KatSienna

Mocktail for me is a great alternative when in bars with friends ir colleagues.
It is like an interesting juice.

LadyBlue0527

This is interesting because it hit the nail on the head for me. But, I have to take it a step further and say that not only are you priming the pump but it gets pretty uncomfortable when you prime and start pumping but nothing is coming out. It's an empty feeling that's not enjoyable.

I can't get away with it because for me, it denotes I am still trying to fill the void of the absence of alcohol in my life. This time that void is being filled in so many better ways.

Some can get away with it and not be triggered.

Steely

I don't drink non alcoholic beer or wine, and find these descriptors a contradiction in terms. They taste awful, and I can see how they might have someone pick up the 'real thing'.

Mocktails on the other hand contain the prefix mock, and I don't see them as anything other than pretty looking drinks for sometimes, special occasions.

I've never had one, but was invited to family members 18th birthday a few years back and it was lovely to see these kids drinking their mocktails at an age birthday where they were now legally permitted to drink.

So if I were invited to a special occasion I would dress myself up, and I might even dress up my glass in the same way. It's not the occasion to drink from a Vegemite jar.

It would not trigger me, and would feel proud and happy with myself for not drinking alcohol, but still able to drink from a pretty glass on a special occasion.

At the same time I understand that each of us are different and have different triggering mechanisms, so to each her/his own.

BlissWithin

Sometimes I have grape juice that tastes very much like wine, I don't feel triggered at all by it and I may have 2 or 3 times a year. Used to drink NA beer but stopped after a couple of months sober.

ElianL

I used to look down on a woman who drank non-alcoholic wine at the weekends; we were both in AA and i, not alone, thought it was to be frowned upon. Now after coming off a two relapse after multiple years of sobriety i think that it sounds like a great idea if it works for her whatever keeps you from taking in alcohol. She was 20 years sober, married, great job, travelled round the world etc etc before anyone chips in with dry drunk;0

Personally however i have had little luck with non-alcoholic beer as i don't see the point, however saying that today who knows??

Our local restaurant does delicious virgin cocktails, would happily tuck into one of them.

Oh just remembered. Another lady i knew in AA had 25 years sobriety and she went to a club in Europe one night and the bartender mixed up her cocktail and put in alcohol, she drank it and after half realised it had alcohol in it. She checked in with her friends at AA and NA to see if it meant a reset of her sobriety date and they laughed as she had not intentionally taken the drink so it's not all black and white IMO. My sobriety was black and white, maybe thats why I'm back again?!