Self-Care Idea: BLE Treats

One trick I’ve been tried lately is borrowed from a terrific sober blogger named Belle Robertson who blogs at tiredofthinkingaboutdrinking.com

Belle recommends to her readers with drinking problems that for every day, or two days, or whatever, that you are sober, you give yourself a sober treat. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it has to a little special and it has to not be, duh, booze.

I love this idea for BLE.  It gives you a positive incentive to keep your bright lines. And, bonus, it teaches you how to treat yourself in ways that don’t involve your addictive-substance-of-choice.

As I resume BLE, I’ve been trying this myself. For every day I have clean bright lines, I get a little treat. I’ve got a list of them going:

— A new lipstick or tinted lip balm
— A few fresh flowers
— New flavor seltzer water
— Scented votive candle
— Scented body lotion
— New essential oil
— Car wash
— Pretty or fun mug with inspirational message
— Fun magazine
— Sunday newspaper (I don’t normally get this)
— Really good take-out coffee (I still drink coffee)

When I hit a big milestone (7 days, 14 days, 30 days), I give myself a bigger treat
— New outfit
— Pedicure
— Massage
—Eyebrows/lip wax (yowch but oh-so-pretty)
— New earrings
— Super-comfy pajamas

I’m no scientist, but to me the idea of sober treats seems valuable.

For one thing, as you are getting yourself your treat, you say explicitly to yourself, ‘this is my treat for having squeaky-clean bright lines.’ That trains your brain that something positive, something warm-and-fuzzy, something that feels really good, comes after doing the thing.

Like a dog, my brain wants more good feelings, and I hope will continue to associate bright line eating with good feelings.

The other thing I hope it is doing is training your brain to think of things besides food when it wants a treat.

So going forward, when you have a stressful day or when you want to celebrate something, your brain won’t automatically think of food. It will think of something equally special but not harmful to you.

Disclaimer: This site is not officially affiliated with Bright Line Eating or Susan Peirce Thompson. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.