Thanks for sharing Lynn!
You are so right about rationalizing. When we have a problem with drinking it is very common to always find a reason to drink. It's much harder to work on self talk to change our way of thinking. It is possible not to drink in tempting situations and difficult situations are often easier to manage when we are sober.
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom.
Ashley
How would I respond? I have two responses. In my drinking days, I would have responded by drinking. I would have rationalized the situation as a reason to drink saying to myself, “You can always start again tomorrow.”
I did this a lot when I was drinking. Always finding an excuse to start tomorrow. If I could go back to my drinking self, I would handle this situation differently. Because the situation appears to be unavoidable, I would do a lot of self-talk, reassuring myself that this is possible.
When all you want to do is drink, watching a heavy drinker is not easy. I remember beginning to recognize how people quickly went from having a few drinks to being drunk. I won’t say that it made situations easier, but it did provide a distraction.
Hard situations call for well-prepared responses. They also call for adjusting on the fly. It does get easier and with every situation you overcome, confidence grows.
I hope this helps. Stay strong!
You’re two days sober and very agitated. You’ve just finished work and you are looking forward to going home to relax with your spouse. You get through horrible traffic and do your best to ignore your neighbour’s dog barking at you as you enter your house...
Surprise! Your mother-in-law is over for dinner. The worst part, she is a heavy drinker.
What do you do? How do you cope?
Please share your thoughts.
Ashley
