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Newbie: Need Some Ideas for Staying Busy I'm new here. I decided to give up alcohol. I'm not a daily drinker, but I binge drink myself to oblivion nearly every time I do partake. I have no self-control and it's going to eventually lead to more serious problems than those I have experienced so far. Since I'm the type who's accustomed to going out and partying every weekend, I'm a bit restless now. I'm too early in the recovery process to subject myself to the temptation of being around friends who are drinking at a bar. Any ideas on where to socialize on weekend nights with sober people? I'm fairly open-minded, but I'm drawing blanks right now. Thanks all. |
Welcome to SR...:wave: I found many non drinking new friends when I started to attend AA meetings...:yup: Congratulations on your wise decision |
Originally Posted by AlcoholFTL
(Post 2501651)
Any ideas on where to socialize on weekend nights with sober people? I'm fairly open-minded, but I'm drawing blanks right now. Thanks all. A group of friends and I will go to meeting and then to a coffee shop. We have a trendy little one here with live music. Coffee shops are nice.. and you can bring a lap top. ;-) |
:) Here is a list our SR members compiled..... v 150 Things To Do Instead of Drinking 1. Read a book 2. Take a walk 3. Play a musical instrument 4. Knit 5. Clean your closets 6. Research your genealogy 7. Cook a gourmet dinner 8. Write an article for your local newspaper 9. Go take some pictures 10. Clean the mildew in your bathroom 11. Start writing that book you've been planning 12. Plan a garden 13. Plant a garden 14. Play with a pet 15. Read to a child 16. Visit someone in an old folks' home 17. Watch a news special on TV 18. Set up a family budget 19. Make a web site 20. Take up archery 21. Exercise 22. Go to an online recovery meeting 23. Surf the internet 24. Call your mom 25. Learn a foreign language 26. Write a poem 27. Play golf 28. Take a bubble bath 29. Draw 30. Teach a parakeet to whistle 31. Take a nap 32. Listen to music 33. Paint 34. Clean your desk 35. Start a stamp collection 36. Go window shopping 37. Browse in a book store 38. Go to an art gallery 39. Go for a drive 40. Paint a room 41. Watch the clouds go by 42. Play darts 43. Do target shooting 44. Do home repairs 45. Clean your garage 46. Sort your photographs 47. Make a scrapbook 48. Climb a tree 49. Plant a tree 50. Make marmalade 51. Make a list of things to do 52. Write a letter to the editor 53. Volunteer somewhere 54. Take a hike 55. Take a college class 56. Try yoga 57. Meditate 58. Get a massage 59. Make fruit smoothies 60. Bake cookies 61. Do a crossword puzzle 62. Go to the gym 63. Plant a color bowl 64. Sharpen your pruning tools 65. Change your engine oil 66. Sew 67. Groom your dog 68. Go see a play 69. Write a sonnet 70. Sort your recipes 71. Play solitaire 72. Go bird watching 73. Write a letter to a friend 74. Read a poetry book 75. Repot your houseplants 76. Go to a movie 77. Mow your lawn 78. Put up (or take down) your Christmas lights 79. Make pickles 80. Go jogging 81. Watch sitcoms 82. Plan menus for a diet 83. Do a jigsaw puzzle 84. Play chess 85. Write a country-western song 86. Watch a video 87. Go for a bike ride 88. Plant an herb garden 89. Start an online journal 90. Dye your hair 91. Go to a restaurant 92. Lift weights 93. Bake some bread 94. Learn a martial art 95. Polish the furniture 96. Make a flower arrangement 97. Read the newspaper 98. Start some seeds 99. Sort your magazines 100. Do some laundry. 111. Take a nature walk 112. Play with your kids 113. Volunteer at a homeless shelter 114. Volunteer at a school 115. Pick up garbage in a park 116. Tickle your kids 117. Play basketball 118. Volunteer at an animal shelter 119. Read to a child or pet 120. Sign up for obedience training with your dog 121. Take a walk and pick up litter you see on the way 122. Spend time at the library 123. Sort all your digital photos and make an album to print for holiday gifts to family. 124. Help your kid organize his closet. 125. Figure out the melody and chords to your current favorite tune on the piano. 126. Practice your holiday cookie recipes 127. Make crackers from scratch (that one didn't go so well). 128. Make tortillas from scratch (better). 129. Reread a book you haven't read for years. 130. Tango 131. Learn about someone else’s religion. 132. Reread one of your college textbooks. 133. Key out a wildflower. 134. Do your nails. 135. Do word puzzles. 136. Play a board game. 137. Burn CD’s of some of your favorite music for a friend. 138. Plant a bonsai. 139. Play Mad Libs. 140. Speak only in heroic couplets for an hour. 141. Read poetry online. 142. Ride a stationary bicycle. 143. Set up a domino topple. 144. Play backgammon. 145. Build a house of cards 146. Make an entry in Wikipedia. 147. Read a world almanac. 148. Publish a family newsletter. 149. Throw cards at a hat. 150. Go to bed. |
Try hosting a dinner party at your house where you plan and cook the meal. That way, you still get the social interaction you are looking for, without going to a bar. Have theme nights where you try different things, like "Thai night", or "Italian night". Just make sure no one brings wine :) Follow up dinner with some board games like Risk, or Monopoly, or Pictionary where you have to focus on the strategy of the game rather than focusing on the fact that you aren't drinking. |
Hi there! I found that once I mentally just took drinking completely off the table as an activity, that I naturally started doing all the things I had been neglecting in favor of drinking. I was a binger too - and every weekend was lost to drinking completely. I work a lot during the week, so I stopped shopping for clothes on the weekend, stopped getting my hair done, my nails done, cleaning my house, doing laundry, shopping for FOOD - though always had plenty of booze... It was so great to take care of myself and my environment. And I had a real sense of accomplishment that I had't had in forever. |
Humble, I hear you! Its only 10:00 AM, but I already have a load of laundry in the washer, and a load in the dryer! I used to be in bed until at least noon on Sundays. After the laundry is done, I am off to the store to get the ingredients for a mushroom risotto - I've never made it before, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. But I have to admit, I am still procrastinating on cleaning out my home office.... |
Omega - hey, Rome wasn't built in a day! LOL! Look at what you've already accomplished, that would've NEVER gotten done had you been drinking/hungover/doing a bit of hair of the dog. What I do is I make a list called, "Things I Did This Weekend That I Could NOT Have Done Had I Been Drinking"...I write it all down, then refer back to it and go, "Wow..." Here's the first one I wrote: 1) Grocery Shopping on Saturday 2) Make breakfast for hubby and I on Sunday 3) Made Beef Stew for Sunday dinner, and Made Meatloaf for dinner during week 4) Got my hair done 5) Returned some items to the store 6) Bought some cool make up at Sephora 7) Worked from home Sun night 3 hrs. 8) Slept peacefully and got "real" rest 9) I remembered everything I said and did all weekend Things I didn't do: 1) Make an ass of myself at any point 2) Forget Friday and Saturday night in a black out 3) Have paralyzing anxiety shame and guilt 4) Sleep ALL DAY Sunday 5) Feel physically and mentally awful Mon-Wed. 6) Hate myself for doing it again |
Oh, I think the mess in my office is larger than Rome! LOL! Thanks for sharing your lists, I would make my own list of "Things I Didn't Do", but mine is pretty much the same as yours. |
Thanks for the input. The list will help. What's difficult is that I'm in my 20s and I'm not married or in a serious relationship. If I was, I don't think I'd have a problem. The relationship would probably strengthen since many temptations would disappear after neglecting the bar/club lifestyle. Since I'm not, I can't really entertain myself or meet new people by sticking around the house. The dinner party idea is good, but none of my friends show an interest in ceasing the binge drinking, so I don't know too many people who will be interested in a sober night. I never wanted to consider AA since I didn't think I had a major problem. I'm just a social drinker who gets out of control. I've never drank alone and had no interest in doing it. I know this is a common response and I may meet others with first-hand experience on how to deal with what I'm feeling, so maybe I should look into it. |
Welcome to SR AlcoholFTL There's many things on that 150 things to do list that don't need a partner...and you may meet others doing some of the things? :dunno: D |
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ething-do.html Here are some more ideas. Hope you find some that interest you. |
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