Wives of Alcoholics Community Group

A forum of healing and help for wives of alcoholics.

0 Online

naezer 12/20/2015

As I've been on this 12 year journey with my AH, I've tried and tried to change him. I've held on to hope, I've prayed, I've cried, I've gone a bit psycho here and there. Throughout this journey though, I've found a few things that have helped, that have given me back a little sanity, that have helped me find me again.

Knowing that we're all dealing with an AH, I thought to myself, I should share. Maybe one or more of these "nuggets" will help someone on this board. I do hope so. I would love to hear what has helped you on your journey as well. Why suffer alone when we can learn through one another?

Books:
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers (this was my motto this year)
Hope for the Wife of the Alcoholic: A Guide for Therapists and the Wives They Work With by Larry Wall (wow, very informative - defines demands, strategies and tactics used by the alcoholic)
Codependent No More by Melody Beattie (it started here - what a great book)

Sessions/Meetings:
Al-Anon (meetings and books)
Counseling (it took me a few tries to find a good one)
Codependency Group (I learned a TON in this group and met some great people)
Online Support Group

Activities:
Yoga (build strength, connect to self)
Acupuncture (emotional and spiritual well-being)
Reiki (energy healing for body and mind)
Float Tank (relaxation, time for self)

lostinpain92 12/22/2015

Thank you for this. I will check out some of these books. This group has helped me tremendously. Being from a very rural area there aren't any local groups. Yoga has helped me tremendously! Unfortunately, due to financial struggles I havent been able to attend any classes recently. Would love acupuncture and some of the other activities you mentioned. I used to go, But somehow HIS disease has poisoned me. I rarely leave the house anymore except to go to work. Mostly because when I leave it gives him that much of an opportunity to drink even more. I end up paying the price when I get home

naezer 12/27/2015

I get the financial struggles. I have lived paycheck to paycheck for more years than I can count. I managed to try these things by grabbing deals on Groupon or Living Social. I also found a great way to earn extra cash - you may laugh - I sold things on ebay. These sales gave me the extra cash to get my hair done or do a few things for myself.

First, I started with things around the house that I didn't need anymore. Not everything is worth money, but some things go for way more than you would think. You can also buy things at thrift stores (Goodwill, Savers, Consignment stores, garage sales, etc.) and resell them. The ebay app lets you look up items right there on the spot to determine if they've sold previously and for how much (you use the completed items and sold items options to view this).

There's also sites like Amazon Mechanical Turk, which allow you to work from home on your computer. You pick the jobs you want to do.

ExJerseyGirl2 12/27/2015

Taking time for myself, yoga, and exercise.

bonblue 12/30/2015

I have not tried any of these but they sound great..
We all have to find our relief spots ..I too live in Goodwill and other 2nd hand stores
When eveydime matters these are our best friends.
Wishing all my friend s a blessed New Year.

Join the Conversation