The giving up/cutting down alcohol support thread! Part 2

happyshopper

April scores after Day 29

Name Target/30 Actual/29

115k 15 11
40somethingmum 27 16
ad1jnl 30 10 (needs updating)
budget babe 30 29
dotstar24 6 4
eselt 30 29
fayjmck 20 21:j:T
fedupandskint 19 20 :j :T
fluffybishop 10 12 :j:T
glasgowgirl 12 8
happyshopper 20 19
lillibet dripping 10 6
lurkio 18 4
maman 10 10 :j
maz123 7 7 :j
miss piggy 25 23
needstochange 16 16:j
noynoy 13 8
pariskate 15 14
sleepyjo ?? 12
stroppy 10 6
**upsy daisy** 15 2
wanna bee free 10 9
winebox 10 8

Well we've clocked up over 300 AFDs and counting between us this month. That calls for a :coffee: and a biscuit. Don't mind if I do!

jo1972 wrote: »

HS, you've done a fantastic job of scoring this month, bet you can't wait till its over

Thanks jo, yes and no, in some ways it has been rather a security blanket this month. Perhaps I'll miss it...on the other hand .

Needstochange wrote: »

Just wanted to say a massive thank you to Happy Shopper for a great month of scoring and to of course present the retirement present. Well done mate great month:j:j

Aw shucks, that really is rather splendiferous, I'm truly not worthy. Thanks ntc. My colleagues are going to be so jealous of me as they use their crappy work-branded biros .

Wanna_Bee_Free wrote: »

No, surely you can't mean only. I've muddled, clawed, scraped, scrabbled, tottered, fallen off, held my head in my hands during the hangovers and I've managed 9. Surely 9 must be loads and loads of AF days... and 11 is even more than 9!!

Absobloodylutely wbf! :T

winebox wrote: »

Happy...thank you so much for the scoring, fantastic job & btw why do you need a sprocket (that's been lurking in my subconscious!)

Cheers m'dear wb. I've worn out my sprocket it seems (was rather surprised but then did a quick calc and I think I've biked over 3000 miles in the last year so perhaps that's why. And most of them sober :rolleyes:)

Will post the final list tomorrow. Have a good day all....

hasta luego

HS

Pippilongstocking

Cut and pasted from word
cant post properly at mo – no idea why when I type the text goes backwards

very odd – bit like previous comments about brains (!) mines is a bit like my small intestine – that muddled up its just been shoved in any-old-how (bit like my stripey socks drawer)) J

anyway not AF last night – just a rubbish day all round somehow – but am not dwelling on it

AF tonight for me – then it’s a new month to try and be good in

How many of us are going for a full month????

Pippilongstocking

(typed backwards all) done well HS

jo1972

fayjmck wrote: »

(typed backwards all) done well HS

:wave: gninrom yaf

Pippilongstocking

:)ddo yllaer si siht oj ginnrom

happyshopper

:rolleyes2 ynnuf og seye ym gnikam er'uoy ,!tippots

Wanna_Bee_Free

Thanks for the encouragement guys, feel just a little teared up at you all being supportive over the ether there for me. And I will try and visualise that jumpy just for me and stick with it today as well in spite of being in a pub tonight.

Another heart felt thank you from me to Happy Shopper for stepping up to do the scores for us all in April, thanks!!

I feel this whole target for AFDs has really triggered some thinking in me and the beginnings of some changes since I found this thread. When talking to a friend who's a medical type years ago about drinking I asked her what level was a problem (I didn't see the fact I was worried about my drinking even back then) and she said you are having at least two days a week alcohol free aren't you? And without blinking I lied back, oh yes, of course. This month is the first time I've averaged 2 AF days a week although they are distributed a little oddly with a last rush at the end of the month! Back In 1992 I went from champagne at new year to the following new year and realised that I hadn't drunk alcohol or even noticed I wasn't drinking it the whole of that year. No thoughts about it or anything. I used to drive everywhere then and had given up smoking and was on a real health kick and didn't go to a pub that whole year either. Somewhere between then and now it has become a huge part of day to day life that I am now struggling with to push into a smaller box. And in some ways it is leaving a void outside it that makes me feel out of my comfort zone or something, it's a feeling that's hard to pin down.

One of the things I think is a bit unfair today is I feel a bit hungover this morning even though I haven't had any booze since Sunday. But I have the familiar bleary around the brain/eyes kind of feeling and a headache. I guess it is because on Day 4 my body is finally processing the last of it and feels odd as a result. Any ideas anybody?

Hmm, obviously needed to get that off my chest... Thanks everyone!

115K

Wanna_Bee_Free wrote: »

No, surely you can't mean only. I've muddled, clawed, scraped, scrabbled, tottered, fallen off, held my head in my hands during the hangovers and I've managed 9. Surely 9 must be loads and loads of AF days... and 11 is even more than 9!!

That is very true.:A

Also thank you to Happy Shopper for keeping score for April!:T

jo1972

Wanna_Bee_Free wrote: »

I feel this whole target for AFDs has really triggered some thinking in me and the beginnings of some changes since I found this thread.

I think a lot of us feel the same WBF, at first people join the thread/challenge not realising that they might have a problem, it's only when we are trying to change the routine/patterns that we realise that we rely on alcohol far too much without knowing we're doing it.

I remember at the start of my journey of coming out of denial about my drinking problem, I had counselling and had to keep a thought record of all the times I thought about drinking. I honestly thought and told the counsellor that I don't actually think about it, I just do it, like autopilot. Went back the first week with virtually nothing written in my diary and said 'no, I definately don't think about it'. Then he said to me, 'what's the first thing you think of when you get up?'. I realised the first thing I thought of was 'did I drink last night, how much did I drink, do I feel ill, god I wished I hadn't done that and right, that's it, I'm not doing it today'. These are the sorts of things I needed to note down, every time I thought of alcohol, not just the wanting alcohol thoughts. I went back the following week and found that I had to go on to a separate sheet :eek: I think about drink constantly! Not only in the morning wishing desperately that I hadn't and I wasn't going to anymore, then the I'm not going to do it thoughts continued throughout the day, then the oh god how am I going to cope thoughts turned up after lunch, then the beer bell started at 3pm'ish....

This in turn actually made me drink more as I was so upset and depressed on how dependent (mentally) I was on alcohol. It was then my job to work at trying to find out why I drank and thought of drinking all of the time.

It's a long process, one that I'm still in the middle of, but hopefully I will get there soon, as we all will

xx

Miss_Piggy_2

Afternoon all

Thanks everyone for your support today - I feel in need of it!

GC - I was hoping you would respond to my post. Pretty much everything you say makes sense to me. Especially the letting me and everyone else down thing. You're right, it IS emotionally tiring. And I'm getting fed up with constantly thinking about alcohol. It would be lovely to have my life back. I am married to a lovely, lovely man and I feel desperately sad that I can treat him this way.

Fay - Yes, am going to go for a completely AF May. Got to be done methinks.

OH is talking to me again so thats something at least. I know he was really hurt by last night though. Will do all I can to make it up to him. I seem to have to do this a lot which shows how horrible I am sometimes. How he puts up with me sometimes.

So Budgie, my target for May is 31. Also want to lose 6pounds and do my Paul Mckenna CD every day. Bring it on!

Miss P
xx