Evoo

Does anyone else find the change in season to be a time when your AV starts making more noise? My AV is still comparatively quiet, but last year around this time was similar; I've always associated this time of year with Octoberfest beer, whiskey, egg nog, hot toddies etc. Dad always pulls out his $100+ bottles of wine from the cellar. Family says, "you should at least have a sip of this one!" For me, a "sip" means I've let my AV in and I'm playing with fire.

I've never had a Christmas season without alcohol. I'm excited and committed to not having anything this year, since last year I broke my streak with a small glass of expensive wine... and though I didn't fall back into a hard relapse, I'm convinced it was only because I was too sick w/ crohns at the time to do so. I'd mostly written it off and forgotten about it until now.

So I'm starting now. Even though I'm confident in my sobriety right now, I want to be proactive, shut down the AV thoughts, and make other plans!

Any non-alcoholic beverages or foods/traditions you've created through sober fall/winters? Bring em' on .

KAD65

"Just a sip..." It's like opening the door to the lion's cage, just a crack. This time of the year is replete with memories for me, both good and bad, but mostly because I deal with SAD. It sets in quickly when the air starts to get cooler, the shadows grow longer, and the sun sets earlier. When the time changes in November, it's like closing the door to a dungeon. It is wise to get prepared for it. I'm sure we won't be the only ones needing support.

Introvrtd1

I feel ya on this…Not a fan of winter months to begin with…I chased my winter blues away with multiple binges particularly on weekends.
Unfortunately that led to even more depression and sadness…Which led to more binges…round and round I went. ☹️

This winter will also be my first sober holiday in 10 years. Looking forward to it and see how happy the holidays are supposed to feel.

Robbie64

Bizarrely I've had more dry October's than probably any other month of the year. There must be something about that month that really inspires me to stay sober (it's actually my favourite month of the year and has been ever since I was at school many, many years ago). I love going for walks if we have a really crisp, cold, sunny October day so that helps. I don't care much for November though and I don't think I've had a Christmas season without alcohol since I was 16. At some point every year I have fallen off the wagon and have got drunk over the Christmas holidays. Usually I have a few sober days in the run up to Christmas but it's usually 26 December where I end up drinking. I've also not had many sober New Year's Eve's or New Years Days either. This year I intend to change that.

RecklessDrunk

Now that im sober i know its all crap! Even when active in my alcoholism I thought Octoberfest beers were overrated. I use to get fired up for the pumpkin ales.

Then comes spring. I can remember back when Sam Adams had their white ale that would show up in spring. Before they start messing with variations of it. Then come the summer ales.

The AV will buy into this crap non stop. I need to drink because its getting cold out. I need to drink because its getting warm again. I need to drink because its hot. I need to drink because I'm sad. I need to drink because I'm happy.

I was an active alcoholic for nearly 30 years. I can make an excuse to drink or relate anything to alcohol. Being snowed in, a hot summer night, the first sign of spring weather. It all reminded me of alcohol because I drank through everything. I had to relearn everything. Try and overwrite all this nonsense in my head. That first holiday season. Visiting family and discussing old family history and what not and remembering it. Like actually enjoying the company of others without it revolving around my drinking. That first time driving home sober from a bar on a weekend, I almost want to get pulled over and shock the police, hah I'm sober you wasted your time pulling me over!

I think recovery is more about living sober then just simply not drinking. So it's a nice cool evening, I needed to learn to sit back and see what its really like. How quickly a few drinks would ruin a nice cool evening. How quickly it will be about getting another drink. How quickly I won't even care its a nice cool evening, I will be acting like a moron. I will be hungover and ruin a nice cool autumn morning as well.

Mizz

I know you will get through this.

Honestly, I was thinking about all the Halloween movies I was going to watch today. The runs I am going to take. The Saturdays napping and making crock pot foods. Pot Roast, chicken and dumplings, soups. Hoodies. Socks. Blankets. I was also thinking about how I would make golden milk. So, I am not having much AV talk. Im having a lot of "welcome the season with health" talk.

We are here for you.

brighterday1234

Just think about the present day. Stay sober one day at a time 🙏

lessgravity

Nice work on taking control, recognizing your tendencies/habits, and getting out in front of the possible bad decisions that this time of year might instigate. I also used to attach alcohol to the seasons - though never limited to just fall - summer and a drunk swim in the ocean, winter and some wine after a long day snowboarding, spring etc etc - the point being that the excuse to drink is always available for us, regardless of the season.

But I also like your question about sober activities/traditions. For me, I have focused on the experience of being present, in control, enjoying and then fking remembering the events and occasions of this time of year. It used to be that I would be watching the 4th quarter of a great football game out of one eye; or that I would be pathetically hungover and struggling just to get through Christmas morning, barely able to endure, forget about enjoy, the day with my kids; or that every thing I did - from a day apple picking, to just a cool beautiful Sunday in my city - would need to be constructed so that I could find a way to pour poison down my throat. The simple ability to live without alcohol and the attendant peace and joy that comes with it - I will be focused on that this fall.

Oh I also eat desserts like it's going out of style. Might mean my gym gains are somewhat stunted, but I enjoy the sweets of the season without guilt or concern.

Thank you for the post and congrats on living a better life.

DriGuy

My last drink was on a January 3rd, so the Holidays were over. I never saw the point of St. Patrick's Day, at least as a reason to get drunk. I'm sure I drank, but St. Patrick had nothing to do with it. A week after my last drink, I committed to staying sober for good. From then on, I enjoyed the Holidays sober, actually looking forward to them if for no other reason that do demonstrate to myself how committed I was. Holidays became special for me, and I would take special pleasure and pride in being sober while others were knocking themselves out. It was always a wonderful feeling for me to be free of alcohol, and it felt especially satisfying during holidays, and I would feel the warmth of gratitude dramatically stronger than usual on these special days.