A reminder post for my future sober self

Hi all, new here (and to Reddit overall!) and wanted to leave a little message on Day 1 to my future sober self who may well get wobbly, forgetful or delusional and need a pep talk now and then. I hope you all don't mind me popping this here, but I feel that having it in a public forum will actually be much more helpful than stuck on my notes on my phone, and maybe might help someone else too (bonus!).

What alcohol does for me:

• Ruins my mood.
• Allows me to tolerate things I shouldn't tolerate.
• Dulls my light.
• Keeps me small.
• Allows me to phone it in at work.
• Encourages me to eat poorly.
• Makes it harder to show up consistently on the meditation cushion and yoga mat.
• Ruins my digestion.
• Flares my autoimmune conditions.
• Irritates my skin.
• Makes everyday tasks harder.
• Makes me irritable with my kids.
• Ruins my self esteem.
• Strains my relationships.
• Wakes me up at night.
• Wastes my money.

Ultimately, it shifts me out of my kind, compassionate, amazing, best adult-self and puts the co-dependent, ashamed, resentful and frightened teen-part of myself back in in charge - she really needs someone to love her enough so she can finally have a rest, and that is my job!

I've been around the block to know that my triggers are:

• Low blood sugar - keep snacks at the ready!
• Feeling abandoned or unseen - turn towards others for help.
• Overwork - stop, say "no", leave things unfinished.
• My parents - keep contact light and infrequent.
• Feeling ill - stock up on lemons, honey and ginger tea for cold season.
• Feeling low - move, breathe, sing, cry, sleep.

I can model a new way of being a woman, mother and partner for my girls and for myself, one that is grounded in self-love and self-actualisation, not self-harm and self-abnegation.

Sending lots of love and gratitude to myself and to anyone else who comes across this post.