Heya
I’ve been a full time musician for 10 years (I play guitar and sing in bars, clubs, weddings, events etc a few times a week) and I drink for free. So you can imagine how much I drink and I don’t have money as a motivator but my health is completely depleted.
First day sober today but I have a gig tomorrow and I have no idea how I’m going to get through it.
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You could write a letter to yourself today. List all the reasons you have to quit. Write down how you feel right now - and take it to your gig. Read it before you pick up a drink.
Reach out here before you drink.
Do you have any sober friends? Could you call any of them, or could they come to your gig?
Hey, I’m really glad you said hi. I get it. I’m an alcoholic, and I understand how hard it is. But man, in the few months I’ve been sober, my life is exponentially better. I know yours can be too.
Please let me know how it goes tonight.
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Cheers bro, good advice
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You can do it and when you do please come and share with us.
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Might be kinda cheesey but could you write a song about all the terrible things drinking brings you?
Welcome 
And I second everything @MoCatt said, she’s got some great advice!
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Live in the moment and remember how you love the music.
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It my 1st day too.
4 years straight of drinking 95%ever day.
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Welcome! Dont be afraid to speak into the mic! You sing great songs and messages , speak sencere to your crowd , that tell stories.Let them know that you would like to give it a try not drinking. For today only! One day at a time MEANS JUST THAT! You will see people will still love your music and respect you.free tea rocks!
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Good luck! I work in a bar and I am going through the same thing. Need a career move but I’m going to miss the easy money. Stay strong. Focus on the music then leave if you have to.
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Living in the moment and enjoying the music is the drink’s mantra haha
It tried that! I got a good song out of it but it kind of turned into a fun drinking song which is a bit of a backfire haha
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Lol that’s pretty funny.
Tomorrow/today is going to be hard, are you really committed to staying sober?
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Go for it brother! Keep your intentions in sight, find some distractions and let us know how you’re going
Haha it’s a good idea but from my experience, most working musos, understandably, handle their piss well, it just greases the gears. What scares me is how boring, depressed or unenthusiastic most sober musos are.
It is and I am. I’m actually getting a lot of motivation from the thought of being able to come home and tell you all that I nailed it!
I’ve just come back after 6 weeks in Italy (6 weeks of drinking) and it’s my first gig back.so.literally everyone is going to be there to catch up, trying to buy me shots and drink with me. It’s going to be insane but it’ll be good practice to say ‘no’ and if I can get through tonight, I’ll be able to get through anything. Nothing like a good Herculean task to start the sobriety! 
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Is your gig tonight? Keep us posted on how it went 
I went to an event the other night where people gave me drink tickets, tried to physically pull me to the bar, called me boring and lame, etc… I stood my ground and it was interesting watching them all get wasted while I was sober. One girl had 5-7 glasses of wine, got blackout drunk and drove to another bar. I went to bed early and woke up with a clear head! Good luck 
️
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Hope it went well!
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So. Good news and bad news. Bad news first, I had two shots… sorry guys and girls, the peer pressure was strong. On the up side, im writing this clear headed because I drank soda water n lime all night! It’s a huge accomplishment for me because I’m the sort the sort of person that once I start I can’t stop. so to be able to remain on non alcoholic drinks all night even after giving in to a shot is awesome.
I wrote a letter to myself earlier in the day as @MoCatt suggested, took a photo of it and read it before starting my gig. I think physically writing it down on paper really helps.
So I came home last night feeling sober which felt great and reset my sobriety clock which is a shame and I feel disappointed that I wasn’t able to remain totally alcohol free.
Last night was always going to be a colossal task, being the welcome home gig and first day sober, but to be able to spend the night drinking soda limes and say no to offered drinks and shots every 5 minutes was a huge leap in the right direction and I feel pretty proud of that.
It gives me the strength and confidence that the next gig, totally alcohol free, will be relatively easy by comparison and I’m feeling good about the future.
So, bittersweet my friends. The clock is reset on my first day but I’m smiling.
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Well done! Enjoy that pride you’re feeling, you earned it
You know what? It’s great progress. I’m glad you woke up feeling clear headed and came back to check in. I though about you this morning and wondered how it went. I’m glad your letter was helpful. I keep mine in my purse; it’s saved me several times.
You have a plan going forward, and that’s great. Please keep checking in, and let us know how you are doing! Progress, not perfection…️
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