Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
I went nearly 8 months clean... no weed or alcohol for 8 months.
I was so desperate to quit that it became a "passion" and goal to quit. I felt "excited" to be on a mission to quit. I initially used meditation to stay clean, then I immersed myself in tons of exercise.
After nearly 8 months, I decided to "drink just 1 night". That quickly spiraled out of control to almost every night now.
I feel I need something to "fill my time", like I did with the meditation and exercise.
Any advice would be very welcome.
I was so desperate to quit that it became a "passion" and goal to quit. I felt "excited" to be on a mission to quit. I initially used meditation to stay clean, then I immersed myself in tons of exercise.
After nearly 8 months, I decided to "drink just 1 night". That quickly spiraled out of control to almost every night now.
I feel I need something to "fill my time", like I did with the meditation and exercise.
Any advice would be very welcome.
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Dick Van Dyke’s path to sobriety was a turning point in his life and career. Here’s what happened:How He Got SoberStruggles and Realization: Van Dyke began drinking as a teenager, largely to cope with shyness and social anxiety. Alcohol made him feel more comfortable in social settings, but over time, his drinking spiraled out of control. By his mid-40s, he recognized that he had an addictive...
But when people (including my family) tell me to do what worked before...it isn't the answer for ME. The thing that really helped me before was the excitement about sobriety you explain. The determination...the challenge.
And as I felt better and better I enjoyed feeling good without alcohol.
I haven't been able to get either the excitement or the determination back.
So, I'm really of no help to your right now if only to say...your not alone in the struggle to regain something that you had and you want back.
At least you have learned that drink just 1 night is not an option for you and if you hold on to that lesson it will serve you well. For an active alcoholic, drinking is an obsession of the mind and sometimes when people stop drinking they swap alcohol for some other obsession. Perhaps exercise became your drug of choice in a manner of speaking.
For me, filling the time would have been extremely difficult, except for two things. First of all, for the first three months of sobriety I made AA meetings my top priority for six nights per week. I hear people these days talk about attending two and sometimes even three meetings per day but to me going to that many meetings in one day is a crazy way to live and it indicates that something in life is out of balance.
Meetings certainly helped in those early days but no amount of meetings would have filed the inner void that I struggled with for many years. It was suggested to me that I needed to change my way of thinking and I was fortunate to have someone show me how to do that through the Twelve Step programme of recovery. Prayer and meditation is a recommended part of that programme but with a totally different approach to what I had imagined it would be.
All I can tell you about filling the time is that it became very easy when I was at ease with my own company. Perhaps the answer to your question is to be found through your own inner spirit.
I have been taking courses that interest me. I get a great feeling when I finish a lecture. Presently I am taking Geography, Anatomy and Physiology and Photography.
In October I will be going to Korea and Vietnam with a group. The Korea trip is for tourism. In Vietnam we will be setting up computer labs to teach the poor computer skills so that they can get good jobs
Yesterday I chanted with my group at a funeral. The monk asked me to lead the procession to the crematorium. After that I went to the beach. I saw 16 sea otters gathered in a group in the bay. They we lying on their backs. What a beautiful sight.
I am talking Fridays off from work so I can a volunteer to take a group of Summer school kids on field trips. to the beach every Friday.
None of this was planned it just happened. It happened because I followed my spirit. This is what keep me sober.
This time I found a few other people that were alcoholics and just by listening I learned I wasn't alone and if I just don't pick up that first one I won't get drunk
I was able to quit thru aa, you asked and I tell you that it saved my life. My last drink was 3 years ago. I do a few things daily and I get back to living.
Because drinking was toxic and made me have nothing but shame, guilt, and remorse. Also depression. And believe it or not I don't have those feelings anymore.
It is possible to live without booze , you have to seek and act on your desire to plug th3 jug
1is2many
Have you considered reaching out for fade to face help? You have nothing to lose by exploring alternatives to what you have tried so far.
In my several attempts at sobriety (and this is just my personal experience) there were those times I was really enthusiastic and super-pumped to stay sober, yet I found something in myself that was disingenuous about it all. It was as though I had to keep fist pumping my way through to convince myself that I truly wanted this. In my latest attempt at sobriety, which is 9 months and the longest yet (hopefully last), I decided to take it nice and eassssy. I wanted sobriety more than anything, and that was enough of an advocate in my corner. Early days in sobriety were quiet, calm and I was introspective.
I am not saying do away with enthusiasm for sobriety. I suppose what I am trying to convey and underscore is sobriety in my life took patience, lifestyle exchanges, a different way of thinking, and actively keeping my sober ship on a smooth and steady course. Do I make sense?
It will take some time and experimentation to find what substitutes really suit your fancy, and as always I say take it one day at a time. Rather than saying "from now on I will do THIS instead of drinking," perhaps approach it as "tonight I am going to give this a try."