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Old 11-21-2011, 05:56 PM
  # 16 (permalink)  
Pigtails
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Originally Posted by Dee74 View Post
I had a lot of trouble with this over many years.

The fact is I was a drinker for 20 years - a large part of me wanted to drink - I was addicted.

Putting me around other drinkers was, at best, a recipe for misery, and at worst...well...



I get this - but who says you need to face this right now?

When I quit for good, I stayed at home until I knew nothing would shake my resolve.
I really wanted to be done.

I consider that time was a good investment.

I worked on myself, I thought about who I wanted to be....and without alcohol...I changed - when I did re-enter the social world, I wasn't the same person who left it.

That "why CAN'T I?" and "can I EVER?" stuff was resolved.

There's a lot of fun things you can do on weekends that don't involve alcohol.
If all friends do is drink, then maybe that's something else to look at, pigtails?

D
I get what you're saying, and I have cut out a lot of friends whose primary goal was drinking. For some, I had to do it on purpose to make it through, and for others, they just sort of fell off the face of the earth once I told them I wasn't drinking or failed to show at a few events that revolved around drinking. I just wasn't on their radar anymore.

My problem is family I can't "get rid of" and don't want to get rid of because I'm close to them but they drink fairly often, as well as friends who drink "normally" but want me to join them when they occasionally do something involving drinking. I don't know how to say "I want to see you but I don't want to be tempted to drink." Maybe I should jsut say that.

I would love to stay in for like a month but it seems impossible with all the holiday stuff going on, and even at work functions I'm pretty much required to attend because of my position, there's alcohol. I am really struggling with it right now and wish I could be on a desserted island.
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