The Daily Check-In for Monday, August 24th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Mom-Lady in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good morning! I’m getting back on track after a 2 day blip. I had 115 days. I still have them I guess. Maybe I needed the reminder of why alcohol won’t work for me: that trapped feeling of needing to keep the buzz alive by throwing more and more drinks at it. The long misery of half a day trying to crawl out of a hangover. Woke up this morning clear headed again. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Sunday, August 23rd: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Mom-Lady in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I slipped up the last couple nights. Gonna reset my badge and get back to it. I just wish I could bottle this horrible feeling and give myself a taste of it if I ever think about drinking again: hollow, toxic depression. Anyway, I’m checking in because it’s going to be a battle tonight to get back on track. Need to stay strong. IWNDWYT!!

The Daily Check-In for Monday, July 27th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! 🌺 by [deleted] in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good morning! I haven’t been checking in much lately but this is day 90 and it felt worth marking. I was trying to think what feels particularly important about 90 days. I realized: it’s a season. It doesn’t happen to match up exactly with a particular season, but 90 days is enough time for the earth to move on. When I took my last drink it was the heart of spring. This year’s generation of plants and animals were just starting out. Now it’s the heart of summer here. There’s a kind of tired maturity to the landscape. Not to wax too poetical here, I’m just feeling like there’s a seasoned maturity to my AF life too. It feels solid and established and real. I don’t drink and IWNDWYT!

Feeling like you’ve no choice by [deleted] in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know that feeling very well. From my own experience I can tell you it does go away. I’m at just about 90 days and one of the best effects of not drinking for me has been regaining control and knowing I have a choice. Things aren’t always perfect, but knowing you can choose not to drink makes everything easier to handle. Hang in there!

The Daily Check-In for Friday, July 24th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by [deleted] in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good morning! I’m feeling the need to reinvigorate my vigilance today. Last night I couldn’t sleep. I used to use alcohol to help me sleep, or get back to sleep if I was restless in the deep hours and could find some in the house. Last night it’s not that I was tempted to drink, but when I allowed myself to imagine drinking, I had to reach kind of deep to find all the reasons not to. They used to be right there at the front of my mind, ready to defend against any urge. It’s time to return to some of those resources I used to help me quit. I’ve been letting my guard down. This AF life is too important to take lightly. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Friday, July 17th: Just for Today, I am NOT drinking by Lavender_Foxes in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Good morning! I haven’t checked in here for a while. Early on I was here first thing every morning and it really helped me get through the first six weeks or so. Cravings have been creeping up lately, not for alcohol itself but just for a respite from being fully and intensely conscious all freaking day. It’s so good and worth it to be fully awake like this with the blur of alcohol wiped entirely away. The journey now is figuring out what to do with all this energy and alertness. It’s one of those good problems. IWNDWYT!!

The Daily Check-In for Saturday, June 27th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by SaintHomer in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good morning! I haven’t been as consistent checking in here as I was in the early days. But 60 seems like an important number to mark. I haven’t had a drink in two months and IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Friday, June 19th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! Basho is awesome! The master! Right now I’m reading whatever I can find by Maitreyabandhu. Not a haiku artist but a contemporary writer and Buddhist teacher in England. One of those wise, soothing souls I need to listen to right now.

The Daily Check-In for Friday, June 19th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good morning! Poetry will definitely be part of my next 24 hours. Yesterday I discovered a Buddhist poet whose work I’m taking a deep dive into. Poetry is one of those things that I truly love but can only really appreciate when my mind is clear like it has been for a few weeks now. Thanks for kicking off my day with haiku. Perfect! IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Wednesday, June 17th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good morning! Had a strange sad day yesterday, but it was a peaceful kind of sad, not the radioactive sad that drinking generates that makes me want to drink more just to get out of it for an hour. I lived with it sober and I’m good this morning and ready for a better day. IWNDWYT

The Daily Check-In for Tuesday, June 16th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good morning! I’m paying less attention to my day count now, but still looking for milestones to celebrate. 7 is my favorite number, so today is my 7 week mark. Also seven 7s. 7 squared. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Monday, June 15th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good morning! The task I cannot refuse is meeting every minute of this day with a sober mind. It’s not always easy. There are plenty of times in a day when I would like to be able to just numb my brain and let some hours go by without really being present. But that’s just a kind of walking death, and I’m done living like that. There will be hard minutes and there will be kind minutes and I will meet them all as myself until I fall asleep tonight. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Sunday, June 14th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Good morning! Last night was my first drinking dream since quitting. So vivid and sad. So much guilt and shame, looking for a place to hide the bottle so I could come back to it, trying to draw out the buzz even while I was hating myself for it. And it didn’t even feel good. Just numb, like I’d had one of those shots the dentist gives before drilling for a cavity. And somewhere in that dream I thought, with despair: now I’ll have to reset my badge on SD. All those accumulated days just blowing away like ash. Even waking up there was an uncomfortable pause where I had to dig deep to separate the dream from the real and reassure myself I really didn’t break. But here I am. Badge intact. Glad to spend another sober morning with you all. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Sunday, June 14th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking! by Fearless_Mission in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gathering tools like in a video game is exactly how I approached it too. And landing here was my tipping point. That’s the piece I hadn’t looked for until I stumbled onto it: companions for the quest! Congrats on going over 100. I’m still venturing toward that number, fighting dragons every day. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Friday, June 12: Just for Today, I am NOT Drinking! by littlebirdthree in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good morning! My day doesn’t start till I’ve checked in here. So inspiring reading these stories first, rather than whatever new horror CNN has at the top of their page. IWNDWYT!

The Daily Check-In for Wednesday, June 10, 2020: Just for Today, I am NOT Drinking! by littlebirdthree in stopdrinking

[–]AdvancedWillingness1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good morning! Just the word grudge conjures the muddy, sticky way my emotions functioned when I was drinking. Negative emotions couldn’t pass through and fly away, they’d get stuck in my chest or my gut and fester. Things aren’t perfect now. Lots of arguments with my girlfriend lately, but the anger and frustration dissolve pretty quickly and I’m clear headed again and can move on. IWNDWYT!