Congratulations on your five days!!
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Congratulations on 5 months, Vanessa! You are radiant in this post: itās wonderful to read.
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1st time was the worst. Like a really bad flu for 10 days straight. And I lost my sense of taste and smell completely for about 3 weeks. Then when smell and taste came back, it was all wrong. Coffee, tea, chocolate and some other foods had an aftertaste of mustard for 2-3 months.
2nd time it was again like flu for 10 days or so, but with migraine and joint pain. Horrible back pain that lingered for weeks. But I got to keep my taste, that was a bonus.
3rd time more like an annoying cold, not as bad and not as long. But the backpain came back and lingered again.
4th time was like a cold, so is the 5th time now. But one thing that stayed the same every time, is a weird tickle in the back of my throat. Thatās how it starts. If I feel that tickle, I know itās covid. No cold or flu has that tickle.
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@JazzyS two weeks 
. I couldnāt make it without your beautiful support. I wish you the best
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I hope youāre resting up and feeling better. Do you have a pulse oximeter? Hopefully itās mild and your oxygen is normal. You have my utmost sympathy and support as I went through a nightmare with it. I was on paxlovid, and mucinex helped clear my airways. The fear was worse than anything as I was so close to hospitalization. Iām here if you need some cheering up or distraction, or just some basic support.
Get well soon, weāre with you Squid 
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Going good. 12 days. Feeling strong about it
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Nice, would love to see it when youāre finished! 
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Hey sober fam,
Checking in to maintain focusā¦
How do I feel right now? Not bad but not good either. Iāve been naturally waking up earlier than usual lately, which is good as it adds more time to the day, and the morning light and atmosphere are always nice. My car broke down again due to the same part as a couple of months ago (of all things, manufacturers error), so Iām stranded at a campsite in a small village until tuesday when the local mechanic gets the part for me to be able to continue the roadtrip. After that Iāll only be a few days away from the next big city (Adelaide) where Iāll bring it to a cheaper mechanic for a few more long-awaited things that also need repairingā¦ But after that I wonāt have to worry about my car so much anymore, and can enjoy the roadtrip more!
The past couple of days were incredible. I visited a national park, with little to no reception so couldnāt check in here as much, and saw so much nature and wildlife. Most importantly Iāve been working on myself, and my mindfulness and perception. The daily morning meditation and workout, and intermittent mindfulness practices have really helped me through the harder times until the better times shone through again, and they always will, like cravings passing. Life is always in balance. I love the philosophy of Nietzsche, and his take on embracing discomfort and challenges, and enjoy listening to mindfulness videos whilst cooking or before going to sleep. Iāve been aware more than ever that everything is a matter of perspectiveā¦ When my car broke down in the middle of nowhere I met several amazing different people who went out of their way to help get me here that by the end of the day I actually felt more elated than angry, as if it had been a good day and was just part of the journey. āFaith in humanity restoredā anyways Or even something as simple as the wind: in the early morning whilst trying to pack up my tent I was cursing at it, but later whilst hiking in the sun I was thanking it - same windā¦ Just my ego wanting the world to revolve around me. I was catching up with one of my brothers whoās over in Germany last night, and was saying if a caveman saw me now, with my personal ufo (car), and all my belongings and modern-day privileges, theyād be like āyou what mate? Youāre complainingā¦?!ā haha. The same goes for animals. Considering we exist at all, nevermind that weāre conscious and have complex bodies, time and huge potential, theoretically expecting anything is already entitlement. Feelings and perspective are all in the mind if we can tap into it. Iām no yogi whoās mastered that btw! Far from it. 
but learning and growing in my own way, like us all. Goes back to the saying, ālife is like sailing: you canāt change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails to always reach your destinationā. Lovely quote.
Anyways, Iām stranded in this small village for a few days, and have written up a to-do-list to keep me occupied through themā¦ Iāll start with breakfast, a longer meditation, workout and cold shower 
Feeling a bit better now having written out my thoughts and restored some clarity, going back to my initial question how I currently feel. Still not great, but I intend to stay on track. Maybe I donāt have to be in the pink cloud to know Iām on track and where Iām meant to be. Iāve found that my sobriety is more about finding myself than anything. I think once I dive into the routine Iāll feel better too.
Try to have as good a day as you can sober fam 
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Thanks for asking about it! 
Here it is. I do see some flaws but overall i am happy with it. I posted it on my fb and then actually got 2 orders for dreamcatchers bcuz of it. So im working on my 2nd one now. The beads in the centre of the top hoop say āHopeā as peacock feathers represent hope and rebirth.
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Beautiful, Iāve got one of those hanging above my bed!
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147
Work was exhausting, glad to be home now. Feet hurt. Going to shower and get right in bed lol. Cuddling with my stuffed animals is the #1 thing it feels like my soul needs when Iām sad and stressed. Since i donāt have an actual person to cuddle with 
I feel sad going back to not having anyone to talk to about my day and say goodnight to, after having that again. It sucks. I miss having a person who Iām mutually closest to. Being eachothers favorite. To talk to throughout the day about anything and everything, every day. I just miss deep connection with someone. Holding onto hope that Iāll find the right person, and acknowledging that right now it sucks and Iām sad.
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Day 1057 AF
Wud up, gang.
Had to work the Saturday shift. It was hot af today. Iāve been using the AC all day. Canāt wait for the electricity bill 
. Itās supposed to be hotter tomorrow. Fuckin hell.
Went to get a haircut after work. The barber gave me the Edgar haircut. I think the heat got to him. Oh, well. Thank god for hats.
Anyway, my mom is stopping by tomorrow. Gonna chill with the wifey for a bit.
Have a goodnite, gang!
ODAAT
Take care.
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570
@FullaFarts Your post sounds so similar to my story so Iād like to share it with you (and everyone else ) I originally got sober in Novā19 bc I hated the person Iād become, but relapsed after 4.5 months when covid started. For 3 years it was near impossible to make it 24hrs without. This is when it really started to affect my body.
Worsening rosacea, rapid weight gain, hangovers so exhausting all I did was sleep when I wasnāt drinking, and the stomach issues 
Heartburn so bad it made my first drink of the day excruciating to get down. I couldnāt eat food until the alcohol settled my stomach. And since my diet was mostly liquid, so was my 
(multiple times a day) I developed this chronic, dull ache in my liver, but still went on drinking for over a year.
My usual 90 proof rum became too painful to drink, so I had to switch to 60. Wasnāt long before I dropped it to 30/40. By the end, liquor was out of the question. This succession made me realize my body was shutting down. I was going to die(soon) if I didnāt stop drinking.
The first couple days were the hardest. I had to consciously and continuously put my foot down to that voice. Every time it popped up, I countered it by remembering all those awful things. Every single time! To this day, thoughts of alcohol immediately turn my stomach.
Donāt be sorry to be here on day one again. Itād be worse if you werenāt here at all. I have 134 recorded resets (and God knows how many more) If I can do it, anyone can! Thank you for taking me down bad memory lane. We all need reminders of how it used to be. Donāt ever stop trying 
Have a goodnight every one
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God @Just_Laura I just got literal flashbacks at your description of symptoms while drinking 
I never wanna go back.
570 days!! You little inspiration, you. 
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Lol, na. Iām in California. Itās been hitting 100f here. I thought it always snowed in Canada? Stay hydrated. Stay cool.
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222 days AF
Hi guys, doing great. The new company is giving me an experience of a total different culture. Feeling so good until here. Got to know 70% of my team and they are all soo kind. I know, in average there have to be difficult people too. We will c. Took several challenges this week where I had to jump out of my comfort zone. And ohgosh there was no big ugly monster waiting on the other side. All fine. Felt uplifting to do so. Here I got possibility to practice what I learned. Have to work more on site in the first weeks before doing homeoffice.
Waiting for my tax regulation, as soon as I got it I will order my ice tub to be installed. So I will have a comfort zone challenge everyday.
Had a crazy swim yesterday of 3600 meters. First 1200 I thought itās not a good day, after 1600 I had this pointā¦ Lol! Had a ultra long nap in the afternoon afterwards. So nice. Today will be similar but not such a long one, lol. 
Love you guys
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1919
Having my Sunday morning coffee. Travelling tomorrow, not too far, but want to a see a bit of nature during the holidays. Autumn weather predict for the coming week. Well, weāll bring our sweaters and raincoats. Weāll be fine. Weāre on vacation and weāre sober and clean. ODAAT. Pic is Oude Kerk, a new exhibition by Iranian/Dutch artist David Nuur opened there yesterday.
Have as good a day as you can all. Clean and sober. Love.
@MrsOdh This looks definite Sophia. Be good friend. I have my doubts about being here at times but Iām great at procrastinating and the feeling of wanting to leave goes again after a while. Much love and hugs.
@FullaFarts Usually we build up tolerance to alcohol. But then we start damaging our bodies and our tolerance goes down again. Could be anything but liver damage is the first thing that comes to mind. Which can be reversed when proper action -like quitting drinking- is taken. Take care and success.
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@Mno My first glimpse of your picture and my mind alread conjured stories about you taking a hot air baloon trip and getting stranded in an old church 
That church is awesome!
@Juli1 Nice numbers there girl! 
Glad to hear you got into the zone yesterday 
@Just_Laura Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry you had to go through that. Sorry for everyone here suffering. But I also am glad to read this story to know: I am not alone. I can do that. I am with friends 
@wahtisnormal Big shoutout to stuffe animals 
They are always there to give comfort.
@Butterflymoonwoman My daughter told me to tell the nice lady on the internet how gorgeous her dreamcatcher is. 
@1in8billion How long has your roadtrip been already? And how long are you planning for it to go on? And last question: Do you have an estimate about the distance you already covered, will be covering? Iām a very curious person 
And thanks for your philosophical shares. I do really enjoy reading them 
@Mr_Sobriety Nice streak you are building there 
@Bomdhil Congrats on 14 days! Two weeks is a very good time 
291 sugar
155 UPF
29 gluten
29 dairy
Today is my daughterās birthday party. I have to pack up all the stuff for the city game the kids are going to play, including something to read for myself, as Iāll spend most of the time waiting for them to arrive at the designated stations.
My mum will pick us up around late noon and weāll get going to our starting spot - an abandoned cementery. There is a ghost giving the poor people there trouble 
Iām very much looking forward to the whole thing, a bit anxious if everything will turn out well, but also curious how the day will got. And definitely looking forward to a - hopefully - boring and normal week starting tomorrow.
However the day may unfold: I want to find peace and love life just the way it is 
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Day 191
Iām here and discouraged. Sleep has been brutal. Every night, a drenching cold sweat at 2 am. Heart racing, anxiety. It takes a couple hours to subside. Sleep is impossible until the adrenaline leaves. Trauma is some wicked stuff.
I know what to do- get up and get coffee and a snack. I had a couple weeks recently where it was gone. Someday it will be gone. I am safe now.
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