AF naughty but nice??

[Tulips63]

Apart from loving the flavour of my favourite alcoholic drinks, I'm, unhappily, one of those people who gets a high as soon as I think about sneaking a half bottle of vodka into my shopping and then hiding it somewhere in the house.

I need to find a non-alcoholic (and legal!) substitute to satisfy those 'naughty' cravings and something to satisfy the lovely tasting substance that gives me a warm buzz - but without the guilt! I'm pretty sure an AF G&T will probably trigger me, so I'm thinking it needs to be something that doesn't mimic the drinks I'm missing.

Does anybody else feel this way? Any suggestions?

I would think bigger! There is the concept of “alternative rebellion” which I understand is used in DBT - the idea is that you choose a different behaviour to channel the urge to behave in an unhealthy way, but a behaviour that doesn’t harm yourself or others.

So anger was one of my big triggers for drinking - alcohol was my way of saying “fuck off” to the world (but just made me hungover and the world didn’t notice). And I found really loud music had a similar effect.

If you google “alternative rebellion DBT” you might get some ideas ..

In terms of what drinks to drink, I actually found that what I enjoyed when I first got sober was drinking things that were very different to what I would drink when I was 'drinking'. I was a wine and vodka drinker (as in vodka, no mixers), so I got into the habit of having an AF beer every afternoon/evening while cooking dinner. I didn't drink beer when I was actually drinking, but it was refreshing and 'adult'. I also drank tonic because I wasn't really a tonic drinker when I was drinking. I only have an AF drink a few days a week now as I don't really feel like I need the ritual of it as much now, but it was a really effective tool at the time. It gave me something to do and something to have in my hand a critical hour of the day.

As for the naughty feeling, in addition to the above, I'd suggest what 'big things' you could plan for or do that would be exciting. So think of something mad that maybe you always wanted to do and people would think you were crazy for doing, and work towards doing that. So couple things, I'm a wild swimmer, was before I quit drinking, but getting more involved and doing something a bit out there as a hobby - see swimming in January - gives me a rush and a dopamine hit. I also planned a walking holiday in early sobriety. I chose a route I wanted to do over a week, trained for it, organised the trip and went when I was about 5 months sober. It gave me a focus and an activity to keep me busy.

Beyond that, actually NOT drinking in a culture where drinking is the norm is pretty badass. You may find that as you get more comfortable talking about not drinking, you find that people think you are pretty wacky in a good and interesting way. It's quite rebellious actually. So might also just involve re-framing how you think of it and what you consider to be 'naughty'.

As for the naughty feeling, in addition to the above, I'd suggest what 'big things' you could plan for or do that would be exciting. So think of something mad that maybe you always wanted to do and people would think you were crazy for doing, and work towards doing that

👏👏

And THAT’s why I training for a marathon! 🤣

CBD drinks like Trip and Goodrays give you a relaxed chilled vibe, especially if you have a few of them. I find drinking a total of around 90g of CBD gives me a really nice cozy buzz but YMMV. Trip drinks taste more botanical, Goodrays have a couple that to me, taste like alcohol. The elderflower one, to me, tastes like gin and tonic. The blood orange one, to me, tastes like it could have a smidge of vodka in. This could be a good or bad thing depending on what you're looking for. The other 2 Goodrays flavours (the pomegranate, and the raspberry) just taste like adult drinks, I really like them. With the Goodrays they do all have a very slight aftertaste of hemp. I really like that because it let's me know there's an extra adult "something" in my drink which I enjoy. All CBD drinks can only be purchased by 18+ as well.