One Way to Start You Day Sober

The alarm bell goes off.

You slowly open your eyes.

A new day lies before you.

A day of unexplored potential and opportunities. Not only out there in the world, but inside of yourself too.

So how can you get your day and more importantly yourself off to great and self-esteem boosting start today?

Well, one good way to get off to a good start is to have a note, a reminder on your bedside table that will be one of the first things you see after you have woken up.

A simple suggestion for what to write down on your note to boost your own self-esteem consistently each morning is...

Set a low bar for self-appreciation.

Write down: "Today I will set a low bar for self-appreciation". Read it and try to keep it in mind during the day.

Do not only appreciate yourself today when you do something perfectly or when you do something really important.

Instead, appreciate the little things too.

How you did the dishes today. How you replied to a whole bunch of emails.

How you are kind and helpful to your kids, partner or friends.

Make a decision to be kind to yourself today. To appreciate the good things that you do but you and others may take for granted.

Be your own best friend and keep lifting yourself, your mood and self-esteem upwards step by small step today.

Get some kindness over breakfast.

Instead of watching the news or reading the usual papers and magazines and getting a negative, subtly self-destructive and perhaps depressing start to your day do something that will inspire you and make you feel good about yourself.

Read one or a couple of new posts or newsletters from uplifting and self-esteem boosting blogs or websites.

Read a chapter from a book that makes you feel good about yourself.

Or have a kind, appreciative and warm conversation with the people closest to you around your kitchen table.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

CBD and Addiction

CBD which is from Hemp plants is being used on virtually everything we like. You can use it as a cream, smoke it, take it in liquid form, etc. Is it good for you? I would have to say that I tried it and might still be interested in this product for addiction. I have found I do not crave andy drug or alcohol with CBD. That does not mean anything except that I think there might be some popular ideas for this CBD in recovery for addicts. Who knows how far pharmacology and CBD will proceed. If you read the Internet on the benefits of CBD, you might think it is a miracle drug. Yet, when Prozac came out it was thought to be the intelligent pill to get from Dr.s and this turned out negative. There are not any real recent findings from The Mayo clinic or other recognized studies except a few you will find on Epilepsy cure for children that CBD seems to appear to help. Thousands of stories from people trying Hemp and CBD has made a few of us confused. They are making coffee with Hemp and cola is coming out with CBD soon. The 2014 Farm Bill was signed by Mr. Trump last week and that has made it legal to grow in the USA, and there are no miracle drug claims by the government.

My take is am I breaking my sobriety by using Hemp myself? I would say no because I do not get high from this product. What does it do for me? It is like the calm after a storm type of feeling. Not overly good feeling like Marijuana or alcohol., yet a relaxing break in your life while on CBD. How long does it last? It depends on how you take it. Smoking Hemp will make the CBD instantly come into your bloodstream and you feel a peaceful calm and that is about it. Some call this a body high, whatever the fuck that means. I never felt high, but relaxed and ready to just sit back and take it easy, without being high or any mind-altering way.

Can CBD help with addiction? Possibly those answers are in the internet and of course, people are going to say yes it is good and part will say it adds problems. I take chances but not with my sobriety, therefore
 beware of what you read from me.lol.....Chris

Find Your Inner Demon and Stop Addiction

All of us have a demon type disease that wants pleasure from activities that are or could be harmful to your health. Maybe you have no addictions, if not you would not understand where I am coming from. However, built-in addicted persons are this evil pleasure maker for addicts. We get off on feeding this evil being by drinking too much or any type of drug addiction. This applies to all addictions including gambling, that we want to feel different than we do right this second. Some of us are willing to hand this over to God and AA to get rid of the affection in alcohol. This also means you will probably have another addiction to take the pleasure point in your body to new highs. We, addicts, choose to smoke, drink to much coke, or ice cream and cake, and a good portion of us are overweight in eating to control our nerves. Try to discover those things that you might be doing that are probably not good for you and that you may be obsessed with what might be killing yourself such as snuff and cigarettes for example. We alcoholics can get addicted to most everything pleasurable in our lives. It can make for a big mess in your sober life. Trading addictions have bothered me from day one, and I still work on them. I am not trying to be perfect just sane and a member of the community, sober. Just a Thought. Chris

Addictions, Addictions and Addictions for Sober People

One addiction to another addiction. That is how my life seems to be right now. I have fought off the alcohol addiction then it leads me into the gambling addiction. I have a chocolate addiction, and I have obsessive thought addiction and the list goes on and on. My sister in town for the holidays said Chris, just take one problem at a time. Well, she is right but I have so many problems at a time which one to start with. People that are sober and in the AA program talk of how happy they are right now sober. I have to admit I am happier sober than when I drank all the time. I wonder if this is the happiness recovering alcoholics are talking about. My daily living is a struggle at times, however, and it takes control over my mind and body. I get worn out from the stress I put on myself, therefore, I start another addiction to something. I don't even try but it seems as though I cannot get enough done in one day or do this or that right. I am a perfectionist and it bums me out to make mistakes as I do. I have tried talking to God about my problems and even read a "Prayer for Today", website daily to keep my spirit in shape.

That was a mouthful, but true. I have so many things running in my mind that I get anxiety thinking sometimes. I have to learn to control my thought pattern and refocus on God the spirit that leads my every day. Maybe, God is testing my sobriety. My mom was in the hospital over Christmas and I was worried that we were going to lose her. I was stressed but I was ready to accept what every person has to go through called death. She pulled out of her sickness and is now at home. I am very grateful to God for letting me have more time with my Mother. She is my world, I am the youngest of the kids at 55 and I love her dearly. Life throws me curve balls and I have to bat them out the baseball park, the devil is trying to grab at me I guess but I will not have it. Have
 a good day. Chris

Slot Machines and Drinking, Are they the Same?

I am an avid gambler an addicted gambler, there I have admitted it in front of millions of people. I am not proud of this activity, but it is the truth. I am also an alcoholic with nine years of sobriety. The problem I run into in life in addition to most everything that I find appealing. I am not aware of my problem until I hit a bottom of some sort, and with casinos online and offline, I have hit a bottom. Damn, another problem to add to my list, but do most people have problems of the sort? I am not sure but I know I have addiction problems with most everything that gives me a rush of adrenaline. I came upon some money at Christmas that was not expected and what didi do with it. I gambled 70 percent of it and lost and won, but in the end, I was broke. Feeling stupid and guilty of what I have done I expressed what has happened to a couple of people and they just looked at me like whats new Chris?

SO once addicted to drugs, alcohol, and whatever, I am marked for life by my family. I am very lonely in my life and I try not to be. Should I change where I live, change jobs, I have no friends except for AA and they Fuck up also like I do and laugh. I find no humor in being addicted to things that please me, in fact, I get very depressed and feel isolated. I pray to God for answers and I might not be listening. Do you have other addictions in your life besides alcohol? Let me know so I don't feel like the only one out here living this life. Please comment on this topic or others if you will. This page gets about 50 hits a day so I know people are reading my personal journal that I have decided to post in a blog for myself.

Living sober is one day at a time, however living life is many days at a time for me. I have to think of the future and my past, as the past never really goes away. It is smeared by my brain but too old friends and family,
my past is well alive. They are grateful that I don't drink today but it is all the other things in my world I have to deal with that get so damn confusing at times. Have a good New Year! Please comment. Chris

Sober after The Holidays

It's been nine years since I have taken a drink of alcohol, and I have to say that a holiday without alcohol is ok with me. After the first few years, it was strange to not drink during the entire Holiday binge. I missed out a lot of Christmas's and was a mellow drunk back in the day anyway, so most did not know I was wasted. Thank God another year is about to come I guess. I can't stop it but I can make changes to my behavior that need fixed/ One thing is to find more to do with my spare time beside housework, get involved and socialize, I am very closet minded and comfortable in my little own world, which can be a hazard to my health, I get to thinking too much. This is called boredom I think, here it has been almost ten years and I love life, need to change my personal habits such as sitting on the couch and watching TV and resting. Maybe it is just a case that I am not used to knowing how to rest? I was always on the go when I was younger I am 55 and a man and I have been thinking about writing a book as a hobby and of course for the money. I also think my book can provide some people with insight into life. So it would be a positive thing to do, except my Internet Gambling gets in the way. Yeah, been playing for about 8 years and lost more than I made and this is another addiction I have to address this year.

Addiction is all around my body, whether it is chocolate cake or steaks, I can make an addiction that is hard to break out of anything I do. This is built in every addicted person's body I hear with alcoholism. How to treat it is by AA terms by going to meetings and reading the Big Book. I have to say they might be partly right but it is me who has to do the work on changing constantly and it is not a chore just an inconvenience to me. You may find that I am on a level with you and I am just telling the story of your own life in a fashion. I am sober and I can communicate, and I am smart. I just make a lot of mistakes, some on purpose to see the outcome and some I did not even know I was saying or doing. The holiday sober look for me was normal. I am very shy around my family, maybe it is guilt from the years of making an ass out of myself. I am just me and that is all we can be. The good, bad, and ugly. Enjoy the new year and I hope to be starting my book soon, once finished I will let you know. It is a self-help book for those who are looking for work but just don't know how to go about this.I have a lot of tips and advice that I have come around the last few years.See you in 2019!! Please comment if you like. Chris 12/29/2018

Nine years of Sobriety and 5 Months of CBD Buds

Like I have said before I write this journal or blog for myself. I am not trying to impress anyone or tell my whole life story. Recently for the past five or six months, I have been trying CBD , which if you do not know what it is let me explain.
CBD from Hemp is what I was smoking, it does not get a person high but it does have healing properties for much medical use. Now, what medical use did I use it for was anxiety or panic? I will say that I tried Vaping CBD, and I thought it did nothing. Then I found out you could buy this like Marijuana flowers or buds. I purchased the Buds legally at a Vape store in my city. I rolled up Hemp cigarettes and smoked a few hits over the span of the last few months. The funny thing is I felt like it was helping me with Panic and possibly was, or was it just that I missed the taste of real pot and the smell and buds were beautiful. The only problem is CBD is not regulated nor is specified what type of Nutrient, Hemp can be, plus the negative bonus of having .03% THC in Hemp plants can cause a false positive on a drug test.

Well, how the hell can they sell stuff like CBD and my city law is not doing anything about it, yet a federal law says it is legal but also illegal at the same time. I decided to completely stop smoking Hemp Buds the other day. They were not bothering me , however I did not want to start another addiction to a Nutrient, Drug, or whatever it is that is being sold all over the USA in disguise and too many questions of the legal authority to use or not use this CBD is not clear yet in Texas and many other states.

I will say I did not drink with my use but I am not sure where this may fit into my sobriety for nine years. Did I blow it by smoking Hemp? I am not sure, but I am thinking, No. It is my life and I got no high but I was curious and tried this as a medicine for my panic attacks.I do not think I can judge others for trying CBD as I have read everything good about it except for the .03% THC that might cause you to fail a drug test. Very confusing, any answers to this would be appreciated. Have a good day. Chris