My Drinking History: Over four decades of mostly problem drinking, five drunken-related arrests in my 20s (the early 80s), of abstinence and binge-drinking, of trying moderation and usually-or-often failing, of being immersed in almost every other recovery group out there, but of being mostly sober.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

I Made A Conscious Decision To Get Drunk Tonight : )

I'm enjoying it now but I may not feel the same way in the night and in the morning!

This is only the third time this month I haven't moderated; a true successful moderation story in the making!

I keep track on my calendar:



Thursday, December 17, 2015

Actually, One Single Beer Was The Way To Go Last Night

Wow, one Omission gluten-free Pale Ale at 6:30 while sitting cross-legged on the floor wrapping Christmas presents was better than abstaining. It eased the physical aches in my hips and lower back, and it eased the bit of stress I happened to be in then. And then I guess it was the hops that helped me have a perfect night's sleep last night. (That's why hops-blend tea is recommended two or three hours before bedtime, btw.)

Hmm, though, I still don't see myself becoming a daily drinker, even if it's just 1!

GO MODERATION!

When we act according to our own values, we have integrity.

My drinking values are 0-3, sometimes 4.


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Anybody Want Some Edibles?


Candy_Hearts

I tried one after drinking 4 of my 6-pack of beer (Omission Gluten-Free; yum). And btw, another shout-out to myself for the total self-control that is now mine.

I'd tried one of these 10 mg THC candy hearts a month ago, and it had the same effect, so now I know fer sure. Everyone is different, but for me it causes insomnia, and now my morning plans are ruined on account of I'm bushed. At least the high was pleasant and didn't create anxiety. Maybe these would be good for people who imbibe during the day.

I'm not big into any cannabis products anymore. Sometimes I'll have a few tokes on my vape pen at night to help me sleep, and for the buzz. Sometimes I'll use CBD tincture for aches and pains.

Looking forward to another abstinence day today. : )

I'm telling ya, my blog is going to become obsolete!

Monday, December 14, 2015

. . .

Well, I suppose it will happen sometimes!

Last night I simply chose to polish off the bottle I had, as well as treat lower back pain.

I'm not worried about my moderation ability!

Today will be an enjoyable 0 day, just like the day before yesterday!


Sunday, December 13, 2015

You Are The Only One Who Gets To Know This Right Now

You know who you are.

I've enjoyed 5 shots of tequila today! :D

But I am still moderating

And I'm Happy and Proud and Confident !

And I will Always tell you the truth --- even if you are not ready to tell ME the truth !

It's All Good !

OMG --- this Premium Bubba Kush cannabis is the bomb too! :)

It was the most beautiful and perfect day ever today!
My perfectforme wonderful beautiful little family and I bought and decorated our Christmas Tree!
Perhaps later than usual because the patriarch just returned from Finland!

Here are a couple of pictures of our perfectbeautiful tree ............ oh man, it's raining right now!
Hallelujah ! ! !

......Where was I ? .....

Who knows and who cares!

I Love Life!!!

O! Now I remember! Our tree, the one we happy four bought from Home Depot and decorated this evening... I walked out into the living room this evening and saw a HEART ornament vibrating! My daughter saw it too! (BTW, I swear I'm from the planet Arcturius or something) ( is that the planet that is about hearts? ) (because I see hearts Everywhere, in Everything!)

These pictures were taken after-the-fact so don't be lookin' for no movement from the heart ornament !



Saturday, December 12, 2015

LPP Still In The House --- Rockin' It!

(Link in right margin)
I'm sharing many of the choicest responses from my coach, Shelly, from
Module 5: Resources

I continue to strongly recommend the Life Process Program as the Perfect tool and resource to help people overcome any kind of "addiction" or bad habit!

.I wholeheartedly believe that people possess within themselves the resources to tackle challenges that come up in their lives. I just dont think a lot people realize and utilize their own ability to access these resources when they need them. LPP works hard at aiding people by helping them find those inner strengths and resources, some that have yet to be discovered or have lied dormant for many years; we have the privilege through our work to see people become successful by learning to become their own advocate in life and agent of change.


Many people want a little more inner strength so that they dont abuse or fall prey to the excess of any addictive habit--there are too many to list as discussed in previous module reflection:) When emotions are strong in a persons life, either good or bad, they are diluted somewhat after an intense exercise session. This is a strong tool for achieving emotional balance. When you work out really hard and exercise with great intensity, it sort of turns down the volume of those emotions. They may still be there but they are far less important--they are less damaging. They cannot hurt you or affect you as much because the exercise is so intense. This could involve traditional exercise or even meditative practices. When I think of exercise and speak of it, I am speaking of it in either a physical sense or emotional sense as is seen with mental exercises; this is a personal preference available for everyone and whatever their life conditions are.


With respect to the FOO, do you FINALLY hold the power now in those relationships? I want you to challenge yourself when vulnerable FOO moments come, to recognize which part of you is feeling stuck or inferior, and align your inner self with your own power and control. Make sense? In some relationships the balance of power needs to shift at times, but only if to do so is less toxic and allows you to operate in a collective health.


Every relationship that we have is an emotional investment. Sometimes when we put our energy into the wrong things, we grow distance between us and the very things or people that we feel we need and dont want to lose in our lives. But who we emotionally invest ourselves in, are the relationships that support us and help sustain us the most during hard times. So the shift is now happening for you Jaya, where you are now putting much more effort into your primary relationships, and finally onto yourself, instead of other things. You know what the right things are now: love, patience, attention, focusing on those closest to you. Loved ones may still have their guard down, but if there is anything that can break down an emotional wall that has been built for self preservation and protection, it is LOVE--the unconditional kind goes a long way. I have a lot of hope for you and your situation with your loved ones=)


Which coping skills have improved the most, Miss Jaya? What changes did you have to make with your mindset to get as far as you are today with maintaining good use of problem solving and coping skills. Are there still struggles with emotional reactivity and jumping to assumptions?--which is fear-based living.--Im stretching you to look at this area, because I care of course!


Which skills (problem-solving and coping skills) do you identify right now as being ones that are the most difficult for you or that you feel you need better practice and management of?


You have done FABULOUS! We all can improve in one way or another. I sense that you have been wanting and ARE successfully building your coping skills up to a level where they are on autopilot in your mind, to respond and kick in when the situation requires it to, as well as being present and mindful or aware of what your emotional triggers are and what you are thinking and feeling. ALWAYS dare to challenge your inner critic--a part of yourself that can really sneak up on you--Remember that emotional reactivity arises out of the quality of our thought life.


Notice that when you exceed your healthy moderation level of drinking, youre giving it power and allowing IT to cope with circumstances in your life, instead of you, to the extent that the self management skills tend to go out the window! Choosing which thoughts and memories you want to feed with more attention and energy, and which ones serve no purpose to continue to do that for or replay in your mind over and over, is a lesson worth learning and gaining more proficiency in. Nobody wants to feel controlled by their life circumstances or people. I want your life story to include the worst of these memories because I want to help you successfully work through them so they arent continuing to control your life, especially your future.


OH OH...want to add...when any type of stress or triggers to stress sneak up on you, remember that--Mental stress is based on fear and is sometimes rooted in shame or guilt - based thinking! Our spiritual self--as you know--lives in a container of centeredness and self love:) So I really want you to monitor that for me closely right now. Lets work together on growing in this area of your life.


I think the key in this area is to find a way to live comfortably, while also gaining satisfaction from the work you are doing. I wish you could start perhaps leaving a donation area on your blogspot since it is so active and GROWING!! Youre a natural writer:)  -----------> You heard the coach, readers! Donate-up when I get that set-up! ;) HeeHee!


You are proving to be at a good place where you are now using more mindfulness techniques to ease overwhelming thoughts and memories that are associated with negative feelings that may come on occasion. What will help your memory centers of the brain right now, is continuing to focus on strengthening the following skills: mindfulness, goal-setting, measuring your goals, exploring values and holding yourself to them, future planning and anticipation, strengthening relationships with loved ones, and reframing negativity into positivity--immediately when you feel a moment of mental assault come on!

More thoughts that I would like to throw out there: When we are worried, we are focused on the wrong thing. Usually we are focused on the outcome we DONT want to have happen. We focus on these negative what ifs and help create that outcome by giving so much attention to it. Our brains try to find us more thoughts that match the things we think about. If you are thinking about something, even if you dont want it to happen, your brain helps create it for you. When you have more and more worry, you create neural pathways for it. Eventually it impacts your other thoughts and turns you into a worrier and you overflow your mental river banks with negative thinking. This week: I want you to ask yourself these questions--How much worrying do I do? Keep track of all the things you worry about for a full day. Write them down. Now assess them carefully. Are they really things you need to worry about, or are you wasting your time and energy worrying about things that are a) unimportant or b) not likely to happen?



Thursday, December 10, 2015

WIGGLE ROOM

Well now, I even seem to have unintentionally created some wiggle room for myself in my moderation plan!

Yesterday morning, in my fun conversation with my separated-bff-husband in Finland on a business trip!, he was so alive and happy and a little bit drunk because they HAD to drink cuz they jumped into the FREEZING water in a hole cut in the ice! Then they ran into the hot sauna!

I simply wanted to symbolically party with him last night! So I allowed myself a 4th drink---I had homemade silver tequila lemonade (never made that before, it was yum)---I had one drink per hour. I was feeling so fine and happy, I wanted another! But then I remembered that NO I didn't! If I did I would suffer in the night and the next morning! So I easily stopped.

And THEN I realized! Hey! I'm still moderating even though I went beyond my new 0-3 plan! : )
Cuz 4 is also moderating. So, how cool that when I go over my new mods limit of 3 by having 4 I'm still in my previous mods limit! No consequences in the night or this morning!

I'm Creating A Really Perfect Drinking Life For Myself And I LOVE It!

In case I didn't mention it in a while, when I say 0-3, that does indeed include nights I only drink 1 or 2; which happens frequently; as well as 0 happens frequently, like tonight will be.

Much Love To All
Much Success In Creating The Substance Use Of Your Dreams


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

I'm SO PROUD Of Myself !!

Seriously? I Can Hardly Believe It Myself, My Moderation Success Story!

But, nonetheless, It's Real! And It's True!

For the past Two weeks I've been consistently moderate,
And the week before that I was mostly moderate, except for two days,
And in the past three weeks I've enjoyed six 0 days,
but three of those were during this past week; so that's more progress!

Also, this past week I've successfully had no more than 3 drinks (standard drinks),
which means I've successfully changed MY moderation from 0-4 drinks to 0-3!
(I put MY in caps because everyone has to choose for themselves what moderation is.)

And an IMPORTANT factor is that it's being EASY and EFFORTLESS!
I'm not kidding!
There's NO "white-knuckling" nuthin!
I'm drinking this way because I truly WANT to and it FEELS GOOD!
It's So Easy to Stop drinking more now!

Shit, I should write a book!
Maybe I will!

WOW, if I could rescue other problem drinkers from CultAA and the Recovery Movement Mentality in general? That would ROCK!
And by "rescue" I really mean Help People Rescue Themselves!

Gosh, when I think about what a LUSH I was for the past decades during non-alcohol-free periods!, it blows my mind!

I should mention that I seem to have lost interest in cannabis products the past couple of weeks, and have barely touched them. But cannabis was never a problem for me anyway.


Monday, December 7, 2015

No News IS Good News!

<yawn> b o r i n g  report here!

Still successfully drinking either 0 or 1 or 2 or 3 standard drinks each day!

And LOVING it!

Seriously, if I can do this, sooo many others can!

FUCK AA!!!! (there's a long story here) : )


MODERATION IS KING!
MODERATION IS EVERYTHING!

Friday, December 4, 2015

Just Checking In



This blog could become obsolete, huh!  W o r t h  it---if so!

My present moderation plan: 0-3 standard drinks. 'Twas 0-4. And I had a lot of trouble drinking less than 6-8 on drinking days pre-Thanksgivingtime those many weeks, remember? And then I sent that bye-bye letter to my FOO (family of origin), and, as if a curse was broken, started drinking moderately again. Shit, if you knew my entire drinking history, you'd understand what a Miracle that truly is. : )

But... you gotta stay tuned... for a while.... to see how it actually goes!!

Also new for me: I don't start drinking until 5pm on drinking days, and it's effortless to wait that long. I would very often start with a liquid lunch and proceed from there, or I'd start around 3pm. And I really enjoyed getting my buzz-on during the days I drank like that! So this is totally RADICAL what I'm doing here; the past many days; with many 0 days thrown in (I love my 0 days!)!

I'm halfway through this new beer I picked up at Whole Foods (treat us to shopping there once a month):


May You Be Blessed!