I'm definitely BU - please tell me not to order a drink

[Hiphopopotamus]

So I'm an alcoholic. I was doing well but have had a pretty massive relapse in the last few months. I'm back on the wagon now and I'm nearly 2 weeks sober.

I'm currently sitting in a restaurant waiting for my partner to finish work. Restaurants alone are a big trigger place for me as they are places I used to drink a lot - I never felt comfortable in pubs alone but it felt acceptable if I had a plate of food in front of me. I'm sitting here with a Diet Coke when all I want to do is order a bottle of wine and get stuck in. Please tell me how unreasonable I'm being.

When I quit smoking I used to find if I told myself that it was a choice I was making I could cope with that better rather than feeling like "I have to" avoid it, I would tell myself I wanted to. Although you want that glass of wine right now, you don't actually want to give up and go back to drinking.

Just try to get through the next 5 minutes. And then get through the next 5 minutes. And then the next. Before you know it you'll have got through lunch. Just take it in bite sized chunks.

Can you talk to your OH about it when he gets there?

One big cold glass of wine is perfect. And harmless?
But play the movie. Soon you'll be on no. 2, 3, 4...
Yeuch.

Buy a better drink than diet coke - do they do mocktails, or posh fruit juice?

Or cake, or pudding. Basically anything is OK, as long as it's not booze.

Read some alcohol free blogs while you wait - mummy was a secret drinker is good.

Focus on 6pm, and not having a bottle of wine in your body.

It's like an abusive relationship, don't get sucked back in now.
Remember 1 drink is 1 too many and 1000 isn't enough.

Short-term

Leave the restaurant.
Keep posting here.
Listerine breath strips.
Halls menthol sweets.
Ruin your taste buds - the next thing you eat or drink will be ruined anyway!
Think of famous people who've ruined their lives with alcohol. You are going to avoid their fate by staying strong.

Do you have any plans you want to make? Think about those and use your phone to research them if you can.

Are you getting professional help?

Come on. Talk to us.

Download the game TripleTown and the hours will melt away. Addictive but not alcoholic. Or pokemonGO but the servers are down again.

Get up and get out now. Stop trying to sabotage yourself by going to your trigger places. You are doing so well. Hold on to that.

Buy a better drink than diet coke - do they do mocktails, or posh fruit juice

I agree.

Crappy old Diet Coke is like punishing yourself.

You should be rewarding yourself for being so amazing - get a classy water or mocktail or something. Get a drink that will improve your looks not ruin them.

(I used to be a heavy heavy drinker so I feel your pain).

can you go for a distracting walk while you wait?
Perhaps catch a few pokemon as distraction until your friend arrives?

good one for posting OP!!!

Long-term

Are you in counselling or some kind of rehab programme?

It would really help you to get to the root of your feelings and make you stronger.

Keep up the good work - you can really do this and come out the other side. You'll feel amazing when you wake up tomorrow!

You are doing well so far
Just try to keep busy, agree order a mock tail rather or have a lovely piece of cake. Hang in there.

you can do this. Stay on mn and remember you did two whole weeks, a few minutes is nothing

you really REALLY dont want to do those first two weeks again.
Stay strong, we are cheering you on!

Imagine it's tomorrow morning.

How will you feel?

Great because you resisted temptation?

Or a complete failure full of self loathing because you gave in.

Leave the restaurant now.

Keep in touch with us. You can do this.

Well done for asking for help. Decide, each minute that passes, not to order the wine. Play something on your phone, go catch pokemon :-), or something... Well done, stick it out x

Going to bookmark this thread and come back to it when I'm having the same struggle - usually every few days! The playing it forward and thinking about how you will feel in a few hours' time if you do or don't drink now, that's a really good idea. I'll put that in my back pocket myself...

The trouble with mocktails and the like is that they're so sweet, and if you're a drinker you tend not to have a sweet tooth so much. That's why I find the ONLY thing that will help in those situations is a cup of tea - it's quite "dry" IYKWIM, and a bit closer to wine, say, than fruit juices and the like.

My soft drink of choice is lime and soda for the reason scampi said that it's not too sweet. It's really refreshing as well.

hiph

Where are you?

Talk to us, no matter what you have or haven't done.
X