I started a new job where I am the director of an arts organization a few weeks ago. I am 32 days sober today - and it’s helped me so much at the new job to be dedicated and focused. However, it is really really stressful, and there’s a lot of mess that I’m having to clean up because of previous mis-management. I sent some correspondence that I shouldn’t have on Friday and I’ve been so stressed and anxious about it all weekend. My go-to to deal with stress, for so many years, has been to drink. I feel so scared and terrified and emotional without that safety net, and I’m so overwhelmed with trying to manage my stress without alcohol. I’m working on an article today (unrelated to my new job) and that’s helping distract me, and I’ve packed my gym clothes so I can excerise on my way home, but I just wanted to express my feelings here about how challenged I feel right now. Thanks for being there x
Oh geez, sending regrettable work messages right before the weekend is the WORST feeling, lol. I literally did that just last weekend. I spent the day after with my gf who’s a party girl/big social drinker but also knows I’m an alcoholic so I was stuck in this weird place of knowing I wasn’t gonna drink the stress away but being really fixated on the possibility of doing so, haha.
Here’s a quote/exercise from another sober app that really helped me:
An exercise I do now on an almost daily basis is to become aware when I am getting upset because I am not getting my way. One thing I do is to make believe I am in a movie. I try to imagine how the audience would be responding to my predicament. Nine times out of ten, the audience would be laughing. They would not be laughing sadistically, but they would be laughing because my predicament is truly funny. My predicament is a comedy because most of my predicaments are not permanently harmful to me. Sure they may cost me some time, money or ego gratification, but ultimately most of my dramas are truly funny, and I can only see their humor once I am able to put myself in the audience.
So now whenever I just know I’m gonna get chewed out by my boss, or embarrassed in front of my coworkers, I imagine myself as the bumbling protagonist in a comedy. I imagine the audience laughing at what I’ve done–not because I’m a failure, but because my mistakes are not SO serious that I can’t find some levity and humour in them. The consequences won’t define me as a person or last forever.
I hope you have a great weekend and a strong 24 hours of sobriety!
Thank you SO much @L_Gully! What a thoughtful response. You’ve made me smile, and happy to embrace my comedy of errors situation.
One of the management things I picked up a long the way is never make serious decision on a Friday. Wait and think it over during the weekend and make the decision on Monday. We let work stress us out all week, and bam Friday we are ready to make changes. Then our decision stresses us out all weekend too 
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