The cutting out/cutting down alcohol thread (part 7)

Miss_Piggy_2

:wave:Peedie, welcome to the thread. I think most of us have met someone like that and thought "there but for the grace of god go I".

Miss P
xx

yellowmonkey

Peedie

peedie

Thank you for the warm welcome
I forgot to add that what I would like to do is stop going on auto pilot. I've read on here that people 'hear bells' ringing. Sadly I dont hear these as I seem to have wine in the fridge & as I'm kicking the shoes off, every night as I get home from work,I'm in the fridge ......always
Theres only me & 4 cats in the house & as much as I would like to think its not always me that is responsible for my sluggishness in the mornings having put a bottle a night away,....I'm the only one that has the Necter card. so it must be me!!!!!!!!!!!!
If only the 'bells' would ring I might be aware of the warnings before I've downed any thing out. Seems I do this before brain has a chance to engage.

skintscottishgirl

Hi Peebie, welcome, this is a great thread and i am sure it will help you xx

peedie

Hiya
I have 3 boys from the local cat rescue, Uncle Bill, Archie Watson (its a very long story) Baby Jim and a old girl who adopted me after the lady next door died, Violet !!!!!!
I some times foster other cats if the rescue is full. Recently had Rose staying with me.....the vet has a sense of humor she smelt more like a olde sheep than a Rose to me....

how about you

maman

peedie wrote: »

I dont do drama (honest)

If you are still reading thank you
take care
Peedie

Of course we're still reading and do as much drama as you like peedie (does this mean you're a little Scots lady?)

peedie wrote: »

. I've read on here that people 'hear bells' ringing. Sadly I dont hear these as I seem to have wine in the fridge & as I'm kicking the shoes off, every night as I get home from work,I'm in the fridge ......always

If only the 'bells' would ring I might be aware of the warnings before I've downed any thing out. Seems I do this before brain has a chance to engage.

I think what you need to do is try an AF night and then those bells will ring so loudly you'll be deafened. Some of us even hear them mid-afternoon, telling us we will have a drink later when we were planning to be AF. This is where distraction comes in (perfumed baths/Mars ice cream/Vimto: you name it we use it).

Any how, welcome peedie. I don't know what your aim is but most of us try either a target number of days for the month or a day-at-a-time AF. Some (giver-uppers) just try to stop completely. Any thoughts?

brokepaolo

AF today for me.

I'm chuffed with myself for doing it given the stuff going on in my head last night and most of today. However, if anything, the sobriety has relaxed me and even allowed me to concentrate more effectively on other things I needed to do such as some household chores, a bit of washing and enjoying a nice meal with my sister followed by the last episode of Luther.

Phone has been resolutely switched off because I could really do without a repeat of text tennis with the ex, at least for a few days yet. I hope she can understand why I need to distance myself a bit, it's especially unfair on her new boyfriend and I don't want to interfere in any way.

Going to have a bath listening to a new band I heard for the first time today, they're called Logh (pronounced log) and play beautiful slow music, a bit sad but I still want to listen to them and then tomorrow hopefully I'll have had a decent night's sleep and will be reaping the benefits of sobriety and can busy myself with work in a better mood.

g'night folks and welcome to the new people, I'm relatively new myself and I've found this thread to nothing short of an inspiration.

peedie

[QUOT](does this mean you're a little Scots lady?)
Sadley not really dad is from Stromness on Orkney though if that counts!!
Peedie is what he called me when I was born.....his peedie girl...unfortunetley it seems more ironic now theres very little thats small or little about me



I think what you need to do is try an AF night and then those bells will ring so loudly you'll be deafened. Some of us even hear them mid-afternoon, telling us we will have a drink later when we were planning to be AF. This is where distraction comes in (perfumed baths/Mars ice cream/Vimto: you name it we use it).

Any how, welcome peedie. I don't know what your aim is but most of us try either a target number of days for the month or a day-at-a-time AF. Some (giver-uppers) just try to stop completely. Any thoughts?[/QUOTE]

I think what I really want to do is think before I drink.

If I'm totally honest cant remember a time when I was AF for 24 hours.So all in all perhaps a day at a time would be the best place to start.

graemecarter

maman wrote: »

I think what you need to do is try an AF night and then those bells will ring so loudly you'll be deafened. Some of us even hear them mid-afternoon, telling us we will have a drink later when we were planning to be AF. This is where distraction comes in (perfumed baths/Mars ice cream/Vimto: you name it we use it).

Any how, welcome peedie. I don't know what your aim is but most of us try either a target number of days for the month or a day-at-a-time AF. Some (giver-uppers) just try to stop completely. Any thoughts?

Maman is very wise.
I'd suggest just going Alcohol Free tomorrow. Forget about Thursday for now, but try and get through Wednesday without a drink. Do what you need to do to stay AF (all the things Maman says), but really try to not have that first drink tomorrow. Report back how you get on.
Most people can manage just one day without drinking. Those that cannot usually are either addicted or not trying hard enough.

This maybe is more difficult than it sounds. I know for me, I would hear voices telling me that "I can do it if I want to, but I had a hard day so will have a glass of wine" or "Tomorrow is a better day to be Alcohol Free, so do it then instead" or "What's the point, I am only delaying the inevitable and don't really want to stop drinking"

Don't listen to that voice if you hear it. You're in charge of your body - it's only you that pours alcohol down your throat, no-one else.

Good luck

graemecarter

peedie wrote: »

Hiya
Please can I join you.
I dont do drama (honest) but over the last few days I have met my future self & it scares me witless.

On Friday, as part of my job, I met a woman who has had a drink problem for over 20 years. I thought you poor thing as she shook &stammered and slurred so badly that I wondered what on earth it must have been like before she stopped drinking 5 years ago.
Her tremors were so bad that when she made me a cup of tea 1/2 had been split before she handed it to me.


Yesterday on the way back from Sainsbugs with another couple of bottles of wine in my bag, there was a man walking (or should I say staggering) in front of me, who clearly had 1 over the 8. He was disheveled & stunk of wee. Every one else was trying to keep a wide birth!!! All I could think of was the times I have staggered out of a pub (hopefully not stinking of wee:o)

Today when waiting for the bus to work there was this woman on the other side of the road who looked as though she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, not taking care of her self. The woman I met on Friday came to mind. Every time I looked at her she looked at me... in my defensive response I thought if she are not careful she too will end up not being able to carry a cup of tea........Then you guessed it I realised I was looking at my own reflection:eek::eek::eek:

I dont want to sound self indulgent but a mixture of these experiences and being a bit of a lurker to this thread has made me think. I have kept my thoughts to myself but may be I have to put it out there in order to stop thinking and start DOING. Changing my future....

Sorry to whitter on like this but I feel I have to bit the bullet.
If you are still reading thank you
take care
Peedie

That is a really great self-awareness there. 'Whittering' on is not self-indulgent, but is a key method to increasing self-awareness.
If we are more aware, and understand ourselves better, we are better prepared when we decide to do something about our alcohol intake.

Many people think that they will never lose some of their mental capacities due to alcohol, or end up drunk in the street. However, I bet these people you saw today thought this way. I am sure that many will NOT end up like the people you described, but some will.
I don't want that to be me, so I take action to insure myself on a daily basis. There is nothing I can do that will mean I am always safe from alcohol, however, there are things I CAN do that mean I am safe today. The difficulty is knowing what to do and then actually doing it. Many of us know what to do, but we don't do it.........