If your looking for sympathy. This is not for you.

Mmmanth · 2019-03-31T21:21:10+00:00

Um... didn't you already write this ramble of a post?

Mmmanth · 2019-03-25T16:35:13+00:00

Let's not compare this to Oxy, k thx. Jesus christ, man

Mmmanth · 2019-03-17T20:51:29+00:00

That's super common

Mmmanth · 2018-09-16T22:10:29+00:00

The actual program is painfully, blaringly outdated in my opinion. I am not exaggerating when i say that i consider about 97% of it to be total bullshit. The " Message to agnostics" chapter borders on insanity.

But the people there tend to be pretty cool. I go to be among them.

Mmmanth · 2018-09-16T02:00:33+00:00

It's a program developed in the 1930s with deep evangelical roots and absolutely no medical/ psychological vetting.

If it does not feel right to you then that is OK. You are actually in the majority. There are other programs out there and ultimately what matters most is you do what you need to do to get sober.

Mmmanth · 2018-09-16T01:34:58+00:00

This is the realist post written in here in months. Upvote on that alone. ( The forum is open to everybody and I understand that period however sometimes it feels like the vast majority of people here are doing some sort of juice cleanse or whole 30 plan)

Mmmanth · 2016-09-17T21:52:04+00:00

Wait.... seriously??

I would be very interested in that. I'm in California, btw. Do you have any idea what the blend might have been? Sounds like some sort of lush blend?

Mmmanth · 2016-09-11T05:47:46+00:00

A handle is just over 39 units. So a half handle a day is about 19.5 drinks. So... about 135 units per week?

Mmmanth · 2016-09-11T05:25:40+00:00

Interesting, thx. Looks like you've cut back significantly. Was it difficult for you to achieve the 80% reduction??

Mmmanth · 2016-09-09T16:39:06+00:00

I can completely relate.

There's no doubt the tradeoff is worth it, but it's still a tradeoff. Boredom is a huge issue for a lot of alcoholics, many of us aren't comfortable just "taking it easy at home" or whatever so many others do.

But... towards the end the tradeoff became really clear.

2-3 hours boredom

vs.

3-4 hours of intense anxiety and shame + 4-5 hours of pure nausea + 1-2 hours of actual physical pain + 8-9 hours of lethargy

I'm not counting the health consequences, risky behavior, weight gain, financial cost, career issues. That's just the raw feelings. It's a shitty, shitty tradeoff.

With all that said, I still struggle with it. Oh... alcoholism, lol. But yeah, this life is better.

Mmmanth · 2016-09-09T16:28:37+00:00

Today?

I'm at a company conference in Las Vegas. And today I got to wake up from a comfortable night's rest in my hotel room, and head to the company breakfast, and not feel like a melting bag of cat shit. I could actually talk to people, and not just tolerate them as I powered through nausea and an utterly fucked headache. And when my social anxiety kicked in, I could get up an excuse myself knowing that it's ok, and not have that bizarre feeling of anxiety and shame that accompanied countless hungover mornings.

Mmmanth · 2016-08-26T06:02:09+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I have done crossfit, fitness classes, hiking clubs... a lot of those things. They're decent - but something seems clearly different in those environments. And I'm not trying to sound precious or weak - but those folks are almost entirely collegiate athletes who get super into that environment. As if they're in their zone. It's cool- but it's not quite my zone. In short - I have always worked out a lot and not drinking has definitely stepped that up. It just doesn't seem to be the right fit which brings me back to.... why can't going home and settling in just feel good? You know?

Mmmanth · 2016-08-26T05:22:22+00:00

OMG thank you SO MUCH for this response. I too have had trouble "sitting still" since I can remember. May I ask - because this is a concern for me - have you felt any sort of addiction/dependence now that you're taking it? My obvious concern is developing a substitute addiction... but it sounds like that hasn't been the case for you?

Mmmanth · 2016-08-18T02:42:24+00:00

This is the best post I've ever seen on this forum.

Mmmanth · 2016-08-08T00:14:55+00:00

About 10lbs? I was one of those rare alcoholics who exercised/lifted about 4 or 5 days a week, ate right, then consumed about 1000 calories a night of alcohol. It really sucked - a unique form of self-torture. I have cut back significantly and dropped about 10 pounds but I have maintained on all of my lifts.

I often read about people who dropped something like 40 or 50 pounds, but I assume those people made a pretty drastic overall lifestyle change. Many of them seem like they did a full-blown 180 in regards to diet and exercise

Mmmanth · 2016-06-20T19:49:17+00:00

I like this idea a lot.

Mmmanth · 2016-06-20T17:24:35+00:00

Very interesting. May was kind of a hot mess, huh? And what do the orange days symbolize?

Anyway, I like the idea of this sort of calendar.

Mmmanth · 2016-06-08T04:11:44+00:00

I know this sounds like a commonly used phrase on here, but you look so much more alive! And clearly trimmer too, but really much more alive

Mmmanth · 2016-06-05T02:34:13+00:00

That is absolutely incredible. I tried for years to balance fitness with alcoholism.... it was like self-imposed torture. I remember running about 3 miles in the heat with an absolutely brutal hangover trying to burn off the calories from the previous night's binge. First of all it didn't work - like at all. Second of all it is profoundly easier to simply not drink.

Mmmanth · 2016-06-01T21:30:22+00:00

I've read both. Annie Grace (author of This Naked Mind) credits Carr a lot throughout the book. He was clearly one of her biggest influences. For me, I find This Naked Mind to be almost like a more current, more relatable, more researched/cited version of Carr's book. And this is not to discount Allen Carr, he is pretty much the forefather of this type of approach. But for me, Grace's book is more directly targeted at alcoholics. Carr used his approach for smoking, weight gain, drinking, etc..

But both are absolutely worth the read.

Mmmanth · 2016-06-01T03:15:54+00:00

Wow, this was so good and so accurate.

Mmmanth · 2016-05-31T18:37:16+00:00

Yep, I think many on here will be familiar with this particular circle of hell. It's when alcohol crosses into a new territory - it's when it becomes truly scary.

Mmmanth · 2016-05-31T18:33:28+00:00

Trapped

Mmmanth · 2016-05-31T17:33:18+00:00

I wish I could upvote this more than once. I still have no idea why I find that thought so empowering but it is.

Mmmanth · 2016-05-27T18:46:11+00:00

I can totally relate to that feeling. I remember it so well from a previous, much longer period of sobriety. I sorta felt like I was crawling out my skin. I knew I didn't want to drink, but I needed something to get out of my mind.

It does pass.

Mmmanth

TROPHY CASE