Dry Spell

Well the Black Cockies were right again, we had 25ml or so of rain yesterday, first day of February. So timely it was after Thursday and Friday's temps of 39 and 42C. And although many places had strong winds with storm rain, we missed that here. The rain was pretty gentle mostly, just cranked up and got heavy for half an hour or so. Whether the little honey flow that was on before the change restarts we'll have to wait and see.

The 'dry spell' I have titled this post does not refer to rain. It means I'm having an extended alcohol free period. The last alcohol beverage I had was on 5 January, which means today I have been alcohol free for four full weeks. Until now I have told few people of this experiment besides Lib, Gord and a handful of others.

Why am I doing this? It started because a friend more or less challenged me to go a weekend without drinking. I have taken credit for some years that I don't drink alcohol after Sunday night till Friday night, therefore believing and maintaining that I don't have an alcohol problem. I did so much look forward to Friday night's wine, and of course Saturday and Sunday nights as well.

I bit the bullet and went AF for the weekend of 11/12 Jan and on the Sunday came across a website called The Naked Mind, an organization in the US that promotes both abstinence and moderation. They have this thing called the 30 day AF Experiment where you can sign up and join a private facebook group (if you wish) of people doing the experiment and many who continue after the 30 days. The Naked Mind person (Annie) sends a bit of a peptalk email each day talking of the psychology of drinking alcohol and the cultural acceptance of it in society while also pointing out the effects of alcohol on the brain and our physiology. It is ingrained deeply into our subconscious that we need a drink to relax, relieve stress, socialize, and reward ourselves with the huge buzz and pleasure of drinking. In fact, the lectures say, we don't need it at all for those reasons, and our minds need retraining to bust the myth. Alcohol makes you think you need it because it causes reaction in the brain that creates imbalance, then as the kick wanes you want another. It is in fact a poison and depressant your body has to work hard to remove. The more you drink the more the toll on the body and mind. Different people develop different tolerance to it but in the end it's a dangerous addictive substance that causes huge amount of illness and death in society.

I committed to the 30 day experiment on 12 Jan so I'm remaining AF till Feb 11, and will decide whether or not to continue at that time, or maybe just be more moderate and try to be an occasional glass or two drinker. The email peptalk yesterday suggested that to keep a journal or write down your thoughts is a great way of reducing stress, focusing on the present and ridding yourself of negative thoughts. So here I am going public. The idea of writing stuff down resonated strongly with me, in that I have been writing this blog for many years and probably this self expression has a releasing effect on me and helps me leave things behind and move on. Rarely do I go back and read stuff  and when I do I'm looking for for something specific for a particular reason of memory or record.

I'm enjoying being alcohol free. I don't think I would have gone 28 days without a drink for 50 years. Yes I'm feeling well with better focus and clarity. I'll be 36 days AF on 11 Feb.