First event with alcohol
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 325
First event with alcohol
hi everyone,
6 days sober and I am sitting in a car park about an hour before going to a work related lunch where alcohol will be present. I don’t feel at risk of drinking, I’ve always been very strict about not drinking if I am driving. There won’t be any pressure to drink from others either, BUT out of nowhere there are some wicked cravings. I won’t give in, but boy they are powerful.
Soda water and lime here I come. The issue will be making sure I don’t do my usual trick of rewarding myself for being ‘good’ by not drinking when out with a stop at the bottle store on the way home. I don’t think I will, but I also don’t want to be arrogant, I need to be humble in the face of an addiction that has been controlling me for too long and is calling to me as I type.
It helps to write this.
6 days sober and I am sitting in a car park about an hour before going to a work related lunch where alcohol will be present. I don’t feel at risk of drinking, I’ve always been very strict about not drinking if I am driving. There won’t be any pressure to drink from others either, BUT out of nowhere there are some wicked cravings. I won’t give in, but boy they are powerful.
Soda water and lime here I come. The issue will be making sure I don’t do my usual trick of rewarding myself for being ‘good’ by not drinking when out with a stop at the bottle store on the way home. I don’t think I will, but I also don’t want to be arrogant, I need to be humble in the face of an addiction that has been controlling me for too long and is calling to me as I type.
It helps to write this.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,445
Hi scotty
I couldn't have done that at 6 days but I'm glad you feel like you can do it and keep your resolve
for future reference there s some good ideas here:
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...val-guide.html (Social Occasion Survival Guide)
D
I couldn't have done that at 6 days but I'm glad you feel like you can do it and keep your resolve
for future reference there s some good ideas here:
https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...val-guide.html (Social Occasion Survival Guide)
D
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 325
Made it. Believe me I wouldn’t put myself in those situations by choice, but I also have work obligations I cannot miss. Fortunately they are not usually in restaurants. In another thread someone suggested cranberry and sparkling water and that was a great option.
I know it is such early days and huge hurdles lie ahead, but being able to come here and just voice my feelings was an enormous help.
Thank you
I know it is such early days and huge hurdles lie ahead, but being able to come here and just voice my feelings was an enormous help.
Thank you
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: York County, PA
Posts: 302
Since the event has come and gone, good job!
Next time, what is often suggested in the rooms of AA is to have an exit strategy planned ahead of time, and if the temptation becomes too great, put it into action.
Example - Tell a reliable friend, ahead of time, that if you need to leave you'll send them a text to call you. Take the call, use your pre-arranged "Sorry I have to leave" reason to politely excuse yourself and leave.
Kinda like how girls do when going out on a first date.
Next time, what is often suggested in the rooms of AA is to have an exit strategy planned ahead of time, and if the temptation becomes too great, put it into action.
Example - Tell a reliable friend, ahead of time, that if you need to leave you'll send them a text to call you. Take the call, use your pre-arranged "Sorry I have to leave" reason to politely excuse yourself and leave.
Kinda like how girls do when going out on a first date.
No Dogma Please
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,562
Agree to the exit plan.
If you think you might be in a situation which may trigger you, always be sure to have your own transportation home. If it's an obligation you feel you can't get out of, minimize the potential damage by having a reason to stay for as short a time period as possible. If you can bring a +1, take a sober friend with you. Have some phone numbers ready in case you are having a tough time with cravings.
Glad you were able to get through your experience, particularly so early in sobriety. At 6 days I was still very ill, and couldn't possibly have attended an event where there was drinking for at least 60 days after my sobriety date.
Good on ya.
If you think you might be in a situation which may trigger you, always be sure to have your own transportation home. If it's an obligation you feel you can't get out of, minimize the potential damage by having a reason to stay for as short a time period as possible. If you can bring a +1, take a sober friend with you. Have some phone numbers ready in case you are having a tough time with cravings.
Glad you were able to get through your experience, particularly so early in sobriety. At 6 days I was still very ill, and couldn't possibly have attended an event where there was drinking for at least 60 days after my sobriety date.
Good on ya.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,966
Glad it went well! Cran/soda have saved my butt at more than a few business meetings held in bars,especially in early days. Even before I dedicated 100% to stopping forever and would take a few days to cleanse from a binge it helped,BUT... Those 'tests'(yours was an obligation,not so much a personal test) would always bite me in the ass after a few tries.. "ehhh..one pint won't hurt." Always led me back to the same drinking pattern eventually. Glad it went well and congrats on your days.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 325
Thanks so much for the support everyone and the exit strategy ideas. This was a business meeting held over lunch that I was leading so harder to make a quick escape from, but it is a strategy I had not thought about for social situations.
Fortunately we only hold those meetings in a restaurant setting at the start and end of year so it won’t be an obligation again until December. I am in awe of the length of sobriety of people here, December seems a lifetime away right now!
Fortunately we only hold those meetings in a restaurant setting at the start and end of year so it won’t be an obligation again until December. I am in awe of the length of sobriety of people here, December seems a lifetime away right now!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: York County, PA
Posts: 302
Everybody got there doing it one day at a time.
Don't think about December. None of us are even promised tomorrow. I could leave the house to go to my meeting tonight and be called to up to live with the Great Spirit before I get there.
All we have is today. Focus on being sober today. Soon you'll see that's a much easier goal than focusing on a whole year at a time.
Don't think about December. None of us are even promised tomorrow. I could leave the house to go to my meeting tonight and be called to up to live with the Great Spirit before I get there.
All we have is today. Focus on being sober today. Soon you'll see that's a much easier goal than focusing on a whole year at a time.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: West Tn
Posts: 3,043
We're glad you're here, Scott.
If you have a job which requires being present around alcohol, you may have the wrong job.
Sobriety is a life and death matter for most of us.
I agree with the wisdom of having and rehearsing your exit strategy wherever you go.
I always have my exit strategy, and i have even had to employ it a time or 2, but i have stayed sober, in part I think, as a result.
If you have a job which requires being present around alcohol, you may have the wrong job.
Sobriety is a life and death matter for most of us.
I agree with the wisdom of having and rehearsing your exit strategy wherever you go.
I always have my exit strategy, and i have even had to employ it a time or 2, but i have stayed sober, in part I think, as a result.
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