DeanHV

For me there are certain situations or places that were "automatic" for drinking in the past and I still feel an urge to drink when confronted with these. One is while grilling BBQ and the other is at airports. I am a bit amazed now how I centered a plane trip around finding a bar as quickly as possible and staying until boarding started. It stinks that as I write this I am stuck with a four-hour layover in Denver. I am ok and will not drink today but it's kindof funny the things now that trigger even a slight urge.

Boleo

Before I had a spiritual awakening, I saw triggers everywhere. After having a spiritual awakening, I only see triggers on guns.

ScottFromWI

I needed to avoid some places for a time after first getting sober. After a while though you can learn to attend/participate in just about anything without even batting an eye or craving a drink. It takes time and an understanding of what sober life really means...which I learned by a lot of reading here on SR and support from my family. Some find that understanding through AA, SMART recovery, rehab, etc...

jessie65

Absolutely, unfortunately a place I have to be often is where I spent a Lot of time drinking. I just walk in and I want to drink.
I can't get out of it, it's our livelihood.

It's so hard right now, but eventually I'm hoping the old memories (not all good) will fade.
I also have many other triggers, holidays are huge, being alone at night (it was the perfect excuse to drink when nobody was home for hours at a time), and also visiting extended family (or them visiting) always made me want to drink.
I would want to drink if I was flying too so I won't do that any time soon, lol.

Triggers everywhere. There always will be, I guess we have to accept them and move on.

DeanHV

It's not like the urge is overwhelming. I am ok to sit here with Ben & Jerry's instead. I am only three months now in recovery and it is just interesting to note the triggers. I look at is as an opportunity to grow stronger.

Live2Run25

I have a lot.. but 2 years sober now, and I don't even notice them anymore. You'll get to a point where drinking is a vague memory and you won't be phased by it. It just takes time. It's good that you are aware it is a trigger though.

SoberCAH

I always had problems with mass transportation when I drank.

I got rolled once in the Atlanta airport, I would pass out on city buses and take a few laps around the city until the bus driver headed back to the bus station, thereby requiring me to get a cab from downtown, I would get off of Greyhound buses at the wrong city.

This is a good post.

CalebHolliday

My trigger mostly is having a stressful day at work and then coming home mid day when my wife is still at work. I usually figure that i can just drink a few to unwind...then a few turn into...a lot. You guys know the story.

zjw

i got really angry friday night and wanted a joint in the worst way. was the strongest craving i had had in ages and for pot of all things that was never my poison of choice. Then saturday night I got really frustrated and depressed about some stuff and i wanted to just go get a case of beer. I dunno how i hit that kinda low on a craving it had been so long and the situations in both cases where not that bad but for some reason they really tickled that itch.

Places dont trigger it much anymore. Events either. I mostly drank alone at home so thats probably why.

caboblanco

my fridge

pdoc

my couch

Climber122

This gets passed around recovery a lot but maybe it will help if you've never heard it. Be especially wary of triggers when you are:


H ungry
A ngry
L onley
T ired


Remember HALT - especially in recovery, it's normal to want to use or drink when we hit rough patches - it's what we did for a long time to cope - it's a habit that we learn to change in recovery. Something as simple as not eating well and having low blood sugar can make fighting off a craving really difficult.

It helps to have someone to call too, but remember HALT...

DeanHV

Thanks for that as I have not seen this before. Last night I was all four at the same time. For the first time in a long time I actually wanted a beer (or more). I did not and this morning is much better. I thank my higher power as I could not have done so by myself.

sugarbear1

phalt.

I add pain to that, either physical or mental.

once defined, I have things to do to conquer this.

lunar

In the past, my triggers could have been any occasion, place, situation, mood, weather, etc.
Good, bad, indifferent.
In other words, anything. Maybe everything.
Thank goodness that's changed for the better.
Nowadays, my AV will occasionally pop up from nowhere.
It happened to me this afternoon. I argued with it, then totally ignored it.
It went away. I'm almost three weeks in. Had too many relapses in the past.

Gottalife

Some might suggest we avoid triggers. In your case it would mean giving up your job, not going on holiday, never being alone at night, no contact with extended family, no more flying. I once met a chap for whom visiting the bathroom was a trigger so we might as well stop that too.

You can also get rid of a lot of triggers by moving to another town. I tried all this stuff, except the bathroom one, and guess what? I still got drunk.

The triggers never were the cause of my drinking so even if I could have eliminated all of them, it wouldn't have solved my problem. I am an alcoholic, that's what made me drink. I lost the power of choice in drink.

The solution was a spiritual experience, a psychic change if you like, that made the triggers ( obsession of the alcoholic mind) go away.