Checking in daily to maintain focus #67

Life in Recovery
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Day 980 AF

What’s up, gang.

I hope everyone is well. I’m catching up on this thread. I ran out of likes :disappointed:.

I’ve been okay. Staying busy with the family. One of my friend’s dad passed away a couple a few weeks ago. We stopped by to visit. A buncha old friends from high school met up at his house. Brought back memories. A lot of drunken memories. They offered me a drink but told them I stopped drinking over 2 years ago. I handled it pretty well.

My eldest son’s on summer vacay. Took some time off from work to hang out with the fam.

I’ve been struggling a bit this month. Thoughts about drinking. Feels like I’m back to Day 1. Praying for a bad day to happen just to find an excuse to drink. Not sure what’s wrong. Thought I’d be okay by now after being sober this long. Maybe there are things I still need to work on.

Anyway, I have a dentist’s appointment today, and then chillin with the fam.

Take care everyone. ODAAT :heart:

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Checking in with 76 sober days under my belt. I stay sober today too. :smiley:

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Connection is so important in life. Take care of YOU. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Sorry to hear you’re struggling @GOKU2019 Can you find out what’s causing those thoughts?
Hope you can work on it and the thoughts will pass quickly.
Congratulations on 980 days… That’s huge!
Sending positive vibes and strength your way :pray:

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I think we will always need to be on our toes when it comes to our addictions. Always doing our recovery related stuff and always working on ourselves to some extent, no matter how much time we have under our belts. Complacency is a dangerous place to be in for us in recovery. Many years ago i relapsed at 3 years clean bcuz i got complacent and stopped doing what i need to do to stay clean. This lead me to stay out in the “problem” for over a decade :frowning: If these thoughts are popping up, maybe its time to get back to the basics and focus more on ur recovery. I always view these kinds of thoughts as “warning signs”. They are signalling that something isnt right and that I need to take action :slight_smile:

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Hey friend,
thanks for your share and Thanks Dana @Butterflymoonwoman for your reply. Nothing to add. Let’s stay on the sober side.
The struggle is real.

144 days checking in…
And since I saw this box 6 days ago, I have thoughts. Not cravings especially. But thoughts about acting and buy wine. I won’t. Thanks for not being alone with the struggle and this wise gang here.

Pool was fun tonight :swimming_woman:t3:
Endorphines against depression.
Always a win!

Hugs :heart:

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7y6m8d
Today is a relaxing day so far. I’m going to a pedicure with my mom in a couple hours. And I just booked an Airbnb in the mountains for two days in July so I’m excited about that! It looks like a fun place for the twins and I to stay.

I called a couple of insurance agencies and got much better quotes for my auto insurance last week. It’s too early to sign up since my current policy has a good rate until October, but I’ll call back in a couple of months. I’ll save a lot from what my current insurer will want.

Life is good and I have being sober to thank for that. I hope everyone has a sober and relaxing day today!

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Checking in day 173 AF :blush:

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Day 85 here.

Alright, gonna have to try something to get a handle on smoking cigs. It’s burning holes into my finances and into my lungs.

Going to go smoke free for tomorrow, can’t really stand the smell anymore. Got some nicotine replacement and home I haven’t touched since 2022 so I don’t have to “worry” about nic.
Want to add more days as time goes by.

Still not at the point where I don’t like it anymore. I’ll smoke at work for certain.

I don’t know maybe I’m just rambling but it feels like I can at least try to get a hold on this.

Otherwise doing good with sobriety when it comes to alcohol.

Here is a picture of a closed reststop, not creative I know but it brings comfort. :slight_smile:

Goodnight and see you tomorrow people. :slight_smile:

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Day 220. Went out for a walk and girls rode there bikes. Didnt go crazy far, eh not much to say today much love. Hope everyone has a good day

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Hi Jonas,

So happy to hear you’re ready. Nicotine is a tough one. Went along with drinking, for sure

I’m a former smoker. I switched to vaping. Not sure if that was a good idea but it was less stinky. And I quit that too, in January. I loved vaping a bit too much! I could vape anywhere, so I did…especially in the car. After a couple months my chest was hurting. So I went with the gum for a month, then nothing. I think I would have just skipped the vaping part and gone straight to gum if I was going to do it again. It was kinda like I prolonged the whole thing. But others were very disciplined with it. I just loved to blast away on the vape pen with the strong nicotine juice. It was too easy. :clown_face: I was actually increasing my intake. But I didn’t have to smell anymore!

Do you have a quit date in mind? I believe there’s a grumpy a holes quit smoking support thread on here somewhere. :laughing:. I sure was grumpy for a while too. But now I can breathe…

Hugs and support to you, friend! :people_hugging:

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Hi, yeah I used to vape for a while but I very much prefer classic cigarettes. :sob:

I don’t have a solid quit date in mind. Honestly I just want to test the waters how it’d be like to be a non-smoker :sweat:

The commitment isn’t there yet but I’ll try to move myself into that direction.
The longest I’ve gone without cigarettes was 9 days when I was 16 years old.

Of course I rewarded myself with smoking afterwards :clown_face:

I checked this thread out a while ago, still lurk there from time to time. :slight_smile:

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@CHASE.E.U congrats on 90 days :tada:
@GOKU2019 sending strength 🩵 stay connected :people_hugging:

1412 days no alcohol.
877 days no cocaine.
392 days no vape.
8 days no binge-eating.

Today I caught-up here first.

Then I watered, repotted, and topped-up with fresh compost, my plants. Two of my newest baby ones were sadly no longer alive. The rest stand a chance now.

Then, I walked to the fitness centre and spoke to the membership person. I explained what had happened and why I hadn’t been for such a long time, and asked to see the seperate room. We went into the male changing room, and it was a door you need a radar key for (I have my own), but it wouldn’t unlock, with their key, nor mine. He knocked a few times but there was no response, so unfortunately, I didn’t get to see inside it, but I learned that I’d still have to use the same showers and walk into the main changing area to put my stuff in a locker, so really, it doesn’t make much difference than using one of the two small cubicles in the corners. Which is what I was walking out of when I received the abuse from the two men. He asked me if I wanted to wait in there for him whilst he asked a female member of staff to try to access the room from the ladies changing room, but I said no, I did not feel safe in there AT ALL. I was still going to join, but instead, he offered me 2 complimentary passes to use at my leisure, to assess how I feel before committing to a contract. I thought this was a great idea, so I accepted them. The pool looked so quiet, calming, and inviting, I wished I’d taken my swimming stuff with me, I nearly did, but nevermind, maybe tomorrow.

I also finally cleaned my bathroom sink. It was horrifying (even for me), so I covered it in bleach and left it for an hour, then went back to clean it, it is now the cleanest it has ever been.

It’s strange how I’m always putting so much pressure on myself but never managing to do anything, but today, and the other day I said in my check-in that I wasn’t ‘committing to anything at all’, I’ve had more achievements. I need to back-off myself a bit, (or a lot).

I didn’t finish the chapter I was trying to read yesterday, but I have done 3hrs of educational reading, about the therapy I am now waiting to have again.

Thought I’d do today’s check-in today, its now 00:30am Sunday, so I almost got there.

I hope you’re all having wonderful sober weekends. :blush:

🩵

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Checking back in. I’m very isolated, which is why I post so much. Seeing my nice ex-colleagues yesterday was good, but it rattled me. Brings up a lot of stuff. I’ll keep those associations to a minimum for now. I need the social contact but not really the old job type. I’ll see them every couple months, maybe, not on the regular. There are other people I can hang out with.

So strange how my personality changed now that I’m sober. I’m actually an ambivert, but get way more introverted when drinking. You’d almost think sober would mean serious, like pale skin, silence, sadness and endless weeks of painful atonement on an incredibly uncomfortable prayer rug. Not so! :laughing:. It’s actually pretty lively and interesting being sober. You really pick up on a lot more and have better interactions with people. Alcohol brought the anxiety and self-consciousness, oddly enough. It made me want to run off with the other drunks and avoid ‘the people’. Them . I truly felt apart. It’s not what alcohol marketing would tell you. The glossy alcohol ads don’t show that. They kind of depict long-term sobriety, if anything!

I’m feeling less lonely now. Thanks so much for listening.

Lots of love :heart:. Thank you

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Tomorrow I’m a week sober woo! I am SO so tired :sleeping: and really cranky my poor son I’ve had to apologize to him a few times today :frowning: I’ve been trying to be on go but today I am just allowing myself to rest. Still made sure to take some vitamins and supplements though and made eggs for myself for some protein. It’s not much but it’s something. Also went and got more drinks for my fridge so now I have some poppi, Gatorade, and a few different types of hydrating and replenishing types of drinks. :+1:t2: also got some protein granola bars. I was going to get some more chocolate so I got some peanut butter chocolate ones to satisfy that craving but also get something better for me lol.

Thankful for another day sober.

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@lainenicole96 Grate to see you back at it and wonderful job on day 5! Sorry the early days are so intense. I do think it gets harder to get through the initial stages as we relapse and this is what we have to remind ourselves of this when we feel the urges to drink or think we have the addiction licked or that we can moderate. You are here and doing great! Keep at it friend – we are here to support you on your journey :hugs:
@jeanine Way to go on your 40 + days! Keep going strong friend – great work on getting back to the gym :muscle: Sorry yesterday was so tough and grateful you were able to push past the triggers. ODAAT!
@sarath_unrelax Congrats on your double digits! Do you have plans for the weekend? You can stay strong if you are prepared for it. Remember that we are here for you and you are not alone . Congrats on getting back to the gym – keep up the healthier routines.
@soberwalker Oh I love that you went to a dance club – how was it? Hope you had a fabulous time :dancer: I love that you had such a good night and enjoyed yourself! :hugs:

WOW what a interesting celebration. I did love the flowers in your hair and love that you shared this with us :hugs:
@maestro Nicely done on your 600 days friend - that is fantastic work. Keep it going strong friend :muscle:
@dresdenlapage Great to see you checking in and wonderful job on your 8 months of sobriety. Grateful to see you doing so well friend – keep the momentum going :muscle:
@butterflymoonwoman SO sorry love. I know how frustrating it is when you are doing everything right and not seeing the results. Don’t give up or give in. I recently got the ability to start moving again and started some activities to increase my heartrate. For the first month I kept gaining weight. It was horrible cause I was doing intermittent fasting, calorie deficit and being active and I was swollen and gaining weight. I am so grateful that I had the opposite fuck it attitude and kept at it. I am now closing in on the weight I started with. It is good to see the numbers go down LOL. We just have to have hope and keep doing our best. At the end of the day we know we are doing all the right things and they do end up reaping rewards. Much love my friend :hugs: GIRL those are amazing cupcakes – you are super talented. Sure everyone really loved them :yum:
@juli1 CONGRATS on your new job Jules! Such an amazing opportunity – love this for you! :heart: Smart to acknowledge the thoughts and deal with them in a healthy manner. You are kicking ass with 144 days girl and remember that alcohol only brings empty promises.
@lisa-b Great work on your timers. I too find it super crazy that you have to be ID’s to buy NA drinks with 0% alcohol. I stopped carrying my ID into the grocery store to avoid being able to guy drinks but then I was frustrated that I couldn’t even buy the NA drinks. I totally agree with you on the placement of the drinks too… so weird that they would place them among the alcoholic beverages. Hope you get a positive outcome from your letter
@lefty624 Welcome to the community and the check in thread Lance. Stay connected with us here friend – we are stronger together

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@acromouse Congrats on your 7 months AGA of no sugar! That is remarkable :muscle: hope you and your family enjoy Geburtstagskaffee tomorrow
@wahtisnormal Glad you are enjoying the festival so far. Sorry for all the emotions. I do hope you are able to get some sleep and awake with a lighter and happier heart. Much love my friend :heart:
@chevy55 Great to see you checking in Nick. WOW – congrats on your new position – glad you have a trial period to figure out if it is a good fit. Keep working your sobriety friend. So happy to see you excelling!
@catmancam Thanks Cam! Congrats on your 1 week of no binge eating! Sorry that you are feeling such anxiety and sending you comforting hugs my friend. I do think its BS to be weighed at every appointment. ODAAT my friend – keep working on your recovery and sending you strength and loads of love :heart: Great work on getting to the gym. I’m sorry the separate room didn’t pan out to be much of a separation. Glad that they offered a few passes for you to get a feel. I am so sorry that those members made you feel that way Cam. Hope you don’t ever have to see them again.

OMG Scott – I LOVE THIS! So very sweet and made my heart smile :heart:
@chase.e.u Congrats on your 3 months friend. You are doing amazing work Chase – keep it going friend – ODAAT :muscle:
@stand_like_an_oak It is a huge accomplishment friend—25 days is impressive work an you can totally keep the days rolling in :muscle:
@goku2019 Great to see you checking in friend. 980 days AF is impressive work. Sorry to hear about the loss. Sorry you are struggling. Not sure what is causing the triggers / urges. Smart to buckle down with your tools and remind yourself of what you were like on day 1. We tend to forget how awful those days were and think we have this addiction beat. You are doing great friend – stay connected and vigilant :muscle:
@kareness Hope you enjoyed your day with your mom. Great news on getting better quotes :tada:
@jonase Yeah 85 days and working on starting your day 1 of no smoking. I did start with nicotine gum a hypnosis app to help me kick the habit. Still keep the gum on hand in case I need it but luckily I haven’t needed it in over a year. Join us on the Grumpy smokers thread – great advice and support there. Lets start your day 1 tomorrow and see how you can stack up the days :muscle:

Checking in on Saturday night
549 days free of alcohol and weed
964 days free of cigarettes
Celebrated my 18 months of sobriety yesterday with a little more intensity in my morning activities. Had a lovely coffee / tea date with a neighbor for an afternoon yesterday but it was too much socializing and i still am not ready for it. Not sure why but i ended up with a migraine and feeling super ill all day / night. Glad I am better today. My sis came to visit and it was lovely seeing her for a bit. Grateful to be caught up on my Gratitude and check in threads today. About to be 10 soon so gonna get ready to call it a day LOL.
Wishing everyone a wonderful addiction free day / evening – sending you all so much love :heart: :heart:

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Thank you so much you are awesome and congratulations on 18 months keep it up.

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Appreciate you Chase - so sweet! Thanks friend.

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Checking in at the end of dat 42.
Not much going on. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

@JazzyS @CATMANCAM thanks! It feels good to be in the forties. Going back to the gym has been a definite boost. So need the endorphins it produces.

Good night

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