Originally Posted by
Panache 
Put it this way. I posted my first newbie post introducing myself today and I'm already thinking "should I buy a bottle of wine on my way home from work tonight?". It's breaking the mindset which is hardest for me, no matter how hard I try it's nigh on impossible.
I know where you're coming from. I posted my first newbie post on this site one year ago, then drank heavily for the entire next year. I didn't like that people here were agreeing that I had a problem, even though I knew it myself, and I bought a bottle of wine to help me cope with the fact that I couldn't stop buying bottles of wine.
Today I made my second newbie post, a year after the first. My mind set has changed a bit now, and I have the advantage of a change in circumstances (we moved 400 miles north). But I know that one day, maybe even tonight or tomorrow, my mind is going to play tricks on me and start trying to convince me to drink. And I don't know if I'll be strong enough to resist. I'm going to look at the lists I made on this thread, and remind myself of all the things drink has been stealing from me.
I don't know what to suggest for you as I'm really new to this myself. I'm hoping to spend a lot of time on here whenever I have the urge, until I can think of something else to do. Could you try just treating yourself to whatever self-indulgent thing you might want, except alcohol? I think I could *just about* convince myself not to drink if I watched two or three favourite childhood films in a row while stuffing my face with sweets, strawberries, and sparkling grape juice. That can't go on forever (or can it?) but for these really hard first few weeks it might be worth trying. Whatever works for you, no matter how self-indulgent or embarrassing (like watching old episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be for me) is still a million times better than drinking.