According to my sponsor, I should have detoxed from alcohol physically within approximately 7 days, given tomorrow I hit 14 days, alcohol should have well and truly left my system. However the craving for alcohol still has not.

Tonight I sit here, it’s a cold Winter’s day and the night is even chillier, a typical night for a nice heavy glass of red wine, perhaps a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Cabernet Merlot. Oh how I dream of the touch of the liquor hitting my lips. But I know I can’t allow this to happen.

My Sober Strategies

Since I’ve started my sober journey, I have been adapting all sorts of strategies in an attempt to keep myself distracted from taking that first drink. I’m not going to lie, at some times it’s been fucking impossible, it’s usually between 7 pm and 8 pm that he cravings kick in, but this is what I have been doing:

• Going to meetings – This is the best part, every meeting I’ve gone to has been like listening to my stories, just with different names, places and people.
• Going to the gym – I was going to the gym before AA, however I’ve really taken it up a notch since I quit alcohol. This does release the endorphins and wears me out, but it also does make me a little more anxious afterwards.
• Writing – Oh how writing has found me some respite, this blog, my journal, I don’t care if anyone reads this, I just desire that my pain and suffering can help someone else.
• Art – I’ve always been an artist, and I’ve found a lot of solstice in creating art and paintings.
• Smoking – This is one I’m not proud of, but it has been helping take the edge off extreme anxiety.
• Valium / Diazepam – I’ve been using this in moderation because it is addictive, but when I have a panic attack, a Valium certainly takes the edge off.

The physical effects from my sober journey 13 days in haven’t been as amazing as I first thought they would be (mainly because I’ve been eating more sugar in the evening). But they certainly have included:

• Deep sleep – this surprises me because I thought I would go through a period of insomnia.
• My skin is clearing up – The red blotches on my skin are going away
• Bloating – The bloating of my body seems to be settling down

I’ve still got a long way to go, I’ve been trying really hard to eat healthy and replace my bad habits with good ones. I do know that I am experiencing some new bad habits break through, but overall I know that these will settle once the anxiety settles down.