4Change

Halloween used to be my favorite celebration. I'm going to a party tonight and bringing my own NA beers.

I'm pretty certain I can make it through the night without being tempted. I guess I can try making a virgin bloody mary for the first time as well =)

Happy Halloween everyone!

ScottFromWI

Best of luck. I personally stayed away from events where the sole purpose was drinking for a couple of months. Do have an "out" plan too if things become too overwhelming - and remember that your sobriety belongs to and is controlled by you, not others.

anchorbird

Best of luck to you! I recently passed on an event that my husband and I go to every year. I knew I wouldn't drink, but I also knew I wasn't going to be fun to be around.

4Change

I actually ended up having an OK time. I was still able to be plenty social (surprising actually) and didn't feel the need to drink.

I've been drinking a few NA beer and that seems to help me feel ok when I'm around other people who are drinking. As long as I don't tell them it's NA, they're none the wiser.

ScottFromWI

Glad you made it through, and congrats on the upcoming month.

I did the NA beer thing for a while after I quit too ( I was exclusively a beer drinker ) but i gave that up too as I started drinking it like i drank beer - secretively, drinking fast, etc.

Regarding your worries about others "being none the wiser" and hoping to fool them into thinking you are drinking alcohol, that's a slippery slope. I found that the vast majority of others really couldn't care less if i'm drinking a soda, drinking a beer or drinking nothing at all. Our alcoholic minds make us falsely assume that others care if we are drinking or not - when in reality no one cares, really - they don't.