Checking in daily to maintain focus #65

[JazzyS]

@K_S

I’m really glad yesterday happened the way it did. I was able to see the growth in myself not in my sobriety but in my moral compass, I knew I did wrong, and I didn’t try to hide it, I owned up to it and now it’s time to move forward again.

Totally understandable friend. Sometimes we do need to test the waters to figure out what we want in our sober journey and how to proceed – just so very grateful that you came back to your sobriety quickly.
@just_laura Damn that was an intense shift… I totally hear that it is so worth it afterwards but is hell in the thick of it. That truck is insane! So glad no one was hurt – never heard of such a thing happening from a jump start (unless they mixed up the wires possibly but still )
@newbeginning1 way to go with your 31 days friend. I totally get the need to want to numb the pain. Do hope you are able to find a way to ease the pain. Do check with your physician on pain management – too much ibuprofen caused stomach issues for me. Hope you get some rest and relax
@s_unrelax way to go friend – 2+ weeks is amazing wrok – glad to see you doing so well in your recovery. Keep going strong
@chevy55 Wishing you luck with your upcoming blood work. I know that can be nerve-wrecking. I do hope that all the hard work you are putting into your health shows. WOW – 2 acres of lawn /yard clean up is no joke (and you have more clients) – you do keep yourself busy even in retirement Nick. Glad you are outdoors and doing what you love.
@steve92 Way to go with your 3 months of weed free! Keep up the amazing work with your timers Steve. Thanks for checking in with your milestone
@thumper1213 Sorry you are not feeling well. Sending you healing vibes and hope you feel better soon. Way to go with your sober time – see you are on the cusp of 6 months friend – keep stacking up the days!
@noshame Way to go with your double digits of no marijuana. totally have woken up in a bad mood and felt like it hit me out of the blue… really takes a lot to get past it – Glad you are all doing better now

@Frank68

Sobriety has gifted me the ability to do things I’ve wanted but couldn’t because I was drunk

Love this Frank – so very happy for you and great to see you checking in friend.
@danwood85 Welcome to the community Daniel! Great work on your day 2 of all those vices. Stay focused and connected friend – we can not do this journey alone. Glad you are here with us checking in. Sending you strength to keep going strong

[RosaCanDo]

Funny, that happened the year we bought a snowblower, too! A couple years back. Yeah, we didn’t have much snow at all this year and it was mild but it was still the usual grey, cold winter. I’d rather there be snow than just cold. Glad you’re doing well! Happy Spring!

[Rookie]

Day 70

Great day. Looking forward to a good night sleep. Hugs to everyone.

[JazzyS]

@shel75 So glad to hear that you were able to find a way to stay away from the chaos and calm yourself as well. Great strength my friend – keep stacking up the days – hope you had a wonderful day enjoying the beach.
@rob11 wow – great to see you checking in and with some promising outcomes for your recovery… keep up the amazing work Rob – 1220 days is fantastic
@catmancam I’m sorry the therapy session was so hard today Cam – be gentle with yourself friend. Glad your therapist suggested the side by side seating – I do think that will be helpful. Always sending you loads of love and big hugs.
@tailee17 thank you for checking in Lam – grateful that the surgery went well. Sending you healing vibes and hoping that your recovery goes smoothly
@doreen1 Sorry you are not feeling so great today – hope that you are able to tend to yourself at home and get better soon.
@rookie Way to go with your 70 days friend! Enjoy your sober sleep

Checking in on Monday evening
488 days free of alcohol and weed
903 days free of cigarettes
Oh man it was great to wake up at my brothers house where i have the privacy of a room and a quietness all around LOL. Love my parents but i am glad i am not recovering in their living room any longer. Baby steps are adding up
Glad i did not cancel my dental appointment. I managed to break another strap on my night mouth splint. 2nd time in 4 months and the lower portion is almost ground through. Luckily the upper still fits. Dentist was shocked - i tend to clench a lot (asleep or awake but worse when i’m sleeping) - helps me with the pain.
Its been a decent day. Hoping to wind down for bed soon. Wishing everyone a wonderful addiction free day / evening - sending you all so much love

[sober26]

Day 4. Tomorrow morning will be 5 days clean.

Feeling like shot going through the withdrawals.
Extra on edge about everything even small things.
Let it go!

[Mira_D]

Just checking in…I had a nice weekend away, but feeling a bit off. Not sleeping that great and still a bit sick. Just feeling a bit emotional, and I cried today about my sister while listening to music. So i just played the song over and over again. I definitly have anxiety, that sits somewhere below the surface of my life around my nephew. I feel this pang up from my stomach that rarely punches all the way up when I think about how my sister is gone. 2 years, shes been gone 2 years and its hardly believeable to me. Supposed to chat with my girlfriend on the phone tonight but I am just so tired going to go climb in bed and gopefully a better night sleep. Off to work tomorrow and I know that will help my feelings. Greif is a long, unguided journey and Im going to be living with this one the rest of my days.

Another thing that has me feeling SO MUCH discomfort is the brain shift around smoking. I have been apllying the addiction mindset to smoking, so each time I do feels like a plummeting relapse. I have become obsessive with the thought of quitting and feel such shame I havent yet.

Anywho, heres to a good sleep and hopefully a lifted mood tomorrow. Not a bad day or anything, but its difficult to sit with the hard feelings and today, while I didnt sit, i was in and with those feelings. Xo.

[JazzyS]

4 days is impressive work. I know the beginning days are so intense - yes, all the little things felt like mountains. Just keep yourself busy and fighting those urges friend – it does get easier

Keep stacking up the days ODAAT!

[JazzyS]

Hey Mira — sorry for the emotional overload friend. Glad you were able to sit with your feelings. Sending you hugs and love my friend.

@Mira_D

I have been apllying the addiction mindset to smoking, so each time I do feels like a plummeting relapse. I have become obsessive with the thought of quitting and feel such shame I havent yet.

this can be damaging to your mental health. be gentle with yourself. I know you can overcome this addiction too. set a goal for yourself and prepare your plan of attack so to speak (cold turkey or with nicotine patches / gum or hypnosis or maybe a mixture of things). Clean out your space so you have no cigs or lighters in sight. CJ had a great tip to quit at night so you can already have some time under your belt when you awake the next day.
We are right here for you when you are ready to kick the addiction.

[MrFantastik]

143 days
Checking in early before I head to nightshift. Had a great training this morning and it was good to chat with a few people about the fight night that went down over the weekend. Glad I could remember it all and had something other than just congratulations to say to people. Being able to recall and discuss specific things that happened in their fights was cool, for me and for them I hope.
Did some shoe shopping with the family, kids and new shoes its never ending haha. Then out for lunch, the kids always choose a local chinese restaurant which is an awesome restaurant.
Just about to leave now to try get into work early

[Mno]

1781

Short night. Wild dreams. It’ll do for today. First day back at the job was busy. Just as the job is I suppose. Pretty hard work. But good overall. Let’s dot it again today. Sober and clean. Have as good a day as you all can friends. Clean and sober. Love.

@Butterflymoonwoman Big hugs Dana. I’m sorry

[Just_Laura]

432

Gorgeous spring day. Since green is my favorite color, it’s nice to finally see some leaves budding of the trees. I don’t recall ever having bad spring allergies, but maybe I just didn’t notice. My eyes have been burning and my throat is itchy, but it’s still not as bad as ragweed season.

I felt very motivated all day. I made some odd cleaning choices. Like scraping the paint off the windows and bathroom mirror that has been there since I moved in, trimming loose carpet and couch fibers, and moving my 200lb dresser to see what was behind it (it hasn’t moved in 7 years). The answer was a lot The best thing was a box of old SD cards with pictures of my daughter as a baby that I thought were lost forever

I measured everything in my room and used graph paper to determine what will fit where. I figured if I’m gonna do a deep clean, I might as well rearrange things for a change. I never imagined my bed would fit if I rotated it bc my room is long and narrow. It will, with 9 inches to spare! That would create so much more space, which is something I need in my life. Starting to psych myself up to want to do it bc moving the dresser across the room an inch at a time will take all day. Anyway, in the meantime I want to start completing one small, odd cleaning job each day. Sometimes it helps me get started and I’ll keep going but if not, at least I accomplished something. I hope that will help create consistency and I will start cleaning the way I used to Baby steps.

Better get to bed so I’m not too tired. Have a great sober day everyone!

[MrsOdh]

I’m here, I’m alive, I’m sober, I’m happy. And I’m a bit worried.

Kids… My oldest daughter called yesterday (she’s 21) from the airport. She, her bestie and the besties brother had decided to go to Warsaw (Poland) for a few days.

The brother was going for a few days vacation, my daughter and her friend decided to join and they all found very cheap airfare online and decided that it would be a fun thing to do. Found a cheap Airbnb and decided to go.

She’s supposed to be back in Sweden on Thursday. I did talk to all of them yesterday, the brother included. Got the adress to the place their staying and all. And I promised I wouldn’t annoy her with a million texts and calls.

The brother is in his 30’s. And he wasn’t really thrilled about “babysitting” this two girls in their 20’s. But he said okey anyway.

All my red flags is waving at once here. But I know it’s about my past, and that I probably don’t have to worry. Still do. But I’m happy that they’re getting some adventures.

Decided to re-organize our kitchen yesterday. It turned out great, now I can actually find everything, have easy access to everything without having to climb on the kitchen counter

I also got a great idea for a kitchen remodeling, not to expensive, and it would free a window. My husband wasn’t thrilled about another renovation idea. Still going to do it, probably for fall.
Before that I might change the wallpaper and add some tiles, or at least tile stickers.
Former owner have put up some plastic that’s supposed to look like tiles. They did a bad job, I’ve hated it since we moved in.

I do want to take out all the kitchen cabinets but I can’t, we have a tiny kitchen from 1940’s. There’s no space anywhere. So if I do that, I need a good idea to place groceries snd porcelain first.
Like open shelving, but I don’t like the messy look that’ll come with it if I have both grocery and porcelain that way.

Wishing y’all a wonderful day

[james83]

Day 40. A bit like you @Just_Laura i like certain numbers and 40 feels significant probably because it’s round and because of lent. I tried giving up alcohol for lent before and never made it. Although I missed the start of lent this year, 40 days has felt easy so far and resulted in my second longest sober stint.

Got my full blood results back yesterday. I used to do anything to avoid blood work when I was drinking but this time I did them voluntarily. I still have two mildly raised markers indicating some liver damage but all in all after 20 years of drinking my year of almost sobriety has given my body the chance to mend almost completely. Another few months and I’d hope to be 100% in the clear.

Busy day today with dinner out tonight with clients and an early flight tomorrow. Used to be two drinking triggers, now I’m just planning what to watch on Netflix with my quiet night away tomorrow and how early I can leave dinner tonight

Have great days all!

[Timetochange]

Day 304. Raining again. What a pain
Working 8-5 and then relaxing. Work is OK… I can’t remember what meetings I have in my diary… Bit daft I usually know

First it’s time for a coffee. I am planning a trip to Liverpool end of may, just for a weekend so that’s another milestone

I think i am going to really keep communicating to people around me that this isn’t a one year break from alcohol but its permanent. Last Christmas some people still bought me wine and spirits as a present. Probably thinking I wouldn’t stick to it or it’s just a break

My plan is this is one day after the other forever if l can do it

[acromouse]

@MrsOdh It’s not easy to let go of the worrying about our kids. No matter their age. My mom still worries about my life. She just knows how difficult it is.
@Just_Laura Send me some of your energy, will ya? Every time I think about decluttering I come up with an endless amount of far more important things to do.
@MrFantastik Don’t even get me started on kid’s shoes. It’s a disaster. My daughter somehow manages to go through two sizes in one season.
@Mira_D Sorry you’ve felt so very down and stressed. I hope your mood lifts soon. Sending you strength for overcoming the smoking.
@sober26 You’re doing great stacking those sober days Early days are very exhausting and taxing. Emotions all over the place, pains, cravings. Hold on to your support systems and be extra kind and compassionate to yourself
@JazzyS Very nice to see you taking it really one day at a time with life itself. Impressive.
@Doreen1 Hope your mood lifts soon
@tailee17 Speedy recovery from your surgery
@Whereswaldo Fingers crossed your health plan comes through soon
@Tragicfarinelli Hormonal rollercoaster can FRO!

153 sugar
17 UPF
24 gluten
3 dairy
2 overeating/binge

After realising yesterday how I was trying to escape the discomforts of my situation through all kinds of means, it became clear to me how this obviously affected my satiety and hunger signals as this was all overlaid by cravings to escape through food.
Today I’m going to work on the acceptance of my situation and mindfulness of my attempts to escape.

We are still not quite well here at home, but I’m feeling much better already. Today I want to get back to my game design studies: system dynamics it is. I’m very interested in this part.
My in-laws are going to do the groceries for us. I’m very grateful for that.
I want to go for at least a short walk today and do some yoga in the afternoon or maybe some rowing. I’m not 100% sure yet, but I need to do something with my body.
There is a meeting about my daughter’s school trip later in the year to the UK this evening. But I’m not sure I’ll attend.

However this day may develop I don’t want to use food or any other misguided behaviour to escape from reality. It does not work. It creates only more suffering.

Have a wonderful day of peace, kindness and freedom friends

[wahtisnormal]

Day 9

Worked, then finished a drawing ive been working on

Have to be up early tomorrow

So far ive had two different dreams that I drank and then got really pissed off at myself for doing that and thinking “now I have to start all over again”
Relieving that it hasnt happened in real life and I plan on keeping it that way, Id rather have the regret just be in a dream.

[Chevy55]

Day 109 AF,

Sobriety, positive attitude and focus on health/fitness has changed my life in so many positive ways.
It hasn’t always been easy so far, but with those thoughts in the front of my mind I began this journey and as I’ve come further along, it has bode increasingly well for me.

Yesterday I was offered a seasonal labour job at the municipality. Being in senior management most of my adult life and responsible for 100’s and 100’s of people and regions let me say just how excited I am for this. Responsible for myself, enjoying fresh air, getting exercise. No over time, no weekends, no holiday work. Laid off in October and recalled in May. Oppt to travel and weight train in all winter.

I’ve been retired for 3 years now, and while I have a side hustle of landscape biz, which I will keep a few customers around for walking around cash, I am now a card carrying union guy for the first time in my life… I was lead negotiator on other side for 25 years… what a different view point I will now have.

Anyway, short update, but I couldn’t be more excited for this season and this change.

I hope you all have a good day and when on your sobriety journey you are fortunate enough to keep that positive outlook sharply in your windshield.

I wake each day and choose my attitude. I choose to live in a positive frame of mind.

[Nordique]

Hey all, checking in on day 1409. I hope everybody has a good one!

[Jasty2]

Congrats on the new gig. Ive been working outside since I was 20 years old. And other than some nasty winter storms, which it seems you won’t be dealing with, I wouldn’t change anything about it

[Chevy55]

Thanks Joe, appreciate it man. Was a furniture mover (drove straight truck then tractor trailer) for 10 years and absolutely loved it.
The 27 years as a senior executive was great for pocket book, but being stuck inside, behind a desk, planes, hotels, restaurant food about killed me…

I’m happiest when working with my hands and outside. I think it’s what I’ve always been meant to do.