How_do_"we"_in_recovery_celebrate?
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,444
Hi Kjell...
I think it's perfectly natural to feel fear - doing things, especially social things, without alcohol is unfamiliar and strange.
My advice is as time goes on and the more you do it, the less unfamiliar it gets to be.
It has to be said tho, like Anna, I'm far less social these days - not through fear or because I feel uncomfortable but because I'm more in tune with who I am, and less worried about what other people think or expect me to do.
In the end, Kjell, celebrating without a drink hasn't killed me yet - but years of drinking almost did...
D
I think it's perfectly natural to feel fear - doing things, especially social things, without alcohol is unfamiliar and strange.
My advice is as time goes on and the more you do it, the less unfamiliar it gets to be.
It has to be said tho, like Anna, I'm far less social these days - not through fear or because I feel uncomfortable but because I'm more in tune with who I am, and less worried about what other people think or expect me to do.
In the end, Kjell, celebrating without a drink hasn't killed me yet - but years of drinking almost did...
D
Laozi Old Man
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Detroit, MI
Posts: 6,665
Originally Posted by Kjell 
So, I'll ask it again. How do we celebrate? I don't know how...
I know it is hard to detach from expectations and fear but detachment is really the key to equanimity. The more I see adversity from the perspective as a student the less I see myself as a victim. That is what a good program turns me into - a student.
6/20/08
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 4,467
It doesn't bug me anymore. In fact...sitting back and watching someone else make an a$$ of themselves, while they 'celebrate' makes me all the more grateful for sobriety.
You'll get there! You're learning a lot on your journey through early sobriety....enjoy it!
Good Thread!
You'll get there! You're learning a lot on your journey through early sobriety....enjoy it!
Good Thread!
Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Raleigh NC
Posts: 100
For way too long I thought about things like that but now I know one thing: My wife and I are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary this Saturday. Well, it's Thursday and I haven't given drinking one consideration on Saturday because SAT is not here yet. It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to drink Saturday on Thursday. So, don't "think" about it until the time comes and when it comes, prepare yourself to do whatever it takes to stay sober. That might mean not celebrating at all, doing something completely different, etc.
Remember, one celebratory drink can lead to an alcoholics death. I am not being dramatic and anyone who is an alcoholic knows it.
Remember, one celebratory drink can lead to an alcoholics death. I am not being dramatic and anyone who is an alcoholic knows it.
Don't resist, allow
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: South East of England
Posts: 1,521
Originally Posted by Boleo
The more I see adversity from the perspective as a student the less I see myself as a victim. That is what a good program turns me into - a student.
Karma Amputee
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Among The Living
Posts: 769
I looked up "celebrate" in the dictionary and did not see any mention of alcohol, I think that is just something which has been added to the definition, the inclusion of alcohol, but to me celebration is a state of mind. From where I stand, it's being happy about something; devoting or bringing attention to something. I didn't really "celebrate" St. Patrick's Day per say because the day and the Saint really means nothing to me but I do like the food and the music and the people watching so I was overjoyed to spend the afternoon with my Irish wife, eating the food, singing the songs, and watching the people out and about. It had nothing to do with alcohol for either one of us that day. That alone is actually something worth celebrating!
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