Congratulations on wanting to become sober. I would say a good start for you is to make a list of the reasons why you want to give up drinking. Its best to make it at the start of your sobriety then wait. This is just a technique I had used and it helped me a lot in the beginning.
Now to answer your questions -
How have you guys handled the problem? I handled the quitting by coming to SR every day and pledging not to drink for the next 24 hours no matter what. I took that promise very seriously and I still do the same thing. It helped me to get sober enough that I could begin to deal with the whys of the alcoholism and how I got there issues.
How do you spend time with friends that drink? In the first months of not drinking I would just opt out of situations where there would be alcohol. I eventually came to a point where I could then put myself in those situations without a problem, but at first I either asked them not to drink around me and if that wasn't possible I would just meet them for coffee at another time. Movies are also things I did with a friend of mine and that did not lead to a night that would revolve around alcohol either. I tried to find activities that we could do sober and it would require that you NOT drink. This was in the beginning and now if the party doesn't center on the drinking I will attend. If its all about getting trashed then I stay home.
How do you keep your life going sober? I keep my life sober by remembering where I came from. I don't embellish the past, but I try to remember it the way it was. I sometimes ask my husband to help me out here or my mom. I have a journal that I kept while I was drinking and man does that journal show how out of the scene of life I was. It is something I'll read if I start thinking addictly - not so bad, under control, blah blah blah.
I come to SR or try to come every day and read and try my hardest to post. I like to post my gratitude every day and that no quit pledge I told you about. I also love to come to this section because I gain so much from EVERYone and I try to give back as much as I can.
I volunteer when I can at my son's school. I also help my friend out that runs a rescue. I try to stay busy and outside of my ego for the most part. My ego gets me into trouble.
Any ways, I hoped that helped in someway and that is how just one SR member is going about it. Day to day and a promise not to drink no matter what happens.
