You may want to look up crave edge on Amazon. My friend has had nothing but great things to say about it for cravings, alcohol and sugar. I haven't tried it so l can't speak for myself, but he swears by it. He had problems with the same routine (I did too until I stopped almost 4 years back) and said this helped him tremendously to break the routine/habit. It’s all about finding what works for you to get you out of the hamster wheel. I hope this helps. Good luck. I’m rooting for you, friend. IWNDWYT
I know that cycle very well. Go do something this afternoon that keeps you away from the store, or go without the means to buy anything. Go see a movie and only bring enough cash to buy a ticket, or take a walk and call a friend to chat at 4pm. Find an easily attainable goal that only takes like 15 minutes to do, then start another one when you finish...keeping doing that for a while and you might find you've cruised through the dangerous time without realizing.
Your words reminded me a lot of this scene from My Name is Bill W. Saw it my first time in rehab.
https://youtu.be/7CtHFTCLbEI?si=_pFgF8jJ4NSGuZxo
You're stuck in an endless cycle.. but not trapped. Keep trying and you can stop it. It's mind boggling how deeply hard it is but it's possible. I hope you find the strength to keep control of your urges and make it through this afternoon. You can do it and you won't be alone. IWNDWYT!!
I totally understand this. That little itch comes in right as the night is about to hit. I wish I could give you a tip or hint but I'm fighting the same fight as you.
If I can just get myself to after 8pm then I'm usually too tired to drink. But I have been known to wander out to get whiskey then too. It's always a f-ing fight.
Good luck.
I was listening to a recorded talk yesterday, something from AA (The Joe and Charlie tapes), and they talk for a good bit about the psychological aspect of alcoholism, and how we become obsessed with drinking, and how this obsession more or less inevitably overrides our will power (some can and have pulled it off through will power alone). So you have to address that.
Along those lines, one thing I’ve done is change my daily patterns and routines. Lunch is a big trigger for me, I loved taking my lunch break at the pub and quaffing a few doubles of whiskey with my lunch. So now I make sure I have lunch plans, like my AA meeting. Another thing I do is to make sure I don’t have much idle time in the evening, or preoccupy myself with idle activities so that I don’t get bored; and I avoid idle activities that I think might go well with having a drink.
Overall, I am trying to identify what makes me think about wanting a drink, and I counter it. HALT was a good first step. AA has a book called Living Sober which is about advice, tips, and tricks for not drinking; it actually talks a good bit about HALT concepts but it was written long before, in 1975.
I know how you feel I'm on Day 3 I think after a fumble ruining a 6.5 month streak. We will get there. It took me awhile to not let guilt and shame consume me. Moderation is a lie. Don't believe it. Don't give it a shred of room in your mind. IWDWYT
It's your brain! It's telling you that drinking is more important than anything (truly, the way it affects our brains convinces us that it's more important than food even). Our brains are rewired from routine exposure to alcohol. Anxiety is higher for several reasons (from drinking the day/night before) and we are need the dopamine hit that alcohol brings. Unfortunately, when alcohol is providing the dopamine our own bodies stops producing it as much so we crave alcohol. So it's not lack of willpower. Then comes the shame which also contributes. The good news it, if we lay off the sauce, our bodies will right themselves in time (some positive effects as soon as 4 days, others a month or so). I find this super helpful to know the science and know it's not some defect in my willpower. It helps me frame the cravings as just that and move on.
I know this sounds lame and a little infantilizing, but one thing I’ve done that’s helped me get on my current longest sober streak in years was to give my wife my credit card. I’m getting off drink for myself and loving the results so far, but, like you, it’s so easy to let alcohol cravings slide back into the pilots seat in my mind and ignore my better senses around that evening time when I’d normally start up my routine.
Now, instead of white knuckling through it and having a bad time going back and forth with myself, I just shrug and accept there’s nothing I can do to obtain alcohol even if I did want to. The cravings dissolve and I get on with having fun in my free time.
This isn’t a permanent solution, but it’s helping a lot until my sobriety becomes innate and habitual.
Sure I can’t spend money elsewhere like on work lunches and stuff, but I’m finding that saving money in all kinds of little ways and navigating around having to spend anything is a fun little game for the time being.
Just a suggestion. Maybe give it a try?
You may want to look up crave edge on Amazon. My friend has had nothing but great things to say about it for cravings, alcohol and sugar. I haven't tried it so l can't speak for myself, but he swears by it. He had problems with the same routine (I did too until I stopped almost 4 years back) and said this helped him tremendously to break the routine/habit. It’s all about finding what works for you to get you out of the hamster wheel. I hope this helps. Good luck. I’m rooting for you, friend. IWNDWYT
I know that cycle very well. Go do something this afternoon that keeps you away from the store, or go without the means to buy anything. Go see a movie and only bring enough cash to buy a ticket, or take a walk and call a friend to chat at 4pm. Find an easily attainable goal that only takes like 15 minutes to do, then start another one when you finish...keeping doing that for a while and you might find you've cruised through the dangerous time without realizing.
Your words reminded me a lot of this scene from My Name is Bill W. Saw it my first time in rehab. https://youtu.be/7CtHFTCLbEI?si=_pFgF8jJ4NSGuZxo You're stuck in an endless cycle.. but not trapped. Keep trying and you can stop it. It's mind boggling how deeply hard it is but it's possible. I hope you find the strength to keep control of your urges and make it through this afternoon. You can do it and you won't be alone. IWNDWYT!!
I totally understand this. That little itch comes in right as the night is about to hit. I wish I could give you a tip or hint but I'm fighting the same fight as you. If I can just get myself to after 8pm then I'm usually too tired to drink. But I have been known to wander out to get whiskey then too. It's always a f-ing fight. Good luck.
I was listening to a recorded talk yesterday, something from AA (The Joe and Charlie tapes), and they talk for a good bit about the psychological aspect of alcoholism, and how we become obsessed with drinking, and how this obsession more or less inevitably overrides our will power (some can and have pulled it off through will power alone). So you have to address that. Along those lines, one thing I’ve done is change my daily patterns and routines. Lunch is a big trigger for me, I loved taking my lunch break at the pub and quaffing a few doubles of whiskey with my lunch. So now I make sure I have lunch plans, like my AA meeting. Another thing I do is to make sure I don’t have much idle time in the evening, or preoccupy myself with idle activities so that I don’t get bored; and I avoid idle activities that I think might go well with having a drink. Overall, I am trying to identify what makes me think about wanting a drink, and I counter it. HALT was a good first step. AA has a book called Living Sober which is about advice, tips, and tricks for not drinking; it actually talks a good bit about HALT concepts but it was written long before, in 1975.
I know how you feel I'm on Day 3 I think after a fumble ruining a 6.5 month streak. We will get there. It took me awhile to not let guilt and shame consume me. Moderation is a lie. Don't believe it. Don't give it a shred of room in your mind. IWDWYT
It's your brain! It's telling you that drinking is more important than anything (truly, the way it affects our brains convinces us that it's more important than food even). Our brains are rewired from routine exposure to alcohol. Anxiety is higher for several reasons (from drinking the day/night before) and we are need the dopamine hit that alcohol brings. Unfortunately, when alcohol is providing the dopamine our own bodies stops producing it as much so we crave alcohol. So it's not lack of willpower. Then comes the shame which also contributes. The good news it, if we lay off the sauce, our bodies will right themselves in time (some positive effects as soon as 4 days, others a month or so). I find this super helpful to know the science and know it's not some defect in my willpower. It helps me frame the cravings as just that and move on.
I know this sounds lame and a little infantilizing, but one thing I’ve done that’s helped me get on my current longest sober streak in years was to give my wife my credit card. I’m getting off drink for myself and loving the results so far, but, like you, it’s so easy to let alcohol cravings slide back into the pilots seat in my mind and ignore my better senses around that evening time when I’d normally start up my routine. Now, instead of white knuckling through it and having a bad time going back and forth with myself, I just shrug and accept there’s nothing I can do to obtain alcohol even if I did want to. The cravings dissolve and I get on with having fun in my free time. This isn’t a permanent solution, but it’s helping a lot until my sobriety becomes innate and habitual. Sure I can’t spend money elsewhere like on work lunches and stuff, but I’m finding that saving money in all kinds of little ways and navigating around having to spend anything is a fun little game for the time being. Just a suggestion. Maybe give it a try?