There are a lot of groups out there for those wishing to change their relationship with alcohol. I first joined HAMS – as I simply wanted to perhaps learn to moderate my drinking but soon found that the group grew large and the focus was more on drinking than not in many posts. I had a few members who wanted to do an AF (alcohol free) challenge and I had a team I had been doing this with via another platform (SparkPeople – Cutting Down the Booze) and I decided I would try doing one through Facebook.

Back in 2013 I tried to join Belle’s 100 Day Challenge (Tired of Thinking about Drinking) – but it didn’t click for me and I found it turned into more and more of a sales pitch.

My goal was simply to get to that 100 days and I finally achieved it on my own last December 10th, 2016 and then in January of 2017 – I decided to launch it as a closed group. I later changed it to a secret group to ensure more privacy as closed groups sometimes come up as suggested groups on pages and members didn’t want that to happen. I had about 140 members join in and when I completed my 2nd 100 Day Challenge  on April 10, 2017 – I was joined by many others. It felt amazing to be able to share in the experience and the testimonials have been amazing. The group has grown to be the most supportive, positive and non judgmental group I’ve ever been a part of and I’m so proud of the fact that it has grown as I always envisioned this type of group would.

So bit by bit – I sometimes introduce it to others – but you have to be invited or added by an existing member as you can’t find it in a search … so if you’re interested – feel free to visit me at www.befitspirited.ca and send me a message and I can explain how to add you.

Before you do – have a read of our group’s description and if you still think you want in – then I look forward to hearing from you!! We are launching the next month’s challenge if you want to give it a go for 30 days!! Join us!!

The goal of this group is for you to reach 100 Days (or more) consecutive days Alcohol FREE (AF)! It’s about Surviving and Thriving without ‘da booze! For those starting out – this may be an intro as you take on a one month challenge as a trial to work your way up to the 100 Days or more goal.

This group is meant to be a safe space to share a sometimes very private and personal journey related to your desire to let go of alcohol in your life for 100 CONSECUTIVE days (or more). This group is SECRET to allow for us to be able to share in this group and not open to the open Facebook community you may have on your own page, so please respect this and do not share anything that is said in this group outside of this group. If anyone encounters any issues around this, let me or another admin know.

** This group will not tolerate negative posts or is not intended for posts relative to opinions about religion, politics, debates relative to other groups, etc. These posts will be removed. We will not tolerate TROLLS either. NO-PROMOS ALLOWED IN COMMENTS OR POSTS If someone requests your email or website, message them privately.**

This group is committed to focusing on being AF (alcohol free), ABS (abstaining)! We understand that some may not be ready to jump in right away and perhaps gaining inspiration to get to a point of doing a longer period of abstinence. There’s no failing in here – we believe that better is better but if you are doing too many restarts perhaps you’re not quite ready for this challenge and you perhaps need to check the other resources: HAMS is a great support group for moderation support with some periods of abstinence www.facebook.com/groups/harmreduction/.

I created the group because the AA model did not fit what my intentions were when I think about ‘Losing ‘da Booze’ and my journey (as I do not believe I am powerless in any way). I wanted to create a group of support that did not follow the 12 steps but that simply was a gathering of like minded individuals who were simply trying to better their lives – without any negative labels. While I do recognize AA has helped many – this is not the place or space for discussion/debate.

DISCLAIMER ** This group is for support and encouragement but can NOT replace professional medical counsel. If you have a serious dependence on alcohol or have been a heavy drinker- please consult your doctor or professional counselor before attempting to quit completely for this 100 day Challenge. You may have to practice tapering first. **

There’s ONE week left in R’October Sober and I’m already planning to keep this sober train going! I’m going to make November one to Remember – with clarity and hangover free days as I continue my AF ride! I’ve invited others in the group to join in as well!

I’ve been listening to the audible version of Claim Your Power the past couple of days and it’s been like a review for me because I feel that I’ve reclaimed my power ever since I started letting go of ‘da booze in my life for these challenges. The work he has you do about figuring out your ‘original incident’ or reasons why you keep going to SP’s (survival patterns) is something I’ve done over the years through therapy, counseling and my own personal development with readings and workshops, as well as the monumental Soul Re-Structuring session I did last September that was the ‘flip of the switch’ for me! My next session is booked for November 3rd (you can only do this once a year) and I hope it gives me a nudge to propel me even further ahead.

You see listening to the audible and having it make me think about WHY I turned to booze – well it’s kind of sad… when he named reasons or examples – it was like I could identify with many of them – including abuse (as early as I can remember when I was a child and a neighbor propositioned me), some physical, emotional and psychological stuff. Having witnessed many negative scenarios relative to my parents and aunts and uncles drinking way too much and how  as kids would hide in fear … as we didn’t understand it.

I picked up drinking at the age of 12 – to be cool (or to appear to be that)… I’d sneak it from my mom’s bottle and pour some in a pop can and go out with friends and it made me feel like I fit in somehow. In my early years I did anything but fit in. I was teased about my glasses, my buck teeth and taunted and even got into a fight with a guy in my class. Having to recall my past gives me a knot in my stomach and yet – it provides some understanding as to how I ended up where I did and how I seemed to keep attracting the wrong kind of people and relationships into my life… until a few years ago.

Where I stand today is very different from where I was then. I am now stronger, healthier and feel much more in control of my life. The alcohol does not have the appeal anymore because I’d rather live an authentic life and feel all the feels… good and bad. And there are still some challenging ones in there with my daughters’ stuff.

But here I sit today – feeling proud of my achievement in completing a couple of challenges and recognizing there’s more work to do in this area and that perhaps this may turn out to be more than a one year break… but for now soaking it all in as my own experiment.

Every morning I get up and look forward to sharing inspiration in my group on Facebook – our Lose ‘da Booze 100 Day Challenge group… and knowing it helps others brings joy to my heart! I got to the part in the book where it speaks to finding your purpose … and the group – my mission to share my own experience about how alcohol really isn’t ‘all that’ is what I want more than anything.

I’m feeling strong and committed to seeing this through to my 52nd birthday (Sept 3, 2018) and then we’ll see what path lies ahead… for now it’s just one day at a time… working towards my dreams!!

Today was an awesome day! I felt like I was on fire! My brain is working like it used to and I was on the ball with all my tasks and multi-tasking (even helping a colleague who had to be off this week as she was hit by a micro burst tornado and is home cleaning all week).

I sometimes wish I could can or bottle this feeling – to be able to pull it out when I’m not feeling this high! Seriously – to describe it it’s like my whole being is buzzing with positivity and no matter what comes my way I’m juggling it all with ease and poise. I was super productive and even on plan with my health routine – including the nutrition today which I think is another reason I feel so good.

Wait – no … the other reason is that my daughter had a rough night last night and I ended up sleeping with her to make sure she didn’t purge. This morning she messaged me to say she didn’t feel like going to school and last year and the many years before as this has been going on for at least 4 years… she would have argued with me. We would have been texting back and forth all day and she would have stayed home alone and been down all day. Today I made the suggestion that she should try to go so she could be distracted and not stuck here alone thinking about food all day. So she went… and she had a really GOOD day! It made my heart smile!

She has not missed one day of school this year and that is HUGE as she has barely attended the past few years. And tomorrow she’s excited about her DBT therapy group (her 3rd week). So her school days are now Mon, Tue and Thur with the group on Wed and therapy at the therapeutic farm every Sunday right now.

She’s still not eating much but at least her spirits are better today. I did hear back from the Eating Disorders (ED) clinic and they have their team meeting on Wednesday and will get back to me by Thursday about the plan. She sees the ED doctor next Friday.

So maybe that’s it … why I feel so good or a combination of being sober, present, clear headed, productive, active, healthy and on task/focused!! Now this is a blog I have to save to re-read whenever a craving hits because no alcohol can ever give me THIS feeling! AF is the way baby!!

Here’s to making ourselves STRONG! As I was listening to the book Claim Your Power (because as I’ve said – I will NEVER believe we are powerless) – he stated that it takes 40 days to change a habit… and this article says it takes 66 days How long it takes to break a habit– but I say even after the  days, it was so easy to slip back into my old drinking patterns. This is my BIG WHY I’m going a full year… to see how I feel after that one year experiment and perhaps determine that I’m done for good with this habit.

This saying stuck with me from what I listened to yesterday – What was once my medicine (the alcohol that I ingested to cope with life and used as a means to try to make life more bearable) has become my poison. It’s now a toxic part of my life that perpetuated a negative state of mind – filled me with anxiety, guilt and made me depressed. It made me hide when I should have been present. It let me down in that it allowed me to say YES to stupid shit! I have had so many negative experiences in life related to ‘da booze that committing to a full year of freedom from it seems simple now. Where I used to struggle to get to a few AF days in a row… I am now STRONG and free! Wishing you all a healthy and sober day! Day 39 of 365 days today!