Advice for staying sober on a sunny day

I find sunny days like today pretty hard. I keep thinking of how nice it would be to have a few drinks in a beer garden.

What do you do to help you stay sober on days like today?

2018na

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I find sunny days like today pretty hard. I keep thinking of how nice it would be to have a few drinks in a beer garden.

What do you do to help you stay sober on days like today?

I swear by non alcohol beer or cider. Does not work for everyone but I find it a game changer for getting rid of the goo to have a drink

FixitFelix

2018na wrote: »

I swear by non alcohol beer or cider. Does not work for everyone but I find it a game changer for getting rid of the goo to have a drink

This x1000!! people always give me the usual bollox " ah sure you might as well drink coke as that ****e".
If I was to drink coke id be on the pints in now time, the non alcoholic has the same bite so gets rid of that taste for a pint.

wally1990

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I find sunny days like today pretty hard. I keep thinking of how nice it would be to have a few drinks in a beer garden.

What do you do to help you stay sober on days like today?

I know it's cliche but honestly a hobby or something

For me, it's self discipline

When I see a really sunny day I try to stop thinking about how nice a few drinks would be

I try to think about the hangover the next day and how it could ruin my weekend and sleep and could I go walking, or swimming (even indoor) or a drive somewhere instead

A non alcoholic drink is also a good idea to get the brief taste and get the idea out of my head then

It's literally like I try to do something else to distract myself and not think drink is my only option on a sunny day

Easier said than done of course

I like reading so going to nearby park or beach and read (Kindle or book)

Or just go for a spin to distract myself and take photos

Walk my dogs

Literally anything besides having a pint

wally1990

wally1990 wrote: »

I know it's cliche but honestly a hobby or something

For me, it's self discipline

When I see a really sunny day I try to stop thinking about how nice a few drinks would be

I try to think about the hangover the next day and how it could ruin my weekend and sleep and could I go walking, or swimming (even indoor) or a drive somewhere instead

A non alcoholic drink is also a good idea to get the brief taste and get the idea out of my head then

It's literally like I try to do something else to distract myself and not think drink is my only option on a sunny day

Easier said than done of course

I like reading so going to nearby park or beach and read (Kindle or book)

Or just go for a spin to distract myself and take photos

Walk my dogs

Literally anything besides having a pint

Thanks for this - really great advice.

Amazingfun

It depends on one's history with alcohol: are you just a "take a break from the bottle" kind of person; or are you a problem drinker/ alcoholic?

I am a recovered alcoholic. Therefore the weather, financial conditions, global pandemics, romantic attachments (or lack thereof) have zero relevance to my " I don't drink---ever" reality. If a question involving sunny days and drinking even entered my mind and stayed there as a serious consideration for more than a few minutes, I'd know I was on thin ice.

For me, and people like me, we have had to come to an understanding that drinking is over , for good. It was a long hard road to come to grips with this in my case, but the irony is that once I really got it----I was free and have remained so for almost two decades now. Thank God :-)

Wishing all on the forum continued success on the journey.

prishtinaboy99

Amazingfun wrote: »

It depends on one's history with alcohol: are you just a "take a break from the bottle" kind of person; or are you a problem drinker/ alcoholic?

I am a recovered alcoholic. Therefore the weather, financial conditions, global pandemics, romantic attachments (or lack thereof) have zero relevance to my " I don't drink---ever" reality. If a question involving sunny days and drinking even entered my mind and stayed there as a serious consideration for more than a few minutes, I'd know I was on thin ice.

For me, and people like me, we have had to come to an understanding that drinking is over , for good. It was a long hard road to come to grips with this in my case, but the irony is that once I really got it----I was free and have remained so for almost two decades now. Thank God :-)

Wishing all on the forum continued success on the journey.

So true as someone who had zero willpower to refuse a drink or if I had a bit of willpower when I really needed to stop drinking, the sun moon and stars had to be aligned for me to not drink.

Now I am recovered like you say all these other things, stresses in life do not affect my decision not to drink and have a good life without alcohol.

prishtinaboy99

prishtinaboy99 wrote: »

So true as someone who had zero willpower to refuse a drink or if I had a bit of willpower when I really needed to stop drinking, the sun moon and stars had to be aligned for me to not drink.

Now I am recovered like you say all these other things, stresses in life do not affect my decision not to drink and have a good life without alcohol.

Can I ask what helped you to recover? So far AA and Smart meetings are not working for me. It's really difficult.