Haven't touched a drop in...

enoughalready wrote: »

Thanks haveabanana - love the way we are on the same time frame of our journey. What are you finding most challenging? Rewarding? Inspiring?

The most challenging thing I would say has been having to explain the whole thing to friends, every weekend. It gets tiresome. It's also challenging having to actually deal with your emotions, but in a good way. The best thing about not drinking is not having do deal with the horrible depression that used to hang over me for days after a heavy weekend. It's also nice to be able to buy new clothes, nice food and other stuff, whereas before going on the beer was the main financial priority, with all other good intentions to buy things, go places generally being sacrificed. How about you? Have you been going to meetings, or flying solo?

9 months today.

Feel great. This is not my firs time going on the wagon but definitely the longest. I feel a lot better about it this time round. I don't feel like I'm missing out anymore. Long may it continue.

enoughalready wrote: »

Has anyone else experienced this? I have noticed that I am abusing coffee and stimulant drinks like red bull to get myself into a 'giddy' state. Esp when I am out socializing. It seems I may be substituting alcohol for these high caffeine drinks. Makes me actually quite anxious then when trying to sleep later that night and also the next day I feel a bit off balance. Decided today to stop drinking these drinks when out and get a pint of water with diluted orange instead. Also halving my coffee intake as it was getting out of hand. Don't know if any one else experienced this?

I hear you on the coffee really need to cut back! Sugar as well,had 2 non alcos last might catching up with friends and listening to their horror story's from the weekend,awful lot to be said for waking up with a clear head and conscience!...oh I'm 5 months now

enoughalready wrote: »

It would seem I really need to cut back on coffee, sugar and high caffeine drinks.

Lent is a good place to start trying to limit myself...

Good as any...sure we'll all be better people tommorow

Maybe go for one day and make your excuses as to why you can't attend the whole weekend??

Sorry to hear the heartbreaking news about your friend 'Amazingfun'. It can be such a cruel world sometimes. May he RIP.

Well done everyone, we/you are all doing great here is a thought for today,

You should not dwell to much on the mistakes,faults & failures of the past.Be done with shame and remorse and contempt for yourself, With this communities help,develop a new self respect,unless you respect yourself,others will not respect you.you ran a race,you stumbled and fell, you have risen again,and now you press on toward your goal of a better life. Do not stay to examine the spot where you fell, only feel sorry for the delay, the shortsightedness that prevented you from seeing the real goal sooner..

Cravings and Habits are quite powerful when ingrained.

In the 1980's Wolfram Schultz ran a series of experiments of macaque monkeys. They observed monkeys as they learned a series of tasks.

One experiment on a monkey called Julio involved pulling a lever in his cage whenever a shape appeared on a computer screen. When he pulled the lever a drop of blackberry juice was fed through a pipe in his cage.

As Julio learned the task and became more adept, he researchers noted the activity in Julio's brain spiked (the Joy part of his brain) when he got the blackberry juice.

He began to associate the Cue (shapes on the screen) with having to go through the routine (pull the lever) and he would get a reward (blackberry juice).

However, after the task became a habit for Julio, the researchers noted that the spike in brain activity occured when the Shapes appeared on the screen and there was no spike when Julio got his reward of juice.

He had begun to crave the reward. Now they would go through the tests again and sometimes they would either water down the juice or there would be no juice at all. Julio still experienced the spike but when there was no reward he would get agitated, mopey and depressed. He had developed a neurological craving for the blackberry juice.

The researchers also noted that he became obsessed with the screen waiting for the shapes to appear. He would ignore other food and even when the team opened his cage, he would remain fixated on the screen.

Fascinating stuff, as drinkers we may go through a similar routine.
Triggers and cues may be something like being in a pub, or being stressed out. We go through the routine of going to the pub and getting our reward by getting pissed.

The key is to change the habit which is admittedly not straightforward.

In the book, The Power of Habit, it also states that it is how AA is quite powerful. In that, the drinker experiences a cue (craving for a drink), goes through a routine (goes to a meeting) and get's a reward (get's to speak to a group about the problem). They have replaced one (destructive habit) with a new (constructive) one.