Before I quit drinking, I spent several years trying to stop.
I’d be good for a day or two – or sometimes a couple of weeks.
But at this time of year – with the holiday season fast approaching – I’d convince myself it was impossible to be sober.
It felt too hard… so what was the point in even trying?
If you can relate, this video is for you.
Key points:
Thoughts about it being “too hard”
Watch out for this: “It’ll be too hard to navigate the festive season without drinking. It’ll feel horrible to try and fail. So why don’t I just give up now, forget about it all, and then I’ll get back on the alcohol free wagon in January? That’ll be easier.”
There’s nothing easy about staggering through the next 6 weeks feeling bad about yourself, knowing that deep down, there’s a part of you that wants something different. There’s nothing easy about drinking too much and doing things you regret.
A calendar with a difference
Don’t let a couple of events or challenges dictate the next 6 weeks. There’s a lot of white space in between this stuff! 
Fill out my calendar here 
with the boozy events you have coming up – the parties or gatherings where it will be a challenge not to drink.
Count up how many days are blank. Are you surprised by the number of normal, typical, doable days there are? There are 84 time slots on the calendar (daytime and evening). As a percentage, how many of them are filled with challenges?
Handling the challenges
Get a different coloured pen. Next to each event on the calendar, write down what the point is. People might talk about meeting up for drinks or getting drunk, but that’s never what an event is really about.
The point of a work party might be to spend time with people you don’t normally get a chance to have fun with. The point of a family gathering might be to catch up on everyone’s news. Remind yourself that you can still have these experiences without alcohol.
Remember…
The festive season is just a period of time with some days where we eat particular foods, do certain things and speak to certain people. That’s it. Everything else is just a story. You can focus on things that create a feeling of peace and control around that… or you can focus on the things that make this feel too hard.
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The post “It’s Too Hard To Be Sober At This Time Of Year.” appeared first on The Sober School.
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