3 weeks

[chazneyboy]

Hi everyone,

I,m Jill, and i,m from scotland, just new to all this but been sober for 3 weeks longest time since i was about 16, 17 tried many times to stop drinking but kept failing, I have now been attending aa meetings around 3 times a week and I feel I have found a new strength that I didnt think I had, life is full of surprises, anyway nice to meet you all and just to let you know if you are drunk and reading this and thinking about being sober GO FOR IT!! best thing I have ever done in my life not saying its easy but every day is so much more enjoyable

thanks for listening and I,m soooo happy to be sober

thanks jxxx

[kelly k]

congrats chaz-what a wonderful gift this whole deal is, right? have you grabbed onto a sponser yet? welcome to the best deal in town...work the steps, and soon you will realize that you have more than what you need , and most of what you want- sobriety is a gift from god- dont give it back. keep posting and going to meetings, and watch out for flying miricles...enjoy today, and welcome home. peace, kelly k

[chazneyboy]

Hi kelly

Thanks for replying, not got a sponsor yet but hopefully soon feel on top of the world every time I come out of a meeting I cant beleive the difference in me, I found out that my partners sister had been praying for me and I,m not a religous person, but something has happened since I stepped in that church door for my first aa meeting. If it is god that made me go there then i thank him but whatever it is I would reccomend, just taking each day at a time 14 years of drinking is a lot to give up or should i rephrase that i have been in 14 years of hell and i never even new. The last 3 weeks has been like heaven even though i have had bad things i can deal with them with a clear steady head.

sorry kelly i,m totally going on

im so glad to be in this place i am right now
and glad your there too


all the best kelly

thanks for listening

xx

[blossom]

Hi Jill,

BIG welcome to AASL, I'm sure you will find as helpful as i have in recovery. ;D
Well done on 3 weeks, it is by far the best decision i ever made (scariest at first, but the best)!
I look forward to reading your shares and getting to know you.

Love
Blossom

[samf]

Wow, welcome!
You sound great!!

Sam

[chazneyboy]

lol thanks sam

nice to meet you i,m still in the same place still feel strong enough to keep this thing going on its amazing, bit weird but wonderful, went swimming today was a bit of an effort to drag myself down to there though, once i got in i really enjoyed it , going to next meeting tommo night am actually enjoying going to them, nervous as hell going through the doors but that handshake and big welcome as you walk in the doors takes it all away, cant beleive i have met so many genuinly nice people who are in the same position as me, and just excatly no where im coming from, i love it anyway lol im going on again they,ll be sorry im at the meetings once i start sharing with them they wont get me to shut up lol


well 3 weeks 1 day now and feeling good

alll the best to everyone out there

you are all doing the right thing xx

thanks again sam x

[samf]

Hey! ;D

Good morning! It all sounds REAL good!

Yah...was amazed at how uncanny thier understanding and love was, at meetings, for SURE!

Felt like home! I feel that way, all the time!

Cool about the swimming and stuff!!

I started doing wieghts again...only done it a couple of times, so far, but am liking it.

Hope you have the best day!

Sam

[MIKEYBEEF]

Congragulations Chazney.Ya I realised the meetings are the most important point or hurdle in recovery.I say hurdle because it took me 14 years to realize this myself. Ya Ive also been a drinker for 14 years(around age 21 or 22)and ive quit on my own and failed every time.I wish you the best.Sobriety is an incredible journey.One worth remembering ;D

[chazneyboy]

Hi guys,

thanks again sam, Hi mikey its nice to meet you i noticed your 90 days is coming up congratulations thats a long time well done. Didnt have such a great day yesterday lol!! thought this was gonna be a piece a cake, wow yesterday i was so close to being back to day 1 but im not and im so proud today,went to a meeting yesterday, and it was an older man that was taking the meeting, now his story was very interesting about how he was in the army and how he got introduced to alcohol, but I just didn,t get anything out of the meeting like i have been getting before and i really needed it, so it put me off things a bit but i heard that this happens, I suppose i never thought we are all so different why should every single alcoholic be the same we are all related in a way through the illness but why should we all have the same stories to tell, anyway luckily i was seeing my therapist and she seemed to really bring me back to reality again, that i am still doing well it would have been easy to have a drink it would have been easy to pull the quilt back over my head and roll over but i got up had a bath went too a meeting and then went to see her so even though i was having a bad day i still managed to move forward and looking back to yesterday i dunno what my problem was lol!! think i felt sorry for myself one of those days lol!! but thanks again for listening and letting me have this space to talk, thanks for being here and its great to be sober

all the best everyone in your own sobriety too xx

jill xx

[blossom]

Hi Jill,

Well done on getting through yesterday sober ;D The early days can be a bit of a rollercoaster and sometimes it is about just putting one foot in front of the other, or a bum in a chair at a meeting and getting through the day! But what we learn from that is that even the not so good days we don't need to drink.

I related to what you said about listening to peoples stories in meetings. I found in my early days if people started talking about prisons, park benches, losing houses etc. I didn't identify, but with time and understanding my illness more i realize that these are just the physical differences of our stories, but if i listen closely to what the person is sharing as to how drink made them feel and why they drank and eventually what drink took away (on the inside, not materially). I always find that it is the same for me.

Have a great sober day!!

Love
Blossom

[samf]

Hey, good morning!
How are you today, Chazneyboy?
Yes...people kept telling me to keep coming and listening...most times, I do hear so much I can relate to. Sometimes it's just the feelings and the drinking...not the externals, so much.
My feelings and thinking were all over the place. It helped to find a couple of folks I could actually talk with...kind of like what you did with your therapist.
As I kept coming to meetings, ended up running into a couple of people I could relate to and who seemed to have the type of program and thinking I hoped to have...and it evolved where I could talk to them, too.
Holiday season seems to be tough for us, too, for whatever reason.
Hope you write back...been wondering how you are.

Sam

[chazneyboy]

hiya,

had a good day friday went to 2 meetings and they went really well second meeting i went to was great got a lot out of it was a woman talking and she was just a bit older than me and could relate to what she was saying but she was very funny she had us all in nots laughing her experiences made me miss drinking a little cause i remembered all the fun i had too, but then she went onto the sad part of drinking which brought us all back down to reallity well me especially, I remebered how bad and nasty and evil it makes you become sometimes aswell which is why i guess im here, but in a way im glad cause im meeting lots of nice and genuine people who are able to be honest with themselves instead of all the lies and deceiving that goes on with alcohol. I had a tough day yesterday, had my partner a bit pissed off with me, the craving for going out was unbearable and i dont know if this is normal or not but i got really angry with myself for feeling like that, anyway i eventually came round a bit and managed to watch the x factor and have a nice evening lol!! (x factor enjoyable lol!!). Today has been a really nice day we have been shopping wrapped some chrissie pressies up and watched a couple of things on telly and im now going for a nice bath and gonna play a game tonight lol!! first time for a while done that, and i am quite happy with myself today cause tommorrow is 4 weeks sobriety for me and i know im gonna make it so im amazed first time i been this sober in around 17years, well there ya go i have went on and on again, I managed to read a lot of the post today aswell, very nice reading a lot of them and a lot of sadness too its such a tough time. I dont know if its like this for you guys aswell but my emotions are all over the place lol!! but thanks for listening again, and its nice hearing from you again sam, nice to hear you were thinking of me, thanks for that,

well countdown on to 4 weeks tommo!!

and im gonna celebrate with a big big piece of caramel shortcake with custard lol!!

speak to you all tommorrow,

let you know if im eating it or jumping on top of it lol!! but im sure i,ll be eating it

taking day at a time again for next week but all the best to you all and again thanks for listening xx

take it easy sam !

love to you all
love jill xx

[samf]

Hey, Jill!

The speaker sounded great! I could relate to all the emotions you were feeling and the thoughts!

I can understand being mad at yourself, too. Me, I usually got scared if I thought about drinking...great time for me to ask my Higher Power (the one I didn't even understand yet) for help, and to get my behind to a meeting or to call someone.

Yah, it's neat to be around honest people! (I agree!)

Am just thrilled for you on four weeks!!! It's amazing, huh? How's it feel to be a miracle? ;D

LOL...could always dive into AND eat the caramel shortcake with custard, at the same time!!

Hope your day is the best!

Thank you, Jill, too.

Sam

[chazneyboy]

Hi there,

well caramel shortcake has been eaten lol!! 4 weeks past, I just wanted to ask today if anyone experienced this when they were getting sober, I had dreams last night of alcohol, loads of different experiences, i wouldnt drink it in one of them and another i was drinking and another i was buying it and just like lots of mixed up things is this quite common? i was also wondering if anyone had been prescribed anything from the doctor like vitamins or something, cause i am really exhausted just now, still doing good right enough but just a couple of worres. Going to my doctor tommorrow and was going to suggest something to her if anyone got any ideas? thanks guys, hope everyone keeping well x

thanks jill
xx

[blossom]

Hi Jill,

I have had loads of drinking dreams in recovery, not as often now - But in the early days i would have a dream where i drank and i would wake up in the morning with that dreaded feeling of "Oh no, i've drank" and then realise it was a dream and be relieved. I have heard lots and lots of people share about having these dreams, so i think it is really common and natural and definately nothing to worry about.

I think taking vitamins sounds like i good idea, i took them after stopping drinking to help my body on the road to physical recovery. I took a multi vitamin and also a vitamin B complex, which you can get in any chemist over the counter. It was suggested that i take vitamin B because it help repairs the central nervous system, which drinking can damage. I also had a doctor who specialized in homeopathy, so under his guidance went on about a six month course of different things, which i found really helpful and could feel a difference in my body of getting better. And i would whole heartedly recommend that, if you are able to do that.

Well done on your 4 weeks ;D
I don't know if they have them in the meetings you go to, but where i go we have sobriety chips, which you will get one for 4 weeks. I keep mine in my purse and anytime that i feel agitated or afraid, i get it out and give it a rub and it reminds me that i am not alone and that everything is ok!

Love
Blossom

[chazneyboy]

Hi Blossom,

Thats great thanks i dont feel so bad now knowing that its quite normal for the dreams, I aready take a multivitamin just now every day but i,ll get the vitamin B aswell so thanks.

They dont do chips in my AA they give birthday cakes and cards for every year but I dont know if they do anything for monthly, I actually feel quite sad today I, struggling a bit, I was out getting some christmas presents there and its everywhere, there is drink in every shop, then i went to the food shopping and alcohol is in every section of it I thought I was gonna scream, but didnt buy any and I,m home now and not going back to the shops, just do it online for a bit. Also will stop the road rage my god I,m trying to be calm and keep a level head and i,m sitting at the traffic lights just waiting for them to go green and I have this maniac beeping his horn and shouting and swearing at me and I thought calm down mate!! also I managed to just drive on and not kill him but seriously would have liked too lol!! so i,m feeling quite sad, i,m trying to stay calm and not get aggitated but I,m close to it, so I thought I would come on here and right down some feelings.

I have a lady I know who I met at one of the meetings, I didnt really click with her though we have a lot of different experiences and didnt really have much to talk about but she gave me her phone number and im thinking of phoning her but its hard phoning when i feel like im kind of using her a bit. I would go to a meeting but theres not one on today that i have been to before and i feel a bit nervous about going caus ei dont feel that good its easier to go when you feel good .

Also its my partners birthday tommorrow and normally we would go out for a meal then a few drinks in pub afterwards so im struggling with that cause we are still doing that but im taking the car and not drinking i should manage but on the thursday night we are going out again with friends meal then pub which i,m a bit worried about. I feel though why should things change for them as I am the one with the problem so i have carried on and organised it all cause i want it to be a really great day!!.

Well sorry I have went on and on again

thanks for listening guys

thanks
jill

[blossom]

Hi Jill,

It made me smile reading about your road rage, i can get like that in the car as well. Its a good indicator for how i'm really feeling, sometimes i think i feel ok and then when i'm in the car i'm almost willing someone to bump into me so i can let off some anger? :-[- that and supermarkets are tell tale signs for me!

This time of year can be more tricky, especially with food - i have to read the labels on everything at xmas and there does seem to be a tendacy to put alcohol in everything, i even found a youghurt the other day that i was going to buy and then noticed it had alcohol! But all we can do is be vigilant, there is a topic on another thread on here called "alcoholics are not supposed to" which you might find helpful for your evenings out. Theres some helpful suggestions on what to do to kepp safe and sober. If i am going out i talk to someone in AA (usually my sponsor) but doesn't have to be if you haven't got one yet, about my plans for the evening and any fears i might have, i always make sure that if i need to leave then i am able to and i always have phone numbers with me so that i can ring and chat if i need too. The latter i have done once, when i was at a wedding in early sobriety and it got me through the day without a drink...i didn't have long conversations, but more along the lines of just saying that i was finding it tricky and to have someone tell me that it was and i was doing ok, and that if i needed to just go. Somehow strengthened my resolve during that day.

I have many friends in AA who are varied and had i not met them through the rooms would probably not have mixed with them, but today they are firm friends because we share in a bond that does bound us, and those friendships have turned out to be more real than the friendships i had before AA. But if you have a ladys' number then just give her a ring and chat and maybe ask if it would be alright to take her number on your nights out, i'm sure she would be glad of your call.

It sounds like you are doing all the right things for you and thats all we can do. Stay safe, sober and close to AA and we will be alright.

Love & Hugs
Blossom

[samf]

Glad you are doing ok and are sharing concerns, too!

I had a lot of drinking dreams, especially early on. What a relief it was to find out I didn't drink...sometimes I woke up feeling I had...

I was always scared to call folks in AA, ealry on...had never been around a group of people like them.

When I DID finally call (pain and discomfort made me do it), all I usually had to do was say hello, and things just rolled along. And it seemed like they liked me calling. And it sure helped ME.

They used to tell me to think a drink all the way through, too. Sometimes when I saw booze, all I thought of was the effect and how my best friend (alcohol) used to make me feel better. But if I thought it all the way through, I always got drunk...I never did just stop...I'd black out, pass out...do embarassing things I truly regretted doing...I never controlled my drinking so the thinking I might, with me, was also a part of the lie.

And I would pray and ask my Higher Power for help, too. That helped me.

I didn't walk down aisles where booze was, for a long time. One day, years later, I realized that I had stopped noticing where the alochol was, for the most part. That amazed me!

Kind of like your not going out to where it is, right now.

Going places where drinking is, I took phones numbers of sober alcoholics so I could call for help or support if I needed to. I took my own transportation or made sure I had bus or cab fare, so I could leave when I wanted to....was told I needed to take care of me, and that not taking that first drink was my very first priority.

I would also try to have a very different glass or drink (like coffee) (or something a different color), so I wouldn't inadvertently pick up an alcoholic beverage....because a drink always sets up a craving for more, with me.

I've also left where I was and gone to a meeting.

My family and friends were usually supportive, but even when they didn't understand, I still needed to be vigilant and take care of me.

I did take vitamins to build myself back up, physically, and watched what I ate a little better...tried to do healthier things. They told me I was probably deficient in B vitamins, as alcohol saps that, so I took B suppliments.

Am sure the doctor will have some good suggestions, too.

Hope you have the best day!

Sam

Big old hug!

[kremjk]

THIRTY DAYS HAS SEPTEMBER
APRIL, JILL, AND NOVEMBER :D

CONGRATULATIONS :)

jk

[chazneyboy]

Lol!! Thanks xxx