I’m triggered to stay sober when I recall all the great things I did while I was drunk.
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We own our own boredom. Make a list of things to do when you feel bored. For me, always having a book to read helps.
Alcohol is a major trigger for me…im thank ful for this app…i feel comfort sharing and reading keeps my mind off of wanting to go get high…
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Nothing helps anyway unless you are in actual menopause and take hormones which I do because my ovaries were removed. I’m feeling good now but about a year after hitting the big M it’s going to my stomach for the first time😏.
Best thing we can do is quit drinking. Raises breast cancer rate 7% post menopause
same here- boredom- a feeling of not just being able to sit quietly and read or watch tv etc. I just fantasise about wine and the buzz, the liquid escape. And I have NO idea why I feel like this! I’ve got the next 4 days off and I will have to fill every hour with stuff or i’m constantly triggered!
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Gosh, I feel like everything is a trigger for me. While I considered myself a “functional” drinker, clearly it’s a red flag that so many things trigger me. Happy things, like sunshine, gardening, camping, cooking, weekends, movies/tv shows, socializing… not so happy things like stress, anxiety, sadness, challenging toddler, grief of my mum’s death, worry of my aging father whose relapsed after mum’s death. I’m a very emotional person so booze was my fallback.
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Waking up was always a good reason to drink
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Days that ended in Y
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Hey Kate, me again. I’ve got the doggos unfortunately while the family are in a cathedral.
I used to think the same. For a few years I used to sit on the couch watching TV with a drink. When I stopped, I thought it would be hard, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. It’s like anything on this journey. Our addiction builds it up in our minds to be worse than it actually is to keep us drinking.
If you take it one minute at a time, don’t think about tonight until you get there. It does get easier. It’s taken a long time to get to where you are, so it’ll take a while to stop thinking that way.
It seems a difficult proposition at the moment for you. I can appreciate this.
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I’ve started to use the word “prompt” for this kind of thing. Because that’s what it does. These events prompt us to drink. After a prompt, there is a decision, whereas a trigger implies a foregone conclusion.
There’s a consistently understood definition, it’s precise, it’s honest. It encompasses not just craving and generally wanting to drink, but also peer pressure, stress, association with certain events, etc.
Just a thought.
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I like that James.
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I can probably speak for a lot of people and say for me, it’s money. I haven’t had any money the past 2 months which is a big part of why I’m sober. I go back to work in a field where I make a lot of money, so I am worried that its going to be triggering when I get my first salary check or a sign on bonus that theve mentioned. This is why I had to argue with everyone in my life about why it’s taken me so long to get back to work. They think I’m lazy or just dont want to work, ive been out of work since February, I’m 28 years old. Since the age of 17 I have worked 40 hours 5 days a week for 11 consecutive years, so for them to tel me I’m lazy and don’t want to work really really stresses me out. I didn’t want to go back to work A- in active addiction, or B- a few weeks into recovery. The type of work im in just wouldnt make sense for me to jump back in. I am a manager for a sales department, I could barely manage myself a couple months ago, let alone 10 people. Now that I have 2 months, I’m ready to jump back in, but to say $ doesn’t scare me would be a cold face lie
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My triggers are friends… I had a fear of missing out (thats why I slipped up last 8 days ago at my cousins wedding) I have come to realize I’m better without alcohol. And what was I missing out on? A hangover? Regret? Embarrassment? The real answer is nothing that’s what. I’m so much stronger and better without booze. I do keep booze in my house for friends and my wife (she’s pregnant now but she never was a big drinker), I have no desire to pick up where I left off. Again, my WHY is my kid coming the end of September. I don’t want him to see his Dad all sloppy drunk. He deserves the best and someone that’s present in his life. I’m finally going to be the person I was born to be and grow up at 40. Better late then never!
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Triggered has also been co-opted elsewhere in society so that baggage gets added to it as well.
Like you said – we each get a choice whether we are going to pick up and/or use again. We have to work to ingrain No Matter What into our DNA. Feelings won’t kill me, but another drink… that is a different story.
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Hi Geo,
it’s great to be around people who get it. Because if you have not been through it you have no idea. I’ve seen so many counsellors who absolutely don’t get it. Thank you
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I still pace the house on days off with no plans made. I have found some chores that keep me busy. Boredom was my biggest trigger in the early stages, hope you find something useful to pass the time. Home improvement and plans with my kids has been my recent time consumer. It really doesn’t cost much at all now that I’m not wasting $$ on my DOC anymore.
I don’t know if this feeling will ever go away but I’ve found a few things to do instead of drink all day…hoping you can find the same! Best of luck!
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I have been getting wasted in one form or another for 40+ years. At this point, just being alive makes me want to zone the eff out.
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Hunger, anger, loneliness, and lack of sleep. Thanks @anon12657779 ! Usually in that order too. I always have to remind myself how important it is to maintain a healthy diet, because a lot of times, eating poorly is where it will start.
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Something I noticed yesterday. Trying to solve a problem at work, but failing. I think I attach my self-worth to my achievements. That means when I have a setback, I internalize it, and feel a crushing sense of shame and worthlessness. That almost always engages the drink-seeking circuitry deep in my lizard brain.
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My Wildcats are losing to Hawaii tonight, first game of college football season. That is enough to drive a man to drink