Help...

akpetmom · Newbie

Help...

Phil · MIP Old Timer

Howdy AK...

So......

Are you sharing? "You feel you have a problem with alcohol..and want to stop...?

And if that is the case....

I could always stay stopped for a few days, also...but could never stay stopped...

Got together with a couple of million people in Alcoholics Anonymous, that were trying to stop also...

And by golly...it works.:)

Wren · MIP Old Timer

Hi Alicia, welcome to MIP. I found for myself that I could only get through this with the support of others who had gone through it also and could relate to the "whips and jingles" of beginning sobriety. This forum is a great and wonderful tool, much support, but just isn't quite the same as face to face meetings, where the 12 Steps are implemented, giving you a foundation and "good orderly direction". Sobriety can be a great journey, if we stand back and allow it.

I too have a panic disorder, and have to take a mild med. for it. Perhaps you have a doctor that you trust and can go to and discuss this all with her/him. Oft times the disorder dissapates with ongoing sobriety, when your system has a chance to totally detox. With the tingling you're experiencing, a doctor visit might be a good idea, if for nothing else but to put your mind at rest.

Check out and see about local meetings by looking in the phone book for the hot-line number. Just hearing another voice helps, too. And I hope you keep coming back here. Chris

Quetzal · MIP Old Timer

Hi Alicia,

Welcome to MIP. It's a super corner of the 'net and really helps to keep me sober one day at a time.

At first, I tried not drinking by myself and it just didn't work. In the end, I accepted that I couldn't do it on my own and needed help. I found all the help, love and support that I need at AA meetings.

I now have over one year of sobriety and every day just seems to keep getting better.

I do hope that you'll check out some AA meetings in your area. For this alcoholic it is the only way that I can do it.

Please keep posting and let us know how it is going for you, won't you?

Take care,

Carol

Tina · Senior Member

Just want to say welcome

Guess I can add a little bit, but not wasn't already said here.
Please keep posting to let us know how your doing, we care.
Keep coming back, if your willing to my changes for you, we're here to share
our experience, strength and hope with you

Hugs

Tina

Sobrietyspell · MIP Old Timer

Thanks for joining us, Alicia. You can read lots of good stuff on here & backtrack to other topics you can find useful. If you can find the courage it really is worth attending meetings as there's nothing quite like the power of one alky helping another. I hope you gain good sobriety soon. The health benefits are amazing & the concentration comes back! I'm just 5 months & really enjoying the mental & emotional health this is giving me. I attend meetings & have been sharing well & this really helps things along, you know. Good luck, love, you've already identified what you see as the problem so now you can look for help. Well done, Alicia, I really wish you well. Take care. Danielle x

jae · Member

http://alcoholics-anonymous.org/US_CtrOffice/ak.html
this link gives you the phone #'s to AA in Alaska. Someone will pick you up if you want and start you on your way to recovery. Just call. It's that simple.
There is a solution.
You never have to drink again.

Laura · Senior Member

Hi Alicia,
Welcome to the forum. I just want to share with you that it took me a few running starts to get sobriety going. Albeit, it's only been 21 days since I last had a drink, but for me, it's not only--it's more like "Wow! 21 days!" :). I'd feel discouraged at times--make it a few days then go back to my evening unwind rituals with alcohol. Before this stretch I'd made it about 6 days like you and then drank on the weekend. Weekend can be hard with more time on my hands. So, I try to keep busy. If I hate everything I have to do on a weekend day and am depressed with the demands I've put on myself or the obligations I've made (because I HAVE GOT TO LEARN HOW TO SAY NO), then I give myself permission to throw the list aside for the moment and push myself to do something fun for the time being. I might still be behind on my list of things to do several hours later, but I'm still sober and I'm in a great state of mind to get to work or deal with an issue.

For example, yesterday, I was feeling depressed (about my recently bruised heart [I mean this figuratively]) and had difficulty focusing on tasks that needed to be completed. So, I grabbed my dog's leash (eventually attaching it to the said dog) and stuffed my backpack with provisions. We drove up a near by mountain and just started hiking. Later in the day, I still had daemons to battle, but I felt like I'd accomplished something. I don't know if this particular example helps as you've shared that you are already active with your pups but maybe there is some new way of spending your time that might help you divert your attention from drinking.

It took me about a month before understanding (truly understanding) step 1 and the concept of one day/ one hour at a time.

Keep working at it. You've already made steps to improve your life!
Take care,
Laura

akpetmom · Newbie

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I know that I am ready to stop drinking but I just keep falling back into it because of my anxiety. I'm afraid to do all sorts of things without the alcohol to take the edge off. I realize that I'm afraid of so much that I'm barely living my life. I do set goals, just short walks with the dogs and such, and I do great for a while, but when I go too far from home, or too far up in the mountains away from my car and I feel afraid that something bad is going to happen, and then I feel like I can't do it without the booze. I think what has happened is that my new "normal" has become what I am with a minimum of three beers. Without that, I feel like an axiety ridden "live wire". But now more and more because of my anxiety about the drinking, I'm even feeling symptoms of panic when I do drink. Thanks one and all for the AA advice. We have an Al-Anon about 2 miles from my house and one of the people that my brother and I hike with is an alcoholic who has helped others thru AA. We had a talk a few months ago and she made me recognize that I do have a problem that is not going to get better. I am going to get her number again and see if maybe I can get myself to a meeting with her. Problem is, I feel major anxiety about going to a meeting, and this makes no sense since in my life I manage a large meeting every week where I'm in charge and I survive those generally without a panic attack. This all sounds so strange now when I type it and it definitely is not normal and I'm super worried that I've gone too far and now can't come back, but that is just silly too. Thanks one and all and I'll keep you informed of progress.

Laura · Senior Member

Alicia, I just want to add one more thing. Someone once shared this analogy with me when discussing the importance of working through failure(s): when teaching a baby to walk at what point should a parent simply give up on the baby ever walking should the baby have difficulty with the task? You and everyone here is just as precious as that baby. I hope you work through that self-doubt about having gone too far to come back and no matter how many times you fall, you keep on trying to walk the path you truly want to.
(OK, that said, I'm going to share that I have to be reminded of this too at times.)
It sounds like you have a good plan to pursue.
I wish you well. :)
Laura

-- Edited by Laura at 02:59, 2007-03-06