i recorded a podcast this morning and I have Oprah to thank for the idea.
Here’s how i know i’m a boozer. if something happened, my first reflex was that drinking would be a good idea. I never thought “mashed potatoes would be a good idea right now” (which apparently was oprah’s first thought).
This podcast is about the boozer brain, the reasons why we drink (happy, mad, sad, glad, tuesday), and how i know that drinking is not a good idea for me.
The full length podcast is 15 minutes; here’s a 2 minute extract from the beginning. Once you listen, you can post a comment below…
click here to try a podcast subscription (1 month trial) – and of course, when you get bored of me, you can cancel whenever you want
* New music intro used with permission, (c) Chris Haugen.
That is so funny….I can’t EVER imagine thinking that mashed potatoes would be the answer to my problems! ( more like a torture instrument!) Shows how different we all are I suppose 🙂
Thank you for this podcast Belle. What I love about the podcasts is that while I remain aware of what I am doing, your stories reground me in WHY I am doing it.
What I am doing can go dark without the why. Cos then you are just enduring it. Feeling isolated.
Add in the WHY and I am reminded that this is my choice, and that my life is improving.
And I love knowing that, however it feels, I am making progress, moving forward. Taking off the backpack full of rocks.
The podacasts remind me that this is much much more than a contest of will. It is about intimacy, and love.
Great stuff.
Apropos of nothing, it doesn’t hurt to remind oneself that alcohol is a poison. Literally–it’s a poison.
I am day 65 or so and it is rather odd to be conscious of the fact that I do not have that poison in my body. Do yourself a favor and take a close look at one of your boozer pals the next time you see one. Look closely. You can see the poison in their system.
This is an eyeopener for me. I am currently maintaining a 100 pound weight lose for about 7 years now. I always said I just like to eat. It was never because I was stressed, depressed, celebrating,etc. The same can be said for my drinking. I said I just did it because it relaxed me at the end of the day. That is the lie I told myself. I reached for a drink, just like the food because it is my way of dealing with the extremes of life and everyday events. I am finally beginning to see that instead of dealing with whatever life throws at me I would say everything is fine and then go drink. Through this 3rd start of my 100 day challenge I am now beginning to admit to my feelings and look for other ways to deal with them. Yes, my mother is slipping farther into dementia and my dog is dying from cancer. Drinking will not fix either! Yes, I have 7 month old grandson who is the joy of my life, a husband of 35 years who wants only the very best for me and an amazing daughter & son-in-law. Celebrating with a drink does nothing to show any of these people that I love and care for them. The only thing drinking does is make me feel like crap the next morning. I am a work in progress but I am starting to learn…..
Mashed potatoes sound good and have fewer calories that alcohol – at least the way I consume alcohol, which is by the jug-full. One of the best things Belle advised was not to start an extreme diet or extreme exercise program in the early days. That makes this 100-day challenge different from any other way I have tried to stay sober. I have been dieting since I was a teenager (when I was 5’6’ and 108 pounds and thought I was fat). After reading this mashed potatoes post and listening to the podcast I recall that holidays and skinned knees used to be celebrated and cured in turn by chocolate ice cream (some of which I just sent my husband to the store to buy). Thanks Belle.