Posted by Krazy Kat on October 24, 2001, at 9:52:24
In reply to The Fury of Alcohol and Cigarettes..., posted by kid_A on October 24, 2001, at 9:31:25
Heh, kid:
First of all, I wonder why we all tend to think you're in the UK...
This is something I'm going through, and have before, so I really appreciate your post.
More than anything, it seems like you're in situations that entice you to drink. At least that's how it would be for me. If I were going out a lot, still, it would be very difficult for me not to drink. It's the atmosphere. Smoking as well. You might have to pull back on going out, to be honest. Then, you could stay home, watch a movie, and not drink for a night.
My plan is to finally talk to my pdoc about it and see if we can figure it out. I thought I wouldn't want to drink at all once I had some meds, but that's not the case.
My guess is for me, that I have some anxiety that hasn't been addressed, and that it's habit.
The way I stop drinking for awhile, which is what I'm doing now, is I cut back a few drinks each day until I'm not drinking. So it could take a couple of days, but I find this process works best for me.
Then I sleep. If I can, I sleep as much as I want to. If I can't sleep, I take a sleeping aid.
Then I start on a mild health kick to occupy my mind - note "mild", nothing exreme that could be discouraging. I drink Detox tea, lots more water, eat more vegies, etc. I also try to focus on myself and do yoga, spend time pampering a little.
After about two days of not drinking, I don't crave it at all. Then the weekend comes. And hubby says, "Let's go get a beer". And my mind jumps at it! Then it gets hard, because I like sitting in bars and watching people. I like trying different drinks and being "one of them."
But, I have found, that if I go a month, I feel a lot better. I then start really moderately. The trick is, I have to learn how to stay that way. Eventually, with manic episodes and anxiety, I end up drinking too much again. (I don't drink every day, but I'll drink too much at one sitting).
O.K., this is long.
Smoking - I just started again. Hadn't smoked since college. I never smoked much, and now most days only smoke about 2-3 cigs. It actually makes my brain feel better - it relaxes it. Weird, I know.
Your smoking really sounds situational. I would smoke more now, too, if I were out every night.
Personally, I would pick one for now and concentrate on it. I would probably pick alcohol, but then that's harder for me to kick. Having the Option to have a cig when I crave a beer, is very helpful for me. I don't worry about it lasting forever - I'm sure it won't. I'm just dealing with the now.
Take care.
- K.
poster:Krazy Kat
thread:12915
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011015/msgs/12916.html