watnow78

Ugh!!! So I've been sober for 77 hours Nd then this happened!! I had a very long and stressful day, so meet up with a couple of friends at the house and we all started chatting about our week. Well mine was way more stressful than theirs and my buddy handed me a light beer. And without thinking I drank half the beer before I realized what I was doing. I got up and dumped it into there sink. They laughed at me and asked it the beer was bad lol. I said , no I just remembered that I'm trying not to drink anymore and naturally I started to sip on the bottle.

I told them my situation and they were very apologetic and said they will never offer me a drink again.

I felt sick to my stomach because I didn't even think about turning it down when the beer was handed to me. Made angry and scared. I will be more cautious next time.

would the be co considered a relapse??

thanks

Broncosys

No that is not a relapse. It is a minor slip and nothing to fret over at all. I admire you dumping the rest. That took strength and lots of it. Look up definitions of slip and relapse.

biminiblue

It's up to you.

I would reset my day count, and call it lesson-learned - but you don't have to. It's insidious, right? I had to put that barrier between my mouth and alcohol and I had to be pretty mindful in early days.

Anna

Personally I don't differentiate between a slip and a relapse.

It's totally up to you as to whether you reset your sober time or not.

The main thing is that you are back here and working on your recovery.

August252015

Yes.

The thing is- you did the right thing pouring it out, and you can make today day one. Which would be no alcohol for today. You were just hours into this decision- so the next 24 hours are on hand for you to make your sober own!

What kind of plan will you consider for making this a new permanent life - ie, where "reflexes" become completely different? Being here is a good start, and there's lots of options.

Changing how we make choices is the big step. I'd back it up before you saw your friends who were drinking. So, what are you doing today? Plans?

ChloeRose63

No.
Some people panic if they eat a piece of chocolate or cake that had rum in it. I was not intentional.
Give yourself a break.

Lascaux

The old reflexes are still there but I admire the way you confronted it and took immediate action. Sounds like you handled it in a classy and straightforward way, kudos to you!

kinzoku

Its up to you and how you feel.

You know in your heart whats up.

Good for you for pouring it out.

WeThinkNot

"I had a long and stressful day". "Mine was more stressful". "Without thinking I drank some beer before I realized what I was doing". These are excuses. I'm not here to beat you up and good for you for pouring the rest out, but this is the type of attitude that gets you into trouble when attempting sobriety.

When it comes to slip/relapse the semantics don't matter to me much really. My position on the matter is this: it takes a long time to undo the damage alcohol has done to the body, both physically and mentally/emotionally. Having even a little bit of alcohol hinders the body's healing process. Having even a sip prevents the brain from forming new habits in the neural pathways. This is especially true in the earliest days of sobriety.

I wish you luck in your continued journey.

Mummyto2

Dee74

Light beers still alcoholic yeah?

I've never drank half a beer without thinking, but I guess it's possible.

Still, whatever you decide is up to you.

I think it's even more important tho that you give a little more thought to where you hang out and who with - especially if you're already stressed.

I would not be sober for very long if I was hanging with old mates in old hangouts, especially under 3 days sober.

Don't take your recovery for granted - cherish it - protect it.

Hope the BP is better.
D

hellrzr

In this case it was not a piece of cake with rum in it was it. I was also not a glass of vodka that someone told you was water and you took a sip but immediately spit it out when you realized the truth. This was someone handing someone else a clearly marked bottle of alcohol and that person drinking most of the bottle before stopping. No reason to even touch the bottle let alone drink anything from it.

For me I would start back at day 1. Next time be more vigilante with your choices. It's great you stopped drinking and realized you don't want to that again but you still did purposely drink most of a beer. It could so easily have lead to you getting another beer and then off and running with your addiction again.

Once a guy in our group, after about 1 year of sobriety, was at a wedding and someone handed him a glass of beer. He was talking and not paying attention and took the glass and then looked and realized what it was. He was upset enough that he even took the glass that he called his sponsor and left the reception early to avoid any possible "mistakes". May sound extreme but this guy now has about 10 years of sobriety and sponsors many men. It's up to you how serious you want to be about your sobriety.

dcg

Agree with you on this. If someone said, "My bro handed me a crack pipe and without thinking, I torched it up and had a huge hit before I realized that I stopped smoking crack 3 days ago and then handed it back. Is this a relapse?" no one would say it's an unfortunate honest mistake or that **** happens, especially when someone is counting hours (i.e., 77 hours rather than 3 days).

That being said, it's 3 days, who cares? 300 days from now, whether it's 303 or 300 days it moot. Just stop drinking. Kudos to your buddies for respecting your decision to stop drinking rather than mocking.

lessgravity

As usual, what Dee said.

Gottalife

If it was me, this would be a relapse. It is a classic example of how a relapse happens when one has no efective defence against the fatal first drink. The strange mental blank spot. Same thing almost happened to a chap I was sponsoring, execpt his sister knocked the drink out of his hand before he drank any.

Someone handed you a beer, you drank without thought. It wasn't a deliberate act. Where were the thoughts that should have saved you? They did not come to mind in time. Hopefully you didn't drink enough to trigger the phenomenon of craving. That is always the danger even with only a small amount.

August252015

THAT. I was about 8 mo sober and at a small (6 person) dinner party. After the app, which was a delicious squid dish. I asked how my friend cooked it - boiled in red wine. I freaked out. Pretty much the same as above, and I ended up leaving the party. My friend felt horrible because she didn't even think about cooking; she'd gone out of her way about all the obvious stuff like what i'd want to drink....I hadn't thought much about food either because it was one of my first ventures eating out. I realized that was a critical boundary for me, and I adopted what many might consider an extreme rule about not consuming any food with alcohol, no matter what research it took on the front end, sending back a restaurant dish if it came out w wine in the mushrooms, or not ordering risotto at all, or if I didn't trust the server....giving up even stuff like tiramisu....

That's how seriously I take my sobriety. Around 2 yr 7 mo (so, 2 full years after that first experience), my husband and I had dinner at a restaurant in the group I work for, where staff knows I don't drink and most know in advance that includes not eating alcohol. I ended up forgetting to ask about the risotto, took my first bites and it was delicious- and I was pretty sure had wine in it. I stopped eating it- but I didn't freak out. I knew how to deal by this point. I'm still deliberate about conscious ordering but food is not an emotional threat to my sobriety.

I think these illustrations are important for one critical reason: alcoholism will kill me. It's sneaky and cunning, and our minds can so quickly go to justifications whether it's "just beer", "just NA drinks," "just one," all the way to drinking rubbing alcohol or just going back to drinking....it will kill us.

And, more simply put - what Dee said.

soberbythesea

Yeah I agree with this... Sorry. It's not the same thing to me as drinking a sip of something by accident. I'd reset my day count. But you're only at three days, just be more careful next time

RobinPeaceful

Hi. I am new to the posting... l am proud of you. Instead of giving in to an evening of drink, you took action. This is a journey, you are on your way! Hugs!

Mango212

Congratulations on making it through the detoxing you've been doing.

One day at a time. How are you doing now?

Do you have a recovery counselor to work with? Or a local AA group?

I'm glad you're here. Keep coming back & keep posting.