Horn95

So I travel a lot. And all my attempts except one at total sobriety this year (went through Detox day after Christmas but relapsed a few weeks later) have failed due to having a drink in airport waiting for a plane for my return flight (which is typically at the end of a business day).

So any suggestions on this one that I can incorporate into my plan? Thanks in advance.

BrendaChenowyth

I'm assuming you have to travel this way for work, not by choice.

Schedule your flights closer together and try not to get to the airport too early. I know this is hard to do if weather is bad or flights are delayed.

Eat somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol. The longer the line the better I would think. Kill time. Browse the stores. Just stay out of the bars. Call a friend. Get on SF.

Coldfusion

I found it very helpful to get to AA meetings while I was traveling.

saoutchik

I reckon something like a video game might take your mind of of drinking. The games are not all shoot 'em up/ Grand Theft Auto types these days.

Horn95

Thanks Brenda. Yes, almost exclusively for work. Thanks for the advice. Eating is probably the best thing to do, because eating typically kills my cravings.

Also thanks chick! A video game sounds awesome!

thomas11

The thing is Horn, you want that drink, you don't need that drink. I get it, it sounds pretty enticing at the end of a day. But I think we can retrain our brains to create new associations.

doggonecarl

Alcohol is everywhere. So what exactly is your trigger? What makes you step into an airport bar and order a drink? In what ways have you given yourself permission to yourself to bail out on your decision to quit? Is drinking a reward? Something you deserve? Or are you telling yourself, "That's what everyone in an airport does waiting for their flight?"

A solid commitment to sobriety should carry you right through security, to your gate, and to a seat waiting for the plane to board...sober.

ScottFromWI

I'm personally not a believer that there are individual "triggers" that cause us to drink. I feel the main reason we drink is because as alcoholics, we try and use alcohol to escape or avoid dealing with real life on it's own terms. It could certainly be that being in an airport waiting for a plane makes you nervous or anxious and you are trying to avoid that feeling by drinking - but it's still not specifically the airport that "makes" you drink. You decide to drink because you irrationally think it's going to help you in some way.

For me the solution was first accepting that drinking even one sip of any alchol is never an option for me - ever. Something is simply different about my brain or being that doesn't allow me to drink alcohol in a healthy/responsible way. Once I was able to accept that, I could start working on finding other healthy ways to deal with stress/life on it's own terms instead of drinking. Some people do this through a very formal program like AA/AVRT/Smart/Etc. Others use therapy, counseling and lessons learned there. Others use online tools like SR to have 24/7 access to a community of people like them from virtually anywhere in the world if things get tough.

I think you are already doing that in one form by being here today and looking forward. Make a plan to have tools at the ready next time you run into a stressful situation. Bring up SR on your phone or watch a video. Take a walk, read a book. play a game, get some food - lots of things to do. But I personally feel that you first need to accept your condition for any of the other tools to work in the long run.

BrendaChenowyth

Horn, I understand. There certainly are places and situations where our cravings happen and it's good that you are thinking about how you will deal with those triggers. To suggest that we shouldn't feel that way doesn't make those moments easier, it makes everything feel more overwhelming, for me anyway.

ScottFromWI

I don't think anyone is suggesting that Brenda - unless I'm reading something incorrectly?

MidnightRider

This is a very good info Carl..
Especially this part:

A solid commitment to sobriety should carry you right through security, to your gate, and to a seat waiting for the plane to board...sober.

tealily

I think the idea of practicing retraining your mind and changing your routines is good.

I have gotten to the point where I just "know" and accept that I don't order alcohol in any setting, and I don't buy it in the store. Just take the option off the table. It's not that I "can't", it's that I"m choosing a different kind of life. It's twist in how you think about it.

You can tell yourself and start to believe: You are no longer someone who drinks in airport bars. You are someone who (take your pick), say, instead, browses in the bookstore and eats a healthy meal looking out a window at the planes or someone who plays videogames or word games on your phone or calls loved ones at home.

Once you've done that a few times, maybe you'll eventually get to the point where you'll see people drinking in airport bars and think, "Wow, I used to do that. I'm so glad I don't anymore."

Just some ideas!

HTown

I noticed that I too felt a pull at the airport. I would drink one or two, board the flight, drink another or 2. That's how I flew. I wasn't nervous, just drank because I drink to get drunk and a plane was as good a time as any. It no longer pulls me, and I am grateful every day when I am sober. I suggest movies, pair of headphones, cup of coffee, some food. Maybe an apple from the newstand.