Is there electro-shock for everytime I lovingly imagine having cocktails in the afternoon? I wanto have a negative reaction to thinking about 'what if i just had a lil sip?' Do you journal through it? What are some good distractions?
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When I think about using, I yell āHeck NO, Iām NOT going to use!ā. And then I think about the sh*tstorm of using, to counter the āeuphoric recallā that my addiction so cunningly provides. (I use another word instead of āheckā, but apparently thatās a naughty word on Loosid)
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Thinking the drink thru is helpful for me. I think about what happens every time I drink. Itās fun at first, the the wheels come off. Then the regret and remorse after.
I think the drink all the way through. It looks good at the start, but always ends ugly.
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What my therapist had me do was right out a list of "what could happen and what would I lose" if I chose to pick up again and every time I'd have a temptation or thought I'd pull out the list and read it. It creates new neuro pathways in the brain to think of the consequences and not the good memories and feelings. Actually worked for me to the point that I no longer need to read the list, I just automatically think of the things on the list! Try it out!
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For āmeā I think of the physical consequences. One could very well led to 12. Then tomorrow 15, and so on. Then a full blown bender. Then withdrawal when I try to stop. Then I think about all that if worked for. To me one sip just isnāt worth it. After all thereās a reason that we quit drinking.
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I see alcohol like a poison hook and one sip and the body starts wanting to replace that sugar and your liver starts detoxing. That makes me avoid even starting. Then when I wake up fresh and clear, I reflect on how bad I used to feel and congratulate myself. I missed nothing. I see alcohol as a pathetic poison I canāt believe is legal.
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Shoot, if we all had electroshock treatment everytime we thought about using......
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It is normal, apart of our healing, that we are going to think about it from time to time. For some of us, it was tied into so many aspects of our lives.
It is what we do with those thoughts that truly matter. For me, I think about how sickly I was, how I begged god, begged myself, begged the universe to stop and still couldn't. It took alot of hardwork, of facing me, of asking for help andnow I have stopped, I am so thankful that I have, and don't ever want to go back to that darkness again
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decide not to. You have a choice. Even if you have to decide every 5 min. I drank for 24 years, because I thought I didnāt have a choice. Thatās the cunning part of the disease. Now I can choose. I donāt want to go back to needing substances.
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This prompted me to respond. I donāt know if Iām qualified to answer. I encourage you to change your triggers or mindset to what youāre healthy mindset will be. Look I can mess up a cup of coffee. But the lord has a better plan. I believe as addicts we are addicted to pain and suffering. Itās almost identical in an MRI. Im honestly tired of the suffering reward program. I hope this helps and come from a place of humility and compassion.
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Books, coloring building a blanket fort where you can escape for awhile and you can read and color. Thinking about how much better you are feeling every morning without cocktail(s) the night beforeā¦š«¶
I think one of the posts today said I have a great forgetter common among us I go to meetings to hear the truth about how my past was and out of other people's mouths from their similar experiences and then I remember it was not all peaches and cream
I have finally accepted the fact that I cannot have a drink. If I have 1, Iāll have another. And in short time Iāll be right back to where I left off.
It will not be different this time. I canāt drink like other people. Those romantic memories are my disease. Cunning, baffling and powerful.
I just remember how dishonest and out of touch I was with myself and everyone around me when I was drinking. And I think about how much better my life is now. Itās a stark contrast for me and I would never want to go back.
I had a guy tell me once āDonāt think of the good times drinking, play it through and think of all the bad timesā. When I initially and reluctantly went to the rooms of AA itās because all of my drinking involved bad times around that time, I really couldnāt remember any good times. I was drinking alone or if I happened to be out I did embarrassing and stupid things that made me want to drink more. I donāt romance it anymore because if you are on this app or in recovery your drinking isnāt glamorous, itās ugly. I donāt want to go back to ugly drinking because if I go back it will be ugly again. Just try to play it through. I donāt know one person in recovery that went back and it was a good decision for them.
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The only drink I miss is a margarita(or 6). Prob because it was the only thing that nvr gave me a hangover..but then I think about the time I totalled my car and it started on fire from being blacked out and realize nah I'm good.
This is awesome advice! Keep it coming! 
I think of it like a divorce....the whole relationship wasn't bad there are always good parts. It ended for a reason though. Write a letter to your addiction to say goodbye. Mine read like a letter to a lover that was trying to kill me.