KarenSmith

Have a glass of wine with friends: "Come over for a drink!", Wine at dinner. Have a cold beer after mowing the yard on a hot day. Fund raisers. Community picnics. Book Club. A glass of wine to relax at the end of the day. Meet up at a bar after skiing. Christmas parties. Birthday parties. Drinking is just everywhere and a part of my social fabric.

My husband and I are semi-retired in a very active mountain community and are very fortunate to have so many wonderful, healthy, active outdoor activities to do. And everybody drinks. It is hard to avoid it. Yesterday we got invited to a dinner party with old friends. Some events I know it is easy for me to pass on the wine, but I know this dinner would present a huge challenge to abstain, so we are not going. Then she is having a birthday party in a few weeks. Maybe I will feel stronger then. We will see. In the last year I have navigated away from this particular group of friends and have nurtured and developed new friendships where the time we spend together is focused on healthy, life affirming activities like hiking and skiing. Of this new group, most everybody drinks a little bit (normal, sipping one, maybe two kind of drinking.) Some don't drink at all. It is all so civilized, healthy and well just plain normal. It is a big change from the other group where drinking was the reason to get together. I am proud of the progress that I have made in this last year. I haven't conquered my drinking problem but I am changing my habits and my friends. I feel like I am moving in the right direction. I keep messing up, but my drinking hasn't been out of control and I keep coming back and starting over. Some days I feel strong and in control, other days I just seem to slip back into autopilot and next thing I am have a drink. The bottom line is that I am stringing more abstaining days together and staying focused on the goal of living my life alcohol free.

Soberwolf

Im really glad its improving Karen & i hope you find yourself with more & more of them abstaining days

For me its acceptance that keeps me sober i also done group therapy AA mtns i seen a alcohol addiction team

I really hope you achieve your goal Karen

mns1

Karen the important thing is that you aren't giving up and keep trying. You sound very in tune with your own limits and know when you should avoid a particular situation to maintain sobriety. And it sounds like you've made a lot of progress.

Awesome work keep it up!

Anna

I'm glad you're moving away from friends who are always drinking. That's one of the changes many of us have to make in early recovery. I hope that you make the decision to stop drinking altogether, and we're here to support you.