The Sober Survival Guide by Simon Chapple

Author:Simon Chapple
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: quit alcohol, quit alcohol books, stop drinking, stop drinking books, quit alcohol book, stop drinking book, sober books, sober book, quit lit, quit drinking, quit drinking books, how to stop drinking, how to quit alcohol, books for alcoholics, alcoholism books, alcohol addiction books, alcohol addiction book, how to get sober, alcoholic books for women, alcoholic books for men, alcohol abuse, control alcohol, controlling alcohol, quit alcohol fast, quit alcohol now, quit drinking fast, quit drinking now, quit alcohol ebook, quit drinking ebook, stop drinking ebook, best quit drinking books, best quit alcohol books
Publisher: Elevator Digital Ltd
Published: 2019-09-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I can’t socialise without alcohol

‘If I quit drinking, I won’t have a social life.’

For almost all my adult life, just about every social occasion involved drinking. The thought of going out with friends for an evening without sinking a few pints of beer or glasses of wine seemed ridiculous – why would anyone do that? There was no point going if alcohol wasn’t involved. Of course, I couldn’t stop drinking after a few pints of beer – once I started I was on a mission to put away as many as I could, as quickly as possible. What’s more, whenever I went out for the evening drinking with friends I would always make sure there was a bottle of red wine waiting at home for a nightcap. I even remember evenings when I got back so drunk the room would be spinning, but I’d still break the wine open and keep going. This resulted in numerous visits to the bathroom to be sick (assuming I actually made it there) as well as some fairly painful falls up the stairs as I attempted to make my way to bed in the early hours. Not that I felt any pain at the time, but the bumps and bruises the next morning gave me a visual reminder that my drinking was out of control.

I used to laugh at people who didn’t drink. I believed they were missing out and had boring, sad little lives lacking in happiness and enjoyment. How wrong I was, because since I stopped I’ve discovered that in social situations, I can have just as much fun (in fact, more) when I’m sober.

It took me a while to learn this, though. In the month after I quit, I chose to avoid every social situation at which drink might be involved; I’d committed myself to a sober life but was still fragile and finding my feet. Mixing with heavy drinkers and people who thought it would be a good idea to encourage me to drink was not a good idea at this stage. By the way, I’m not suggesting you have to stay away from all socialising – that’s just what I did because it made sense for me. You need to decide what’s right for you, and by thinking about it ahead of time you’ll ensure you’re prepared.

It ended up taking around three months before I felt ready to venture into an environment where the drink would be flowing. When the evening of the first social outing came I was really nervous, but I felt prepared and even enjoyed myself (leaving at 10:30pm when the drunk people started to become loud, annoying, and repetitive). After the first social event was out of the way, I felt more relaxed and have been out many times since then. However, I still avoid certain friends who I know might pressure me to drink, and there are particular locations that don’t appeal to me as a non-drinker, so I stay away. I’ve found that some social events just aren’t worth attending after all.

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