I bartend. I also drink alot. I need new hobbies. And I’m trying to go at least 2 weeks without a drink or learn how to regulate it better. Any advice? Or similar situations?
You got this. Keeping busy has been my go to method for a long time. Distractions and a busy mind. Mine was when I got my new puppy. "“White German Shepherd.” The first 2 years I had her I was still a raging alcoholic. Then two years later I realized how I was failing her. Been doing meetings and groups ever since. She’s 6 now and I believe the happiest I’ve seen.
Good luck and again. You got this.
I’m a bartender too. And I drank a lot. For me, enough was enough and there was definitely no regulating my drinking(I tried that countless times and countless ways). 18 days was the longest I ever made it before this time(I’m now at 124 days). I don’t know your habits but I had to realize my job is just for money now and not a place to ‘have fun’. It wasn’t fun for me anyways towards the end. This app really helped me in the beginning and eventually, after being told by so many veterans here, I tried AA meetings and fell in love from the very first one. I’m a little upset theyve canceled them now bc of CV but what I’ve already learned from going daily will help me thru this unusual time of our lives. I hope you can make it those 2 weeks and begin to feel what a difference it makes in you. You just may want to keep going
You’re there to make money, not drink it. You’re not there to drink, you are there to work. Going to your bar and drinking is for your guests. You’re not a guest at the party, you’re a guard. Protect your bosses stock and your pocket will look after itself. If you’re in a bar job where you can drink, shame on your boss. Anyone who gets caught drinking on shift running my plates gets marched out on the spot.
I was a restaurant bum for 30 plus years. Mostly waiting tables and managing at the same time. I didn’t float around from restaurant to restaurant I only worked in 2 of them all that time. Considered myself a restaurant pro. It was always showtime with me and all my regulars. Fun fun fun. Work work work. I’ll sleep when I’m dead byline of thing. I was young then. I tried countless times to not party or get it under control I never could. I don’t mean to be negative but that is really a tough business to be sober in. I wish you all the luck in the world.
I was working behind the bar when I started my sobriety also and it was tough but for me, it all came down to will power. I started to drink A LOT of ginger beer haha
The hard part was telling people who offered me a drink “no thanks, I don’t drink” and sticking to that conviction. I got lots of weird looks, confused questions and laughs but my pride in who I wanted to be and not the drunk that was ruining his life daily was stronger than any doubt thrown at me.
Some one else mentioned it above me… Work then go home. If I stuck around after work, the chances were much higher I’d end up saying “I’ll just have one” one more time.
I’ve gone from drunk at work all the time to working nights in the bar sober and actually enjoying the work a lot more. In a different way, sure, but a better and more honest way which reflects a lot how sobriety generally has changed my life. No more bad feeling after a shift whether I made any mistakes or forgot sth, never did but that bad conscience was such a burden.
Get hobbies and get friends away from the scene are good suggestions but in my experience, for me any changes, healthy or fun, were impossible to implement, sobriety had to come first. I could not regulate and I could not think I was only going to pause drinking for a while, these wouldnt have provided enough momentum to change anything about my life or drinking habits. I wish you all the best.