newbie
 

hi. i decided to sign up for this group after self diagnosing my substance abuse issues this evening. my car broke and i have had no alcohol for 2 days in my house. i found this website while searching for alcohol substitues online. i did find this interesting article which they won't let me post the link to b/c i haven't had 15 or more posts. what kind of junk is that? anyway, if you google this it will come up "Alcohol substitute that avoids drunkenness and hangovers in development "

any alcohol substitute suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

so if i do this sobriety thing......am i allowed to drink in moderation just once(wink wink) at the upcoming christmas work party that i have to attend? i have never been anywhere like that without being drunk. it isn't even my work party...it's my husband's. and what about having just a couple glasses of wine at big family gatherings?

please tell me this gets better.....my chest has been so very tight. xoxoxoxox.

Hi bikini and welcome to the forum!

I don't know anything about alcohol substitutes (unless it's something like non-alcoholic beer or wine?)

If you have a problem with alcohol, the best thing to do, obviously, is to stay sober. Most of us have tried to control or moderate our drinking and failed to maintain it. Christmas parties can still be enjoyable without liquor, and besides, that's many weeks away.

The best thing to do is focus on staying sober one day at a time. Keep reading and posting. If we can do it, so can you!:grouphug:

I am a newbie also. Let's shake hands~:)

Welcome! You will find a lot of great advice and support here.

Welcome to SR!

I'm not sure what you are looking for when you talk about alcohol substitutes. The only substitutes I can think of would cause just as much/more problems than alcohol would and are generally illegal (ie, weed, opiates). My personal goal in my sobriety is to strive for satisfaction in life without having to depend on externalities. You could say that I'm shooting for inner peace.

As far as if you can drink in moderation, you can do whatever you want, however if you are drinking then you are not sober, IMO. If you do indeed have an addiction to alcohol I am 100% certain that moderation won't work for you.

For me, learning about my addictive behaviors and how to deal with them has been a journey and a character building experience that has lasted a several years. It sounds like you are just starting out on this journey, so I would invite you to have an open mind and try to learn as much as possible, see what makes sense to you and what doesn't, and try to flesh it all out in your head.

Best wishes

Hi Bikini

I don't know anything about alcohol substitutes or what that might be, I'm afraid.

You're obviously an adult, you're 'allowed' to do whatever you want :)
but why would you continue to do something that you obviously want help with?

If you're like me, every time you drink alcohol, all bets are off.

I was never anywhere social without being drunk either - at least for 10-15 years - but I wanted to change my life, and I learned to do things sober :)

Believe me, there is life after alcohol.

You'll find a lot of support here :)
Welcome!

D

Sobriety is the best substitute for alcohol. It took me many years to learn this.

Brilliant! Exactly what I was trying to say but much more succinct.

how heart-warming! thank you all for your encouragement. i really didn't know what to expect after posting. yes there is a pretty bad addiction problem here in my house. for myself and my husband. i spoke with him this morning and we agreed that we are addicts to pretty much anything we can get our hands on and it was the first time that we acknowledged there is indeed a huge problem. we spend anywhere from 200-400$ average a month just on alcohol alone. that doesn't include the other drugs, herbs and pills that we buy or get from family/friends. the worst part is that alcohol is part of my parent's culture. our family parties involve large glass pitchers wine. men usually drink the beer. i grew up drinking coffee with my mom starting as a kid....i was also drinking wine with dinner or the foam off the beer as a child. i didn't really start abusing anything too much until i got psoriasis. i think the substances are like numbing agents for my itchies. i'm thinking cold turkey on the alcohol to start since that is the most common daily fix....as well as the most expensive and unhealthy. that reminds me. i was successful once when i quit smoking cold turkey after heavily smoking 10 years. maybe this will work. why couldn't god make drugs/alcohol and cigs good for us? would be cool if it made us healthier :) I did eat a ton of Halloween candy this morning as a substitute ;) i don't feel too bad about this since I ran yesterday. i really do hope that i can keep this up. i am 31 with two small children and i want to live forever! AHHH! we will see :) xoxoxoxox. are headaches part of sobriety? thanks again!

Welcome to SR. You seem to stress that alcohol is the problem. Does your sobriety plan include quitting the "drugs, herbs, and pills" you use?

Welcome to the family.:)

I agree that it sounds like alcohol is a problem, but if you want to live a sober life, then the pills, herbs, etc. also have to go.

I hope you keep reading and posting.