Dating often involves romantic dinners in fancy restaurants, so avoiding alcohol can be difficult. However, if you are a recovering alcoholic, it’s important to learn how to navigate social situations without breaking your sobriety. And a date can be an even tougher situation with the added nerves. However, if you plan, you can be prepared for when the waiter inevitably asks about your drink order. If you want to avoid the situation altogether you can opt to plan the date yourself at a location that doesn’t involve drinking. You can also make an excuse if you don’t want to share details about your recovery. However, if you are feeling comfortable with your date, you can share your experience with them. A good partner will want to support your recovery.
Avoiding Alcohol on a Date: How to Maintain Your Sobriety in the Dating World
Plan Ahead
The best way of avoiding alcohol on a date is simply to prepare ahead of time. We often make worse decisions when we don’t have time to think things through. So don’t wait until you’re in the restaurant to decide how you want to handle the alcohol situation. Make a plan in your head before your date so that you can stay calm when the topic comes up.
Plan the Date Yourself
Another way of avoiding alcohol altogether on a date is to plan it yourself. You can just opt for an outing that doesn’t typically involve alcohol. For example, you could explore a museum, go for a walk in a nice park, or try an exercise class together. You could also plan a picnic and pack the food yourself – sans alcohol. Get creative and find something fun and unique.
Make an Excuse
If you are avoiding alcohol and find yourself in a situation where the topic comes up, you can just make an excuse. Especially if you aren’t comfortable sharing your recovery journey. There is any number of things you can say, but often the simplest answer is the best. You can say you just don’t feel like drinking tonight, you have a headache, or you need to be up early in the morning.
Be Honest
Finally, if you’re avoiding alcohol on a date, sometimes the best way is, to be honest with your partner. However, you need to make sure that you are ready to share your experience. Hopefully, your date will be supportive and want to help you with your sobriety. It might be a good way to see if they are a good match for you. You certainly want any serious partners to be on board with your sobriety.
Avoiding alcohol in the dating world can be tricky, but it just takes some forethought. Plan so that you are prepared for when the topic comes up. That way, you won’t panic at the moment and say something that you regret. Or make a poor decision with your recovery. Plan the date yourself and opt for an outing that doesn’t invite alcohol. You can also just make an excuse if you don’t want to discuss the topic. Finally, if you are comfortable with your date and ready to open up, you can just be honest with them about your recovery. Hopefully, they’ll want to do everything they can to support you. Just make sure that you stick to your sobriety because that is the most important thing for your health.