+ 6 Things to Keep your mind occupied during the first 3 months of Recovery
So Christmas has been and gone now, and its that bleak time of year where not much seems to be going on other than it being bloody Freezing outside!!
I haven't really seen a big push this New Year for people to be quitting the drink or other addictions, but I assume it will still be happening all the less. As with any journey of sobriety all of it can be hard and not just specific times as such, but I think we can safely say the first few days, weeks and months are for sure the MOST testing.
I figured it may be useful to some guys just starting out on their journey, if we put together a list of things that we did or found helpful to keep our minds focused, positive & healthy to make the chances of slipping back into 'just one more drink' that much harder to succumb to 
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@AUTO51 We are in here today buddy! LOL
Cheers Mate~! I can't add a thing to this Press. This post has everything= Experience, Strength, and Hope~! Love you Man~! So grateful to be clean and have this group, and your friendship. I must admit= using AS makes me feel conflicted. I am active in 12-Step meetings, and I think many addicts would question my Recovery if members/addicts know I use AS without a prescription. This Group, keeps me sane, accountable, and honest with myself. While on this subject, I would not recommend using AS for first year at least. I had 3 years. My profile says I have been here 12 years, but I think Eroids may have made software changes that re-started the counter. This site is getting better and better. Thanks for all you do J
Brother, I’ve had these same thoughts but the conclusion I’ve come to is that the big difference is that AAS just don’t get you high. Sure they give you more energy and can even improve your mood but they're not giving you that direct dopamine rush that drugs do. I think you can be addicted to them the same way people are addicted to food or video games but that’s just part of being an addict, you can get addicted to pretty much anything. And I gotta say, if I lost all my gear and had to go cold turkey I wouldn’t be breaking into somebody’s house or selling my dad’s tv to get my next shot of test! For me, I gotta work my spiritual program every day and I can do that on AAS.
Bro~! You are exactly Right~! When my gym shutdown at the start of covid for 2 weeks(March 2020) that turned into a year. Golds in my area declared bankruptcy and all 11 locations have been re-developed into liquor stores....not kidding. I didn't intend to stop AAS forever. I just stopped until I got a new gym, May 1 2021. I suffered no withdrawal that I was aware of. Looking back, I had no energy to work out at home, I just isolated, and had no libido= not really living. I didn't get clean to just exist. I am chemically dependent at 63yo on Test, using at least 300mg sustanon/week. I have abused it up to 900mg/wk but I get more fugly sides. Even today I want more T.
In the end it is my decision and I don't share AAS story with my Recovery family. I share here, honestly. I also agree T does not separate me from my Higher Power. Thanks
We All still need some vices Mate - don't worry about it! LOL
I dunno, I drank for many years. On and off, but by far more on, and the last bender was ugly. The biggest change I’ve noticed, and maybe it was part of my self medication, is realizing how many ignorant, dumb, mentally ill, dishonest, lying, vulgar, people are out there. Having half a buzz all the time really numbed me to it, I’ll be 4 months soon without a drop of alcohol, I don’t miss it, don’t even really think about it, it’s like I never drank. I got lucky. It was however a big slap in the face to realize how many people I have to deal with on a daily basis, are simply fucked up. It is what it is I guess.
The Biggest mistake is trying to understand these kind of mentally ill people and how they have zero conscience or pride when they get found out, but you have to remember we are nothing like them mate. That's what makes people in these kind of groups brilliant friends and people to know, because they are always genuine and honest people who have a lot of wisdom and positivity to share.
Good job on the four months. You mind if I ask if there was a particular incident or experience related to your urge to drink being completely removed after that last bender?
Nah, nothing particular. It was actually the last few benders where it was similar to leaving las Vegas. Nailing down a pint of vodka in the shower at 6am to lose the shakes, twitching, vomiting, and feeling like death. Still 6’1” 220lbs at around 15% bf though lol. After a 6 day detox, I felt shitty for a few weeks, went back to the hospital for some more benzos so I could function, but completely lost the urge for alcohol pretty much immediately. At the end it didn’t taste good, there was no enjoyable buzz, it had become completely medicinal. And at that point I had grown such a tolerance and dependence to the medicine, it just wasn’t worth it anymore. I don’t hate it, don’t regret it, don’t like it, it’s just something in my life that’s gone now. I got very lucky.
I really like what’s been posted so far, here’s a few that have worked for me:
- Find a community: for me this was AA but it can really be anything as long as it’s full of people who have the same goals as you. Everybody needs a crew to be accountable to and the sooner you get one the better chance of success, in my opinion.
- Get a mentor: same idea as above. Look for a guy who’s been sober for a long time or otherwise has what you want in life and try to learn from him.
- Be willing to learn: this one has always been hard for me and I still have to work on it every day. Everyone you meet has some lesson to teach you, good or bad. I was shocked to find out that some of the absolute dumbest guys I’ve ever met were a lot smarter than me when it came to recovery.
- Don’t put the pussy on a pedestal: a classic mistake is to get cleaned up, get a job, get a little money, etc. and then immediately get into a codendent relationship with some crazy ass bitch. This leads to relapse almost 100% of the time from my observation.
-Pray, even if you don’t think it’ll work: do it even if you don’t believe in god. I don’t really and it still works for me. I just don’t oersonally worry about the god thing anymore because either he is and he made me to doubt him or he isn’t and it doesn’t matter.
Have fun: this one is the hardest. I hadn’t really had fun drunk or sober in a long time when I cleaned up. I had to figure out what I liked and who I really was. I went to a lot of lame sober parties and bowling nights and eventually I found myself having a good time whether I wanted to or not
I'm really glad I put this post up now!! I didn't think that many members would be into it or want to contribute but it turns out I was totally wrong LOL
I’m glad you posted it, this is something I don’t think about as much as I used to because it’s just how I live my life now, but in the beginning it was a huge struggle to just not drink or get high for one day (one one hour sometimes) and the way I got through was with the support of a lot of great guys who took the time to show me how it’s done. I’m grateful every day for that.
For sure mate, I know for me once I was forced into the rooms of AA by my father it suddenly opened up a whole new side to life I had never seen before, genuine and caring people there to help you simply because they wanted to and nothing else. I thought it was all too good to be true.
The Main focus for me that kept me strong minded was Undoubtedly getting back into training again, my body was so use to alcohol first thing in the morning that after I would have a few meals and train - my body would then shake for a month after quitting similar to getting the DT's. Its frightening to think about now. I had lost so much weight from spending entire days at a time drinking that I knew picking up again was simply not an option. So also getting in as much food as possible to enable me to think about eating all day instead of drinking really helped, enjoying food again instead of feeling sick was also a novelty to me in those times.
Going out Driving in my car was also something I had grown to miss a lot because I was simply too pissed all the time to do it lol - so remaining sober to do that was massively important
Simply going out for a drive and sticking on some great music is sooo much more fun than drinking too.
the mindset of alcohol is so fucked. so openly accepted but damages so many individuals & families. I here its even worse on your side of the pond!
There is a huge drinking culture here mate, as with alcoholism the excuse or reason can be for anything at all to do it. Any kind of socialising here and its normal to drink whilst doing it - which is great if you can leave it there! But all too often this then becomes part of a routine during the week which then in turn becomes every night, which of course starts to begin earlier in the day until before you know it you have lost your job from all the mornings you don't turn up due to being too hungover to get out of bed Lol You know the cycle of destruction. Problem also is it fuels so much violence on the streets, domestic violence, robberies everything. I think we have the worst alcoholism issues and you guys have much worse problems on the drugs and prescription medications addictions from the stories I hear.
Lkl0623• Pray.
• Find a church and attend.
• Read the Bible.
• Stay in close contact with family/friends that don't use and hold you accountable.
• Exercise and meditate early in the morning (meditating is whatever gives you peace - exercise, music, prayer, silence, etc.)
• Read; especially read constructive literature (7 Habits of Highly Success People by Stephen Covey, Resilience by Eric Greitens are 2 books I would encourage anyone to read).
• Get a new phone number and delete all your old contacts from your bad past.
• Learn something new - skill, language, etc.
• Practice healthy and positive habits, be disciplined - practice good hygiene morning and night, make your bed in the morning, try not to curse as much, eliminate mental prejudices/stereotypes, be polite, be kind to others.
• Find ways not to be bored.
• Don't dwell on the past and feelings of guilt.
• Spend more time outdoors.
• Remember that recovery is a journey and not a destination, so focus on the present and what you can control.
Great post , covers about every angle!
Id like to add "praise yourself daily for your small wins". we get to hard on ourself & in a constant failure mindset, ive seen that break alot of people.
I like to explain the mindset of being in control of our actions. That is one of the few things we are truly in control of. Not our thoughts ; or emotions, but the action(s) that may follow. I agree in the beginning "finding ways not to be bored" is 100% . I enjoy knowing how relaxing and comfortable I am NOW with my thoughts. this when I have my best self reflection / self check in.
Very True buddy - Actions speak louder than words, its the doing part that counts, but also controlling your actions too if they are going to be negative in any way.
That's a REALLY Good and Helpful list there buddy!
Lkl0623Hard won knowledge and wisdom from fucking up most of my life. Thanks bro.
anvilYou have my pledge each and every year. I will not be doing anything but gear. If anyone wants to move forward with me, I would be glad to help support you as it's been more than 2 decades for me since I had an issue. Much love to my mate @press1