Dreading the weekend
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 3
Dreading the weekend
As a weekend alcoholic, I'm dreading Friday afternoon, because I know when I get home from work I'm just going to want a drink which will lead to another until passing out. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fight the resistance.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 112
Me freaking too Wildcat. But try not to think about the weekend until the weekend comes, and then maybe try to think about something that you like to do that you did before drinking. Go to the movies and running are always my go tos. Or sometimes I just drive around after work and go to stores like Home depot and wander around. Or play video games or read. Maybe you have something like that?
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,472
I can relate Wildcat. I'm still not a huge fan of weekends but I've found things to do to fill my time. I've gotten better at recognizing my AV and keeping it at bay. Reading also helps me (Rational Recovery being the most recent). I even posted a thread called Fridays on 10/2 to remind myself what happened when I would let my AV control my weekend. Thinking the process through helps to keep me grounded on the weekends now. You can do this!
Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 5,785
Why not do something different and take yourself out to a movie? Why not look for a hobby that occurs on Friday that you are interested in doing?
There is also a SR chat meeting at 8p CST that you can go to. I've gotten a lot out of the chat meetings.
It's going to feel awkward on Fridays for awhile, but it will get better. Just keep on hanging in there. You can do it!
There is also a SR chat meeting at 8p CST that you can go to. I've gotten a lot out of the chat meetings.
It's going to feel awkward on Fridays for awhile, but it will get better. Just keep on hanging in there. You can do it!
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,416
Hey guys 
The great think about Friday night is it's still a few nights away
Why not start working on a decent recovery plan for Friday night and the weekend?
What changes can you make? How much support can you muster?
D
The great think about Friday night is it's still a few nights away
Why not start working on a decent recovery plan for Friday night and the weekend?
What changes can you make? How much support can you muster?
D
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: California
Posts: 266
I am in the same boat. Very worried about Friday and for that matter also Saturday and Sunday. I am going to come here and find a weekender thread and stay on it a lot. I was going to say keep yourself busy but i have tried that and it has not worked for me so far. One thing that works for me sometimes is to go out and eat with my family that way i am full and wont want to drink. Good luck.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: California
Posts: 38
i have the same worries. i dont even like the weekends anymore! i am good and sober all week. then weekend comes and me and my boyfriend drink til sunday night. i try to suggest other things but he has no desire to stop drinking and whatever activity i suggest he incorporates drinking into to. we drink too much, fight, cry, leave each other, next morning act as nothing happened and start it all over again. i know i have to leave him. but right now, being sober means being all alone. i have no family where i live and all my friends are big drinkers. 
Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Midwest
Posts: 9,029
There is a weekenders thread. It will go up tomorrow. I join every week and keep posting throughout the week. We take care to support each other.
Think about Friday. Not thinking about it could leave you in a trick bag. I make sober plans. On Friday night I usually attend a beginner's AA meeting. I make plans for Saturday and Sunday. I keep too busy to drink.
You absolutely do not have to either drink or be bored. You establish a different rhythm that doesn't involve alcohol. It can be uncomfortable while you adjust but you absolutely can do it. Come to the weekend thread. Read what people are doing with their time. You'll start gradually not dreading weekends. The only regret you'll have is that they're too short.
Think about Friday. Not thinking about it could leave you in a trick bag. I make sober plans. On Friday night I usually attend a beginner's AA meeting. I make plans for Saturday and Sunday. I keep too busy to drink.
You absolutely do not have to either drink or be bored. You establish a different rhythm that doesn't involve alcohol. It can be uncomfortable while you adjust but you absolutely can do it. Come to the weekend thread. Read what people are doing with their time. You'll start gradually not dreading weekends. The only regret you'll have is that they're too short.
Hears The Voice
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Unshackled
Posts: 7,901
Congrats to everyone committing to a sober weekend. 
I remember well that feeling of dreading the weekend. Drinking was the only way I knew how to spend my free time. Since I've been sober I've learned how to do so many other interesting things a weekend is never enough time to do them all. I can hardly wait until the next one!
If you can't think of anything else to do, go to the animal shelter and play with the dogs and cats. It is instantly rewarding.
You can do this!
Originally Posted by Wildcat2015 
As a weekend alcoholic, I'm dreading Friday afternoon, because I know when I get home from work I'm just going to want a drink...
If you can't think of anything else to do, go to the animal shelter and play with the dogs and cats. It is instantly rewarding.
You can do this!
Trudger of Happy Destiny
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 1,918
I can relate. I didn't know what to do with myself when I stopped drinking. I honestly thought there would never be a time when I didn't think about the next time I could drink (or use drugs).
But then, one day, as time progressed, I realized I couldn't remember the last time I thought about taking a drink or using.
In my experience, keep coming around and interesting things like that do happen.
But then, one day, as time progressed, I realized I couldn't remember the last time I thought about taking a drink or using.
In my experience, keep coming around and interesting things like that do happen.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 60
Yep, I agree.. I too am a weekend Binger. I have been on this forum since July and I took a break...but it was not a good break. I should have never left. But when I made the decision to drink again, I was too embarrassed to come back until now. I agree with many of the posts on here. I think changing up the routine is the way to go. Hang out with sober friends, join a bowling league, go to the gym, out to dinner with friends that don't drink find a hobby that calms you. Most of all, don't listen to that little voice in your head telling you that you need a drink. It's a bad voice and a bad idea.....trust me, I know :>**
Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Cleveland
Posts: 320
One of the nicest things I did for myself was take myself to dinner at a new restaurant. For me, there are a lot of I have not been to because they were not in my drinking circuit. It was just spaghetti and meatballs but it felt great. Also, I took up tennis last year - before I quit - and it has been great having that release. I highly recommend tennis.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,472
I have a haircut Saturday morning and I think I'm going to take myself to the movies for an early afternoon show (probably The Martian) complete with buttery popcorn and candy and then treat myself to a nice dinner. Perhaps steak. Then Sunday, I'm having a belated birthday dinner with my family. I like to plan out my weekend to have things that get in the way of my AV being able to take over. That's my plan for this one. Let's all go to the movies!
Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 8,704
Can totally relate. Gotta break the cycle Wildcat. The first couple weekends you might feel lost like you are in a foreign land, but it goes away.
I will share my 2 analogies. When I broke the cycle, it was like breaking the chains that were wrapped around my body, and once I broke free from them, it was rewarding, when it was no longer rewarding, it was just normal. The hardest is when I went from nightly drinker to weekend warrior. The other analogy I have is when recovering from a binge. The first half of the second day was the worst, but by the end of the second day my appetite would come back with a vengeance and I no longer felt like I had shattered glass coursing through my veins. My brain started to work again, calmness returned, heart slowed down, no longer pounded. The thirst and appetite was the signal that normal-ness was just hours away. I know that sounds ridiculous, but its just been my experience. So I go back to my original premise.....break the cycle.
I will share my 2 analogies. When I broke the cycle, it was like breaking the chains that were wrapped around my body, and once I broke free from them, it was rewarding, when it was no longer rewarding, it was just normal. The hardest is when I went from nightly drinker to weekend warrior. The other analogy I have is when recovering from a binge. The first half of the second day was the worst, but by the end of the second day my appetite would come back with a vengeance and I no longer felt like I had shattered glass coursing through my veins. My brain started to work again, calmness returned, heart slowed down, no longer pounded. The thirst and appetite was the signal that normal-ness was just hours away. I know that sounds ridiculous, but its just been my experience. So I go back to my original premise.....break the cycle.
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