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Replacing it with something equally as cravable.
So maybe a really tasty mocktail at your first craving moment.
I don't have craving moments.
Nor do I have obsession moments.
Cravings happen only when you have booze in your body.
Obsession happens when you only have booze on your mind.
I am a recovered alcoholic. This means I neither crave nor obsess in the first place. I have found a sufficient substitute to what booze gave me and buddy, flavor is not relevant. A rise in consciousness what's at stake.
Oh, and for other real alcoholics, drinking booze is always unacceptable behavior.
Real alcoholics drinking a mocktail would be like a cokehead snorting Sween n Low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teacher Terry
I have known recovered alcoholics to drink both mocktails and non alcoholic beers without any problems. I think it really depends on the person. For some it helps them quit and for others it might lead to a relapse. It just depends on the person.
I can drink mocktails. I can drink a Moscow Mule mocktale or whatever and enjoy sparkling apple cider and sparkling grape juice for New Years.
But to drink near beer or fake beer, I won't do it. I am aware that some say fake beers have 0.5% give or take alcohol in it so I don't mess with it. I do know that they don't get me drunk if I were to slam a few of them, but rather a stomachache. I discovered this when I was 2 years sober and found out my 1st wife and I were going to divorce and decided to slam some near beer until I could reach my destination where I would drink freely. That was an interesting drunk. I found on that occasion I could drink myself around the clock and back to sober.
Anyways, I drink water and coffee. That's about it.
Near beer is garbage. Prove me wrong.
Last edited by McGowdog; 01-27-2024 at 11:42 AM..
Reason: misspelled the word consciousness
Cravings happen only when you have booze in your body.
Obsession happens when you only have booze on your mind.
I am a recovered alcoholic. This means I neither crave nor obsess in the first place. I have found a sufficient substitute to what booze gave me and buddy, flavor is not relevant. A rise in conscience is what's at stake.
Oh, and for other real alcoholics, drinking booze is always unacceptable behavior.
Real alcoholics drinking a mocktail would be like a cokehead snorting Sween n Low.
I have known recovered alcoholics to drink both mocktails and non alcoholic beers without any problems. I think it really depends on the person. For some it helps them quit and for others it might lead to a relapse. It just depends on the person.
People can go on weekend benders and then not drink all week. To some its just a "routine" so to speak. Not an obsession.. Maybe something to fill time. True alcoholics from what I have seen can't stop and do it daily
People can go on weekend benders and then not drink all week. To some its just a "routine" so to speak. Not an obsession.. Maybe something to fill time. True alcoholics from what I have seen can't stop and do it daily
The people who go on "weekend benders" and don't drink all week...????
Fast forward ten years and see what they are doing. It is highly likely that they are drinking more and more often.
And on the mocktail thing. It is interesting. I didn't drink near beer for the first six or so years of sobriety. At that time I tried some. Not a problem. But I think if I had tried it early in sobriety it would have been a trigger.
I drink near beer on occasion. I have some in the frig right now. Probably haven't drank one in a couple of months. I don't have cravings once I start drinking them. Totally different response than drinking real beer.
It is so weird to be able to drink one, or two and stop. I think one time I drank a whole six pack once during breaks in a marathon stationary bike session. Still didn't trigger any craving.
As far a the obsession thing. That is the thing that is overlooked. It actually is the main thing that changes in recovery. When you first stop drinking... all you think about is drinking. Over time that obsession decreases. After a couple of decades I can go days on end without thinking of drinking. And if I do think about it, it is more a passing thought than an extreme urge like it used to be.
That is the thing that I think most people new to sobriety don't understand. If you don't drink... it gets easier not to drink.
Funny thing is though. I still have dreams where I get drunk and in many of them I am yelling at myself for blowing my sobriety. LOL.
With alcohol, like any addiction, once the line is crossed, it can’t be uncrossed. The line is different for everyone, but once you cross your own line, there is no more having just one drink, just one bump, just one hit.
Personally I love Running Wild made by the Athletic Brewing Company. It’s the best non alcoholic beer around. I don’t drink because I am trying to be as healthy as possible in my senior years but I love the taste of a good craft beer and this really fits the bill.
I think there are people who cannot touch alcohol at all. The kind that cannot stop once they start, and ruin themselves and their relationships.
I’ve heard of people who can just stop with hard liquor and have a beer or a glass of wine, without going down the rabbit hole.
There are those of us who enjoy the buzz, but can have 2 drinks and be done. I think you just need to really examine yourself, as well as listen to what the people around you are telling you.
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