Alcohol Free Days (part 2)

[Neil_1]

Hi folks

April is fast approaching and as a result of the start of a new month I'm going to get off the grog again.  Made it through in February - just that little bit tougher in April though - cause there's a couple more days to get through!!  🙂

If any Beyond Blue poster/community member who reckons they'd like to give this challenge a go with me, I'd LOVE to hear from you on this thread - it'll all commence on Tuesday, so prior to then whoever is interested in trying this, just make sure you've got no more alky-hole in your home cause that'll remove any temptation.  Just a first tip I guess.

No dramas at all if there's no-one, but I just thought I'd put this out there for anyone who is thinking that now might be a good time to have a bit of a 'dry-out'.

ALSO, if any one "does" come on board, again absolutely no dramas if you drop off at some stage.  It's the process of giving it a go is the main thing.

Cheers beers (for a couple more days anyway!)  🙂

Neil

[CrashCoyote]

Dear Mary,

Any effort is a good effort! I figure if I just drink every night like normal, or say four times a week at least, that is anywhere from sixteen to thirty odd nights on the turps each month. If I do the AFD's and even crack once or twice a week (four to eight days a month) then I have done a good thing for my head and my long suffering liver.

Regards, John.

[Neil_1]

Dear Mary

Ba Bowwwwww or Ba Baaaaam, I know that sound ... I am making it now, but damn, it's hard to spell.

Either way, no worries at all Mary - I'm with you - but I had permission from a couple of posters!  😉  🙂   😉  laughing with tongue in cheek here ... well, not really laughing, but you know what I mean.

So yes, Friday night I had some beeries and I am doing the same on this Saturday night.  I did struggle today - don't know why, I had one of my very few ordinary gym sessions - and that is amazing, as my two body parts that I work out on a Saturday are chest and biceps, and I always enjoy working those body parts.  Well, that's a bit silly to write, as I enjoy working ALL body parts.

But Mary, it's no dramas at all - if you're partaking again like me tonight, then that's cool bananas. I am aiming to climb back on board with Vera and John commencing on Sunday - and I will do so.

To John and Vera, thanx for coming on board and contributing your posts - it's great to have others involved - and to Geoff, as always my great friend, your advice is not only welcome, but for me, it's needed.  Thank you.  🙂

Cheers beers, for tonight.

Neil

[geoff]

dear Neil, my esteemed friend, it's not a failure at all, there is a time and a place when you will be able to, but now isn't the right time for you, and this struggle could be feeling as though you have let yourself down, I don't take it that way at all.

I honour the chance you took, and it was a very brave one, so cheers. Geoff.

Mary you know I understand and as I have always said to you it's an enormous effort to give up the alcohol, and also with you now is not the time so don't worry. L Geoff. x

[Vera55]

Hello all. I am all for kind and gentle self talk whatever is happening.

as you all know we can be our own worst critics so enough. We don't need more pressure.

i do think it is helpful though to explore ways that are better then others to deal with addictions. Maybe everyone is different and have their own ways of dealing with these issues. 

I don't know. In the past I wouldn't have been able to give up the drinking so easily. And this time it's just a nagging little voice that has little power. No idea why or how but I thank you for initiating this post and providing the opportunity for some action and discussion. V

[CrashCoyote]

Hi Neil and fellow AFDers,

Just keeping in touch. I'm on day nine now. (I started two days early by good luck rather than any design) and going strong. Having a couple of headaches but not severe and not for long. I seem to be sleeping a lot more, which concerns me a little. 

My best wishes to you all on this challenge.

Regards, John.

[Neil_1]

Hi John, Vera and others,

I have to confess that I'm still just having a little break from chalking up my AFD count - but I promise 100% that after tonight (Monday night) I'll be back.

I'm so pleased that the creation of this has been helpful - even if for a few days, but I'm sensing that for you John (9 days and counting) and Vera that it's been of benefit.  And  hey, it doesn't hurt the old wallet or purse either.

I have been thinking over the weekend (yes yes, I know that's a dangerous past-time) but I've come up with another acronym for these Álcohol Free Days (AFD)'.  I've come up with DOG - Days Off Grog!

You know, I think I like DOG better.

Just picture it, you could be talking to a mate and say "Well I'm up to 47 DOG's so far and going strong!"  🙂   🙂   🙂

Cheers (whoops sorry), but I will be cheersing with water tomorrow night.

Neil

[Vera55]

Brilliant. And DOG free. I love it. Very clever. You are so wasted in your boring office Neil. But now I know how you manage to post so many and long posts - you don't use one finger to type! Never been good at typing because our typing teacher awarded best marks to the girls with the shortest skirts, so all we had to do is to hitch our dresses and voila! Good marks for typing. Tragic what really goes on in schools.

Good on us John. Yes change is hard but we all know we can only change ourselves and not others so we have to lead by example. I want to be what I know I could be if I learnt new ways of being. And I am learning to think differently. It's really hard and I do fall over constantly but there is no way back for me. No more. I came very close to the edge and I don't want to jump because of an illness. And I am not going to. 

I think all of us need to speak out more. About our own truth, about our illness, about how robbed we feel, about the effects on our families, our finances, our lives. Why do we allow poor training of doctors and other service providers to dictate our chances of recovery?

i wonder if this anger is a product of not repressing my feelings with alcohol. 

Why do services have to be so poor? You hear over and over again people being turned away from hospitals when they seek help, and parents begging to have their children admitted just to save them. And don't get me started on our indigenous people and their plight with mental health issues. quite disgusting really. 

And I am so scared of hearing another poor person being shot by police because they were holding a knife to self harm and killed because those young officers have no idea about people experiencing psychological crisis. 

Arghhhh. Thank you for my ability to rant. V.

[geoff]

dear Vera and John, well done and Neil why don't you cut down to 5 days of drinking and then slowly reduce it, that way you will be able to gage how you are coping.

Vera, you have mention a few very good points and I wonder whether your feelings on what you say have changed now that you have no alcohol when you say 'how robbed we feel, about the effects on our families, our finances'.

I know that alcohol can repress these feelings but sometimes they can go the other way. Geoff.

[Vera55]

Hello Geoff. I just re read my post and the frustration I talk about is the reality of having a mental illness that robs us of what we think we could be if we weren't ill. As you know depression and all mental illnesses really color everything we do, our relationships as you shared earlier, financial abilities, our standing in communities due to stigma, everything.

alcohol, drugs, food, chaos, sex etc are some of the ways we try to have our maladjusted needs met. These things are neither good or bad and we all enjoy their qualities at different times. But it's when they take a life of their own so to speak that they start working against us and cause even more problems and we all know about those vicious cycles.

even our minute to minute choices are colored by this illness. The wariness of constantly being on guard in case the relapse into the abyss is starting, going to bed early so tiredness doesn't bring on an episode, avoiding people who might trigger emotions we can't manage and so on. I know I am not articulating anything here that we all already know or are aware of.  No wonder feeling constantly tired is such a big part of this illness. 

Like you I am not a big drinker but when I drink I know I am drinking to shut out the onslaught of my psyche. I think the reason I have been vale to stop doing that is because I am at some sort of a crossroad or as I like to think of it, from Robert Frost poem 'road not taken' and a desire to take a path that to date has not been so well trodden on. By me anyway.

i so enjoy communicating with all of you. Solidarity in spirit. V.

[White_Rose]

Hello Vera and Everyone Else on this thread

I have been following your various journeys with great admiration.  It's great to know you have been able to start this journey and continue for different lengths of time.

This is not my problem so I cannot entirely relate your difficulties except to say that changing habits is sooooooooo difficult.  I have been wondering how much your experiences relate to other types of addiction.  Not the conventional drug, alcohol, gambling etc but other addictive behaviours that we do not even recognise as addictions.

To be able to say I have 7 DOGs must not only be great to say but helps to keep going.  I think someone, not mentioning anyone in particular Geoff, could dream up some acronyms for other behaviours we may be better off without.  Having got that far my brain has shut down and I cannot remember of any of the stuff I had in mind.  Does anyone else find this happens to them? 

White Rose