!
Bring it on!! :sunglasses:

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Hi I’m not really sure how to do this or the process for these forums, so I apologize in advance if I’m missing something or doing it incorrectly.

I’m 65 days sober. Clean from alcohol, benzodiazepines(my drug of choice), cocaine, opiates, Kratom, and stimulants.

I’ve been spending most of my days in therapy groups for the first 40 days, but have recently transitioned back to Los Angeles and living more or less like a “normal” person, whatever that means. I live with a great group of guys, all in recovery, but we’ve seen a few close friends go out and relapse recently. One of them was arrested last Friday and it’s hard to watch a friend go down like that.

We go to a handful of meetings each week, I’ve got a sponsor and am trying to work the steps, but my anxiety and my fear is just crippling sometimes. I have to push through a lot of panic attacks. But they’re not as severe as in that first 3 weeks, and I feel I have a lot more clarity about it now where I can usually breath and talk my way through it logically.

I got to see my kids this past weekend. That was a huge milestone for me. My wife and I have really been struggling to see eye to eye, and she’s really been rather destructive and unsupportive in the ways I really would hope she would have been. She stood by me in my addiction, and even my inter dose withdrawals she would support me until I was able to get more, but now that I’m actually trying to get healthy she seems to almost be trying to sabotage my recovery. Wouldn’t let me see my kids, won’t let me take my own clothing out of our house or any other belongings I’ve needed (so I’ve been using the same 4-5 pairs of clothing just back and forth and had to buy a lot of new stuff), and also has had 2-3 drinks every time we’ve seen each other.

I don’t expect her to bend over backward for me, but a bit of support or at a minimum not drinking in front of me EVERY time we get together for a dinner or even lunches, and makes me start to wonder if she really needed me to be unhealthy for a whole number of reasons I’m not going to dive into right now.

But this isn’t about her. It’s about me. And my recovery and my health and my desire to be a reliable, stable, trustworthy father, husband, son, and friend. And today I’m doing well.

Appreciate reading everyone’s comments and check-ins. And hope everyone is having a good night.

If anyone ever needs someone to talk to, I’m getting back on my own two feet here also and it would help me a lot to chat about whatever or to help out another alcoholic or addict. I’ve been through a lot; car accidents, accidental overdoses, friends overdosing, PTSD, time in Los Angeles County at the twin towers, countless dramas threats and near-divorces throughout my codependent love-addicted/love-avoidant relationship with my wife, and two very young children that have been back and forth with us through all of it.

Heres to another good day tomorrow,
Christopher

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Welcome home :sparkling_heart:

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Welcome here Christopher, your message is just where it belongs. So do not worry! Thank you for introducing yourself.
Sounds like you are working hard to be one of the guys that survive addiction. It seems so hard for me to see friends relapse. In a sober house you can help eachother and you all know where you are going trough. But you also see close by how it can go wrong.
Difficult :thinking:
But it maybe helps to even be more determinated to push trough and stay sober and clean.
Again…welcome here!
I hope to see you around often, it helps to be here much! :raising_hand_woman:

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I got the goods! 333.33 days sober

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Back to 2 days sober. Great to see so many familiar names still going strong. Missed this community.

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Thank you so much Claudia!
That’s super helpful…
I will create auch a list too :heart_eyes::hugs:

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Another sober day

Day 1 and 12 hours - proud to wake up sober

Feeling optimistic! :blue_heart:

My tooth / jaw surgery went super well… :face_with_head_bandage::smiley:
Don’t have to take antibiotics :muscle:t2: and even didn’t need a painkiller :pray:t2::sunglasses:
It feels nearly like nothing happened today!

Thank you all for welcoming me back :hugs:

Love :black_heart::panda_face:

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I wish you all luck for your new acquaintance!:wink:

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Hello Christopher,

Welcome to TS! It seems the right place for you!

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I’m glad you made it so well during your surgery!:+1:t2:

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So good to see this post. This is what recovery looks like. Congrats on 53 days of freedom!

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Hey all, checking in on day 989. I hope everybody has a good one!

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@ChristopherP Great to meet you. The drinking in front of you sucks. Indeed makes you wonder why she is not being supportive. Recovery causes a lot of realignment in relationships.

@KellyKelly Pretty number!

@SoberWalker Fingers crossed for a good fit. The right cat will come along when the time is right.

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Day 991 clean and sober today. Thank you for the warm welcome back and for all of the messages I received from you all it means a lot. Yes I have still stayed sober but the

Trigger Warning

Suicidal ideations had been so intense and crippling for a few months but got progressively worse. I kept going to work every day hoping they would go away like they used to but they didn’t. I have an appointment this Thursday to talk to a therapist and get that started. I only talked to a therapist twice and that was when Corey first died. I am hoping that they may be able to help me some way.

I finally was able to move out of sober living a month ago and officially have my own one bedroom apartment all by myself. While it was amazing at first because of the quiet, I found that the level of isolation has been horrible for my mental health. I am trying to adapt and am doing the footwork to get better it’s just really hard.

I love you all very much and thank you again for caring about me so much. Have a kick ass day :sunglasses::metal:t2:

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One week sober today. I am grateful for this app and community, and for all of you sharing your stories. Reading them and checking in here has given me strength and ideas to continue being sober each day.

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I hope your connection with the therapist is a good one, we all deserve a supportive listener in our lives. :heart: Especially when the dark thoughts are present.

Idk if this is available to you, but many years ago I found a lot of support and help in group grief therapy. Group settings have their own support aspects. Just wanted to share that possible option with you. Especially around the isolation you mentioned.

:heart::people_hugging:

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Day 273. Started off with a good morning, cooked some good breakfast. Starting with a new mental health therapist today so I’m kind of excited about that. Then a couple groups and a gym session. How’s everyones morning? I hope it’s good… @Rockstar24777 I’m really happy to see you back man, much love to you bro

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