huntwc

Hi all...will be 21 days without wine tomorrow! I am at the shore with my DH and 2 kids and my brother, sil and their kids for our annual vacation. Drinking has always been a part of this tradition and not doing it is really hard. My hubs is not drinking with me but my bro and SIL are (she is drinking my fave chardonnay). Gotta admit to feeling a bit sorry for myself that I am on vacay and "can't" even have a glass of wine. On the positive side I do like feeling good and clear headed and waking up early ready to hit the beach. Would love to hear from others on how you dealt with your first sober vacation! Does it ever get easier and to the point where you don't feel deprived?

Snarf

Well, I haven't been on vacation in the 4 months since I stopped drinking. But when I'm in a situation where others are drinking, I just think about the fact that I have a problem that they don't. Well, some do, but not most. So if I'm hanging out with friends after work, or going to a baseball game or whatever, I drink a bottled water or soda or something else, just not alcohol. I'm looking forward to vacation soon, but there's lots of stuff I want to do while on vacation, so I'm sure I'll be able to keep myself occupied and not worried about the booze. Good luck to you and I hope you have a good, alcohol-free time.

LaFemme

Hi! Today is Day 14 for me. I have been visiting my family for three days and will be here another day and a half. They are all drinkers and I am surrounded by alcohol. I am now in the kitchen by myself and there are two open bottles of wine in the fridge 20 feet away.

I am finding SR to be a really positive place to check into a couple times a day.

I am also reminding myself constantly of the last time I drank and how sick it made me...reliving dry heaving the first day after quitting, this helps a lot. Whenever I think of drinking I bring up the dry heaving memory until I want to gag.

I have also made myself take a couple of big whiffs of the wine. I dont know if this is something to be recommended. But I take a big inhale, and make sure I notice the poisonous smell of alcohol under the fruitiness of the wine.

I am also exploring different non-alcoholic drinks, splurging a little on things like high end tonic water $2 a bottle! Inventing mixed non-alcoholic drinks etc.

One thing I have found very useful is the HALT acronym...Do not get Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Thirsty.

Ghostly

Hey hunt. Congrats on 21 days! I went on vacation last month right before I hit 60 days. I ended up not drinking at all. I didn't want to start over.

Here is something that helped me - I had two messages on the computer I read numerous times for encouragement. One of them was from someone on SR. I also tried to enjoy things without drinking. I realize that sounds easier than it may be, but there is a new perspective on doing things sober I used to do drunk. I took pride in not drinking. I didn't have to hear people comment on it.

Good luck. I don't know if it gets easier to the point of not feeling deprived. I'm not there yet. Still...feeling deprived without alcohol is better for me than all the feelings I have with it.

solareclipse

I know it's not the same but maybe mix up some refreshing summer drinks like lemonade and iced tea or splurge a little on something nonalcoholic and special that makes you feel healthy. I agree with LaFemme that paying attention to HALT triggers is key! When I've got low blood sugar, a drink starts to sound good. It's good that your husband is sticking with you. Enjoy the shore, the water, the sun, cooking, spending time with fam...all of that has nothing to do with drinking GOOD LUCK!

LifeIs

I was sober for only a couple of weeks when I went to visit my brother for a couple of months... I thought he was sober, well he wasn't, neither was my other brother or anyone else around...

I thought the first big family reunion would be tough, but after a few hours and everyone else was totally blotto and obnoxious I sat back and thought.... but for the grace of god...

I became the family "designated driver" for the next 2 months... attended my AA meetings, then drove the drunks around.

You know, after seeing them in that condition and knowing a year before I would have been with them. Hearing the same stuff repeated over and over again was really annoying and sad.

So, there you go. No, I had no problem not having a drink. Wine bottles open all over the place, fridge stacked with beer and whiskey (one of my brothers favorite poisons) sitting out on the deck. Never was tempted. I love me just the way I am (sober) right now!

Anna

It does get easier, and there will come a time when you no longer associate a vacation with drinking. Hang in there!