Yesterday I drank alcohol for the first time since completing 100 days without it. On day 100, I was torn between remaining alcohol-free and seeking to drink in moderation. By day 103, I had decided I’d go for moderation and set these rules for myself (admittedly, unwritten rules until right now): No drinking alone No…
Two powerful statements to live by
I got myself into a bit of a state yesterday. I was tense and preoccupied and really wanted to curl up into my shell and hide. But I’m a mum and it’s the Easter Break so my kids are home and expecting to have fun. I didn’t give them a particularly fun day. I excused…
Day 100: Lesson 15 from quitting booze and sugar. At some point you have to decide who you are.
When I started this experiment, I committed to the longest period I felt I could achieve. Having never gone more than 31 days without alcohol, 100 days was a huge stretch. In many ways, it was much easier than I expected and at no point was I tempted to waver, even though I had days…
Day 99: Lesson 14 from quitting booze and sugar. There is a point where you’ll think you’re failing. You’re not.
There’s a concept I train in corporate workshops. It’s called ‘The 4 Stages of Competence’ and although I understood how it was useful in helping adults understand what they’d go through when they learned a new skill at work, I hadn’t thought about its relevance to me and things I would need to learn as…
Day 98: Lesson 13 from quitting booze and sugar. You can’t selectively numb emotions
“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” Brene Brown That pretty much says it all, really. I think this is partly why it’s so easy to get stuck in the cycle of numbing – because we never feel good enough to stop doing it. I…
Day 97: Lesson 12 from quitting booze and sugar. Helping other people helps you too.
Do you have a mind like mine – where the landscape ranges from tropical paradises to fly-infested swamps, tar pits and quicksand? If you do, you’ll also be familiar with the feeling of getting stuck in those swamps and pits. The harder you fight, the worse it feels and the deeper you sink. I get…
Day 96: Lesson 11 from quitting booze and sugar. Sobriety reduces social anxiety.
This one is a head scratcher. If you’d have told me on New Years Eve that I’d be writing this today, I’d have laughed. One of the things I was most afraid of was socialising without alcohol. I didn’t want to be the boring one on the outside of the group. In fairness, on the…
