My alcoholism is over.

I believe this is a great idea!

Btw, congrats! (I think I still have some troubles with red wine...)

 

I don't think I have the strength to let go of another right now. I know it's probably worse than drinking and I should've probably started with smoking first but it is one of the few things I have to help me through moments of anxiety and worry.

Hopefully soon though.

 

I've tried vaping but went back to cigarettes after 3-4 days. I'm probably going to give it another try.

 

I heard that vaping is not much better than smoking. Is it true?

 

It's a lot better, actually. I mean, nicotine addiction = bad, of course, but the smell of vapor is so much nicer than the stench of cigarettes (granted, I do neither). As far as we know, the health hazards aren't nearly as bad. Sure, you have to be careful you don't leave open liquid bottles lying around if you have kids 'cause it's toxic when digested, and there are still things we don't know about the long-term effects, but so far it seems like a better substitute. Besides, I'm not sure if it's healthy to live without a few vices anyway.

 

It's bad enough pulling right back from booze without leaving the roll ups behind. as it's become a ritual when I'm writing anyway.

 

Shit y'all, the craving is hitting me hard. Coping tips?! D: I'll drink tonic water when I get home, that was my idea.

 

If tonic is your thing, add some Doritos.
I'll be on the multifruit and Sprite as usual since I seem to be hooked on it now.

 

I didn't even know taxi drivers are allowed to smoke with customers in it.

Well here, there seems to be some unspoken rule that people don't smoke inside shopping centres, not the nice ones anyway. It is also against the law to smoke at a public transport stop, so technically smokers have to move away from the stop. Doesn't help if the wind is in the wrong direction, of course. Another bad thing a smoking ban won't help is - hot summers. In recent years it'd got to 30 degrees regularly here, and it's like the Czechs have never heard of such a thing as ventilation. You walk inside anywhere and it's like a sauna - in the height of summer, it's like you've walked in where the heating had been turned on max and 35 degrees outside is actually cooler than inside. Technically shopping centres have air conditioning, but again the Czechs have no concept of what that is. They have this health myth going that it's terribly bad for your health if the inside temperature is significantly different to the outside, so when they have it "on", they have it on at like, say, one or two degrees lower than outside so if it's 32 outside, it's gonna be like, 31 inside. (why bother then!? I guess actually, they do quite literally have the heating on at the bloody height of summer) And I'm like, WTF guys? My retort is always, "Well in far East Asia they have air con on high everywhere - and people are not dropping dead or keeling over with illnesses. Seriously, it's fine. Air con is supposed to make the room cooler - learn how to use it!"

Again, it seems some places are starting to catch on and it's not always so bad anymore, if you knew where to go. The upper class places, again, tend to be the places with proper air con. Year and a half ago it was terrible - Tingka was born in July, so I was heavily pregnant when this heat hit, and I could barely breathe. That year the news kept reporting on "heat waves" that were gonna hit Prague - and month after month after month there were "heat waves". All the way through August. And I'm like, "Guys, it's not a heat wave if it just lasts throughout summer. That's just a bloody hot summer!" We had postponed getting air con ourselves in the hopes the heat would pass, because it was supposed to be a "wave". After T was born and Jan heard about the next wave in August, we were like, screw this shit, and finally got portable air con. I only regret not getting it already in May when we really wanted it but decided to endure, thinking, "The heat will pass!" (guess technically it did lol)

Sometimes when I walk in somewhere and I feel the stuffy, stale air, I get a little jolt and I could suddenly feel a tremor of the horrible breathlessness and claustrophobia I felt during my pregnancy. I no longer remember exactly how bad it was back then, but moments like that make me think, "It must have been pretty bad." If I can help it, I do not plan on another summer baby!

Anyway, all that to say - basically sitting indoors is neigh on impossible unless you want to suffocate in the heat. Not to worry, most places have outdoor seating. But in a smoker's culture, outdoor seating equals a race around the courtyard trying to dodge the damn smoke. So many times we'd have sat ourselves at the far end where none of the smokers were, just for smokers to arrive some time later and sit at the table beside us. And sometimes we'd move, if there were space elsewhere, just for yet more smokers to show up beside us. There have been times when we just left because we'd finished our food already.

My brother-in-law once said having smoking and non-smoking areas in the same place is like having an area in a swimming pool where you're allowed to pee in the water. Lol.

 

Exercise.
A small amount of sugary beverage.
Take a walk.
Shower.
Hang out with friends.

Basically anything to not obsess. Once you start to obsess, things can go downhill pretty quickly. You have to be able to nip the craving in the bud, which is essentially just finding something to occupy your mind until it passes.

 

That's good advice: find something to occupy my mind until the craving ebbs away. If it helps, drinking water, tea, juice, or tonic water is a must.

 

I've stayed off heroin and other drugs for the past years largely because I was able to find something to do. Obviously, there are other things, like supportive people, family, etc., but that was the biggest thing for me. I found healthy ways to occupy my time; I got busy with things other than drugs.

 

I grew up in an area where summers were very hot (all summer long), but we always had ventilation. Screens on windows and doors, which were left open. Okay, it was hot, but not stuffy. We didn't have air conditioning back then, so we just learned to put up with the heat. But we always had air circulation, because of the screened-in windows and doors. That also kept mosquitoes and flies out of the houses as well.

I can't imagine living in what you describe. OMG.

 

That smoking situation sounds a little like Japan. When I first got here, 15 or so years ago, most restaurants didn't even have non-smoking areas, and the ones that did would often have, say, ten tables in one open space, with four of them designated as "non-smoking". More like the non-peeing seat in a hot tub, IMHO. In the last five-ish years, however, the situation has changed, malls, train stations, and restaurants often have sealed smoking rooms, and in many city centers, like Kyoto for example, smoking on the sidewalk is officially banned. That, of course, fails to account for the fact that law enforcement is largely nonexistent in Japan, with the cops spending most of their days in the koban police boxes (substation office, not Tardis). Still, baby steps and all.

 

For some reason I never thought of the Japanese as heavy smokers...

 

Link, I am envious to say the least.

I am the product of an alcoholic father whom started down the path of regular intoxication since the age of thirteen. I met my now husband at the age of eighteen, when getting pissed on a Saturday night to the point of throwing my guts down the the toilet was 'normal'.
He was tea total and hated me drinking. When I look back, my drinking wasn't even that bad. Over the years it progressed to midweek drinking, but even then I didn't consider it a problem.
Eventually hubby succumbed to the demon drink and all of a sudden it became more acceptable to me so increased. Twenty three years later I'm drinking more than ever, as he would drink every night if I approved.
The irony here is I am a total health freak! I go out of my way to carefully choose chemical free products, eat organic, and exercise regularly but yet I cannot control what I glug down my throat on a regular basis!!

I totally know I need to quit but as anyone who has had a drinking problem knows, it's easier said than done!

 

Congrats OP!

Alcoholism has been on both sides of my family. My personal rule for alcohol is "only when received as a gift or at a social gathering."

I just don't want to even start down that road, ya know?

 

Congrats!!! No advice from me - just know we're here and you're welcome among us unconditionally, always.

Cheers and love,
Jeff