DeathKnight

Hi all, im new and trying to get my act together....quick question for you guys....is it wise to change the things you use to do to avoid drinking? in my case i use to love drinking while playing video games, or while cooking dinner.....I love gaming as its my hobby so id hate to lose it do to an association....any advice?

McGowdog

Welcome to SR DeathKnight!

I'm an alcoholic who is recovered. So a trigger for me would be like... not doing the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and not seeking God via prayer and meditation and keeping my side of the street clean.

I'd say as long as I'm on the spiritual path or whatever path of recovery you follow... it's fine to do some gamin'. Cooking for sure. But if you find that playing too much is affecting your sobriety, do it until it's not ok anymore.


That's why I said up front I'm an alcoholic. For me it's not about priority. It's about life and death.

smacked

I couldn't just 'quit drinking', (this sounds big but..) I had to change my life.

To answer your question, yes.. absolutely had to change the things I used to do. I mean you can't very well change the fact that you have to make and eat dinner, but you might change up the time of evening you cook. That was a biggy for me, I'd pour a drink and cook, drink and cook..and never end up eating anything I cooked really because I was full of liquor. So I started going to the gym instead during that time.. then cooking and eating later in the evening, sometimes 9pm, and going to bed.

As for the gaming, maybe put it away for a while if it's a trigger for you.

That and add a ton of support (counseling, meetings, whatever..) that also takes up a bunch of your time and teaches you how to LIVE sober, not just sit and 'be' sober.

DeathKnight

i'm very limited on times i can do things, i work nurse type shifts 12 hours a day and cant change alot of stuff around. Not sure what to do with this stuff, its very discouraging to have to get rid of hobbys ive done for 10+ years bc of 3 years of boozing.

smacked

maybe just 'for now'.. what's more important?

There's lots of new hobbies and activities out there waiting to be discovered with a sober and clear mind!!

Dee74

Hi again DeathKnight

I did basically everything with a drink, and I couldn't stop doing things, but I changed it up as much as I could.

I used to spend my days watching TV...haven't done that for over 2 years now...I started spending more time here instead.

I used to like to listen to music with a drink - for a long time I used pop or juice if my hands felt like they needed to be 'full'.

I used to have my 'times' where I'd always drink...making dinner - I made sure I either didn't drink anything or drank water....Friday nights - I made sure I kept busy....

It's just common sense really DK...if gaming is that much of a trigger, put it away for a couple of weeks...like smacked says, there's a world of other things to discover

D

DeathKnight

no, i get it, i was just curious, there's alot to take in, and i've only recently decided to address this so its a big load, all i know is i need to change, and im not sure about anything else. And frankly, everything is a trigger at the moment.

-=]

CarolD

Welcome.....

I changed a lot of things to protect my early sobriety.
It was difficult to begin with....worked out great.

All my best as you move forward ...

thirtybubba

I'm new to the idea of living sober too. It's rough, I've done everything with liquor for so long now... and because of that, everything is a trigger--some days. Some days I don't think of it...

It gets better, DK. I've gotten to that point at least. Just hang in there. And learn as many new ways to do as many things as you can--every one helps take out one more trigger.

Take care,
-TB

Sikkisirus

I agree with others, you need to change a few things whilst you're still 'fresh' to sobriety. If gaming is a trigger then ease up on it for a while, it needn't be forever, just until you're stronger.

On a side note, im a gamer too but could never play if drinking. COD4 whilst drunk ?! lol

Tazman53

Welcome to SR DeathKnight.

I know exactly what you are taliking about on that one!!! Once I got off of work every single thing I did except sleep involved drinking, I drove and drank for many years, the last 5 years I had to or I would start getting really messed up physically and mentally.

What I found after I got out of detox was I had to change everything I did initially, one thing that made a huge difference was I went to at least one AA meeting every day. I made a ton of new sober friends there and when I was not in a meeting or at work I would spend time on the phone with them.

As my sobriety grew stronger as I took the steps with my sponsor I returned to doing things that I had done before I quit drinking. The difference was night and day, everything I did drinking I did BETTER sober and I remembered them the next day!!! I also have found my self doing things I never would have dreamed of doing while I was drinking.

The gaming deal if that is a major trigger right now may be a good thing to put on the back burner for now, I can assure you that when you feel comfortable doing it again with out a drink you will find your self kicking some serious butt in comparison to when you were gaming and drunk/drinking.

penny74

l find life in general a drinking trigger.
But l certainly don't want to avoid it.
So l will just have to learn to live sober.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha

juliwuli

my trigger was shopping on a wednesdays i HATE food shopping and i used to buy alcohol as my 'reward' for doing something i hated, well i still have to go to the supermarket, no-one else will, but now i buy something else to reward myself with like a book or something, i did have to change an awful lot of things though like everyone else said,

BTW i like gaming too, its another hobby of mine, but i never drank whilst playing as i couldnt see straight, i mean you cant shoot zombies when your hammered can you? lol

dan1957

Hi DeathKnight. thanks for your share.

First law of addiction. If you pick up you will end up where you left off. Cravings last for approximately 3 minutes. Do not drink one day at a time. Sobriety means facing reality. Working the twelve steps makes you a better person, and helps you to deal with reality.
In the AA book Living sober It says your suppose to change old routines you use to associate with drinking. I have been going to meetings and exercising. I am new to sobriety also, 50 days. I've had severe cravings. I continue to remind myself I can not pick up. I do not want to be a practicing alchoholic.

Best regards, Dan.

NewMe11109

Perhaps you can move your gaming activities to a place temporarily that won't create a trigger for you ... such as a public library. Just think how much better a gamer you will be with your full coordination ...

Remember that gaming may actually ramp up your aggressive emotions which then could be a trigger for drinking. So, I'm not suggesting switching to the Dora the Explorer adventure, but perhaps find some games that are more thinking / problem solving focused (e.g. something like Myst comes to mind) vs. action focused, if this is indeed the case.

Boleo

I learned the hard way through many relapses that even if I avoided so-called "triggers" I would invent one when I needed an excuse to drink. When I finally had the obsession removed from me (I did not do it myself) I could do most (but not all) of the things that I thought were triggers.

For the first few months I did find it necessary to stay away from "wet faces & wet places" but now I don't need to even worry about that. I still don't hang around drunks & bars without a good reason but it is more a matter of preference than fear. I did not enjoy those things before I started drinking and find I have returned to that same attitude now that I have stopped.

My advice is to get a sponsor and let him/her decide when you are ready to go back to your old haunts & habits. Don't trust your own judgment in this matter.