What are your hidden triggers?

The hardest part of being sober for me has been the hidden or unforeseen triggers. There are countless topics discussing how you should stay away from bars because they’re the lions den. I’ve been to bars numerous times since getting sober but bars really aren’t a trigger for me or maybe I have my guard up the temptation isn’t there.

My first hidden trigger was a San Diego Padre day game. Night games I never really drank much because I had to drive home. However, I completely forgot everyone in the stadium seems to be off work throwing down the drinks. Everyone is super friendly, willing to buy drinks etc. I was so on the verge of having “just one” but instead I went to the Topa Chica stand and ordered soda and lime. No vodka. I must have ponded a half dozen of those that day. But I made it through it.

Second trigger, Golf. For the first time in my life I played golf without drinking. In the past I’d show up have a few drinks in the club house before heading out. Order a dozen beers in a bag of ice to take on the course and have a couple of twist of vodkas in my bag. All three guys I was with were throwing down the beers and drinks the entire time. This was super tough to resist. Now I golf with my kids who are too young to drink or guys I know who don’t drink.

Last, and this one is a big one. Since I stopped drinking I can’t believe how much my wife just flat out irritates the crap out of me. I’ve even written some of the things that irritate me down and the way she says it. I’ll discuss it with friends to see if it’s me just being irritated since I might be irritable since I’m not drinking. So, now I just don’t engage.

So please share what your unforeseen triggers have been or triggers where you actually did fall off the wagon?

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Yeah man the triggers can be the biggest pain hahahahah. Golf is a big one for me too. Some of my friends in recovery golf every weekend and its alllll they talk about. But learning to manage my emotions and keep calm is a great thing i learned in recovery. I do alot of breathing meditation and that helps alot :ok_hand:

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Ugh yes so many hidden triggers. The one I hate the most is good weather :person_facepalming: makes me immediately want to go outside and ruin everything I’ve worked on.

The most surprising one for me was too many things at once… even too many good things. I relapsed from a year of sobriety because I started grad school, a new job, and bought a house and was feeling amazing, so I thought I deserved champagne. Lesson learned- space things out, and don’t take on too much at once.

Also my partner :grimacing:

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Yea, triggers. Bad day at work. Thinking about my cousin who died 5 yrs ago, or my best friend 10 yrs ago they found floating in the river, or my dead uncle. My dad dying of cancer and refusing kemo. Also good days nice weather and days I would typically “celebrate” birthdays, anniversaries, holidays.

I really gotta stay occupied and stay focused to be AF.

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Wow, you have a lot to handle. Stay strong I’m proud of you getting sober despite all that. Pure motivation for lots of readers on here.

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I rarely get triggered anymore. The odd time I do but its not very often. In the beginning, i swear everything was a trigger. These ranged from: wanting to use to escape intense emotion from having a bad day, serious medical stuff my family was facing, stress, wanting to increase my mood when i had an overly good day, money and paydays, certain music, certain weather/seasons, mental health stuff, trauma from my past, drug use on tv, my hubby counting money, certain vehicles that reminded me of the sex trade from back home… Really anything back in the day was an excuse to use. I had to drop the association btwn certain daily tasks and drugs. Now paydays are no issues, weather isnt an issue, nothing is a good enough reason to use. It really isnt. But in the beginning, bcuz addiction occupied alot of my mind, everything seemed to be connected to it.
Its great that ur aware of what triggers u. Then a plan can be made for each trigger and how u can work thru it safely to prevent drinking/using

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We have alot in common, football weekends on the TV our tough for me. Hopefully I can get over the nervous feelings and learn to enjoy one of my favorite pleasures without my mind thinking about those nasty triggers…

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In the beginning it was more difficult. Now, i occasionally have the thought of how would i feel if i used. Then, i quickly remember how far i have come and how disappointed i would be. My mind thinks so much clearer. I am so thankful for my sober mind. <3

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Its just a testament to the amount I drank and the excuses I’d give myself. I really never needed a reason it was just the move after work, good bad and in-between. Once I broke that pattern I was truly free. 99 days today :blush:

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I never thought pay day could be a trigger but makes complete sense. Money for drugs and the bar. That’s why I wanted to post this topic so people could prevent themselves from walking directly into temptation

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A warm or hot day just getting done with farm work moving pipe. The old man cracks one and doesn’t think twice. He’s a normie.
Happened a couple weeks ago and I had to walk away and make like i was looking for a cat in the barn. It passed quickly.

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Feeling rejected is a trigger for me.

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For me, main trigger are headaches and I get them often, even now…
Until painkillers bring pain down I want my drink so bad, even after 50 months (Yes months) sober.

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Tought I would write an endless list and remained blocked. Not for the lack of triggers, but… it seems as I cannot remember most of them, though I certainly “feel” them, “notice” them when they present themselves.

  1. Airports
  2. The end of a good day when I feel I’ve accomplished something good (as a trigger, I hate it, because it seems the sneakiest of all)
  3. When my son, a prepubescent, begins acting moody
  4. Returning from the hiking. I started going the last spring, not that often, because my knee doesn’t like rocky parts of the trails, but it is fun. It’s kinda ironic that, after a day spent surrounded by nature, you want to introduce poison into your system.
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All the emotional stuff that comes up in sobriety. The emotions that I used to drink away now demand to be felt and that can be overwhelming. In the past when I would have reached for a drink because I was overwhelmed or angry or frustrated I now try to name and feel the emotion instead of pushing it aside. It has been a gift to be able to pause and name an emotion after so many years just squashing them down.

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Too many feelings is definitely a trigger for me. Earlier this summer my dog died, and I got so drunk. My mom got married and I had too many happy feelings, and I rationalized drinking. It’s hard to stop and check yourself in the midst of all that, and often if I’m just in a low stretch where I feel low-grade depressed it’s hard to ignore the feeling that no one cares about you, or if you drink, even if you know in your head it’s not true.

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