Habit replacer...so to speak

The main time I would want to drink is at night after work to relax… which of course was always more than relaxing, carried away and all. What healthy habits did you use to break the “it’s time for a drink” habit?

7 Likes

Bringing the dog for a walk!

1 Like

I can’t wait until we can get a pupper! I love animals :slight_smile:

1 Like

We all had our drinking rituals. We humans love our rituals. To break my evening drinking ritual, I started walking while listening to podcasts, usually for an hour, sometimes longer. I did this for about 90 days. Then I decided to take up martial arts. Rather than pouring a drink, I suited up, grabbed my gear bag, and went to an evening class for 90 minutes.

What’s beautiful is what was an interest to help with sobriety has become a passion and lifestyle. So much so that I am currently training to become an instructor and plan to open my own school within the next 5 years.

11 Likes

Rediscovering hobbies that you used to enjoy or trying new ones is a great way to pass the time. Here’s a thread with people’s hobby ideas: Share your hobbies

3 Likes

Drop in on a meeting instead! Or just read and post here. Found plenty of inspiration there myself.

Funny to me how I spent so long saying “a meeting a night, who has an hour for that?!” for so long, yet I had all the time in the world to waste drinking. :sweat_smile:

There are soooo many better things to do. Literally anything!

5 Likes

Like many folks here I started walking…I walk between 3.5 to 7 miles on average and that seems to help. I have always appreciated nature so it was a win win WIN for me.

I also come here a lot…I read l, journal and when I get a chance talk.

You gotta stay with it because it’s easy to get off course. Forever a work in progress, but moving in the right direction! :blush:

5 Likes

That is so funny. We refer to ours as a pupper. He turned 2 in November.

1 Like

Pupper here too, or just pup @Missnomore ! And mine is 9.5 yrs and will always be my pupper.

3 Likes

committing to 90 meetings in 90 days. walking my dog. reaching out to a friend. saying NO to the urge. it takes patience and persistence. :heart:

4 Likes

I usually start listening to music which is what I used to do when I drank as well, but music is better and more important to me so it didn’t make me miss the booze

5 Likes

Walk the dog, cook, workout, yard work, read, call someone…

3 Likes

the habit part was always the killer for me im not healed yet I just went from one habit to another. Because im like a highly functioning alcoholic and drug addict. I could stop at my house all alone but when ever I went around my friends that stil drank and didn’t see a problem I always failed.

2 Likes

I can’t wait until my gym starts those classes up again!

2 Likes

I feel that! I’ve given up all my hobbies for drinking and I’m excited to see what ones resurface

habit is definitely the hardest. like yesterday I thought, oh if they want to grab one beer or two I would totally be fine… and I realized the very next thought like, no… I know what I’m doing, stop it. go home and watch a movie. heh

2 Likes

I was thinking of what I would do to replace the habit, and since I keep holding myself back from it I feel like this is the perfect way to get back into singing. I listen to music mostly anyway, but singing songs I can relate to has helped me in the past.

5 Likes

sing it, girl!!! :notes: :musical_note:

1 Like

Substitute,

I know people who still have “rituals”

A guy I known for years, quit drinking he owned his own business and his habit was hit the barstool after a hard days night,

He still went to the bar, still sat in his stool, just changed his drink to non alcoholic.

For me it was after work sit eat dinner drink till I passed out, playing video games or guitar, watched TV, whatever

Still game and play guitar,still watch TV but I became a fan of sparkling water. Same carbonation, zero alcohol

2 Likes