HELP I'VE FALLEN AND I GOT UP

[MIKEYBEEF]

I've been sober for 77 days,im exercising alot,eating healthy,married,happy,but I still get bored and lonely sometimes.I try to fill my days with fun activities and sometimes I still feel this way. any suggestions? ???

[fishdocdon]

Congrats on 77 days. I hope ur going to meetings, getting a sponsor, and reading the Big Book. At 77 days i was very unsettled and confused. I bought the book Living Sober and found that I could understand it. It was full of LIVING suggestions and it became my bible for the next 2 yrs. while waiting for my head to clear and thinking to change. I also got into all the AA books so that i could "completely give myself to this simple program". I thought it was a cult and needed to know the principles behind it. I found understanding of the full program by reading the history in Dr. Bob And the Oldtimers and Pass It ON. If you can make yourself do a little reading IT WILL KEEP YOUR HEAD BUSY AND IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I was told as a kid "idleness is the devils workshop" for me it was my itty bitty ****ty commitees workshop. Good luck ---keep coming back

[MIKEYBEEF]

I will. Thanks for the advice

[woodyem]

Welcome to sober living- First as with most alcoholics most of us used outside issues (drugs) If this is your case then you are suffering from acute withdrawl syndrome- Your brain is still producing hormones and other chemical to protect itself from the drugs you were puttting in your body. Most effects of drugs were from these produced hormones and chemicals. So you will have to ENDURE a lot of "feelings" untill the body doesnt need to protect itself anylonger. This is the ****ty part of recovery, and usually takes 2 years for the body to stop production all together. When I first stopped useing I was locked up in prison for two years and had lots of time on my hands. I would just sit and meditate (focus on only ONE thought) It took a LONG time for me to be able to do this, but I had to or go nuts. You being a free man trying to sober up- are in hell. Thats the price we have to pay for our actions. Learning to be disciplined is a *****, but completly neccesary. Start now and by the first year b-day, you will have some inkling of how to handle situations which used to baffle us. Staying busy all the time will not give you serenity. Prayer and MEDITATION (for more than 5 minutes) are skills you must earn inorder to learn. Practice Practice Practice and then Practice some more.

Sanity- The TENDENCY to avoid extreme views.

[samf]

Hey, Mickeybeef!
I heard once that it's kind of like a feast, when you ask for suggestions and get them?
Like I find I may like Joe's roast beef, but am not wild about Jane's hominy, etc.
But I can take what seems to appeal and try it, and there's always enough.
I would try what folks suggested, and some stuff helped and worked real well for me...other stuff didn't work that well.
Some stuff I tried again, later, and it helped. Wierd how it works.
Yah, I definitely felt lonely...and also for sure could get bored.
I was lucky for me...went to an AA central office four months into trying to stay sober and was twelve-stepped into a meeting...is a long story, so won't do it all...but the short end is the guy in central office talked with me for over an hour, or I probably would have never gone to the meeting.
It ended up becoming my first home gourp...and we would share about anything going on.
And no one chewed anyone out really...we all tried to be there for each other.
I made a ton of new sober friends, and that took away a lot of the lonely and bored.
The other cool part was that my brain chemistry must have been real whacky, as I felt absolutely stark raving nuts...they would help me ride it out...am eternally grateful!
So that's my "hominy"...LOL.
Hey, woodyem , and fishdocdon! Wanted to thank you for helping me today, too!!
Keep on keeping on, Mickeybeef...am for sure rooting for your continued recovery!

Samf

[CarolD]

;D There is no way one can be bored or lonely with AA!

Check this out too for info...

http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.htm

Well done on your sober time!... :D

[MIKEYBEEF]

Thanks for the advice Fishdocdon,Woodyyem,Samf and CarolD it was all really insightful. CarolD I went on the sight you gave me.It was very interesting. I dont have any of the symptoms for acute withdrawel disorder,mabye a little bit on restless sleeping. I go to bed at 8 and im up at 4 and I must wake up 5 or 6 times a night. I feel rested though when I wake up. I enjoy listening to peoples stories at the meetings tremendously,I just dont like the uncomfortable silences during the breaks. If I was ever asked a question at AA I would feel like I was going to pass out. My face would get all red and I would probably mumble my sentences. Something about crowds listining to me talk just petrefies me. Im not shy thats the wierd thing,I enjoy peoples company,in fact I thrive on it,Its just crowds and strangers. By the way you are all a wonderful group of people and I love to read what you all share. Sam you have some great stories and advice. Today is day 80 for me. thanks guys and gals. ::)

[MattV]

;D There is no way one can be bored or lonely with AA!Lonely? Not any more. I can be perfectly content if my only company is me. However, If I need some company, I know where to go to get it.

Bored? I sometimes get bored to the point of distraction. And there's nothing wrong with that; we all get bored at times. How I react to boredom is what's important. It doesn't take a whole lot for me to get over myself, though. It can be something as simple as moving from the living room to the back porch, where I can just watch the world go by. Boredom and lonliness tend to feed and grow off each other. Once I've broken the grip of one, the other withers away, too.

And if all else fails, go out and pretend to be Bruce Willis. 8)

[MIKEYBEEF]

Hey Matt dont forget,Gwenith Paltrow is also on this site.lol :D