enfinthechange

Work is stressful, I'd rather not be at work, therefor I want to drink. There are tonnes of issues with work, but they all make me want to get wasted.

I'm not going to today.... but it is such a trigger...

Does anyone else have this???

How do you cope without a drink to have in the evening, or a beer to look forward to as a 'reward' for going???

Cheers guys....

soberclover

If you dread your job that much, is it possible for you to find another? One of the things, however, that I noticed was once I stopped drinking and was able to be at work with a clear head and reduced anxiety, the "stuff" that happened at work, I was much better able to deal with.

SoberJohn

Get some food in your belly when you get home. That always works for me in turning off the AV.

Mark1014

That's a tough one to answer, but earlier on I made a Herculean effort and seemed to have turned the alcohol option switch off. I dare not let my mind flirt with the thoughts of it...meaning alcohol as a reward for a hard day at work or because my team won or lost or I'm happy or sad etc.. That option had to be amputated from my life. No exceptions. Rolling the drinking option over and over in my mind was completely exhausting and caused me to slip countless times. It has taken effort and a personal plan but I'm doing pretty well now at just over three months. Best of luck to you going back to work...don't drink and don't give up tomorrow! A day at a time and you can do this!

matilda123

I have a stressful job too, and work was a major drinking trigger. Mondays were particularly bad, and I definitely "rewarded" myself with alcohol at the end of the day.

One solution for me has been to have an alternative reward for stressful days. For example, I know Mondays will be hard: a lot of difficult meetings with some difficult people. So now, I make sure and buy myself flowers on Sunday to take to the office, along with a special lunch and coffee treat. I make sure that dinner for that night is either in the crockpot or ready in the freezer to heat up. And if I feel like doing absolutely nothing on Monday night, I don't.

Maybe you can do something similar: come up with an alternative plan, and alternative treats, so you have different and better rewards?

Anna

There are lots of good ideas here. I hope that you can find some peace with your job, or maybe consider making a change.

enfinthechange

Thanks guys, I like the ideas,
I will not consider it, so release myself from that stress, and I think a spot of cooking now so I have some nice food tomorrow. Kids don't start back to school till Tuesday, so they wont be frantic....
And maybe it will all be easier without slight hangovers quite often!

Red Dwarf is on TV now, so I can at least forget for a bit

Kero

Work is a serious trigger for me as well.

Lots of managers love to use stress to "motivate" people. "This report HAS to get there by tomorrow or else!!!!". Or else what? Someone goes an extra day without a report.

We have a phrase around work "the world will keep spinning". My job is no matter of life and death. Few are (unless yours is then please work hard!).

Don't get me wrong, I go in and work hard. I take my work seriously, but I can't let it consume my life. It is tough to do sometimes, but a lot of it is like dealing with recovery as well. Take a minute, go outside and relax or something.

Aellyce

No problem now, but this was a true challenge for me when I got sober. I was really awful during the last year of my drinking regarding work. I missed more and more days to either drink at home round the clock, or nurse a hangover on some days in between bad benders. It happened that I did not show up for a week at all, "working" from home... I really got into the habit of only going to my workplace when I had obligatory meetings, or I really had to be there for something specific I could not avoid. I got into this horrible habit pretty deeply and it was quite hard to break it and start going there near daily. And this is a job I love more than any other jobs I've had before. Well obviously I did not love it more than the booze.

It was very hard for me to start working normally after quitting, or even just kicking my butt to show up more often, and it did not happen overnight. I purposefully set up more frequent meetings with colleagues and I took on new responsibilities so that I was pushed to develop a new style. And I started seriously planning and scheduling my evenings to make sure I always had something to occupy me. I also tried to get out of the house as often as possible, if nothing else I took long walks or just hung out in coffee shops, the book store, or a library with my laptop or iPad, because staying at home was very triggering for me (I was a lone home drinker). Lots of SR wherever I went. Started taking classes in the evenings. Went to museums and the movies all the time. When I really had to go home late in the evening, I usually read books or did something on the computer (lots of work also got done that way). Watched stuff on Netflix.

I would say it depends how your drinking habits used to be. If you drank at home like me, try to get out as much as possible. Took up new hobbies or resume old ones, a form of exercise, whatever you are interested in. If you are so inclined, go to recovery meetings.

If you drank out, then probably best is to stay at home more and, again, develop new activities and habits that take your mind off. Also, try to eat well, foods you enjoy, that really helped me with the cravings.

omenapt

i start my Mondays off starting tomorrow(reduced full time)
,but I am on 3rd day of not drinking! I knew that work was killing me but the alcohol was quickening that result! But i knew I couldn't "add" another full day of drinking to my already ridiculuously sloshed weekends,so that was my motivatiion to quit(for good , again)

enfinthechange

Haennie, sounds like your work must have been well impressed when you quit! Your productivity must have increased loads!!!

I have 2 kids so cant go out and drank after they went to bed, and at tea time, not all the time, but some days.... so I cant do anything much. Cook and clean and do the washing, which also makes me feel so trapped! I think I may need a hobbie then... not sure what!!!

ShenzyT

I'm trying to make plans for the evenings aswell. My job takes me out for a couple of hours in the evening, my witching hour is when I come home.....dreading it tomorrow.
I've got some programmes taped to watch, so will hopefully be ok with them.
Xxx

sugarbear1

define the stress and list things to do to combat that stress without drinking, maybe?

stephendu

Just take it in stride. I like to end my weeks with a good movie, book or video game. Maybe you could even bring a favorite book with you to work? This may allow you to relax and escape for a moment during your work day. I find that this helps me with the stress and deadlines for difficult projects. Just escape into the works of Michael Chriton for 10 pages. What will happen next? Best of luck to you. Monday is tough since it is the first full work week of the year.

DefconOne

You hit my nail on the head. I used alcohol as a reward system for getting things done at work. I used it to relieve stress and have fun and euphoric feelings. It worked pretty well for awhile, until I started drinking every day instead of just the weekends. After years of alcohol abuse and trying to better control my drinking I got fired at work and went on a one year binge, drinking 24/7 in my house. I was really messed up. I would wake up and be surprised what day of the week it was. I ended up in the hospital and decided it was time to quit for good. I try to think of alcohol usage as a penalty now, in every way a negative thing..same as mainlining morphine or sniffing glue. Absurd for me to drink anymore as I am a proven alcoholic.

happyandfree

I had to make some changes. I felt that I needed wine after a long day at work. After work I was too stressed out. So in sobriety, I've cut back on my work hours so I don't feel so stressed on a regular basis. I'm self employed so I can do that. I'm not making as much money now...but I feel that the extra money was not worth jeopardizing my mental health. I also exercise, eat regularly and well, and generally take care of myself.

enfinthechange

Well, I'm here! Its not too bad, bot cold... Must stop to eat now! Been dumped with a short presentation to staff tomorrow, but that's no reason to drink! I feel full of cold anyway, usually would have whisky hot lemon when I get hone and feel this stuffy.. But Lemsip works just as well! Must supress negative thoughts! Keep on going. ....

Thanks to u all! X

PurpleKnight

Great to hear!!

This my first day back after 5 days off, the whole 2 week off that some people in other jobs get isn't something that applies to myself thankfully.

Just on my lunch break!! Hang in there!!

LBrain

well, I'm starting to feel dread about not going back to work tomorrow... that's a good thing

Tang

Yes I'm dreading today. Thanks for listening.