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A "Snap Urge"

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A "Snap Urge"

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 161

Hi Roy. I'm glad to hear from you.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 45

Mr Oz,

that's awesome. I'm on day 4 right now and I feel so much better today after getting over the withdrawals. Eating healthy and focusing on staying sober and trying to get some exercise in. I'm looking forward to getting to those weeks of clean time, but as always..one day at a time...

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 26

Roy, I have found the snap urges ease off after six weeks or so. I'm now at day 68 and I haven't had one for quite a while. The reward is that my life is much more tranquil in that after-work hour - getting out for a walk, preparing a (healthy) great meal etc without the frenetic need to down as much alcohol as I can as quickly as possible.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 45

Good morning Sonia,

and thank you for the response. Since I've stopped drinking this week I write each morning, on how I'm feeling, what my goals are for the day and then when the afternoon rolls around I provide an update on some of the goals for the day and how I am feeling, and finally an end of day summation of my day as a whole. If I could have changed anything so if it happens again I can try a different route.

It's been really helpful thus far and I'm going to continue to be diligent using this method.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 270

royhobbs,

Spending time with friends, journalling and staying busy are all great ways of staying busy!

Journalling especially can be particularly useful as it allows you to get your thoughts down coherently on paper, which helps you pause and understand what a situation, thus giving you greater control over it.

What is your morning writing routine like?

Sonia

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 45

Hi Vincenza,

thanks for the response. My afternoon has been way better. I do have some other options, I have some friends who are sober who I was in treatment with a year and a half ago that I have been trying to stay in contact with. Writing in my diary/journal when something pops into my mind. Definitely staying busy. Since I am an IT consultant I tend to have a few weeks of down time when my contract is up, so the boredom can really come into play, so I started running again and staying busy around my house to keep my mind occupied.

The main thing I know I need to do is tell on my disease when I start feeling the urge because of some type of anxious feeling or other emotional stressor that I might be experiencing, so my first test was this morning and my first thought was to write and get it out , and I felt so much better about it. It was amazing how much better I felt doing so.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1853

Hi royhobbs,

I hope you're having a better afternoon! What are other things you enjoy doing that help you relax?

What are other strategies you have in place, in addition to participating in the forums, that can help bring you serenity rather than giving in to an urge to drink?

Vincenza, Health Educator

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 45

I can empathize completely with you on this. I've had snap urges so frequently in the past that when that feeling came, all bets were off and I was off and running and drinking everything I possibly could. I will be honest, for example this morning something came up that really got my blood boiling and my first instinct was to go to the store and grab something to drink. However, calmer heads prevailed and I logged into the AHC site and wrote in my diary about what was upsetting me and started looking at the forum and I calmed down and realized that acceptance is such a huge part of moving forward. The serenity prayer can really put things into perspective.

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11216

Good for you Mr. Oz!

This is a very big deal! Remember to reward yourself for these types of events - you deserve it and it reinforces the behaviour.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

11 years ago 0 +0 / -0 26

Yesterday I had what I would call a "snap urge" as I was leaving work (straight after work was when I was absolutely hitting it in the past) - the reasonably brief urge to drink heavily and quickly. I was tired and it's been a big week already with work, personal and other pursuits - my brain just said "well the best way to deal with this is to hit it hard".

I managed to calm the urge enough for it to dissipate and by the time I got home I was ok. But it was strange in that it was relatively brief. In the past it would not be a "snap urge" but an all encompassing remove-any-rationality urge. At day 18, I'm hoping they will continue to get less frequent and less intense.

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A "Snap Urge"