Euphoric recall lessening due to pandemic shutdown
 

I've been on the recovery road since last year and haven't had any urges to drink. One thing that has come up about a dozen times is euphoric recall. Because of my outpatient therapy I know this can sometimes be the start of a relapse so I consciously examine why I have this recall and then let the feeling pass from me.
The thing is my euphoric recall is always about a particular bar where I drank and the people I drank with. I became a regular a few years back and the bar was in a lively strip of bars so it was always active. I wasted many nights there.
I went through the old neighborhood one time and said hi to everyone and let them know I was ok but not drinking anymore. They wished me well and i've stayed away after that visit. Even at that, from time to time I still saw the activities happening there on social media and felt a twinge of nostalgia from time to time.
Now that the pandemic hit, the whole strip is shut down and I've seen through social media that many of my old drinking buddies are scrambling for work. Im not sure if the bar will reopen. Since this pandemic, my euphoric recall has gone away and I find myself feeling lucky that I left that situation when I did.
Im just musing about this and thought Id share here.

This is a really helpful thing to share. Thank you. I'm glad this is working for you.

The bars, clubs and patrons that drink there will remain but less one person. Me. Those places will return, folks that drank there will return.

Life in clubs and bars, folks that keep them up and running will always be there. Many of the same folks I drank with some 29 yrs ago may still be there or possibly dead by now or in their addictions, however, I'm not one of them there.


Haven't been there since I entered recovery at 30yrs old.


I know I haven't missed anything at those clubs because folks that have come to the rooms to share with us tell us that alcohol is still pouring and folks are still being taking out and down because of it. Even after all these yrs.

The only thing that has changed in this situationis me. I chose recovery and off the merry go round of insanity that comes with addiction to alcohol.

I cant change the clubs and patrons or alcohol that flows there, but I can change me. And I did and still do some many yrs sober today.


Euphoric sober recall makes me happy, healthy and honest. :)

This is fantastic news!
On seeing this may I add that this pandemic might help people question alco-centric socialising.
In the UK a lot of town centre bars have such an utterly unpleasant atmosphere that it's torture to be there without drinking, it almost defeats the purpose of a bar, a meeting place. Bars were originally meeting places, not drinking dens.
Hopefully those place that are focused on creating an edgy atmosphere to get people to drink more will go out of business. Hopefully during these lockdowns, people will rethink what meeting is all about, not about drink.
May I also add, on the same topic, I've also had less of the romanticised memories of bars.

The final step of actually getting my drivers license back. Long story but I ended up able to plead out of dwi and a sort of conditional agreement on a felony drug charge. I showed up for court 4 months sober and only had a brief license suspension. They actually physically took my license in court though. To get reinstated I had to go to motor vehicle. To get there I had to go through some of the same neighborhood that I use to score crack in which I hadn't been in for months. For some reason when I'm sober, even while actively using, I have no desire to be in this area. Funny thing is I recognize it well in the daylight because many Saturdays I would end up that drunk well before the sun went down. The thought of being drunk and down here again to score crack was like nails on a chalkboard. This is the kind of my place my drinking leads to and I sure dont want to go back

This is an interesting topic. I too have less of this recall, because everything is shut down. I have less of that feeling of "fear or missing out" because people aren't out in strength, nor are my friends posting/texting about all the outings they are doing.

In one sense, because I'm in early recovery, it's helpful. On the other hand, does it give us a false sense of security and underestimate our *real* level of temptation should things open up again?

Right, because alcohol is the most popular drug in the world, bars and drinking events will reopen. If not the same ones, others surely.

Euphoric recall sounds like another way of referring to the obsession of the mind, the idea that somehow this time would be different, more like the old days when booze used to work. Another expression I heard "Alcohol gave me wings then took away the sky"
One thing is for sure, the obsession can be subtly and powerful. A momentary thought out of the blue at the wrong time, and all the good work can be undone. The sane thoughts that should have saved me in such a moment never came. And once the first drink is taken, the abnormal bodily reaction takes over.
This is why AA experience suggests the main problem centers in the mind.