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Old 09-21-2016, 01:17 AM
  # 13 (permalink)  
SomeSortOfHuman
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 248
Hi all,

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Lots of food for thought.

So far, I haven't found that NA beer or wine has made me want to reach for the real stuff, but it's something I'll try to be alert for.

When I was very stressed at the weekend, I opened a bottle of non-alcoholic rose (0.05%, so nothing that would have an alcohol impact after one glass), and the action of opening it did give me some slight relief - I don't know what to make of that... One the one hand, it obviously means that I'm keeping a connection between alcohol and stress relief alive in my mind. On the other hand, it did stop me going to the bar in that moment, so it was a useful tool on that occasion.

Even when drinking soda or fruit juice in the evening, I've been trying to make it into a ritual by using a nice glass / ice / slice of lime or whatever - e.g. last night, I had tonic water and lime juice in a champagne flute. I think this probably does mean that I'm romanticising drinking - but I'm trying to work out if that matters if there isn't alcohol involved and if it's OK to still use the preparation of ANY drink as a way to mark the end of the work day. Even when I have a fruit tea in the evening, part of the pleasure of that for me is trying different flavours, making it in a nice glass mug, watching it infuse etc. Maybe putting so much focus on having a drink (even one without alcohol) is torturing myself / playing with fire - or maybe keeping the comfort of some sort of ritual will help to keep my cravings at bay. I don't know - just thinking aloud here...

Thanks again for taking the time to comment!

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