Our trip to India was amazing! I'm sorting through photos, and will post a few here soon.
I'm happy to report that not-drinking gets easier and easier. Vacations I usually associated with permission to drink whenever? A mimosa at breakfast? Sure, this is vacation. Wine with lunch? Of course. On this trip, I very rarely had the urge to drink. With one exception, when I did think of alcohol, it was in response to an external cue- an advertisement, a cool hotel bar, an excellent wine list at dinner. Only once did I have a reflex response to frustration of "OK, now I need a drink" This was in response to our guide telling us on our last day that he wanted to be paid his US$1400 in cash rather than credit card, necessitating us visiting several ATMs with various bank/credit cards to amass the needed cash. And I acknowledge that money (or shortage thereof) can sometimes be a hot button for me- so my response wasn't entirely unexpected. BUT, it was just a fleeting thought even then- I noticed the thought going through my head, stopped and said, Hmm there's that silly thought, but I don't need to act on it- and went on with my activities. I count that as a real success!
So, yes, I can have a stressful experience when I am around the globe from home, and even this is not currently enough to drive me to drink. Yay, Carrie!!
Yay Carrie nice to see you back and that you had such a great trip! Growing stronger in your sobriety whatever continent you are travelling through :) xx
ReplyDeleteCool! You've built a systemic aversion within yourself to fight off the badness of addiction. Not a lot of people would be able to say that with such confidence. Keep up your routines and further your high spirits. All the best!
ReplyDeleteDonnie Benson @ Midwest Institute for Addiction