Jul 17, 2022 | Alcoholism, drinking
If you’re in recovery, you might be concerned about how to have a sober summer. While many picture summer as a time for cold beers or fancy cocktails, it’s possible to still have a great time without risking your sobriety. Just make a plan and remember that it’s okay to say no to some events. In addition, try to avoid falling into old habits with old friends or places. Host events yourself so that you can control the amount of alcohol intake. And finally, if you’re comfortable being around others who are drinking, it’s helpful to bring along a mocktail so that you feel like you’re joining in on the fun. Hopefully, by following these tips, you’ll be able to enjoy a great summer season without having to risk your recovery.
Sober Summer: How to Keep Your Recovery on Track Over the Summer Holiday
It’s Okay to Say No
The first tip to enjoying a sober summer is to remember that it’s perfectly fine to decline some invitations. Especially if you know that the party is likely to involve a lot of alcohol. And remember, if you get to an event and things are getting wild, it’s totally fine to leave early. The host will understand if it’s a matter of your own health.
Don’t Fall Into Old Habits
It can also help to avoid old habits when trying to have a sober summer. It’s easy to get caught up in nostalgia if you’re hanging out with old friends or at old stomping grounds from your drinking days. If your friends are not supportive of your recovery journey, you might want to limit the times you hang out with them.
Host Yourself
Hosting events yourself is another great way to have a sober summer. If you’re the host you can dictate how much alcohol is around. You can even specify that an event needs to be alcohol-free. If somebody doesn’t want to come to a sober event, then they’re welcome to decline. But at least this way you can control the wildness of the party.
Bring a Mocktail
Finally, if you’re able to be around others who are drinking, it can be helpful to bring along a mocktail for yourself. This way, you’ll feel like you have a drink in your hand without risking your sobriety. It can also help with preventing friends from offering to get you a drink or asking why you aren’t joining in.
It’s possible and easy to have a sober summer as long as you have some determination and a game plan in place. Remember that it’s okay to say no to some events if you think they’ll be wild. In addition, try to avoid places or people from your past drinking days because they’ll be more likely to tempt you to break your sobriety. Choose to host events yourself so that you can dictate how much or how little alcohol there will be. And finally, bring along a delicious mocktail with you so that you feel like you’re joining in on the fun. Just because it’s summertime doesn’t mean that you have to give up on your recovery journey. You’ve worked hard, and staying sober will keep you healthier in the long run.
Jun 10, 2022 | Alcoholism, Drinking Smart
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.
Apr 29, 2022 | Alcoholism, drinking
There are plenty of excuses to avoid drinking socially that you can use if you aren’t comfortable sharing your sobriety journey. If you are in recovery but don’t necessarily want to tell people about it, then it’s easiest just to end the conversation quickly. You can use medication or health reasons to avoid alcohol. Or you could say that since you’re driving, you don’t want to indulge. You can also use work as an excuse to avoid alcohol. And finally, try just saying that you aren’t in the mood. Hopefully, you’ll be comfortable sharing your recovery soon, but until then, there are plenty of excuses you can use to avoid the conversation.
Excuses to Avoid Drinking Socially: Getting Out of It Without Awkwardness
Medication
One of the excuses to avoid drinking that you can use is medication. There are plenty of medications that have dangerous interactions with alcohol. The bonus of this excuse is that it doesn’t typically invite a lot of follow-up questions. People tend to not want to pry about medical issues.
Driving
Another excuse to avoid drinking is that you are driving. Driving after drinking is incredibly dangerous and should always be avoided. If you are wanting to avoid alcohol, plan to drive to meet your friends. That way, you’ll have a great reason to not join in on the alcohol.
Work
Work is always one of the most popular excuses to avoid drinking and one of the easiest. Unless your drinking buddies work with you, it’s unlikely they’ll know whether or not you’re swamped at work. So you can use this as an easy go-to to get out of drinking. Just say you either need to get work done when you get home, or that you need to be up early to focus on work.
Don’t Feel Like It
Finally, one of the best excuses to avoid drinking is saying that you simply don’t feel like it. If there are follow-up questions, just say that you aren’t in the mood or that you have a headache. You can also simply say “not tonight” to indicate that you’re still game, but just not at the moment. If you’re meeting somebody new you can just say that you don’t enjoy alcohol.
It’s important to have some excuses to avoid drinking if you’re in recovery. If you aren’t yet ready to share with the rest of the world, then you’ll need to have some reasons ready to go. Try using antibiotics as an excuse, or saying that you’re not feeling up to it for some reason. You can also say that you need to be sober in order to drive home. Work is always an easy go-to excuse to get out of all kinds of things, drinking included. And finally, you can simply say that you aren’t in the mood or don’t feel like it. Hopefully, you’ll be able to share your experience with recovery someday. But until then, it’s a good idea to have some excuses to avoid drinking ready to go just in case.
Apr 22, 2022 | Alcoholism, drinking
Admitting you need help with addiction is the hardest step of the recovery process. It can take people a long time to realize this. Once you’ve realized that it’s time for a change, educate yourself. You need to fully understand what addiction means and how it affects your life. Decide who in your life might be a good support system and ask for help. After that, investigate treatment options. Figure out what type of support you think will help you the most. Everybody’s journey with recovery is different, so you need to figure out what works best for you.
Admitting You Need Help with Addiction: Next Steps
Hardest Step Accomplished
Admitting you need help with addiction is the hardest step to take. It can take people a very long time to realize that they truly need some help and need to make changes. Often this comes as a result of a “rock bottom” situation. They might finally realize how much their addiction is impacting and hurting their life. Now that you have taken the bold step of admitting you have a problem, it’s time to get the help you need.
Educate Yourself
After admitting you need help with addiction, you’ll want to educate yourself on addiction. This is a disease that can affect people very differently. You’ll want to know what causes it, how it can affect your body and your life, and how to manage it. It’s also a good time to start taking stock of how much your addiction can hurt those around you who love you. If you plan to include them in your journey, you might consider asking them to research the disease of addiction as well.
Ask for Support
You’ll want some support after admitting you need help with addiction. However, not everybody in your life will necessarily be helpful to you. If you have a supportive partner, friends, or family, consider who might be best to help you on your journey. If you have people in your life that cause you more stress, they might not be the best choices. Find somebody that you feel comfortable with that will be understanding and supportive on your journey.
Investigate Treatment
Finally, after admitting you need help for addiction, you’ll want to start investigating various treatment options. There are many different ways to get help for addiction. You can try in-patient and out-patient treatment facilities. You can also look into therapy or medical treatment with a doctor. And of course, there are twelve-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous that can be very helpful. Decide what kind of treatment plan will work best with your goals and your personality.
Admitting you need help for addiction is a difficult conversation to have with yourself. But it’s an amazing and brave first step towards getting the help you need to get clean. It can take people years to realize that they have a problem. It’s important to educate yourself on the disease of addiction so that you can prepare yourself for recovery. Decide who you might like to include on your recovery journey that will be a source of support. And finally, investigate all the various types of treatment options available. You’ll need to weigh each option carefully to decide what will work for you. It will likely depend on your motivation, your history, your personality, and your financial situation. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find a treatment option that works best for you and you can begin your journey towards sobriety.
Apr 15, 2022 | Alcoholism, drinking
Becoming a sponsor for AA might be a great idea if you are committed to the program and want to help new members. Alcoholics Anonymous has been around for decades and has helped thousands of people with their recovery from addiction. A big component of AA is sponsorship. You might consider becoming a sponsor to a new member of AA if you are willing to be vulnerable and share your experience. In addition, you should have a year of sobriety under your belt and have plenty of time to devote to sponsorship. And finally, you’ll need to know the program very well in order to help others learn the ropes. Hopefully, you’ll find the right fit and be able to help a new member of the program with their recovery.
Becoming a Sponsor for AA: What to Know
Must Be Willing to Be Vulnerable
Becoming a sponsor for AA means that you’ll need to open up and share your journey with another person. You’ll need to be willing to be vulnerable about your experience with recovery. Sharing your personal journey is a great way to help somebody through their hardest moments. However, you need to be secure in your recovery because it can be painful for you as well.
One Year of Sobriety
You should not think of becoming a sponsor for AA until you’ve spent plenty of time in the program. For example, most consider one year to be the minimum time of sobriety before committing to sponsorship. However, longer is even better as you’ll be even more secure in your recovery.
Time Commitment
Becoming a sponsor for AA is a big-time commitment. You’ll need to make sure that your schedule allows for you to meet with or at least speak on the phone with your sponsee as much as needed. Before committing to a new member as their sponsor, make sure that your schedules line up. Try to make sure that you’ll have some times when you are both available to meet.
Knowing the Program
Finally, becoming a sponsor for AA means that you’ll be sharing the twelve steps with new members. Therefore, you’ll need to know the program back to front. You also need to be a supporter of the program and believe in the power of the twelve steps. Your sponsee might have questions and concerns that you’ll need to address.
Becoming a sponsor for AA is a big step. Make sure that you fully are prepared for everything it entails before you commit. For example, you’ll need to be prepared to share your experience, even the hard parts, with a new member. This can be painful and trying to your sobriety. It’s best if you have at least a year of sobriety under your belt. In addition, you need to make sure that you have the time available to help a new member. And finally, make sure that you truly believe in the program and know the twelve steps inside and out as you’ll likely need to guide a new member through them. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find a great sponsee that will benefit greatly from your experience.
Mar 25, 2022 | Alcoholism, drinking
While many people know the physical benefits of getting sober, there are a lot of hidden benefits of living a sober life as well. You might not have thought of these when considering giving up alcohol or drugs. You might just be focused on the physical benefits like protecting your heart health, liver, kidney, and other organs. But there are many hidden benefits that you will likely experience if you begin living a clean and sober life. For example, you might find that you have a lot more self-confidence. You’ll likely be able to connect to people on a deeper level. You might start sleeping better too. And finally, you’ll probably save a good bit of money as alcohol and drugs are expensive habits. Hopefully, these plus the many physical and emotional benefits are enough reason to help you get the support you need for recovery.
Hidden Benefits of Living a Sober Life: Surprising Improcements
Self-Confidence
One of the hidden benefits of living a sober life is that you will probably gain more self-confidence. A serious addiction is often a source of shame and embarrassment. Even if you hide it from the world, it probably is still affecting your self-confidence. By overcoming addiction, you’ll give yourself something amazing to be proud of. Take pride in your hard work! You’ll probably feel more confident in yourself knowing that you are making the best decision for your health.
Deeper Relationships
Another of the surprising hidden benefits of living a sober life is that you will establish deeper relationships. It’s difficult to connect fully with another person when you have an addiction. No matter how much you try to ignore it, your cravings will likely always be a distraction. Getting free from your addiction will help you focus on your connections with people and can allow you to create more meaningful relationships.
Better Sleep
Better sleep is another of the hidden benefits of living a sober life. Drugs, and especially alcohol can hinder your sleep. They cause you to not sleep as deeply. Many people have trouble falling asleep and also wake up more often throughout the night. However, getting clean should improve the quality of your sleep.
Better for Your Wallet
Finally, saving money is one of the most exciting hidden benefits of living a sober life. Addiction is expensive. Drugs and alcohol all cost money, and depending on how strong your addiction is, they can quickly deplete your funds. By getting clean, you should be able to save quite a bit of money. You can use this as motivation to help you stay sober when you feel tempted. Just imagine the vacation you can afford to go on since you are saving money.
Addiction has many negative effects on the human body. Getting clean can improve your overall health, your relationships, and your happiness. But there are some hidden benefits of living a sober life that you should look forward to as well. For example, you probably will gain some self-confidence. Getting clean is something to be proud of. In addition, you might be able to connect with people on a deeper level. Your sleep should improve, as well as your savings account. Hopefully, all of these things can help motivate you to get your addiction under control. Reach out to a supportive friend or family member or find resources to help you begin living a sober life.
