Songtx

SXSW starts this week...ugh. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is a 10 day music and film festival which takes place in Austin every year. Many bands to see and loads of parties all over town. I have a friend coming to stay who I don't know all too well and am worried about what it will be like dealing with social anxiety/awkwardness, etc. I'm worried about deciding to have that first beer. These last 12 days being sober have been pretty good, although I have not been in any social circumstances and have deliberately kept myself out of them. My husband, who still drinks, will be having an old friend from highschool over during the festival, and that will be another nerve racking time Hell, my husband is practicing for a gig with a friend right now and I am tempted even now. Just need to get through it. I have been feeling good, but bored...I realize this is typical when drinking was my activity of choice for the last 5 years or so. On a positive note, I do love not being hung over, and am starting to get very good at jogging.

MemphisBlues

If we are seriously committed to recovery, we seek the path of least resistance. For me, South by southwest, or hitting parades at Mardi Gras, or hitting JazzFest, would be accepting immediate defeat.

I am so sorry you are struggling. Can you skip out of town? Hit some sober relatives?

I know Austin as a vibrant AA and NA recovery community. Perhaps they have support meetings or events to attend?

I had to surround myself with people in recovery during my first months. Heck, I still do. I can't hang with others who drink or drug abnormally. I even have a hard time hanging with normal drinkers. I can't relate.

sugarbear1

I did a search and found an older SR thread:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...sw-2009-a.html

Go here, find a phone number and ask about any sober events taking place! Wherever you go, here we are! Hill Country Intergroup - Hotline (512) 444-0071

Enjoy a sober fun time! Or, choose to wait until next year, if you don't think you can handle it.

sugarbear1

Oh, look! that phone number is there!

omegasupreme

Austin is a hot bed of enthusiasm for recovery!

Private message me if you need phone numbers/contacts.

DayTrader

I used to go to a big Techno event in Detroit every year. Huge party, toooons of drugs, and everyone there was plastered. It was an alcoholic/dope fiend's heaven.

My first year, it came of tne month into my sobriety..... I was on an alcohol tether and being drug tested several times per week as part of my probation. I didn't go. Not because it would have been a violation of my probation if I went......but because I reeeeally didn't want to get back into that squirrel cage of breaking the law, lying, hoping I don't get caught......and losing the start into sobriety/recovery I'd made.

I talked about it with my sponsor before it came up and he didn't say TO go or NOT to go.....he just asked me to examine my priorities and decide accordingly. .......gosh, I hated acting like a mature adult......but it was the right decision. And yanno what?.... they still have that event and I've gone several times since then. Missing one time didn't mean all that much in the long run.

ReadyAndAble

I just got back from a great show in LA. Drove two hours up, two hours back. Try that drinking. (Actually, please don't.) When I first quit, I thought it would be weird going to shows sober. Turns out they are waaaaay more enjoyable, because now it's about the music, which is how it really ought to be. And because the club I was at tonight doesn't allow alcohol on the main floor, I was able to walk right up to the front row while the foolish masses got their drink on. I was so close to the stage I even had a cool exchange with Jim James (of My Morning Jacket and Monsters of Folk; he was performing tonight with some other fantastic artists for the New Multitudes project).

That said.... I stayed away from the scene my first few months of sobriety, until I had my sea legs, so to speak. But trust me, in the long run, you are going to love seeing shows sober.

Sobriety rocks. Literally.

instant

I hope you can hang in there and stare that temptation down. When I got into recovery I started experiencing moments of greater sensory awareness, I was becoming less dulled. I started enjoying things for what they were and not get tied up in what I wanted them to be. If's it's about the music fine, if it's about the buzz, or you're looking for a cheap thrill give it a miss.

doggonecarl

Your recovery has been shaky. I would caution you about putting yourself in the mix...the party mix, that is.

SXSW is every year. Partake next year. Give your guest a map and bus schedule and tell her to have fun. Stay sober.

Good luck.

macknacat

Austin has , not only lots of great recovery but a huge contingent of clean/sober musicians. Many of them will be names you will immediately recognize. I would go in a heartbeat just to get in on the sober concert! I would just have to do some preplanning [same as in all other parts of my life] to keep me moving towards my recovery.

follow up w/ omegasupreme. get meeting contacts and ph numbers . I often identify my HP as JOYFUL CREATIVITY. and SXSW would be a great chance to touch some of that...

jocata

This is just me, but there is no way I would put myself in that situation early in sobriety. I'm at 3.5 months and wouldn't think about it. I have to know my limits, and be honest with myself.

Don't get me wrong, I love music and festivals and such. But they can wait until I am much stronger in my sobriety. I've worked too hard to have it all go down the drain for some festival.

This is just me.

God bless.