Blogging forever? When does it end?

This is a question we all face. Do I keep writing? If so? Why? And what?

I had absolutely no thoughts that I would be wringing a sober blog for 4 years. When I started this I don’t think I even planned to be sober for 4 years….

But here I am.

I continue to blog because I love the connection. I love having a safe space to explore my own though process. I love to share my story in the hopes it might make a difference to someone else. Maybe I could help them, or myself, avoid even a bit of future suffering. This is part of my yoga.

I blog when something inspires or annoys me. After all, it’s my space. I get to say what I want!

I blog when I am scared and struggling. The love and kindness that comes from strangers, the coping strategies and stories. They all help me see myself more clearly. Gh to do that when in the midst of crisis.

And I blog to remind myself that the foundation for my current life is sobriety. This life is formed by honesty, self compassion and contentment. It is important to remember that my drinking life involved lying, shame and self hatred. I know alcohol, was not the sole reason for that, but it was my coping mechanism to avoid dealing with them.

I fear that adding alcohol back into my life would welcome back those negatives as well. It might also shake the mental health stability that I work hard to maintain.

I don’t love in fear of alcohol. I don’t really think about it much. Except to be grateful to myself that I saw the writing on the wall and quit when I did.

I don’t underestimate the power of that gratitude. I have seem people with long term sobriety relapse and it is not fun. I try very hard to make my life as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible.

For me, the connection to the blogging world is a reaffirmation daily that I accept my sober life as it is and I choose to live it the best way I can. One day at a time.

Stillness and peace

Anne

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3 years for my friend

If you have not found sober mummy’s blog, go read it. Or, better yet, buy her book. She’s inspiring, funny and very real.

Today is her 3 year soberversary. This is worth a read.

Stillness and peace

Anne

http://mummywasasecretdrinker.blogspot.com/2018/03/3-secrets-to-getting-sober.html

Thank you

Thank you all for lifting me up when I was down.

There is a power of connection that exists, even here in the virtual blog world, that heals.

I have actually found quite a bit of peace in the fact that this is all out in the open. Yes, last year was poor. I know why, and I have made changes to avoid it. There’s no looming talk. The fear of the unknown is gone. I can stop projecting this conversation in my head.

The night I write my last post I took my son to hockey and he was the star of the game. His joy reminded me that I have so much beauty in my life. That’s work is just one aspect of it. One I just can’t let tarnish the rest.

It scares me sometimes that I can get caught up in that dark dwelling. But when I write about it, and tell my friends about it, and take care of myself, it all becomes simpler. I’m sticking with simple and gentle for a while.

I was supposed to go to a funeral of an acquaintance this weekend. I sent my husband alone. I just didn’t think I had the extra capacity to hold other peoples grief.

So thank you for being there for me. I love you all. And I am here for you too.

Stillness and peace,

Anne.

Hard days make me tired

I had a hard day today. I felt undervalued and criticized at work.

Sometimes a hard day sucks everything out of me and I am surprised at how easily I slip back into the thoughts that nothing really matter, that no one cares, that I am alone. Dark thoughts.

I see them. It disappoints me that they are still there, but I have found if I tell others that they exist they aren’t quite so scary.

And one of my good friends reminded me that I am the sky. These thought are just the weather. Some days have rain clouds. Some have beautiful sunshine.

I will take extra care tonight. Maybe a warm bubble bath, cozy Pajamas and bed.

I hope my stillness and peace feels a bit closer tomorrow.

Anne

Ps sometimes I wonder if it’s good to write about these hard days. But I find it helps me to be able to look back and see my own ups and downs. The hard thing about depression is when it shows up I just can’t believe it will ever end.

On the way home

We are heading home from our annual trip to Orlando followed by a 4 day rock cruise.

A sober life does not need to be boring! It can be amazing!

The voice of I’M FINE

I have probably written about this before, but it’s January and there are lots of new faces!

If you have just started the sober journey, welcome! You are making a choice that might just lead you to a love of freedom and limitless possibility. The life we all have, but that gets bogged down in the booze.

If you are back from a break/relapse/whatever, it’s great to see you again. Big hug.

So. It’s 10days into January. The novelty of declaring that you are quitting drinking has worn off. Perhaps you have found these 10days easy and you are beginning to hear that inner voice slyly telling you nothing was wrong. Everyone drinks. You deserve it. You haven’t lost your job, house, marriage. You are FINE. Just drink moderately.

It’s good that you can hear that voice. It is important to recognize it. And it is also important to remember that not everything we think is true. Denial, especially around addictive behaviour, is strong. No one wants to feel like they have let things get out of control. Especially not anyone how otherwise is successful and driven. I know. This thinking kept me drinking much longer than I knew I should have.

But you are here, and so you realize that perhaps alcohol is part of the problem. So, what to do?

Give sobriety a chance. Consider it an experiment. See how your life works without alcohol dulling it.

It might be itchy and uncomfortable. But it will also be bright and poignant and beautiful. You just need to keep your eyes and mind open.

There is no easy way through the first days and weeks. This is where focusing on today is helpful. When asking for help might be necessary. Even if it is scary. It is also a brave step of self compassion.

I know it’s hard to believe that a life without alcohol could be exciting, fun and happy. I can only tell you my experience…

Before I quit drinking I was constantly on edge, depressed and I felt very unnoticed and taken for granted. I didn’t feel like my family saw all I was doing for them. I believed I was trying so hard and no one recognized my effort. I was full of self pity.

Once I stopped using alcohol to drown these thoughts I quickly realized it was part of the problem. I stopped blaming everyone and everything for what was wrong in my life. I actually started to see the good.

And I realized I was worth the effort. I deserved to be clear headed. And that life really was too beautiful to bide away my time on the couch crying into my class of wine. There is SO MUCH MORE!

So stick with it. Give it some time. Write your story. Go to meeting. Whatever. You will find a world of support.

Stillness and peace,

Anne

Believe

It’s time for the word of the year.

I have been thinking about this a lot. Over the past few years my word of the year has helped me find inspiration and motivation. Each year I add another word onto my list. Not replacing one word with another, so much as adding another layer, another perspective.

In 2014 i used acceptance, when I was trying to understand my new sober life and things seems scary and hard. Change starts with acceptance. I needed this.

2015 was Love, as my life began to solidify into something beautiful. I learned to truly love myself.

For 2016 I chose Faith, when I needed to stop seeking, and start trusting myself.

2017 was santosha or contentment. The softening into a life of stillness and peace. It has served me well this year, as it was a disruptive year full of recovery from The 2016 wildfire, followed by an economic downturn. Santosha has reminded me that I always have everything I any moment. I just need to close my eyes and breathe.

For 2018 I have thought long and hard. I considered pride. I have had a few hard incidents this year that have shaken my confidence in myself and left me a little tentative and unsure of myself. I wondered if pride was what I needed to regain my self…but no…pride is not the right word for me this year. It is too brash and sharp. It feels too defensive.

Believe feels right. Believe can help me remember that I know who I am. Remember that I don’t always have to justify myself or explain myself. Sometimes people might not get me. Sometimes people might not like me or the choices I make. But that’s ok. I am making the right choices for me and my life.

I believe life is a beautiful, that an open mind can see endless possibilities, that when I do things wholeheartedly I can be proud of my actions, even if the results aren’t always what I expect.

For 2018 I can believe.

If you are a blogger and choose a word of the year please let me know. If you don’t blog maybe you can share your word, if you choose one, in the comments.

Merry Christmas.

Stillness and Peace,

Anne

Jay Z

This weekend we ventured outside our normal genre and went to see Jay Z. It was my birthday and craig bought us all tickets…in Edmonton.

It worked out well. Cleo had to see the eye specialist anyway, so we flew down on Thursday.

And we invited my parents to meet us. They drove up and we had hotel rooms on the same floor (not adjoining…not right beside).

This was a big win. A few years ago I decided that Christmas was not a time for visitors and I told my parents they couldn’t come to our house. The last time they did was December 2013. I had just quit drinking. I was stressed, hysterical, embarrassed, depressed. It was a nightmare.

My mom is hard to get along with. Nothing I do ever seems right or good enough. Everything is an underhanded criticism. When I am around her I begin to believe again that something is desperately wrong with me, and if I could just do better/more, be smarter, thinner, nicer, less difficult, less opinionated…sigh. Less me…than she might like me.

Yes. It is hard. And hurtful. And it really is like that. But, of course, if I ever mention it it’s all me. I over react. And in my drinking days I just drowned out the criticism and hurt and feelings of inadequacy with wine.

So. Over the past 4 years of therapy I have found short, neutral ground visits work best for me. I need my own space.

I have considered just not seeing her, but the kids enjoy short visits with their grandparents…although Cleo sees it all exactly as it is and refuses to take any crap from her grandmother. And I feel guilty when I avoid them.

So this weekend we met up and had some visits and did some shopping and played some cards. We celebrated my 46 birthday. We were all pleasant and nice.

Jay Z was fun. Not as much dope smoke as anticipated. Lol. May parents didn’t come to the concert.

4 years of sobriety have helped me find those boundaries while still living my life. I respect anyone who chooses complete avoidance from family who are difficult. It’s a hard decision to make, but a brave one. I am glad I have found a middle ground that works for now.

Life isn’t simple…it’s just much clearer. I am not the problem! And I remember everything.

If you feel obligated by family during the holidays step back and ask yourself what is necessary. What would you prefer. And how can you make that happen. People might not like it, but I know I’m responsible for my own mental health. We all are.

Stillness and peace,

Anne

FOUR YEARS LATER…

Looking back…

Four years ago I was sad. My life seemed bleak. I was full of anxiety and very depressed.

I had a good job, a nice family, but inside I felt wrong. I never felt good enough. I never felt successful. I felt like a failure and a fraud. I hated myself.

I had tried to solve my deep distress. I embrace exercise and food rules and became obsessed with fitness and low carb diets and depriving myself. I felt good when doing this, but in a bleak, self destructive way. There was always something I didn’t do right. During this time I really believed if only I could be perfect, things would be ok…and that consequences and accountability would help me find that.

This helped for a few years, as my ability to control my body and my food intake helped my anxiety….but eventually it stopped helping.

Through it all I could see that drinking was part of the problem, but I never really considered I would have to quit. I just needed to get things under control. So I drank more water, has more days off between drinking, etc. But it was part of our social life and I refused to do much more.

As my anxiety got worse I looked for more solutions. I joined an online fitness program. And it turned out to be a self help program in disguise. All that year we were encouraged to ask ourselves what our “best life”would include. What things we did to support this.

And drinking always cropped up as something holding me back.

December 1,2013 I finally had enough. I decided I couldn’t used stupid rules or plans to stop drinking. I just had to not drink.

So, as an early birthday gift, I decided to give myself a year of sobriety.

I have really never looked back. It has been very, very hard sometimes…I have had episodes of depression, people close to us have died, shitty things happened. BUT it has also been the easiest decision I ever made. And make every single day.

Because once the hysteria ended and shadow alcohol had over me lessened, i felt free.

With that freedom I have chosen to take the path of self awareness. I have looked for and asked for help from many different venues. I try to be open minded enough to participate before judging. And I let go of what isn’t helping me.

I follow the yogic path, I embrace honesty and compassion, and I try to treat myself and others like the precious and divine creators we are.

I have become a person I am proud of.

The thoughts of drinking are minuscule now. They mostly appear when I am hungry and tired and am feeling insecure. I find telling other about them make them powerless. Secrets have never helped me.

If you think alcohol is preventing you from living a life of joy and contentment, quit. Get whatever help you need to make that happen, and find out who you really are. You will be amazed.

Thank you all for all the support you have shown me over the years! My plan is for there to be many more.

Stillness and peace

Anne

Slips, relapses and blogging

I have read lots of blogs recently where people are dealing with relapse and trying to understand what the next step is.

And a few bloggers have disappeared…maybe thinking they don’t want the pressure or will begin again in 2018….I don’t know, I just know my heart goes out to anyone struggling.

So. All I want to say is that in a sober community I really hope there is no need to hide or pretend things are better than they are. We all have struggled and felt defeat and couldn’t understand our own behaviour and created long, elaborate excuses for what we knew were not our best choices. We all learn by sharing our experiences.

This is hard. Really hard. Every day of sobriety is a win. Every time we choose not to drink is a act of self compassion.

In the year before I finally quit I swore every Monday that I was done. I always felt that horrible, post drinking anxiety and self loathing. I felt physically exhausted and mentally beaten down. By Thursday or Friday I would have perked up enough to begin to reconsider and in my head an argument would begin. I derserved to have a drink after a hard week. Everyone else drank. I was FINE. That thinking would grow and grow and become, what anothe blogger today called the fuck it’s.

I can still feel that intense tornado of anxiety that went with those thought. And eventually I would give in. I never ever expected to want long term sobriety, so even short term seemed unreasonable.

In a few weeks I will have 4 years of continuous sobriety. My life is dramatically more fulfilling than it was in 2013, but it is also very much the same. Same job, family, home. But I am very different. In these 4 years I have tried to explore support, open mindedness, asking for help, complete honesty. I have made sober friends in pèrson and online. 

So…where am I going with this…if you can at all relate to what I wrote and you have even a few days of sobriety, hold on to it. It is fragile and precious and needs nurturing. Talk to someone. Go to a meeting. Ask for support and if people say they don’t think you are “that bad,”,know all that matters is what you think. Because self denial is strong, but soul crushing.

On the other side is freedom and joy. And a different way of life that might seem scary and boring and bleak, but is beautiful.

And if you have longer term sobriety. Cherish it. I have many times considered if I could drink again…maybe it woüld be different. Maybe I’m more self aware and less self destructive. But I just can’t imagine I would be worth risking freedom and joy for alcohol and numbness. The basic fact it’s even a consideration reminds me why I don’t drink.

So keep writing. Keep tryin. Keep patting yourself on the back and telling yourself you love yoü. 

And don’t drink today!

Stillness and peace

Anne