I Walked Down the Wine Aisle at the Local Store
 

And I looked at the wine I usually bought in the morning to help calm my nerves. I would buy the little 4 packs of Chardonnay. I looked at the wine and said, out loud, “**** you,” and kept walking. No urge at all. It was cool.

Having a better day.

Good work on not buying anything, but don't go there again. They keep it far off the side for a reason. Stick to the main isles (you can stack pints of icecream if need be) :c011:

Great job, Horn. :)

I felt empowered every time I walked by the wine aisle.

So happy you didn't feel tempted.

Good on ya.
I see the booze ads on tv and I can actually taste the booze, because I drank all of them. It makes me want to vomit.
Glorious thing to say **** you to it all, isn't it?

Unfortunately, the enemy is sitting lodged in your own head, and not on the shelves.

Iam learning to accept to live along side this enemy, I've told him to to go to his own space and sit there. I also ask him? "When are you leaving?" , He says "never, now be quiet and pass me that beer of the shelf while you are walking past"

I tell him he's had enough. He says fine, but I'll be here so pass it to me next time".


I also look in the mirror, and I see that enemy, but I don't tell him **** you, I just know he wants it, but it's my responsibility to not give it to him.

Well aren’t you a Debbie downer?

I think Renvate's post was helpful and supportive.
A little charity goes a long way.

I don't have wine in my supermarkets Horn - is it necessary to walk down that aisle at all?.

D

Simply put, don't be a dumbass, you are much better than that.
The liquor aisle is for losers and degenerates.

If you are going to decide to be permanently abstinent , it is conceivable you’ll be in and around that proverbial aisle with an urge , or in the presence of desire.

What’s your plan if it feels like you want to?

What an odd comment

Guys

We're here to help - if you're not feeling particularly helpful or charitable today, log off...take a walk...smell some roses.

This thread maybe someones first experience of SR.

Please be civil.

Dee
Moderator
SR

Hi alcoholic Horn, that sits inside real Horns head. I'll be even more of a "Debbie Downer.

Iam going to tell you that you are NOT allowed to drink ever again.

Denial tends to test oneself on how serious you feel about quitting.

No need for hostility ladies and gents.

Horn made this post because that’s how he dealt with his problem for the day. Additionally, he wanted to share his experience because it gave him confidence over the devil water all of us know too well.

Good on ya Horn. We all deal with it differently. Maybe there is no need to go to that particular aisle, but I have to walk past alcohol everyday when I go to a gas station or grocery store.

It simply can’t be avoided sometimes...and if a quick F you is in store for said bottle, I say have at it! As long as the temptation is not there, you have won another small battle for the day.

There was something of a transition period for me in early sobriety. It would be nice to think that the moment I stopped, a whole new world opened up and I never looked back. But that wasn't the case. My alcoholic life was the only life I knew. It took some time to dislodge my old ideas and replace them with something different.

So I was drawn to old behaviours, places, habits and beliefs. I broke all the rules about slippery places etc. I frequently went back to my old bar, just for a look. I had thought of it as the centre of the universe, where life happened. I didn't have any idea what real life was like, I had no experience of that, but I knew my familiar alcoholic world.

I think what kept me safe was the fact that I was working on change through working the 12 steps of AA. Although I thought it unlikey I would recover at all, I absolutely believed that a half hearted approach to AA would get me no where, so I was giving it every effort.

It paid off. The thing I had been working towards, a spiritual experience or complete change of personality actually kicked off one night in that bar. For the first time I saw the reality. It lost all its attraction and then... I never went back.

The liquor isle in my opinion is the "poison"
isle even still after 27 yrs sobriety. It is an
isle I don't belong on and giving myself a
pass to think about it or romanticize about
it is completely dangerous for me.

When I go shopping, sure, I know that
isle exists in every store I attend. However,
knowing what was taught to me and I learned
about with my addiction to alcohol and its
affects on me for, during and after it, it's not
a luxury I can afford to live with.

If im not in a good place emotionally, mentally,
spiritually, or even physically fit when I enter
the grocery store and knowing the "poison"
isle is near, I use my Serenity Prayer I memorized
yrs ago and say it till the anxiety or whatever
unwanted feelings or emotions arise passes.

Using my recovery program as a guideline
in my daily life helps me avoid temptations
and keeps me from returning to the hell
and sickness of my addiction I put to rest
yrs ago.

You were very strong Horn. Good on ya! Every time I open my refrigerator I see my husband's beer and say, "***you!" also, then get what I need and close it. Sometimes, I linger longer than I should. You're doing great! :You_Rock_

I no longer smoke or drink soda either, and the gas station nearest my house that I frequent has a huge banner with images of the beer, cigarettes, and soda they sell inside. When I see it now I laugh (internally). I'm no longer a slave to that trap, spending money on poisons I don't need. I imagine after more time has passed without smoking I'll fail to even register it at all. However you get through those moments initially is great and whatever emotional reaction you have to have is perfectly fine.

if ya think about it,horn, then enemy( or problem) does rest in your head. them bottles never jump off the shelves,twist their tops off, and pour themselves down your throat,correct? no one ever held ya down and forced alcohol down your throat, correct?

i can relate to your experience,too. sometimes the liquor bottles made me want to puke( and they werent avoidable as alcohol was in the same isle as dairy), some days i wanted to knock em all off the shelves. a couple days i turned and ran out.
through working the steps, i can walk down any isle in any store now,with the right motive, and not have a problem.

Ugh! Most stores here put it smack in the middle of the store- usually on aisle with something most people buy like soft drinks or chips an such. HA.

I avoided the "end caps" or other minor wine displays for awhile, now i might notice them for a nano second. At first in sobriety, I never took a purse in and only my wallet, with grocery bags open for whichever parent was taking me.

It gets easier and not needing of profanity ;)

Whoa!! I was joking. Debbie Downer is often used as a mild, tongue in cheek thing in the U.S.

In any event, parts that I left out of the OP is that I HAVE to go down that aisle to get paper plates, which I was picking up because I had several kids at the house and did not want to break out real plates.

In any event, my post was meant to be light-hearted and a bit happy. Hence, “today is a better day.”

Honestly, some lightheartedness is good. Especially when feeling down.

In any event, Renvate, I knew what you meant, sorry for the misunderstanding.