Hey folks:

I don't go much for corny stuff but this is a cognitive-behavioral kinda technique that can make the road easier for people who are trying to change their lives against difficult odds:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/scien ... d=fb-share

The US Thanksgiving holiday was a chance for me to put this into practice.

Best to all TSMers.

Tiller, thanks for posting this article. Great stuff. I actually spent a lot of this last weekend thinking about what I was thankful for, in the midst of not feeling so great about things, and it's nice to know that the grateful mindset is backed by science. (Same as TSM, right?)

Hope your TGD day and weekend was great. Hope you're doing well on the alcohol and all fronts.

Deja

Ah, very good article - thank you for posting. I'm going to try that - putting in writing 5 items a week for which I am grateful...it might end up being the most accurate part of the journal I keep.

Chrissie

HI folks:

Last week saw the biggest numbers since I started TSM. It was a mix of a long Thanksgiving celebration and a big reunion party over the weekend. Nothing out of control and one greyed out end-of-evening. Wish I were trending downward but, oh well.

I'm still slogging though the "long march" phase of TSM. I never had a big honeymoon but my overall numbers are somewhat down and I often don't really feel like drinking even as the craving takes over. I think the nal is working in the background.

When I remember, I take 5gms of glutamine in water 3x daily. No side effects and -- sometimes -- it seems to help ease the cravings. But it's no miracle. The stuff is good for me anyway so I'll try to keep at it.

This week I'm going to try some additional willpower to keep daily numbers lower. Let's see how that turns out.

Been spending some nice time with my lovely, supportive wife. She and my kids are the real blessings in my life and I've been trying to keep that front-of-mind. Also did some carpentry (fun) and raked the rest of the leaves (not as much fun). A homey, 4-day holiday weekend.

Have a good week!

The holidays are tough to not see bigger numbers so its good you are keeping it in perspective. I am going to make a bigger effort this week as well, so if it helps at all think of me trying to make that push too and we can see how we do. Next week will be harder so lets go for it this week.

-pep

Thanks, Pep. I was making the bigger effort but got derailed last night after a manic session of packing Christmas boxes to ship. Grrr.

Hey Tiller

Don't get too down on yourself. You guys have both Thanksgiving (which we don't celebrate in New Zealand) and Christmas in quick succession. Family gatherings can be very stressful, especially for us alcoholics. The lead up to Xmas can also be very stressful, although I expect it's different in the States as it's not also the start of the summer vacation as it is for us. Anyway, try not to feel despondesnt about slow results. Check mine out after one year and you might feel better! I'm still hanging in there despite the roller coaster ride.

Take care and nal on
Sticky

Hmmm I don't mean to be a downer, but I'm super suspicious of all this "positive thinking" stuff now, especially after reading Barbara Ehreinreich's "Blind-sighted: How Positive Thinking Has Derailed America". Now, don't get me wrong, if making lists of things you are thankful for helps you and makes you happy, great. But I don't think beating yourself up for not feeling happy or grateful enough when you are having a hard time is productive, either. Sometimes things are genuinely difficult. Sometimes they are genuinely horrible. It is not useful to bury our feelings and justify things saying "Well, others have it worse, I SHOULD be happy, these are the things I SHOULD be grateful for, etc". I think that kind of denial and forcing of our feelings is something that we drinkers do a lot of anyways....
Anyways, don't mean to step on any toes. Just offering my 2 cents. I hope you are getting those numbers a bit lower these days and TSM is working its magic.

Hey Tiller,

Like the others have said, the holidays can be so stressful. I feel the pull tho drink more myself. Just keep plugging along. You will get through this just as we all will.

Happy Holidays,

Thanks for the responses, folks.

I agree with you, EL, that life can be hard and that's just the way it is. I am hardly an "always look at the bright side" or a feel-good, self-help type of person. If anything, I'm known for having a potent level of skepticism about most everything. I would never advocate burying one's troubles under positive thinking cliches.

That said, I'm interested in the increasing body of brain science showing that mood can be boosted by behavior. There seem to be good alternatives to the options offered by Big Pharma. Again, don't get me wrong: anti-depressants have helped me but are clearly being way over-prescribed. So alternatives that are simple and don't make someone else rich at our expense are worth considering.

I've also been really interested in Harvard prof Daniel Gilbert's research on what makes people happy and what doesn't. It's not the kind of sappy **** you find in the self-help section of the bookstore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Gil ... ologist%29

I offer these links in the spirit of sharing information -- and musing out loud -- rather than advocating a particular way of being. And I welcome all thoughts and perspectives!