Jeb18

I was thinking about this the other day: If you were somewhere and someone poured alcohol in your drink (and you didn't realize it until they told you) and you have 20 years and they did it as a joke. Like what would happen?

MTWildflower

Jeb18: Random violence would occur.

Really, though, I don't think you can be help responsible for something you truly didn't know was happening. As people say, be careful, smell your drink, etc., but stuff happens sometimes. And then I'd find new friends.

MTWildflower

I hear you, Dee, but for me, it's not a date I'm proud of, because I don't feel proud of stopping something I shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

LexieCat

I like to commemorate it because it shows me how far I've come. I think back to the days when I couldn't string more than three sober days together and couldn't WAIT for the next drink.

MT, you're still beating yourself up with thinking of it in terms of "stopping something I shouldn't have been doing in the first place." I seriously doubt that you set out to become an alcoholic on purpose. And it takes guts and hard work to recover from an addiction. Changing one's whole life isn't easy. So I think it's just fine to take some pride in that.

keithj

This is sometimes a tragic, life changing flaw in perception. Almost impossible to get someone new to see it.

You're 22 days in to not drinking, and you purposefully picked up a drink. What has changed since yesterday? Only the way you feel.

Thinking that I was doing good, when nothing had changed in my life other than thinking I was doing good, was a huge detriment to me.

CarolD

Jeb.....I smell my drinks if I am ever in a place
where alcohol is being pored.

Avoids the whole situation......

CarolD

MT.....

I too got tripped up over HALT elements...more than once
in early sobreity. I reset my date of sobriety each time.

And slowly learned how to be more aware of me....
You might remember that I added an S to HALT
to denote sadness....makeing me more vigilant about HALTS

Good to see you again....Blessings

MTWildflower

keithj, what I meant by not dangerous was that there wasn't any alcohol at home anymore and I wasn't going to be someplace where there was, regardless of how I feel, but perhaps that's what you're saying is that it's still dangerous. I apologize if I misunderstand.

[edited for clarity]

smacked

I think there's a difference in counting your sober days, and remembering the date of your last drink. I don't count my days.. I'm a non drinker. It's not an accomplishment it's a way of life for me, but it's very important for me to never forget that last time..

RobbyRobot

Congratulations on your efforts with sobriety. Keep at it. Being in a dangerous place will come again more than likely. Its just part of the real deal when we change from drinker lives to sober lives. In your place I would wonder why I felt deprived to the point of satisfying that feeling with a touch of alcohol? Having had that touch, I would really want to know what was up with my recovery? Why didn't my want to be sober protect me from sipping? You know, for me, it was never about the alcohol itself, it was always about my alcoholism that made me quit. The alcohol itself i always was in a love/hate thing with and so it (the alcohol itself) became meaningess eventually in a sober lived life.

The other thing for me is that three sips would be enough to change my sober date because of my willingness to make the choices to have those sips. And finally having had those three sips I would completely revamp my program of recovery from start to finish not just change the dates and carry on with whatever I was already doing because it for sure wasn't working for me is what I would learn from those three sips. Alcohol is alcohol and if its on my lips something has gone very very wrong.

Wish you all the best going forward, MTWildflower

RR

Kmber2010

I am right with Carol on smelling the drinks. Hubby had a nice beverage in a nice glass out at dinner and offered me a sip. I smelled it and got upset because I couldn't tell. He goes no no its ok there is nothing in it. Yeah.....it looked like a cocktail and for me....I just don't even want to go there.

Another time....there was some kind of cherry cola in a dark glass bottle in the house. I took a swig and hubby joked there was booze in it....I ran to the sink and spit it out. Had I swallowed it....well I would have forced it back up.

May sound nuts, extreme, what have you.....but I am a no booze kinda gal and after the years I spent as an extreme, nuts alcoholic....yeah...it works...lol