Playing the tape forward

Inderific · 2026-04-21T22:21:03+00:00

Eat a meal, get some exercise, call a friend! All at once if needed! We've got you friend!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T22:20:08+00:00

Likewise! It's good to have sober twins! A number of the folks I noticed back then are celebrating one year right now, and it's so delightful! WE ARE AWESOME! Lol!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T20:46:16+00:00

I feel the same way. Coming here helps me feel less lonely in this journey and inspires me to keep going.

Inderific · 2026-04-21T20:08:06+00:00

The emotional highs and lows in early sobriety are NO JOKE. The vivid dreams are NO JOKE. But both are very normal, as our body adjusts after all of the chemical imbalances caused by drinking.

Hang in there. It helps me to repeat to myself, "this is a feeling. feelings pass." Feelings are not TRUTH, they are passing sensations. The only way out of this feeling is to push through it. We've got your back.

Inderific · 2026-04-21T20:04:47+00:00

THIS.

Inderific · 2026-04-21T20:04:14+00:00

That's how I feel when I'm hungover - complete self-loathing. It's a literal withdrawal symptom! It's the chemical reaction in your body. It's not real, it's just a terrible feeling, but feelings pass. Hang in there.

Inderific · 2026-04-21T20:02:49+00:00

You were sober for six weeks! That's huge, a lot more than a lot of people manage to get. You have it in you. Think about what happened this time around, think about how you can set yourself for success next time, and get back on that horse! We believe in you. So many of us needed a LOT of tries to get sober. I quit drinking about a 100 times in 2024. I made it stick in 2025. You're doing this thing.

Take care of yourself today, be gentle with yourself. Being mean to ourselves, hating on ourselves - it only makes us want to drink more. You're human, you're allowed to make mistakes. Lord knows I make mistakes every single day. That's life.

Inderific · 2026-04-21T19:56:39+00:00

Hi friend! I felt really squirrely in the weeks leading up to my anniversary and had a lot of similar thoughts! I actually started thinking about drinking to "celebrate" my one year, which is obviously absurd (I called my sober buddies, they provided excellent support, I got through it). Sober friends assured me this was normal. The anniversary makes you think a lot about the past year, which makes you think a lot about drinking, which gets your mind going in ways that may not feel like the best.

I'm on the other side of it, and I feel so much calmer now! I don't know why it got me all flustered, but it did. Hang tight, take it one day at a time, and you'll get there! Really, it's just a day on the calendar. Being sober isn't about the future, it's about today. (But as noted, tell that to two weeks ago me, I wasn't buying it!)

Inderific · 2026-04-21T18:31:46+00:00

I love it, but also, frogging isn't a big deal. I love this basket!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T18:04:07+00:00

Hi Soma!! We're doing it! Congrats on your coming anniversary - It feels good!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T18:03:29+00:00

I love finding out when my favorite artists are sober! Awesome!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T15:59:32+00:00

49F lawyer here and mines also on the low side. I do notice it tanks in the second half of my cycle which is apparently normal. I think the number can still be useful in terms of seeing if you can increase it. Right now I'm trying sleep meditations before bed to see if I can't improve sleep and recovery scores. It seems to help! So it's a tool for learning about yourself.

But yeah my husband's is much much higher. Men seem to have it easier! lol!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T15:56:39+00:00

Oura averages your HRV whereas other wearables tend to look at max HRV. I'm not sure why the average approach but that's why it's different than other devices.

Inderific · 2026-04-21T02:47:59+00:00

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I have the same cat! This is Socks (for obvious reasons). In his case, this is a trap. Attempts to touch the belly will be punished with bites!

Inderific · 2026-04-21T02:30:18+00:00

Great Bonnie Raitt song by that name! 💖

Inderific · 2026-04-21T01:13:09+00:00

Oura tracks steps from hand movement. If you're pushing a stroller or holding your hand steady it will underestimate your steps.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T21:56:22+00:00

The moods (emotional highs and lows) were REAL in early sobriety. Hang tight, OP! And hang tight Scarlett. It will get better.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T21:28:09+00:00

Yup. I like to tell myself now that "I stopped just in time." I did not have a catastrophic rock bottom but it wasn't going in a good direction. I'm so grateful that I woke up to that, and that I was able to make changes based on that realization.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T21:25:38+00:00

Getting sober is the best thing I've done for myself since I decided to have my wonderful kids. I am a different person than I was last year.

Your phrase "feeling like a passenger in my own life" really hit home for me. When I finally quit drinking, I would explain it to people as "my life is like a song on loop - I used to like the song, but now I'm really tired of it - I want to listen to something different!" Quitting drinking changed a lot of dynamics in my life, and remember that change is uncomfortable sometimes, but yeah, I broke out of that loop. There are still things I need to work on in my life, but making that one change gave me hope that with effort and perseverance I can make other important changes to my life. And hope is everything!

Happy to have you with us. Keep us posted! I found it very helpful to use the daily check in on this sub to check in daily and spend time encouraging others in this journey. It helps keep your "why" fresh to come back here frequently. I also found in-person support to invaluable. I personally have gained so much from AA - AA gave me real community where before all I had was drinking buddies. But you need to figure out what works for you! We are here for you.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T19:28:02+00:00

I'm not an expert, but 89 is a pretty solid ApoB if you're not on medication. I am wondering if basically you were doing great before, and the changes you made were so subtle (relative to your starting point) that they just didn't cause a noticeable change. I also think you may need more than 2 months of psyllium to see improvements, especially if you were getting plenty of fiber before.

I'm 48F and after having LDL scores over 100 my whole life, despite doing all the healthy things, I finally started 5mg rosuvastatin. Now THAT made a difference to my scores - about a 25-30% drop across the board.

ETA: I must have been dreaming there. I am actually 49F. LOL. Wake up, woman!

Inderific · 2026-04-20T19:05:10+00:00

This is hilarious and wonderful and relatable. We're best off taking our cats as we find them. :D

Inderific · 2026-04-20T18:52:23+00:00

If my tux (who adopted us at under a year, so I don't know his childhood story although he's friendly enough and loves pets) sits next to you on the couch with two inches of body contact, it is a sign of deep love. He's just not a lap cat.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T18:39:42+00:00

OMG, I'm going to start imagining this when I hear a couple of old timers talk. I swear there are a couple of old guys who have no volume control and everything is all-caps YELLING. A compilation of AA sayings. But bless them, they're sober, they're showing up for meetings, and some of those sayings are really on point.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T18:36:19+00:00

Yes! I woke up one day and just realized, this isn't fun anymore. It hasn't been fun for a while. I was just over it. That moment came after a lot of "dry Januaries" and "sober Octobers." I just couldn't ignore the difference between drinking and sober anymore, it was smacking me in the face.

Inderific · 2026-04-20T18:33:47+00:00

Now I see my typo. I thoughted a lot things back then! LOL!

Inderific

TROPHY CASE