The Sober Squad- Alcohol Free Living

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  • RubyRed427
    RubyRed427 Posts: 4,158 Member
    I’ve been reading USA Today app for some time. Lately, there are several articles about alcohol. It’s encouraging to me. I think there might be a small shift in public awareness and interest in alcohol reduction.
    Check out this article from USA TODAY:

    Fixes for the US drinking problem are hard to sell

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2018/11/19/alcohol-taxes-restrictions-public-health-policy-problem-drinking-blue-laws/1729501002/
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    @ElC_76 I thought of @Ke22yB when I read your post.

    One drink certainly doesn't mean you're a problem drinker, nor does it count as even being a drinker!
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    RubyRed427 wrote: »
    @lorrainequiche59 Welcome home ! It seemed like a long time to be gone. Well, you did your friend a huge favor and fulfilled your commitment. Happy you’re home!

    I had a good experience last night... went to a nice steakhouse. And I ordered a Perrier. She brought me (without me asking ) a pretty wine glasses with a lime. It made me happy. We ran into our close drinking buddy friends on the way out.We chatted for a few minutes at the door. It felt awkward though. Not sure why. I think that since they know I’m not drinking, they didnt say come back in for another drink. We just all politely chatted and departed. It was kinda weird.

    Thank you for my Welcome Home!! It was a client I dog sat for...so no favors on my part (I'm not that nice ;) LOL)...they are paying me for that gig!!

    You are so positive cause rather than focus on the "weird" part with your former drinking buddies, you focused on the happiness from the waitress's thoughtfulness bringing you a fancy glass for your Perrier.

    I've been trying to accept my declining social life in a positive light. Is it a coincidence that I have less invites since I stopped drinking? I truly don't know...I'm trying to remember that people are busy & also trying to remember my own lack of inviting non-drinkers in my drinking hay days!! It wasn't that I didn't like the people who I didn't often invite, but I DO remember consciously considering the fact that they did not drink! Partly, because I might feel guarded in my own drinking in their presence or others may feel uncomfortable. THAT said way more about ME than it did about them...!!

    I'm looking at my changed relationships with the "drinkers" & decreased social life as the in-between place. In between where I was and where I'm going!! I have NO control over what others do, only what I do. SO, that means if I want more of a social life, I will have to be the invitOR!! I have to admit that I have also decreased inviting friends to my place since I've been AF (out of necessity to remain AF), so it's two-fold; I have a part in this too. I used to LOVE entertaining, but it usually revolved around alcohol. I just need to rekindle my love minus the alcohol end of things & the only way I can do that is by doing that asap. I really think I'm ready now.
  • lorrainequiche59
    lorrainequiche59 Posts: 900 Member
    New Pic of my pup!! Same problem, BUT it was upside down & I managed this LOL....I'll get it upright at some point :smirk: not that anyone cares, but I do.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    edited November 2018
    lorrainequiche59 wrote: »
    <3 Home SWEET Home!! <3 With my favorite canine pal!!

    @RubyRed427 I watched the video accompanying the article...how sad!

    @CarvedTones I too notice people drinking in pics....more than I did before I was AF...and when I see people frequently posting pics with alcohol in hand, I wonder if there is a problem lingering for them. I am definitely looking at things through a different lens...it 'seems' fun, but I also realize that things are not always as they 'seem.'

    It will very soon be 6 months AF for me. This is now my life...a sober life. I love being freed from enslavement to alcohol, now I need to apply the same determination to my food issues!! ;)

    Hope everyone has a good week. :)

    There is a gray area between responsible drinking and problem drinking, that's for sure.

    There is a huge difference between someone having a beer with reheated pizza for dinner while watching the news then maybe having another while surfing the net, practicing an instrument or whatever and someone closet drinking with the sole purpose of getting buzzed. Both are drinking alone. In shows, it's often the detective looking through documents at home, pouring one or two fingers of liquor in a glass and also drinking alone. I could go on with examples of solo drinking that really don't seem to be causing problems.

    I know people who rarely drink to excess and then it is usually not to extreme excess and it is in a safe setting - no driving will be needed, not public, etc. You see that sort of behavior in shows all the time.

    Sometimes I am jealous of people who can do that without increasing in frequency or how much they drink at a time. Other times I think most of these people have a problem also. I definitely pick up on signs that people I know are outside the bounds of responsible drinking.

    I definitely see things differently now.
  • ElC_76
    ElC_76 Posts: 3,054 Member
    Thankyou @CarvedTones

    I have a constant fight in myself. So i do c consider myself as a potential problem drinker. I was having it to shut everything out. Now just wish i could have it without the effects. I think ive heard myself say, "why it it so nice? If only i could have some without the **** that goes with it"
    But now more to the point its the reponsibility i have that if i dont be responsible theres a lot of lives in my home at stake, and ill include mine. I dont want to loose what ive gainedeven if some people are critical of me.

    Thanks again. Everything on here the sharing of experiences really helps.also to know none of us are alone.. :);)

  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    ElC_76 wrote: »
    Thankyou @CarvedTones

    I have a constant fight in myself. So i do c consider myself as a potential problem drinker. I was having it to shut everything out. Now just wish i could have it without the effects. I think ive heard myself say, "why it it so nice? If only i could have some without the **** that goes with it"
    But now more to the point its the reponsibility i have that if i dont be responsible theres a lot of lives in my home at stake, and ill include mine. I dont want to loose what ive gainedeven if some people are critical of me.

    Thanks again. Everything on here the sharing of experiences really helps.also to know none of us are alone.. :);)

    I am glad you got something out of that. I felt like I wasn't really making my point. I think it is a little more black and white when we are in the gray area. If it is becoming a problem, I think most people know it even if they won't admit it.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    I am so glad that I am working remote today. There is a butter almond rum cake in the break room. That's a double whammy - I am too close to the top of my maintenance range for comfort and want to drop back some before Christmas plus the consternation over whether rum flavored cakes, which seem to be a Christmas staple, are okay. I think not, even though there is usually little or no alcohol content after baking. It's often rum flavoring instead of actual rum. Still sets my "bad idea" alarm off.
  • joha5603
    joha5603 Posts: 102 Member
    Interesting ideas about partner/spouse issues... my former spouse tackled addiction issues prior to our meeting, and he was always able to keep alcohol under control and rarely drank to excess (if he did, it was very planned, not a "whoops" like me). Now, though, I can see that he may have tackled the substances, but that addictive behaviors are still there and in full force and manifest in food, denial, emotional issues, narcissism, victim-ness, etc. I feel bad for him as it has resulted in serious health and emotional issues, and in my mind, these are things we still have control over. At least... I do... and therein possibly lies the crux to many of our problems.

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