Like I mentioned in your last post, my rock bottom (that last night when I didn’t feel mentally stable) was so intense that it burned my desire to drink away I assume that I’m an exception in this regard.
The fear was actually the catalyst for a shift in my thinking.
Definitely drink so much water that you can’t imagine taking another sip.
Congratulations on 3 days!!
I’ve read, and it’s been my experience, that it takes a month to change a habit. So you are in a vulnerable time for a bit and will need to keep your intension focused.
Best of luck.
I was around people who drank socially from day one. However I had honestly admitted to myself that I had a problem and decided to never let another drop of alcohol in my body. Ever….. this finality concept has been very important for me. I do like the saying one day at a time…. sometimes it takes one minute at a time for a serious habit. But ultimately I was ready to stop. It wasn’t fun anymore and had become a compulsion that made me not like who I had become.

When I was in out patient treatment, we learned all about triggers., and how they work on an alcoholic mind. When faced with a trigger, the odds of caving in to that trigger are 100% . It's just...a matter...of time....

I remember there was a girl in my group and she was living with a guy and this guy kept beer in the fridge. She was convinced she could stay away from it even though her counselor warned her that having alcohol so close is a huge trigger.! Exactly 10 days later, she came to our iop class and was in tears when she confessed, that she had a hard day at work and drank most of a six pack when she got home! Other triggers are negative emotions, specifically people, places and things that conjure up negative emotions that cause insatiable cravings that make us want to self medicate with alcohol.

After the IOP, I had relapse prevention group counseling in which we identified each of our triggers and as a group we worked on a plan to deal with them.

Here are some links to some past posts that have more information for you.

https://www.dailystrength.org/group/alcoholism/discussion/recognizing-dangerous-situations?page=2

Also this one:

https://www.dailystrength.org/group/alcoholism/discussion/factors-associated-with-relapse

Lastly, here is a short cartoon that's kinda entertaining yet thought provoking at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTq9HVeeAZ8

Good luck on your road to recovery.

God Bless

Get the booze out of the house or the obsession to drink will overcome the desire to stay off the nipple.

The wedding is another thing, I would suggest not going. This may sound harsh, but being around all those ppl drinking will be too much and you will drink.

1is2many

I understand if going to a wedding is a bit much. Personally I feel like I want to go. Because my best friend that invited me is aware that I am not drinking. That’s an 11 year friendship for us. We always have stood by each other’s decisions. I feel confident that he will stand up for me if someone offers me a drink since I am his guest. I feel like once I get a social gathering out of the way then maybe I’ll have a bit more confidence to continue my streak. I don’t know.

Why are you expecting your friend to "stand up" for you if someone offers you a drink? Are you unable to say "No, thank you"? If I didn't feel strong enough to not drink alcohol in any given situation, I wouldn't not put myself in that situation. I surely would not make a friend responsible for my drinking behavior.

Well first it’s not a situation. It’s a social gathering. Second, I meant in the context of when I politely say no thank you and in case someone at the wedding reception continues to pursue offering then I have my friend for guidance. Wrong choice of words on my end. No one is making my friend responsible for my behavior. Your comment is being taken as rude and please do not comment if you are not going to ask a question first without making an assumption. I post here seeking advice and use the forum as a way to help with my process. Thank you.

I’m curious if you have a plan? Sounds like you are adding sober days which I applaud. I was an alcoholic for about 14 years. Started to become more than normal when I was about 33. Of course I wish that I hadn’t lost so much of myself during that time but this is what happened and I am fortunate that when I was ready, I was able to stop. The first try, I might add. I credit this on my plan…. Never have another drop of alcohol.
Another huge factor in being able to stay sober was the work accident I had. I was covered by insurance for over a year to do nothing but PT, various surgeries and R&R. The physical pain was rough but the time to myself to really look at my life and learn to be honest with what I saw has been priceless.
Sorry, rambling…. My point is that having a set goal has been important for me.
Most of the members here are AA success stories. I didn’t go that route because I didn’t need to but there is a common factor. Admission to ourselves that we have a problem with alcohol and it’s all or nothing. No middle ground with addiction.
Obviously I don’t know you or what underlying issues you may need to work through. Just be honest with yourself. Every time that I feel like I’m shying away from something it’s inevitably what I need to look at closely and go through it. Whatever is left in the dark never can be healed. Only you can know what you need for a plan to increase your health.
I’ve been to 2 weddings sober and I had a lot of fun.

I am 2 years sober, I have random thoughts every now and then of what it would be like to drink, I stop, pause and think of something else and the drinking thought is gone.
It's about remembering what drinking led to, and not wanting to go back there again. You have to want it enough, and want to change your life for the better.
I think that people with 20 years sobriety can still have thoughts about drinking, it's about whether you act on it or not.
For me, I am so proud to have reached 2 years and I don't want to start drinking, destroy my life and then start all over again when I see what destruction the alcohol has caused.
You just have to go day by day, because you are early in your sobriety, it is going to be harder to be surrounded by people drinking, I didn't go to a new years eve party last year because I didn't want to be in that drinking environment and decided not to put myself in a situation where I could be tempted.
Congrats on 3 days !!!

Check back in after the wedding on how things went

Speaking of weddings.......I had about 6 months of sobriety when I was invited to my nephew's wedding. I decided not to go.. I was so afraid others would talk about me and hate me for not going but nobody said a word... I was glad I made sobriety my top priority.

Having been through a treatment program, I learned that it can take up to a year for the brain, to heal. 5 years later, I was invited to my nieces wedding and I didn't want to miss it. I had a great time watching everyone else get loaded and I was thankful that I no longer had any need to self medicate my fears with alcohol! Of the 200 eople in attendance, I was the only one sober. I was so proud of myself!

Good luck at the wedding, let us know how things went. The path you take on the road to recovey, might help someone else. Lots of people read these but never reply. Most people seeking help are afraid to admit they have a problem and it helps when they can identify with others so we hope you will be an occasional contributor here just checking in so we can hear how you are doing, weather good or bad. As I write this, I hope you are sober, yet we all understand how difficult that can be so we give as much support as we can.... Good luck to you.

God Bless

Day 8?

Lost back to the nipple ?

This is the all too often result. Someone has a moment where they know deep inside that their relationship with alcohol is not good. They reach out in a attempt to get some help. A few days pass and then, back on the bottle regiment.

If you are seeing that booze is affecting you in a negative way remember this
1) Alcohol is a Drug as classified by the FDA
2) Alcohol is a depressant
3) Alcohol is addictive.

The brain in an alcoholic says it’s OK and this time WILL be different, but it never is. It only gets worse as the alcoholic needs to drink more and more to get the same effect because the body has built up a tolerance.

At my last drink 10 years ago I was a sad and depressed excuse for a human. I was in a daily cycle of drink, sleep, wake, swear off booze, work, drink

I’d tell you that is you found this site then you are one of the lucky ones. Most alcoholics only find death or jail or asylum. I heard a statistic that only 1 in 100 alcoholics stop forever.

Getting sober is easy, staying sober is the part that takes all you got.