A little bit of a peculiar question....
 

Hello Everyone,

Bayliss here.
I have a bit of an odd question; wonder if anyone else has pondered this at all.

You know how smokers...when they quit, they feel the need to have that hand to mouth motion? Do you think drinkers do that as well? I feel that I need to have some sort of beverage in my hand {even if it isn't alcohol...like, right now for example, day three of sobriety and I feel I need to have a big glass of pop or something}. I was just curious.

Another thing...people who are embarking on a path of sober living...is it redundant if you were to substitute alcohol that was 12% for something that was 0.5% that you could get at your local grocery store that even children could get their hands on?
I know that you wouldn't get a buzz from it or get drunk from it at all unless you drank like, fifty of them {I meticulously thought of this a few times}, but is that doing more harm than good?
Do YOU guys think it's setting yourself up for failure??

As we speak, I don't know if this is considered "cheating" or not, but I have a "cooler" that is from Loblaws that is .5%, it just tastes like a fruity drink though...but I feel like I am drinking alcohol. I am a weirdo, I know.
Just wondering if anyone else went through this or thought of it. I am curious to know what you all think.

Thanks! :)

-Bayliss+

I stay away from anything like "near-beer" or dealcholized wine, one because it makes no sense to me and two it just is an unnecessary reminder of my drinking days and can definately be seen as a trigger (why chance it?). I drink a lot of liquids personally but I don't see a particular problem with that. I avoid sugary and caffienated drinks for the most part. That's just me and my post drinking behavior.

I stay away from the so-called 'non alcohol' stuff too.
I'm a non drinker - there's plenty of stuff to drink that's completely totally non alcoholic.

Otherwise I've found myself starting to play head games like 'they put them out so even kids could drink these' or 'I could get drunk if I drank 50 of these'....

D

I always have a beverage next to me, be it water or ice tea. Not sure if that's a carry over from my drinking days but I figure as long as it's not full of sugar or something bad for me hydration can't hurt.

I also need to have a drink in my hand! So far its been sugary drinks but I am determined to put a stop to that and be more healthy!

I usually need a drink at my side, but I don't want the faux alcohol. There are better tasting beverages.

Sure... I've been having either a glass of seltzer on ice or diet coke on ice with me... pretty much all the time for the past 22 days!

Once I resumed my active alcoholism on wine coolers. I had quit the hard stuff but missed the motion. So I bought some to keep the habit alive while I cooked dinner, etc. Well, before long I was back to buying the hard stuff.
I would suggest that if you are trying to quit staying away from anything even remotely similiar to an alcoholic drink should be avoided. Wine coolers, sparkling apple cider, NA beer, even drinking grape juice in a wine glass.
I stick with Sobe Lifewater and Tea. There is no alcoholic similiarities with a tea bag and mug.

When you quit you need to change your habits not replace them.

I guess you guys are right...I just didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I mean, there is one that I like the taste of - a berry kind. And to be honest, I feel like it's keeping me from the "hard stuff". Is it possible for some people to get themselves away from alcohol that way before just stopping drinking sugary drinks all together?

No pretend drinking for me...water or Ice Tea are always by my side if I am awake...:yup:

I also use a different type of container..I don't play head games with my sobriety.

I sure hope this will be your time to find a sober future...it's been awesome for me...:hug:.Welcome

I don't have the a drink in hand, all the time thing. I do want something besides water and I, like Sober Jennie have the diet cole thing going on. I would stay away from any alcohol, even a little as, part of this addiction is the craving that happens once we put alcohol in our bodies. I also just don't get putting a little alcohol in me, it serves no purpose. Not that massive amount did.:c031:

There seems to be universal agreement that it's not a good idea/plan to try using the fake beer, low alcohol drinks as a step in quitting.

Most everyone here has tried to moderate at some point but it always ends up escalating.

I have to think about this moderation a lot to make sure my brain doesn't play those "oh I can have just one" tricks on me...

Here's lots of thoughts on the whole subject of moderation
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...oderation.html

oh and I drink selzter all day long and herb tea at night :)

You guys are all very right...I never thought that I would get such a huge response! I guess it is a bad idea and I never thought that I was playing mind games with myself but it's true, I am! If I know I don't have a .5% beverage in the house I become anxious...I guess I am going to have to sub it with something else and just keep working on it. Does that mean that I am technically not "sober"?? I mean, I haven't touched "actual" alcohol. Maybe I totally sabotaged it and I'm just a joke. :( Ugh.

For me it's herbal tea all day - hot. It breaks the habit of having something cold to always sip on.

When I go out to eat it's seltzer with a lemon.

Bayliss, I agree that it's not a good idea to drink "non-alcoholic" beer or anything along those lines for all the reasons that others have stated above. But as far as your sobriety is concerned, I think it usually comes down to motivation. If it was your motivation to drink "near-beer" to catch a buzz or alter your state of mind (which I don't think is really possible, but that's not the point), then yes, I would question your sobriety if I was you. To me, it's kinda like having surgery and having to take narcotics afterwards. If you take only as many as your supposed to and stop taking them as soon as you can, and if your motivation isn't to get high, I don't think that should count against you. Some would disagree with me on that, but that's my take on it. Ultimately though, it's up to you to decide what drinking NA beer means to you and your sobriety. No one else can tell you that. (But I definitely don't think you're a joke -- the fact that you're even worried about this proves that you aren't).

Sobriety is as much a state of mind as it is a state of being.

--Fenris.

Good job Bunnyloves
When I finally accepted that if alcohol entered my system than I would be back where I was, the mouthwash went in the trash. Why risk it? Plus I new the outcome from before.
SH

I also like many always have a cold drink with me , i will not blame the booze either but just enjoy all the different drinks without alcohol.

No near beer either dont need any extra temptations , so keep on keepin on :)