Greetings all.
Did three AF days in a row last week. My goal for this week is four in a row. Wish me luck! My numbers are still higher than I want but AF days are very easy.

Wow! You're doing great. Those easy AF days are a real achievement.

Hey there Tiller. Thanks for the encouragement.

My numbers were up this week. Been on vacation. Good food and wine. Over did things twice and felt a bit yucky the next day.

So.......here is the deal. AF days are very easy. I want to try something next week. I want to go Monday thru Friday without drinking. If any of you have any helpful hints or tips to hep reach this goal I woul REALLY love to hear them. Thanks in advance.

GA

Hey! I love to hear that AF days have gotten easy for you, and I think going M-F AF is a great goal. My tip would be to treat yourself to some fun that doesn't include alcohol, so it isn't just a crappy week of self-denial. Maybe go to the movies or something. How old are your kids? Maybe take them to mini golf. It's too bad that we drunks have a hard time separating food and alcohol because going out to dinner, while a treat, can be a bit of a trigger.

Best of luck!

Thanks Generic. Great advice. My kids are 13 and 16. There are several movies I would love to see and my daughter can always keep me busy shopping. She has discovered TJ Maxx. My son is also on a travel baseball team. They play during the week and many times I don't get home until late in the evening. Distraction can be a good thing.

That brings me to another thought. Many times I think I drink because I am bored. Can anybody relate? The kids are not home or they are busy doing something else. My husband is doing his own thing. Next thing you know I am bored out of my mind. I have started going to the Y at night to exercise. That seems to help. I really think that now my drinking is more of a habit than anything else. Any thoughts?

YES. The craving and endorphin rush got me in the most trouble, but nal hasn't cured the boredom. I can't give you a ton of advice because I haven't fully figured this one out myself. Alcohol makes life exciting. In our quartered off suburban lives, we sit alone in our little boxes without friends or family around. It's not how humans are meant to live and hence the boredom and subsequent boredom solvers - ipad, television, books, alcohol, work.

When you solve this one, let me know. I'll follow you. Til then just try to have fun I guess. Spend some of the money you are saving on liquor on entertainment!

You have to learn to sit with yourself in sobriety and it is difficult.

I can definitely relate. My drunken danger level and cravings are usually the worst when I am alone.

In response to your question regarding boredom and what to do when not drinking, I read a book about quitting drinking by Allen Carr "Easy Way to Stop Drinking", (it did not work for me but was a good book anyhow and I would recommend it to all) but one of the things he said in the book was that you will have a lot more free time now that you are not drunk or hung over (with NAL its more like not as drunk or drunk as ofter nor as hung over or as hung over as before) but you still have more time since you are not drinking as much nor hung over as much and he said that one of the great side effects of less alcohol is that you have more time and the beauty of it is that you now have to figure out what to do with that extra time, we all know that our time here on earth is limited and its a gift to have more of it...so go out and do something, anything with your extra time and what ever you do it is infinitly better than being drunk or so hungover you cant function!!!!!

That's the hard part. Look at my thread, I began looking for things to do! I had to have something to fill the time because I couldn't stand the boredom. There is wisdom in the old saying "idle hands are the devil's workshop." I think the issue is a lack of stimulation.

Glad the AF days are easier! The more you get, the easier they are!