Happy Birthday!!! 
Thereās been so many lately. Whoo September gang!
Mine involved a lot of eating too. Itās nice to treat yourself to delicious, real calories instead of empty ones that leave you feeling empty. Have a great day!
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HAPPY 38th Birthday! 
Lovely way to celebrate - hope you have a wonderful time.
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@hidden Double digits 
What a lovely way to change up your daily routines. Iām sure you daughter was thrilled to have you watching her play today.
@just_laura My goodness love ā stressful workload and allergies. I do hope you had a restful slumber and are feeling better today.
@amy30 thank you so much ā everything went swimmingly. Grateful that you are coming down from the anxiety stress-induced adrenaline high. Enjoy your easy day.
@jennyh I know it seems daunting now and out of your comfort zone but you will regret it if you donāt even try. Wishing you all the luck with it my friend ā go on and put your best foot forward.
Believe me ā I do understand that mode all too well and also no that when we suffer in silence all we are doing is suffering and not healing. When we open up with others, we can share the burden by just talking about it. We are all here willing to share with you so do not hesitate to unload here. I do hope are coping well today with your 1st day without Codeine.
@lotusflower man oh man I think you are going through all these emotions and doubts because you will be starting the treatment soon. I think you are doing a hell of a job with your recovery and if you think that the meetings are still not enough after you complete your treatment ā then maybe join a recovery group or get a sponsor to have one on one time with. Much love to you ā sending you strength
@trixie1 2 weeks! Thatās absolutely fantastic Keep it up 
Oh Julia ā Iām sorry your boy was not feeling well. Grateful that you sat with your feelings and did not act on the urges. They will not last and you will grow stronger without your DOCās. I cried A LOT when I first gave up smoking. It was an intense release and it happened way too often for my comfort but Iām glad that I let it happen. I finally let myself cry and wasnāt ashamed of feeling sad or trying to hide away my tears. Do keep coming here and sharing your journey with us ā it will get easier. WE are here for you 
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@soberbilly Thank you friend ā I do appreciate you 
Glad that you were able to spend a day with your mom 
@timetochange Ah man you are so close to your triple digit milestone ā I know milestone malady is intense and can bring on cravings. Whatever the reason ā I am so proud of you for abstaining and staying focused
@Mindofsobermike Howās it going Mike -Iām sure you are busy with school. Just saying hi 
Checking in on Friday morning
Grateful to have completed both procedures this morning. Throat is super sore and tummy is bloated so canāt eat or drink right now. They did find something with both procedures and will know more after testing. I donāt believe we found the cause for inflammation so that is still a mystery. Oh well - onward and upward. I am going to crawl into bed and try to get some sleep as i only managed 3.5 broken up hours last night. thank you to all of you for your well wishes and support. I am good and enjoying this dreary Friday (woke up with signs of my HP by my side and I know iāll be good). Hope you all have a wonderful addiction free day. Sending you all so much love
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@Just_Laura @JazzyS thank you for the birthday wishes guys, very kind X
@JazzyS wishing you speedy but gentle recovery after your procedure. Take it easy X
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@JazzyS thank you so much 
yes the tears have been flowing today. i have nowhere to turn but inward. well iām still using a nicotine free vape but i donāt hit it nearly as often and i often am not even inhaling it. so i still do have a crutch. but not the nicotine itself. so itās a step. im scared of sobriety i have no idea what it really feels like. yes iām alcohol free and now weaning off nicotine but iām still using CBD and THC although iām feeling like that has to go soon too. iām just frightened of being so vulnerable in true sobriety, with all the pain and grief iāve been bottling up. but i know it must be done. ps iām glad your procedures went well, and they discovered some things that may help you feel better moving forward
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I hope you start to feel better soon Jasmine 
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I hope u had a good day. I am going to focus on it being just one day at a time again and be honest with the urges and deal with them as best i can
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I read some of my earlier posts before my divorce and covid (i had 2.5 years sobriety) and i can see how bad and how f@n stressed i was at work already. Then (as i work in health) it just got worse through covid
Its sad to see what I was going through at the time, i wish i hqd been kinder on myself and focused on staying sober rather than going āf# itā
Live and learn i guess 
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You are so lovely to check on everyone else when you have had so much going on today. I hope you can rest and recover well. Take really good care of yourself
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It must be really tough looking back on those times. I look back on my toughest time (probably similar time actually) and canāt believe how hard I was on myself, which of course meant I thought I didnāt deserve the sober life, might as well drink through it etc.
We do live and learn, and it sounds like you have made a lovely life for yourself.
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Friday night check in on my day 5 (yes itās five, just says four) 
The things I pledged to do came into fruition; I went to the gym started 5km training again and did a round of the weights machines.
Home, food on and was super lovely and tasty. Watching 65 now with Adam Driver, pretty decent so far.
Off to bed for ten with a sleepy tea and my Kindle. We have lane swimming booked for 9.30 am tomorrow. Dr is sending me for x-rays of both knees and physio, but thinks itās osteoarthritic pain and Crepitus. Wow, Iām 44. Really? Anyway, he said strengthening my muscles will help the knee, so Iām committed to that right now and lowering any inflammation as already have an autoimmunity syndrome.
Nice Friday all in all, barring the drs, but he was really helpful anyway. Letās sober, people.
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I think or maybe hope, we all learn some self kindness and real honesty. I think when i stopped drinking last time there was a bit of bravado around it , whereas now there is a real necessity
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Your days are so annoying, I would be tempted to set the counter to earlier so you get the satisfaction of seeing it click over
Massive well done on starting the gym. I have being doing weights for about 3 months and every now and then I find a muscle. I have never had muscles, even in my slim days, it feels amazing! I am glad the Doctor was helpful, although sorry about the pain. I have bad knees too and am strengthening my thighs to cope. I still canāt run though. I just try and do low impact stuff like the cross trainer for now, and then walking outside of the gym.
Enjoy your sleepy tea and kindle 
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Latenight checkin, granny girl is back home 
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I know, everyday it drives me nuts 
.
Apparently itās good and super important to strengthen all the muscles around the knee as much as possible to help out as the next steps are pain killers, meds, steroid injection or knee replacementā¦a long time in the future I mean, but stillā¦ Iām Def going to try the holistic gym route first.
Have swimming booked everyday for next three days and will do my next run on Sunday after swimming. Training to Jo Wiley on the couch to 5km.
Good on you for the weights, my gym is so testosterone filled and the weights section is a little intimidating, but Iām doing my best to just style it and throw myself in.
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Psā¦I am waiting eagerly for the day I find any muscles
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Oh god yes, the grunting and posing, and coaching each other while taking up so much room 
I stuck with the cardio machines for the first couple of weeks and then decided to attempt the weights. So pleased I did as love feeling stronger. I just bustle in now, putting my middle age woman powers of invisibility to good use
Sounds like you have a really good plan, and Jo Wiley was my voice on the app too!
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Hey girl, im struggling. I donāt understand this annotated bibliography no matter how many times it gets explained to me. Iām just lost on it, Iāve been sitting here for the last hour just no clue what to say. I have 3 articles I have to summarize and to be honest I donāt even really understand the article in chose. Iām reading it, but Iām not understanding what there findings in the study were. A little annoying
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Oh sweetheart ā baby steps and a lot of self care in the process is what helps figure out how to live life on lifes terms. Wonāt lie - it is hard and it is sad at times but the rewards are oh so great.
A nicotine free vape - sorry not familiar - what does it provide? Or is it just an oral fixation crutch? I know i tried to quit everything at once and just couldnāt make it happen whereas many have and are grateful for freeing themselves completely at once. You know your body best and know how you will best handle the withdrawals. Whichever way you go ā we are right here with you.
Quitting out DOCās does open us up and makes us more vulnerable. Are you able to seek therapy to go over the emotions that you unfold? Have you thought to start your own journey thread here to sort of journal your feelings (if thatās something you would be comfortable doing) or i know the TS site has a great journal tool.
Donāt focus on the future and what will be or how you will handle emotions ā¦etc. Just focus on the here and now and deal with how you are feeling right now. I do believe each step further from our DOC makes us stronger and more capable of handling what life throws our way.
We got your back here - i am so thrilled to see your days climbing! Keep up the amazing work and know that iām here if you need to talk
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