H.A.L.T!

Are you hungry, angry, tired, or lonely? That's when alcohol is most likely to grip your mind and come a calling. Unfortunately, depression makes me almost all of those things (I'm not really angry right now). You feel tired, and lonely. And at least for me, hungry.

I've fed myself well today, knowing that I need more vegetables and less carbs. Apparently meat is good for mania because it takes so long for it to process in your system and brings you to a halt. But for depression? Maybe something lighter that doesn't take a lot to process. Like veggies. They're mostly water, anyway. I can't find any articles on it, but it seems to make sense.

And I'm lonely. I'm homesick, which makes it worse, and hearing about Grace just makes me want to be around the people I love even more. I'm here at work, but the people aren't necessarily loneliness killers. So I went to a meeting. I felt better there, and was able to be honest with everyone and let them know just how down I'm feeling, and how alcohol was calling to me. I got some great advice.

#1) Alcohol is like a termite. It eats at any foundation you've set up. That's why you build your foundation on HP or God, and never rest in keeping it up.

#2) Everyone gets squirrely around their birthday. It's coming up on 90 days, and apparently birthdays make you nuts.

#3) This is my favorite: alcohol: cunning, baffling, powerful, patient. Ahh, patient. It's not recovered from alcoholism, it's recovering. It never goes away. The desire to drink may be lifted, but it's still sitting there in your body, waiting for that perfect moment of stress to call to you.

So H.A.L.T. See how you're feeling and try to fix it. Reach out to others, feed your body well, and seek outside help if you need it. Don't let alcohol call you back into it's grips. It'll be worse next time.