tantone56

I stopped drinking on Nov 24. I am almost two months in and I find resisting alcohol to be getting tougher. I reached the point where I was drinking everynight and feeling sick everyday. I do not want to be that person anymore. The hard part is that I work in a liquor store, so everyday I am faced with trying to fight myself over buying alcohol. Without going to AA, do any of you have any tips on how to fight this awful urge?

CarolD

I think I mentioned this before to you.....sorry if I did..
but I tried to stay sober while selling alcohol

and for 4 years ..I often returned to drinking.

I found an office position and that worked out well for me.

I also went to AA each morning before work...but obviously
that's something you are not interested in...

myheadhurts

Would it be possible to find another place of employment that doesn't put you face to face with your nemesis everyday?

notdrunktoday

My job puts in positions where I am around booze a lot. It was hard for a long time being with in reach of it. All I can say is it does get easier with time. I am only little over six months sober and at times its still hard. Best of luck and remeber you don't have to act on your thoughts. When its real hard and you feel almost beaten but make it through it without taking that drink the next time seems to be easier. Hope that helps.

ZZworldontheweb

Yeah, trying to stay sober absolutely alone, while working in a liquor store, is one of the hardest situations I can imagine. Is there some particular reason you're not interested in AA?

artsoul

I agree with the others.... Even after 8 months I still have urges, but they're not as often. I think if I had to look at it everyday it would be harder to get the obsessive thinking out of my head. I'd probably would have changed jobs right away.

You must have some fortitude or you wouldn't still be sober, so congrats on being strong so far.

NYCDoglvr

I'm not someone who can stay sober alone...I need the support of other drunks and to be reminded me that I have a very serious disease. I need to talk to people who understand the screwy way I think, who encourage me when I'm weak.

tantone56

Thanks for all of your responses. I am putting off going to AA because I hear there is prayer involved. I think I may try to find an alternative, or go to an AA meeting and see first hand what it is about. I am trying to leave the liquor store, but I need to find another job first.

Shevrard

Omg I could not stop drinking if I worked in a liquor store. I think finding another job should be your top priority. Just my opinion.

Taking5

Most meetings start with the serenity prayer and end with the lords prayer. If you can get past that 1 minute, you won't have a problem. AA is not a bunch of holy rollers, you'll hear more curse words in AA than prayer.

LexieCat

Prayer is "involved" but it doesn't have to be what you think of as prayer. It can be quietly meditating and getting in touch with whatever you conceive of as your Higher Power.

The prayers at meeting are just a matter of local custom. If you don't care to join in, you can quietly stand respectfully while the others recite the Serenity Prayer or whatever other prayer there may be at the beginning and end of the meeting.

LOL, yeah, I'll second that we aren't a bunch of Holy Rollers. No laying-on-of-hands, no declarations of belief in any deity or religious dogma. Try a meeting--it can't hurt you.

tantone56

You know, I think I will go to a local meeting this week and just give it a try.

VeeTee

... doesn't seeing the still active alcoholics coming in every morning turn you off? I understand that working in a liquor store can be tempting, but, on the up side (if you allow me to call it an upside) you can also see where you might end if you don't stay quit.

I think it's a great idea to give AA a try. helps me a lot. Some people don't say "god" at the beginning of the serenity prayer - it's all up to you.
vee

jamdls

Hi Tantone, working in a liquor stuff has to suck. My office is across the street from about 8 liquor stores (they o only allow liquor stores in certain small areas in my state so you often find a bunch all together) and I had to and continue to have to drive past these every single day, early on it bothered me a lot now I am greatful they have no pull to me. Exercise and healthy diet is a great way to redirect your energy.

Jfanagle

Tantone,

You ask how to deal with this problem, “without going to AA.” Why the big deal about using the most obvious help available? I wanted to share my story as a longtime AA member.

I can honestly say that I never went to AA meetings in the first 9 months or perhaps even a year because I liked them. I really disliked them, the fact I had sunk so low that I was attending AA was disgusting and abhorrent to me. I felt "better" than the others in the meetings and I disagreed with about 90% of what was said and written in those meetings.

I WENT BECAUSE I WAS DESPERATE NOT TO DRINK, IT WAS KILLING ME! It was the support of the people who were fighting the same fight I was. AA was a distraction from my own "great ideas" on how to stay sober, including dealing with TEMPTATION TO DRINK!

It seems to me that quite often in this forum there is so much debate about what AA says or doesn't say, how people in AA behave, if they pray, don't pray, etc. I still shake my head after some meetings and still find myself smiling or irritated after someone says or does something that I don't agree with in an AA gathering. You are not required to fall lock step in line with everyone in AA.

Point is it doesn't matter to me. I have contributed, and I am sure on some occasions detracted from AA for these past 11 plus years. I can't begin to tell you all the silly things that I have done in AA, but I can tell you this much; since I walked into those dreadful meetings in 1999, I have NOT HAD A DRINK. That is my argument for AA.

If you are going to live and work in a world full of alcohol and temptations you may want to look past all the reasons not to get involved with AA and find the same one that I did to get involved. That is, it is filled with people who understand what you and I are dealing with and many of them have a willingness to share the solution.

Good luck,
Jon

Boleo

Welcome to the club of alcohol-ISM. For me the ISM started after the drinking stopped.

I had to treat the root causes before I felt comfortable in my own skin without a substance. Start looking around the forums for other people who "treated" their ISM with a program of action.