zelt

Hi There,

I'm a 22 year old male and i am binge drinker and i think it is time to cut down or stop completely. I have been binging for 8 years now and I mainly drink on the weekends, however when i do drink i tend to blackout and make huge mistakes, such as, Yelling and Fighting my friends and just making an all around idiot of myself. Now, i know this site is called "sober recovery" and what i have just told you may not suggest i have that big of a problem in comparison to others. However it does become a problem for me whenever i do drink. I always say "I'm not gonna **** up tonight" before i drink and sure enough i do. I have a girlfriend of 4 years and i think my drinking is starting to affect our relationship. So, what are some activities some people do to distract themselves from drinking?

Wastinglife

Zelt, I am also a binge drinker and do stuff like fight with family and friends or even strangers. I've had some really bad blackout drunk moments. It's like a switch goes off in my head and I turn into a monster.

My main activitiy is anything that is not drinking. Sports, video games, whatever...

Soberwolf

Anything really .. as long as your sober youl be ok

Buggirl

Just don't go to the pub! Mistake I have made several times now is that I think I can walk in and not drink, no chance, not early on anyway!

Dee74

Hi zelt - welcome

You can do anything you want - as long as it doesn't involve drinking

I'm not trying to be a wise guy either...I spent so long drinking my fun out of a bottle I forgot how to have fun any other way.

Think back to things you used to do before you drank - any hobbies interests? anything you'd like to do?

Is hanging out with your gf cool or does that make you want to drink too?

There's literally no limit to what you can do and probably only limits of imagination and finances in practical terms.

Maybe this list will help spark something?

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ething-do.html

D

Briseis

Binge drinking and I are frenemies, so I get it.

I'd just free-associate for a bit with pen and paper and write down ideas. Maybe in terms of activities, think of what you COULD do instead of should do. Sometimes, this helps change your perspective and gets the creative juices flowing

Recruit your girlfriend to help you--maybe this could be a tiny step in the direction of healing for your relationship as well.

Good luck, little homie. You can do it!

james186

Something outdoors and active is always good for you. Also, if you drink on Friday/Saturday you could use the next morning's activity as an excuse to not go out and drink: 'I'm gonna give tonight a miss, I'm going hiking/camping/biking - (whatever) in the morning'.

zelt

I've just done it again screamed at my gf last night for god knows what reason... I need to stop this, now. How do I stop?

Anna

You stop by stopping drinking. Get rid of any alcohol in your home and don't buy anymore. Commit to staying away from places and people where alcohol is present, at least until you have established your recovery. Come up with new activities to do instead of drinking on the weekends. You can do it!

Soberwolf

Exactly this

Pipefish

When I first read the title of your post, I thought it read 'activities to do beside think' :-) A worthwhile question! But to what you asked

This "I'm not gonna **** up tonight" in your post stuck out for me. How many times did I say the same thing, and while sometimes, every so often, that would be true, it was the exception rather than the rule. That statement is for me personally (and in no way saying this applies to you too) one of the markers of my alcoholism. Your later post about screaming at your girlfriend, oh, that rang bells too. Many a morning I would wake up to tension, an atmosphere, even injury I'd inflicted on someone else, wondering 'what's up with them?' and when I finally got up the gumption to ask, I'd say 'what happened? Why the upset? Who scratched your arm/face?' It was me that had happened, me the caused the upset, the damage. It is soul destroying, mostly because against all logic, and rationality, I couldn't of my own willpower stop doing it.

So, I could give you a list of activities to do beside drink, which would no doubt work as short-term distractions. While such distractions can be useful, no denying, as a short term strategy to take my mind off for however long it took for the desire to drink to pass, as a way of life, those distractions weren't a long-term option. My route has been accepting I am not able to drink like other people, and living a sober life. The focus of that life has not been so much about seeking distractions, as it has about doing exactly the opposite. At 22, that may not sound of interest to you, but it's a journey I wouldn't have missed. You may be different to me, but wanted to share my experience anyway.

You could try a young people's AA meeting?

Whatever you do, wish you well

canguy

Cook for your girlfriend.

Take her away somewhere for the weekend.

Did you have some kind of hobby, something you loved doing as a kid? Reconnect with it. Reconnect with something you enjoyed before you started enjoying drinking.

Hawks

Golf, tennis, ten pin bowling, bike riding, hiking, hunting, books, video games, movies, lift weights, volunteer work, join a chess club, study for a diploma or certificate, go shopping, go dining, cook, clean, yard work.

That's the tip of the iceberg.... Enjoy

zelt

Thanks for the posts guys... My gf actually works every Saturday. We do have Sundays together.. But, of course I'm usually hungover for the only day off we have together. I'm thinking more of an activity to keep me amused throughout Saturday while the missus is working

Thomasthetank

Anything! Anything at all!

One of the things that I found most rewarding after quitting drinking was getting into music, books, sports, video games, movies. There's a whole world out there that drinking dulls into a background activity.

Tetra

You could do volunteer work one day a week?

I teach English as a foreign language and it's been good for me.

I have also been raising money for the local hospice through sponsored walks, climbs etc.

livingnow

Welcome here.
The list of things you can do is huge, because your sober.
Driving is suddenly possible, so, that in itself gets you out...take it from there!

Bruno1979

Spot on, I'd spent that long not being able to drive after a certain time of day that I actually forgot that driving at night was a possibility lol.

Eshgham

Exercise - there's lots of options here. I play sports, go to the gym, and also work on my mobility. Each morning I do a mobility drill that takes about 20 minutes - my body's now looser, fitter and it's also a productive way to start the day.

You can learn a language, learn an instrument, find a really good book to dig into ...

I'm introverted though, and don't mind doing this stuff alone. If you're really extroverted and want to be around people, I think it might be more challenging.

zelt

Thanks guys, as for driving, I've lost my license for Drink driving for another year unfortunately