Stresses I didn't have before...

[Montgomery BOO...URNS]

I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware of
not only the good things that are going on around you but also the bad
things. Stresses that were happening from day to day have only become
more outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here does what in
order to take the edge off?

DC

[Robert McGregor]

"Montgomery BOO...URNS" <solitude439@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:D4Sdnb2np7flLaTeRVn-jQ@rcn.net...
>I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware
>of not only the good things that are going on around you but also
>the bad things. Stresses that were happening from day to day have
>only become more outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here
>does what in order to take the edge off?
>
> DC

I took the 12 steps, where causes of stress are discovered, and
solutions to stress are revealed. http://tinyurl.com/9a2o9

Bob

[Dudley Do Rite]

Yup... "awareness" is a double-edged sword. It is for me anyway. There are
some things of which I'm aware, respond appropriately (new!) and feel good
about myself. There are many times however - stress brings on a lot for
me - when I say what's on my mind, without regard to "being of service" or
at least, just trying to be pleasant.

I notice it most with my interactions with my wife. I make my "living
amends" to her regularly and unfortunately, often. I've been made aware of
what a dick I used to be (still am?) and it's not a really pleasant
experience. But it's probably very necessary.

Thursday's 4 months for me!

"Montgomery BOO...URNS" <solitude439@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:D4Sdnb2np7flLaTeRVn-jQ@rcn.net...
>I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware of not
>only the good things that are going on around you but also the bad things.
>Stresses that were happening from day to day have only become more
>outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here does what in order to
>take the edge off?
>
> DC

[A cultist subliminal AA message from Been There Got A Mug]

Where as I use to rush to a conclusion,
now adays I reflecton on this little saying:

Let me set aside everything I think I may know
So I have experience something new today.

And if that doesn't work:

Shutup and listen (quietly).

Issues and actions I use to take real serious or as a threat
I just say "what is ... is " and leave it alone.

[Montgomery BOO...URNS]

"A cultist subliminal AA message from Been There Got A Mug"
<BeenThereGotAMug@Yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1127871195.506162.296750@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Where as I use to rush to a conclusion,
> now adays I reflecton on this little saying:
>
> Let me set aside everything I think I may know
> So I have experience something new today.
>
> And if that doesn't work:
>
> Shutup and listen (quietly).
>
> Issues and actions I use to take real serious or as a threat
> I just say "what is ... is " and leave it alone.

Or maybe snapping a rubber band around the wrist? Actually, I'm sure a lot
of people in this newsgroup have resorted to exercise and physical activity.
I have been reading a book about Holistic treatment for asthma. There are
lots of tidbits about changing your lifestyle, eating habits and any other
bad habits you may be forming including consumption of alcohol. I think
it's a great read. If any of you get a chance, check out Asthma Survival by
Robert S. Ivker, D.O. It's not just dedicated to asthma as much as it
explains different ways to naturally treat yourself without drugs or daily
medications. There is a small section about the effects of alcohol and with
all abstaining aside, it DOES explain that alcohol in moderation (1 or 2
nursed glasses) promotes good health, reduces stress and improves digestion.
Unfortunately, the makeup of this newsgroup are mainly recovering alcoholics
or heavy-drinkers and that would be bad advice to those of us who have
become successful with their abstinance.

Maybe Yoga or some form of transcendental meditation is in order??

Take care and good health.

DC

[Robert McGregor]

"A cultist subliminal AA message from Been There Got A Mug"
<BeenThereGotAMug@Yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1127871195.506162.296750@g43g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com...
>
> Where as I use to rush to a conclusion,
> now adays I reflecton on this little saying:
>
> Let me set aside everything I think I may know
> So I have experience something new today.
>
> And if that doesn't work:
>
> Shutup and listen (quietly).
>
> Issues and actions I use to take real serious or as a threat
> I just say "what is ... is " and leave it alone.
>

Really?

So the "cultist subliminal AA message" in your headers merely
reflects your estimable detachment?

Bob

[Bryan]

Montgomery BOO...URNS wrote:
> I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware of
> not only the good things that are going on around you but also the bad
> things. Stresses that were happening from day to day have only become
> more outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here does what in
> order to take the edge off?
>
> DC
All i know is your doing great with your sobriety.
I quit around the time you do. Wasn't that
serious about it though made it like 3 weeks.

Just a quickk though, i am curious have you gone
to AA meetings. I haven't heard you say much
about AA just curious i guess. Guess most people
use AA, but some are utterly opposed to it. I'm
stil in the middle trying to figure so i'm just
curious.

Bryan

[rosie read n' post]

congrats on your four months!

--











"Dudley Do Rite" <lemondrop17@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:r5idnfate5c2eqTeRVn-1g@comcast.com...
> Yup... "awareness" is a double-edged sword. It is for me anyway.
There are
> some things of which I'm aware, respond appropriately (new!) and feel
good
> about myself. There are many times however - stress brings on a lot
for
> me - when I say what's on my mind, without regard to "being of
service" or
> at least, just trying to be pleasant.
>
> I notice it most with my interactions with my wife. I make my "living
> amends" to her regularly and unfortunately, often. I've been made
aware of
> what a dick I used to be (still am?) and it's not a really pleasant
> experience. But it's probably very necessary.
>
> Thursday's 4 months for me!
>
> "Montgomery BOO...URNS" <solitude439@rcn.com> wrote in message
> news:D4Sdnb2np7flLaTeRVn-jQ@rcn.net...
> >I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware of
not
> >only the good things that are going on around you but also the bad
things.
> >Stresses that were happening from day to day have only become more
> >outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here does what in
order to
> >take the edge off?
> >
> > DC
>
>

[rosie read n' post]

yes, the stress that i was experiencing in "normal daily living" became
VERY apparent, after i quit drinking!
you know what else became apparent?
that i was the source of most of that stress!

rosie

--











"Montgomery BOO...URNS" <solitude439@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:D4Sdnb2np7flLaTeRVn-jQ@rcn.net...
> I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware of
> not only the good things that are going on around you but also the bad
> things. Stresses that were happening from day to day have only become
> more outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here does what in
> order to take the edge off?
>
> DC

[A cultist subliminal AA message from Been There Got A Mug]

I've already been diagnosed by a professional cultist
that having any clue what happens in an AA meeting
leave those with an subliminal intent to infect others, so
I feel a need to forewarn others of that. Remember, I am
still in consent state of recovery.

As Jules said to Ringo : "I'm trying, I'm trying real hard".

[Montgomery BOO...URNS]

"Bryan" <bekberg@charter.net> wrote in message
news:Bkq_e.3791$wg7.3517@fe06.lga...
> Montgomery BOO...URNS wrote:
>> I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware of not
>> only the good things that are going on around you but also the bad
>> things. Stresses that were happening from day to day have only become
>> more outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here does what in
>> order to take the edge off?
>>
>> DC
> All i know is your doing great with your sobriety. I quit around the time
> you do. Wasn't that serious about it though made it like 3 weeks.
>
> Just a quickk though, i am curious have you gone to AA meetings. I
> haven't heard you say much about AA just curious i guess. Guess most
> people use AA, but some are utterly opposed to it. I'm stil in the middle
> trying to figure so i'm just curious.

I haven't really been to an AA meeting. It's been discussed with me in this
newsgroup that I should attend AA but I haven't found a need to do so yet.
I would like to attend just to soak in the atmosphere. I do agree with some
of the posts I've read on here that AA doesn't really help most people but
then again I feel that nothing will help anyone unless they want to help
themselves. I do feel that attending AA would be a positive experience once
I start attending but for those people who are in desperate need to quit
drinking, I don't think AA is the answer. I think the answer for their
problems is that they have to want to quit. I have friends who have
attended AA almost as if it's a career and they're drinking got worse. They
have been to rehab only to hit the bottle again once the scheduled time of
rehab was over. So there's a lot to explain here and maybe it sounds like
excuses as to why I haven't attended AA but I've been dry for a month now
and now I'm shooting for my 2nd month. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for your support and good health to you.

DC

[rockhound]

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 07:32:16 +1000, "Robert McGregor"
<robert_mcgregor@knickers.yahoo.com.au> wrote:

>
>"Montgomery BOO...URNS" <solitude439@rcn.com> wrote in message
>news:D4Sdnb2np7flLaTeRVn-jQ@rcn.net...
>>I guess the fact that I feel awake also opens doors to being aware
>>of not only the good things that are going on around you but also
>>the bad things. Stresses that were happening from day to day have
>>only become more outstanding. I guess this is part of it. Who here
>>does what in order to take the edge off?
>>
>> DC
>
>I took the 12 steps, where causes of stress are discovered, and
>solutions to stress are revealed. http://tinyurl.com/9a2o9
>
>Bob
>

Hi -

I'm a new driver myself at soberiety, and tend to go alllllll over the
road, so let me qualify the below with the boilerplate DON'T FOLLOW
ME, I'M LOST TOO. I can't speak for everyone, my case has been
different than many reported here, although i won't go too much into
that in this post cuz it's already gonna be looooooooooonnnnnnng and
i'm not in the mood for embellishing my tale of woe atm...

Those of us who have managed, despite our better intentions, to drink
ourselves out of families, friends and positions, and those of us who
nearly have, have found ourselves scared and lonely indeed. So many
of us once looked forward to bright futures; the calamities our lives
eventually became as our drinking got more and more out of control
have been heartbreaking. FWIW, i'll pass on some little pieces of the
road map that i've picked up in my travels, just on the probably
needless off chance that you may actually be a candidate for that
deadly condition we call alcoholism. Robert's experience above is
sound and insightful, but you probably wouldn't be interested in that;
you may find a little more light exercise or a much needed vacation
does the trick, or whatever. If business wasn't picking up i'd invite
you for a little chat line frolicking tension release...sorry no
time...too busy with stressful matters...

Anyway most drinkers can quit or moderate their drinking through
willpower, with or without supportive environments. Apparently you
have been trying that. Give it a good whirl or two - your troubles
may be solved that easily - maybe adopt some life improvement
strategies, health and business spared, end of story, no big deal.
Wipe the sweat off your brow if you don't need anything further, and
get on with living, making your pile and pursue your happiness. You
may currently just be one of these hard drinker types that abound,
who, although drinking foolishly at present, given a strong enough
resolve and maybe a spot of medical attention, will find himself able
to temper his intake or let it go altogether without too much bother,
and not really even miss it.

Hope against hope that you're not a true alcoholic, or that if you
are, or a potential alcoholic, hope that you are able to moderate or
stop entirely while there's still time, before the unkindest of
calamities visit you and your onlooking family - namely DTs, wetbrain,
lockup, and soiled pants.

If you do wind up visiting with AA folks anyway, grab one of their big
blue books - when i first read the book i thought, crap, this AA
ain't for me, so it's good for that too. There's tests for alcoholism
in there they WON'T tell you about at the meetings - they keep those
parts secret. There's scant chance you'll ever get the straight dope
just from going to their meetings. BTW,if you bother reading Ragge et
al you may have noted in case you don't control your drinking and get
slapped with another DUI they may send you there anyway, so wouldn't
hurt to check out the stuffy church basements anyway in case they
become your new home. Some guys sued over being sent there but i
think they only got a dollar. There's also a preponderance of other
self-help type hang-around groups, temporary rehabs, counseling pros,
etc. that folks on this board seem to know plenty about, so pick your
poison if you think you need a new social circle. Myself i was spared
a lot of that wasted time and money, and i'm still stuck with my old
buddies, but i guess i'm just lucky. Now i have more to waste here,
yay. A lot of guys too, find that a simple substitution is all that
they need to kick the habit and live contentedly. So if it's not hard
for you, just quit.

When i encountered AA, they explained things to me sort of like this:

The facts seem to be these: most real alcoholics, for reasons yet
obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. We may have started
off as moderate take-it-or-leave-it drinkers; we may or may not have
become continuous hard drinkers; but at some stage of our drinking
careers we began to lose all control of our liquor consumption, once
we started to drink.

Our so called will power eventually becomes practically nonexistent,
so far as alcohol is concerned. We are unable, at certain times, to
bring into our consciousness with sufficient force to keep from
picking up, the memory of the suffering, humiliation, of even a day,
let alone a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the
first drink. Once succumbed, we have little control over the amount
we take, and we're off on another spree, with all its attendant
problems. This tragic condition has arrived in practically every case
looooooooonnnnnng before it is ever suspected. Many of us, irritated
by the notion we might have a problem, have been rather astonished at
our inability to stop, when we really wanted to. This loss of control
is progressive in nature and only seems to gets worse over time, never
better.

The almost certain consequences that follow taking even a glass of
beer do not crowd into the mind to deter us. If such sensible
thoughts do occur, they're hazy, and they're readily supplanted with
the old threadbare idea that this time we'll handle ourselves like
other people. There is a complete failure of the kind of instinctive
reaction that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove.

The alcoholic may say to himself in the most casual way, "Maybe i
don't really have a problem with it"..."Just one can't hurt"..."Won't
bother me on a full stomach"..."Well i've gone this long without
any"..."I'll control it this time"..."Aw hell it's the holidays - who
wouldn't celebrate"..."They'll think i'm stuck up if i reject a
drink"..."Well i guess as long as i make sure i don't drive"..."It
won't burn me this time, so here's how!"... Or might not even think
at all. How often some of us set out deliberately to tie one on, or
have begun to drink in a careless way, and, after the third or fourth,
shook our heads and said to ourselves, "Shit, how the crap did i ever
get started again?" Only to have that thought supplanted by "Well,
I'll stop with the sixth drink." Or "What's the use anyhow?"
Eventually the blackouts begin, the mad early morning searches for a
fix, the futile attempts at control, the resolutions, the progressive
deterioration and ever-deepening despair; madness sets in, as we
helplessly watch our once hopeful lives ravaged in the wake. Still we
find ourselves quite unable to do like our grade school, RR and MM
counterparts, and Just Say No.

Medicine suggested that that this phenomenon of craving, an allergy,
they called it, is limited to abnormal drinkers and never occurs in
the average temperate drinker. These 'allergic', alcoholic types can
never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed
the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their
self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile
up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve. Even a stark
awareness of their ever-maddening condition, an intimate knowlege of
the devious workings of their minds, thousands invested in
professional help, warnings of doctors, judges, family, none of these
seem to hold enough weight to counter the thought of another drink,
for us, and another drink frequently spells another debacle with
suffering for us, and our loved ones, if they're even still around
much.

When this sort of thinking is fully established in an individual with
alcoholic tendencies, they said, he may have placed himself beyond
human aid, and unless locked up may die or go permanently insane. The
idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is
the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of
this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of
insanity or death. Our drinking careers were characterized by
countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like normal men.

If you yourself may have inadvertently crossed into such a dangerous
area, you are to be congratulated if you are able to quit entirely or
moderate your intake. Or, if you think this description doesn't apply
to your case, that you are not so far gone or do not share these
experiences, you should be congratulated nonetheless on your efforts
to better yourself and kick a troubling habit. Maybe just tell your
family and friends that your consumption has begun to worry you and
you plan to abstain for the time being, and would appreciate their
support in that regard, especially if you get a bit irritable now and
then.

I sure as hell couldn't relate to any of that alcoholism stuff when
first presented, said thanks for the information, i can handle things
from here; i'm sure not *that* alcoholic. The girl laughed i recall,
suggested she probly wasn't *that* pregnant, either...

Anyway feel free to kick up your feet like the rest of us once you
think you've got it licked, or determined it's all BS, and join us in
telling each other how it really is :)

Oh, thanks for your recent posting, it has totally made my day.

PS *If* you're alcoholic, the world would tell you to avoid your
drinking buddy like the plague, while AA, on the other hand, would
suggest he holds the very key to your recovery, that in rejecting him
you sign your own death warrant... Minor qualitative difference i've
uncovered.