Originally Posted by
celticfire78 
To clear a few things up:
My sponsor and I actually talked in great length about this issue, long before I decided to start posting on this forum. I've also sought to get the opinions of people in recovery that I know in person.... as she had suggested.
I've had NA drinks before being in recovery- and never as a means to substitute for the real thing, purely out of curiosity. None have ever made me pine for the real thing. So, when I went after that bottle of NA Chard the other night, I knew that it wasn't gonna set me drunk or even buzzed. I was after it for the taste, not the effect. If I was after the effect, I probably woulda just gone out and bought the real thing.
Maybe a little too early in my sobriety to start drinking NA stuff, but no real harm was done, I think. Down the road, so as long as it doesn't trigger the real thing, I agree with what others have said about being able to have an NA beer or whatnot in moderation, in certain social situations.
I have no opinion on your sobriety date, your alcoholism (or not) or your consumption of NA wine. I do know that my brain works on the basis of associations...which is why I don't do business meetings at barrooms or hang out there with "the guys." AA says that I need to be able to go anywhere so long as I have a legitimate reason to be there....I need to not avoid places where alcohol is served. But in my early recovery, I believe if I hadn't avoided people, places,, things and situations that I associated with drinking....I'd probably be drunk today.
Myself....I can't imagine risking my life (alcoholism being potentially fatal) for the sake of some sensory enjoyment that I can very well do without. I've seen many alcoholics drink again because they were foolish enough to "tempt fate." Why risk it?
blessings
zenbear