asmith27

I'm going to be quick to the point. Here's my issue. I love shooting pool. It's my main hobby. However, I found this passion while drinking in bars. I shoot when i'm sober during the day and I shoot well but it's on league night when I pound beers and shoot. It's alot of fun but I'm just wondering if there is anyone else out there that has been able to remove the booze and still be able to shoot on league. It's a real hang up for me because pool is my main hobby but the game is played in bars. I thank anyone that can relate to my current situation. I want to drop the drink but I really want to continue with my passion.

Thanks for any input!

grrrr

Hi asmith!

First off, I would say that we usually need to change our habits, especially in early sobriety, in order to stay sober. So, it is not that you can't go back to playing pool at some point, but it probably needs to be after some time off of drinking. Perhaps then taking a friend with you that knows you aren't going to drink, and having a solid plan that you will keep a soda in your hand rather than a beer.

I used to play on a pool league, but can relate recently with playing on a softball team. I had my first sober game with them last weekend, and because my resolve was strong, I didn't drink. No one tried to get me to drink, and no one really noticed that I didn't drink. That is just to say that although it would be a big deal for you not to drink and play pool, it is likely that no one else will pressure you or care.

Still, I think that devoting some time to being sober and away from the pool hall is probably a good idea. It is more important to take care of your health and try a new hobby for awhile. Good luck!

K

freshstart

I don't play pool but I CAN say that when I was finally ready to not only get sober but change my life there were a LOT of things I had to change. Mostly everything. I couldn't go back to a lot of things I loved doing because the temptations were just too strong....that was me though. I was willing to give up certain things or do them in a different place in a different way because that's what I had to do. I know some of the old timers in my home group can now (after years of sobriety) go to a bar for an occasion and stay sober. It all depends on how spiritually fit you are. As for me....I can't risk it. There is just too much to lose and I'm ok with that. I have to ask myself which one I would rather have more....my sobriety or a few minutes of tailgating for instance. Hopefully someday I'll be able to tailgate with my friends before a game and eat and be merry....I love football and I love tailgating before hand....but for right now I choose to not put myself in a risky situation. FWIW.

V

FlutteringWest

Hello!

I love shooting pool as well, and I have an issue where much of my socialising (with an 's' in Britain!) is done in pubs. Here in the UK pubs are like extended living rooms, it's nearly impossible to avoid spending time in them unless you want to abandon having a social life altogether.

I have a question - do the bars you play pool at sell alcohol-free beer? Perhaps others here might disagree with this suggestion, but during your league nights, maybe you could have a few bottles of Cobra Zero or Becks Alcohol-Free?

I have found this to be an alternative for me that is working so far. I've had 16 days sober (wel.. rocking the Cobra Zero) when I'm visiting with friends at the pub. There is one pub in particular that I visit monthly for club meetings. I stopped in last night on my way home as I have a meeting coming up there next week and was wondering if they stock alcohol-free beer. As it happens, they don't. I asked the manager if they would consider stocking it and she said there has been several requests for it so they would look into it.

Best wishes

Taking5

I used to be in a dart league/tournaments and man was drinking ever a part of that! Played 2-3 nights a week. I had to get away from it to even attempt sobriety, just too much temptation for me. Only then was I able to make a serious attempt at long term sobriety, and even then I have relapsed several times but nothing like the fifth of whiskey I used to drink daily.

I will still go into bars if I have a good reason to go, but playing darts isn't a good enough reason anymore.

I heard in my AA group once about going into bars to socialize: "we pray every day 'lead us not unto temptation'. It doesn't make any sense to then willing walk right into it".

CarolD

Welcome to SR!


I am an alcoholic who found I could not stay sober
hanging out in bars. I tried for years...and never
stayed sober for long.

I quit working in them...I quit shooting league darts
and I changed my complete lifestyle.

I decided I wanted to live sober
more than I wanted to die from alcoholism.

This may or may not be true for you...I

Ananda

Sobreity (in time) gives us options, and doesn't take them away. the only thing I can't do is drink.

I realted to what you said in that I stuggled with going to work and not being drunk. I had been drunk at work for at least 6 years and so it was really hard to be at work and be sober.

I found that sober I didn't perform my job near as well as I had drunk. It was really a problem for many many months..perhaps the first year. But I didn't drink..cause that is what being an alchoholic means I "can't do" and continued to do the actiities that I use to be so good at and now seemed to suck at (real ego deflater).

Now at 15 months I find that I am just as good as I ever was.

Also, I couldn't write when i first got sober, but in time i could do tht again. Sometimesw the giving up of things we assosciate with drinking is only a temporary thing for the early days of sobriety.

least

I very rarely drank in bars, drank wine at home alone, so couldn't avoid triggers other than not buying wine or having it in the house. Some people can be in bars and not drink, but for most, changing their routine, at least for a while, is helpful to staying sober. I don't shoot pool so can't offer any advice, but will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for your sobriety.

Welcome!:ghug3

David69

Not sure if this will help you...
I love shooting pool as well and it was a beer fest whenever we played. I bought a new pool table in spring for my game room. (while there is a bar in the room...it is empty of booze, nothing ever lasted more than a night in there anyway) Now I can play at home without the beer fest or habitual drinking. While it may affect league play it at least offers some much needed hobby time. Sadly enough this is a decision you will have to come to on your own. You have to have hobbies as an outlet (no doubt about that) so you have to find that balance that lets you enjoy them while still striving for your goal of sobriety. Good luck and wish you the best!

Tazman53

You know the last 5 years of my drinking I spent drinking alone in my garage or drinking while doing yard work. I was sober almost a year before I finally started to feel comfortable in my garage, I still get the willys sometimes going in there, not a temptation/urge to drink, but an odd feeling of all I lost in my life while sitting in there getting plowed.

Now I had no problem going to sporting events or the like after only 3 months sober, but that garage made me crazy for a while.

As others have said, maybe take a short sabbatical from the pool until your sobriety is pretty solid. I know some folks in AA that shoot pool on leagues, but they have been sober a couple of years.

tennis71

Welcome to Sober Recovery - I hope you find the answers you are looking for here.

One thing to consider is how seriously do you want to stop drinking. You may socialize and play pool at the pub, but you also drink.

If you are just getting sober then I might suggest changing from your drinking routine to one that does not give you easy access to alcohol. It is all too easy to say that I will have just one and I will be OK when you are surrounded by others who are drinking. I would compare it to buying a 6 pack of beer every night, bringing it home and telling yourself that you are not going to drink any of it. If you do that every night, eventually you will crack one open because just one will be OK.

That is of course your decision. You are the one who has to decide how serious you are about staying sober and you have to decide what your willing to do to accomplish that goal.

Thanks for posting and I hope this web site provides you with some good helpful feedback. By the way, avoid non alcoholic beer if you are serious about quitting, there is still a small amount of alcohol in it which is more than enough to trigger a craving for more - plus it doesn't taste very good (in my opinion).

FlutteringWest

Hi tennis, just a quick response regarding the non alcoholic beer. Thanks for mentioning it may be a trigger for some people to crave the 'real' stuff. I understand it wouldn't be suitable for everyone to drink this, but I personally don't believe I have issues with craving alcohol (as far as I know). My problem is excessive drinking - once I start I can NOT stop. The Becks Alcohol Free beer tastes quite good to me and at 0.05% I would need to drink 80 bottles to equal the alcohol content of just one pint of the beer I was drinking. At any rate my belly feels full after having two or three of these so striving to finish 80 would be unlikely

Of course I am new here at SR, and we all need to find our own path out of our hellholes... I just hope I can stay out of the one I've been in and wish everyone here all the best for finding their path!

Hugs for all

Anna

I couldn't be around people who were drinking alcohol in early sobriety either. And, like others here, I had to make some major life-changes. Recovery is so much more than not drinking.

I wish you well!

Tazman53

That needed to be repeated!!!!

tennis71

Just to clarify my point on n/a beer. It is not that someone will get drunk off of it as Fluttering is right, it would take a huge amount to get drunk. I was just giving asmith a fair warning that if they are truly trying to quit, and if they are anything like me, then drinking anything with alcohol no matter how slight, is dangerous. The smallest amount of alcohol will start a physical craving for more in an alcoholic.

Now 51anna brought up another good point - recovery is much more than not drinking. It is changing the way we think, changing routines and making other major changes in our lives so we can break the cycle of alcoholism. I drank and ate a lot in bars so for me that includes avoiding bars in early recovery.

An alcoholic like me cannot control or predict what will happen once that first drop hits my lips. That's why a large part of my job in recovery is to make sure that first drop doesn't hit my lips.

I hope that clarifies, mainly it is that I cannot have non alcoholic beer because it will start a craving and I imagine that alcoholics who are like me cannot either, but I can only speak for myself.

Markjw1

Hi, I'm glad you aren't the only one that enjoys pool and has had a problem in the past with alcohol and or drugs. I am currently 22 years sober and love pool as well. I did not read all the comments about your question but some of them were very dangerous suggestions. Going back into a bar is extremely dangerous as I think you are aware. I am currently looking into setting up a non-alcohol pool hall/ league because of the very need that you suggest. I believe that the relapse rate would drastically decrease if people could meet to play pool and darts while not being around alcohol and even that sort of environment. I'll keep in contact as I continue organizing such an endeavor as I'll need many volunteers. thanks

Dee74

Hi and welcome Mark

Just so you know, this is an old 2008 thread - if we have one thing to thank hipsters for its sober pool halls springing up everywhere

D

dcg

Epic bump. Hope OP sorted it out and is going on 11 years sober!

abgator

That has killed what little social life I had. I use to play pool or hang out with a friend or two on occasion. Always in bars as my "friends" are daily drinkers. I simply can't go in there anymore.

I suck at pool when sober anyway lol

Tailai