{"id":19220,"date":"2018-12-01T01:10:28","date_gmt":"2018-12-01T06:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=19844"},"modified":"2018-11-30T12:55:40","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T17:55:40","slug":"the-sober-pagan-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2018\/12\/01\/the-sober-pagan-9\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sober Pagan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Breaking Sugar\u2019s Grip One Day At A Time<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(<\/span><\/span>Photo by rawpixel<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I decided this year not to make any huge platters of Yule cookies. I might make a small batch of Heirloom Cut-Outs \u2013 just before the holiday \u2013 but I am not going to make very many \u2013 and they are going to be for bringing out for guests who stop by \u2013 along with tea or coffee or some all-natural eggnog. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The reason I don\u2019t want to make a bunch of cookies is because along with trying to stay off alcohol and drugs, I am trying to stay off sugar as well. Totally ending sugar is nearly impossible \u2013 it\u2019s a necessary ingredient in my homemade bread recipe \u2013 but I want to be able to drink my coffee without added sweetening of any <\/i>kind and I want to end my daily craving for chocolate. I don\u2019t use artificial sweeteners and never will. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I personally think that there\u2019s a connection between the sugar we consume in the form of cookies and candy and things such as donuts and cravings for alcohol and giving in to emotional triggers that allow us to justify using our drug of choice. I say this because I have been \u201cin\u201d recovery for almost thirty years and I have paid close attention to how my body reacts to what I put into it \u2013 these past few years, especially. One thing I notice is that when I overdo it with any kind of sugary treat, I usually end up craving a beer a few days after that. It took me a while to figure this pattern out. But once I saw it, I couldn\u2019t deny that it was real.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When I first got into rehab thirty years ago, I remember going to a lecture by one of the counselors \u2013 he wasn\u2019t my counselor but I knew who he was \u2013 I no longer remember his name but he was a lot older than I was \u2013 probably as old as I am now \u2013 which seemed old <\/i>to me thirty years ago! Anyway, he held up a half-gallon of ice-cream and said, \u201cNow that you\u2019re sober, you\u2019re going to be eating a lot of this stuff, right?\u201d And we all enthusiastically agreed. He shouted, \u201cWRONG!\u201d And tossed the ice-cream into the garbage can! He went on to tell us that although AA and \u201cother people\u201d might say that switching to sweets is a good way to stave off the cravings for alcohol and drugs, increasing our sugar intake would only lead us into other health problems, such as diabetes \u2013 AA is filled with diabetics. More importantly, he said, switching to sugar after quitting drugs and alcohol was only \u201cswitching to another drug\u201d and eventually would lead us to relapse \u2013 \u201cbecause no sugar high can compare to an alcohol buzz or a cocaine high\u201d \u2013 and of course, he was right. At the time, I didn\u2019t think so. At the time, his lecture pissed me right the fuck off. <\/i>At the time, I wouldn\u2019t have recognized that being so pissed was a sign that I knew that he was right and I didn\u2019t want to admit it. But now \u2013 having thirty years to think about it and experience what he was talking about \u2013 I do know that he was totally right. When you get sober, your intake of sugar is dangerous to your sobriety. And if you\u2019re anything like me, you had an addiction to sweets before you ever picked up a drink or a drug. Long before I had any kind of addiction to any drug at all, I had a deep love for chocolate. I was never <\/i>safe around M&M\u2019s. I\u2019m still not. I never buy them anymore at all. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Breaking the addiction to sugar and to sweets is one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. Trying to find something to take the place of chocolately desserts is really tough. I do love fresh fruit and eat whatever is in season. Natural sweets are wonderful but I still crave chocolate and I always will. I know that white sugar in my coffee affects me like a line of cocaine and all I can manage is a small amount of brown sugar. Hopefully someday I will have milk in my coffee and that will be it. But I love homemade cookies and cakes. I love baking pies, especially fruit pies. I don\u2019t want to have to stop eating all sweets forever, but I am going to really be aware of what I eat and how if affects my other triggers \u2013 my cravings for alcohol, my jones for cocaine and my bipolar moods. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> All I know, is that the more sober time I have, the more quality <\/i>sober time I want. Sobriety is definitely a part of my spiritual life now \u2013 I can\u2019t imagine trying to meditate, do ritual, read the Tarot or the Lenormand or reach the Goddess in any meaningful way if I was stoned or drunk or even hungover! Breaking sugar\u2019s grip one day at a time is another step in my recovery. Maybe it would help you too. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Until next month, Brightest Blessings and Happy Yule! Stay Sober! Hugs!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Polly MacDavid<\/b>\u00a0lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>She blogs at\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>silverapplequeen.wordpress.com<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breaking Sugar\u2019s Grip One Day At A Time   (Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash)   I decided this year not to make any huge platters of Yule cookies. I might make a small batch of Heirloom Cut-Outs \u2013 just before the holiday \u2013 but I am not going to make very many \u2013 and they are going to be for bringing out for guests who stop by \u2013 along with tea or coffee or some all-natural eggnog. The reason I don\u2019t want to make a bunch of cookies is because along with trying to stay off alcohol and drugs, I am trying to stay off sugar as well. Totally ending sugar is nearly impossible \u2013 it\u2019s a necessary ingredient in my homemade bread recipe \u2013 but I want to be able to drink my coffee without added sweetening of any kind and I want to end my daily craving for chocolate. I don\u2019t use artificial sweeteners and never will. I personally think that there\u2019s a connection between the sugar we consume in the form of cookies and candy and things such as donuts and cravings for alcohol and giving in to emotional triggers that allow us to justify using our drug of choice. I say this because I have been \u201cin\u201d recovery for almost thirty years and I have paid close attention to how my body reacts to what I put into it \u2013 these past few years, especially. One thing I notice is that when I overdo it with any kind of sugary treat, I usually end up craving a beer a few days after that. It took me a while to figure this pattern out. But once I saw it, I couldn\u2019t deny that it was real. When I first got into rehab thirty years ago, I remember going to a lecture by one of the counselors \u2013 he wasn\u2019t my counselor but I knew who he was \u2013 I no longer remember his name but he was a lot older than I was \u2013 probably as old as I am now \u2013 which seemed old to me thirty years ago! Anyway, he held up a half-gallon of ice-cream and said, \u201cNow that you\u2019re sober, you\u2019re going to be eating a lot of this stuff, right?\u201d And we all enthusiastically agreed. He shouted, \u201cWRONG!\u201d And tossed the ice-cream into the garbage can! He went on to tell us that although AA and \u201cother people\u201d might say that switching to sweets is a good way to stave off the cravings for alcohol and drugs, increasing our sugar intake would only lead us into other health problems, such as diabetes \u2013 AA is filled with diabetics. More importantly, he said, switching to sugar after quitting drugs and alcohol was only \u201cswitching to another drug\u201d and eventually would lead us to relapse \u2013 \u201cbecause no sugar high can compare to an alcohol buzz or a cocaine high\u201d \u2013 and of course, he was right. At the time, I didn\u2019t think so. At the time, his lecture pissed me right the fuck off. At the time, I wouldn\u2019t have recognized that being so pissed was a sign that I knew that he was right and I didn\u2019t want to admit it. But now \u2013 having thirty years to think about it and experience what he was talking about \u2013 I do know that he was totally right. When you get sober, your intake of sugar is dangerous to your sobriety. And if you\u2019re anything like me, you had an addiction to sweets before you ever picked up a drink or a drug. Long before I had any kind of addiction to any drug at all, I had a deep love for chocolate. I was never safe around M&M\u2019s. I\u2019m still not. I never buy them anymore at all. Breaking the addiction to sugar and to sweets is one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. Trying to find something to take the place of chocolately desserts is really tough. I do love fresh fruit and eat whatever is in season. Natural sweets are wonderful but I still crave chocolate and I always will. I know that white sugar in my coffee affects me like a line of cocaine and all I can manage is a small amount of brown sugar. Hopefully someday I will have milk in my coffee and that will be it. But I love homemade cookies and cakes. I love baking pies, especially fruit pies. I don\u2019t want to have to stop eating all sweets forever, but I am going to really be aware of what I eat and how if affects my other triggers \u2013 my cravings for alcohol, my jones for cocaine and my bipolar moods. All I know, is that the more sober time I have, the more quality sober time I want. Sobriety is definitely a part of my spiritual life now \u2013 I can\u2019t imagine trying to meditate, do ritual, read the Tarot or the Lenormand or reach the Goddess in any meaningful way if I was stoned or drunk or even hungover! Breaking sugar\u2019s grip one day at a time is another step in my recovery. Maybe it would help you too. Until next month, Brightest Blessings and Happy Yule! Stay Sober! Hugs! *** About the Author: Polly MacDavid\u00a0lives in Buffalo, New York at the moment but that could easily change, since she is a gypsy at heart. Like a gypsy, she is attracted to the divinatory arts, as well as camp fires and dancing barefoot. She has three cats who all help her with her magic. Her philosophy about religion and magic is that it must be thoroughly based in science and logic. She is Dianic Wiccan and she is solitary. She blogs at\u00a0silverapplequeen.wordpress.com. She writes about general life, politics and poetry. She is writing a novel about sex, drugs and recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}