So you did it. You ripped the fucking band-aid off and made it through a day of quitting whatever it is you need to quit. Sugar. Alcohol. Weed. Cigarettes. Twitter. Now, everyone’s experience is going to be different and I can only speak to mine, but as I’ve quit at least 6 substances or behaviors in my life, I can tell you, no matter what you’re quitting or taking a break from—the process is pretty much the same just varying degrees of shitty.
Because if you were over-indulging in anything—that means you’re gonna have to go through a detox period. And detox fucking sucks. And even worse, there’s no way around it. There are things that can help—that’s what I’m here for—but unfortunately you’re probably gonna have to sit with some discomfort.
WARNING: If you were hitting the sauce really hard and you’re experience any severe withdrawal symptoms like delirium tremens i.e. seizures, confusion, or hallucinations—I urge you to seek medical help immediately with the detox. The physical process of kicking certain substances can be dangerous and anything beyond profuse sweating and high levels of irritation and you should seek out the opinion of a professional with how best to manage your withdrawal.
Maybe you woke up feeling great! You made it through a day! You feel elated or optimistic. Congratulations! Ride that enthusiasm. You’re going to need it.
The rest of you who woke up feeling like the birds were chirping louder than usual and your significant other is chewing in a way that’s making you consider your choices in a partner or you don’t have any patience with your kids and standing in line with a mask is making you want to scream, I hate to say it but, you’re exactly where you should be.
You might be feeling restless, bored, irritable, emotional, furious, impatient, or all of those emotions at once—or you’re feeling nothing at all. Usually this is around the time when I want to crawl out of my skin. Those restless, irritable, discontented feelings are perfectly normal and I promise you, they'll pass.
And Day 2, in my opinion, is one of the hardest psychologically because the all those little receptors in your brain that want their fix will start to make really convincing arguments like, “It’s only been one day. You can start again tomorrow.” Tell those receptors to shut up.
What you feed, lives; what you starve, dies. And you need to starve those junkie fuckers.
Day 2 Tips:
1. Write down your intention for the month. Why are you doing this? What do you hope to get from the experience? Remind yourself of the reason you started this. You will be referring back to it—so even if there are negative forces driving you to stop, make sure there is a positive reason that’s keeping you going.
2. Exercise, exercise, exercise. I can’t stress this enough. Feel restless? Go for a walk. Want to scream? Do 20 minutes of cardio, 10 push-ups and 50 sit-ups. Repeat this until you’re exhausted or you don’t want to murder people.
3. Baths and epson salts are your best friend.
#SoberOctober
The time has come, Pham!! It’s officially the end of our Locals era. This means that starting now, all of our content will be centralized over at Substack and not Locals.
As you can probably see, my life is getting increasingly more bonkers, in the best possible way--but that means dividing my time between two subscriber platforms is no longer sustainable. Consolidating all of the Pham in one place will make it possible to give you more of the focused attention you deserve.
Don’t panic.
Locals is where it all began so the move is bittersweet. I have made lifelong friends here. We’ve done writing prompts together. Worked ...
Hello new followers, I hope I don’t disappoint you. I want this place to feel like home, where we can escape the Thunderdome and process the world. Where we can post dog pics and recipes and book recommendations. Where we support each other as we get sober, lose weight, embark on new business opportunities, creative endeavors, relationships and travels. I want this to be your oasis of sanity and laughter in an increasingly mad world. A creative outlet where you can share your spirit with us.
We might not have any control over the news cycle—but we can control our habits and attitude. It all starts with us. And hopefully a little piece of that will start here.
Pham, I know it’s late for some of us, but I haven’t had a song in my brain in a bit. So, here’s one of my favorite poems instead.
Poem of the Evening💙
“Come live with me and be my love.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44675/the-passionate-shepherd-to-his-love
(Sorry for the delay on this prompt—life happened.)
The writing prompts are back! And since everyone is talking about "what is a woman?" I thought we should dig into our Factory Settings and find out what we learned about this stuff.
