sdg

I have been meaning to ask this and something on another thread reminded me of it while I was on here.

I am in school full time, career change, and have been bartending for a couple of years as it fits my family schedule the best and it's a way to make some decent money. Question is for those that bartend and are sober as well, how do you fight the temptation?

LexieCat

I've heard of people who have done that, but it probably is best not attempted until you are solid in your sobriety. It's just a little too easy to give in when it is right in your face while you are first getting sober.

Bigndfan175

If you go into a barbershop everyday eventually ur gonna get a haircut

Xune

If you've a deadly allergy to peanuts, would you work in a peanut factory?

choublak

My uncle who is now a recovering alcoholic used to work as a bartender. Things got really ugly back then, from what I've been told.

PeacefulRain

Sorry, that just sounds like a recipe for disaster.

AngelBabe

I was a bartender for 13 years and made good money at it. The thing it actually contributed to my eventual alcoholism. I would love to think I could bartender again but I am realistic and know I cannot. I once worked with a recovering alcoholic that was a bartender. She ended up chasing the customers away by talking about AA and the twelve steps with the customers.

FreeFall

I bartend occasionally as a fill in at our very small local place. What keeps me sober while I'm there is mostly reminding myself of all the reasons I quit. Drinking lots of water. SR on the smart phone for emergencies lol It's common to see people doing everything I did and hated myself for, so it's not as hard as you'd think to be "on the other side". It might be harder if I worked in a college type bar or the like, but those days are long gone. The other thing is I never drank while working, so I don't really associate working there with drinking. It's being on the other side that's harder.

vegibean

LMAO!!! That's awesome!!! :rotfxko

Natom

Being a bartender and an alcoholic is one of the stupidest things anyone could do.

janiebluebird

I know a guy who has been sober with AA for many years and he owns a bar, which he is at almost every day. So it is possible. Although, maybe he became an alcoholic from being in the bar all the time to begin with.

AngelBabe

I guess anything is possible but I think it is not the norm. I did not drink while I was working but the two drinks I would suck down between my day job & bartending job to relax me in order to deal with the bar patrons combined with the after shift drink I could have after I closed or could take home eventually led to me stopping for one or two more at another place is it was still open after I left to having a couple more when I got home. Then this progressed to drinking on nights when I did not work. By the time I reached that point the writing was already on the wall. I just couldn't read it.

I remember thinking all day on Friday about getting off work and getting my kids from school, taking them home and packing them up and sending them to Dad's for the weekend. Then once they were dropped off I would head to the bar I worked in and would drink white russians, play keno, sing karaoke etc. I would then order a burger from the kitchen and head home around 10pm. This was in 2005-2006 and I was a functioning alcoholic then.

My turning point to full blown never looking back alcoholic started in August of 2009 when I went on the Atkins diet. I lost the weight I wanted but in order to maintain the low carb menu I had to drink liqueur and not beer or my white russions. It took just one year until 2010 until I knew I had a problem another year trying to convince myself I could cut back and the last year of hopping on and off the wagon. I know I can't go back to drinking or bartending as it would certainly be the end of me.

sdg

Thanks for all of the input everyone, I just got off work (all water and sodas for me), I know it isn't the best, or even a good, job for me right now besides the money. I am looking for something else that I can work in around my school and family schedule to help put food on the table without having to be confronted with it all of the time.