Cutting Down Alcohol Thread

loveasale

Evening all
24/28 & 2/2 yayyyyy!

Poor_Single_lady

13/21
Should be AF tommorow. And wed/thur.

Please can I have March target of 21

Thank you.

Green_Karen

Been AWOL for the longest time and only have 10/20 AF days for Feb to report.

Went totally off the rails with alcohol. There were three contributory factors.

1/ I had a cancer scare and was fast tracked for a two week turnaround of investigations, hopefully all OK and just waiting for one final result, but I was poked, camera'd and prodded in all areas, thankfully whilst under anaesthetic! I cannot praise the NHS enough on the speed and thoroughness of the process.

2/ My mum's COPD has rapidly worsened and it looks like we have weeks rather than months.

3/ The house build has been like pulling teeth getting people to finish jobs when it's all so close. And so many stupid things going wrong. I cannot get across how frustrating it has been.

So I used my old 'friend' to get by again. And it helped in so much as I could send myself to sleep every night. Lying in bed mulling over all my woes wasn't helping sleep and my days were like climbing a steep set of stairs to exhaustion.

But I am back and feeling more in control again, rather than being controlled. It's good to know all goes on in the forum and it's always there.

GlendaSugarbean

Sorry you have had a stressful month Green Karen. That's a lot to deal with at once, and there are times you just need to get through as best you can.

I ended up having a drink on Sat, it was a lovely day out and much enjoyed. Back to the grindstone today. Currently on 24/25. Can I go for 5 for the SNC as well?

Hope this week goes OK for everyone.

AnnieG

Green Karen I'm sorry to hear you're having a tough time, I agree with Glenda, do what you can to get through it.

cathybird

Morning all, 17/17 for me today thanks.

cathybird

Green Karen, so sorry to hear things have been difficult, good to hear you are back and are in good health (hopefully). Sorry to hear about your mum, it sounds really tough xx

loveasale

Morning yes same here ditto you all above , sometimes your head just is not in the right place ,,, after a few weeks of being strong and really not missing the booze ,,, for some unknown reason I felt very week willed last night , I didn’t give in , but god it was hard ,, ironic really that the main reasons I choose not to drink can also be the same reasons I want to drink !
Stress, illness ,relationships ,worry ,financial problems ,,,,,they are all better to deal with when you are not drinking and level headed ,,,, on the other side they are all easy to deal with / forget when you’ve had a skin full ,, strange really !
I too like you Karen have had cancer scare ,,, but decided not to drink so I’d have a clear head and remember all that was said to me ,,, although it takes a little longer to fall asleep without booze , I find I have a longer quality mainly unbroken sleep when not drinking !
I hope you get through this bad patch Karen x
And I hope my longing for wine last night was just a blip ,, me feeling sorry for myself , I had a good weekend , had a new work project on , I think I was all on a high all weekend then Sunday night (when I normally settle to watch rubbish film with new man ) I came back to normality,, didn’t see man this weekend as we both had lots on at our ends this weekend,, and I felt very alone and venerable,,, no real reason why ??? I think I feel better today already !
Again my thanks to you all , Karen we are all here for you ,, Annie I love reading you posts ,, short sweet and to the point ,,, unlike my war and peace xxxxx

Honey_Bear

Green Karen It sounds as though you just used booze as a coping strategy to get through a horrible, horrible time. Lots of people do, and if it works in the short term to relax you and help cope - GOOD. That's absolutely fine. It's what booze is good for. 10 days AF in 24 sounds like nearly half, so you're not exactly failing, are you? It's just a month when you didn't reach your target; you're still here, and some of the stressors are behind you, some you are still dealing with. You're doing absolutely fine. I hope your test result comes back clear, your mother's condition isn't painful for her and that the tradespeople pull their fingers out and finish the jobs they've started. They hate doing so because that's the difficult bit. Coping with all three stresses at the same time would have tested anyone's self-discipline to the max.

Love A Sale, there will always be times when the craving or just the temptation rears its ugly head and is a tough one to get past. They get weaker and further apart until eventually they're just a 'Hmm, wouldn't have minded a drink. Oh well' after a while but in the meantime the only way to get through them is willpower, coupled with distraction when you realise you're tempted. Well done you for getting through that one. It sounds to me as though you look forward to your Sunday evening with your new man, and if he can't be with you then it might be a good idea to organise something for just yourself to enjoy, a bit self-indulgent, so that you can look forward to that time just as much. It's hard to know what that will be; it's got to be something that you, and only you, can look forward to and enjoy enough not to miss the man or the booze.

25/28 please, Shaggy.

sukeyboo

Back on the wagon after a rather boozy weekend

Declaring early for today on 11/12 please Shaggy.

Good to see you back Maman - India sounds wonderful

Sending hugs to Green Karen & loveasale - sorry to hear of your difficulties