Re: Jumping in head first

Dave, you'll get there. You already know a lot of ways to kick the compulsion so that's a huge plus and I can tell from the thing you've said in this forum that you're open-minded and that's also a huge plus. The hardest part of any type of recovery for most people is getting rid of the negative mindset that years of self-destructive behavior have brought about. Lower than whale-guano? You bet! Feel like a failure? Absolutely! TURN THAT CRAP OFF! RIGHT NOW! Don't sign up for the class!

Your subconscious mind does not know the difference between the truth and a lie - it blindly accepts and acts upon whatever your conscious mind tells it. So start telling yourself good things, daily, and do it until it becomes second nature. Don't use negatives in your phrases like 'I don't drink anymore' because the subconscious doesn't interpret the negative and will interpret that line as 'I drink'. Use phrases like 'I am..' and 'I will..' Eliminate words like 'try' and 'should'. Positive self-talk can and does work wonders.

Stay away from negatives, whether that's people, places or things. Understand that you have the right and the ability to have the kind of life you want and that you completely and totally deserve to be happy. I'm not going to tell you that this will be easy, but when the doubts creep in, think your way through them and recognize them for the negative programming from the past that they are.

I know that the idea of never drinking again is a tough stumbling block for many of us, but I also know ways today to accomplish anything that alcohol ever did for me without touching a drop and defintely without feeling like crap the next day! I used to tell myself that I needed a drink to sleep soundly - not a problem at all today, thanks to good nutrition and a sane lifestyle.

More than anything else, start being good to yourself, because you deserve good things! Get that idea from your head to your heart and I promise you that your life will start to change in very positive ways!

-Mary Tweet