As of today I’ve decided to start my sobriety, I am extremely nervous because next week I will be attending a music festival with friends and I know there will be an abundance of alcohol all around the entire weekend. Anyone have tips on to make it through? As of now I’m thinking of just keeping Red Bull or some sort of soda in my hand, my major issue with drinking is I feel like I constantly have to have something in my hand to have a good time. All suggestions are appreciated and welcomed!
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A month ago a friend and I went to a Machine Gun Kelly concert together in AC. Since coming home from rehab we have been to one other concert together and a couple wrestling shows but this was different because we were in a pit and it was a much bigger crowd than the first concert. I was anxious all damn day for this same reason. People were drinking, people were smoking weed inside, even before the show had started, the venue filled up with more and more people (doesn’t help that I get really anxious in crowded places and I struggle with being antisocial) and I held onto my friend for dear life lol. There were a few times I had to step away and contain myself but once the show actually started and the music was playing, I got lost in the moment and felt fine… so that would be my advice to you. Just get lost in the moment and enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about what other people around you are doing. I wish you the best of luck. You’ve got this
Edit: I hope this isn’t terrible advice. After reading other comments, I do agree that if this is your day one you should avoid at all costs… but I would suggest missing out on having a good time if you’re not comfortable with it. It all depends on where you’re at with your self control and you nerves
Sell your tickets and don’t go.
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The issue is the obsession is still there. If you still think about drinking this event could be tough, but not impossible. I have been there done that. It’s always best to go with sober friends which you need. I belong to the AA community, and my life is fantastic, I have a lot of sober friends, we do everything together. I’ve been sober now 15 months, not a pro for sure, but the obsession to drink is gone for me now, so doing festivals, and other get together where there is alcohol is not hard for me, but, I am 1 drink away from messing it up. I never go to these places alone, I always have sobriety surrounding me. I have a lot of fun, laugh a lot. Life is good. Do not forget to live life, and enjoy. It’s much better without alcohol, and drugs. Stay in touch, let me know how your doing. Thank you for reading this, I hope it helps
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I wouldn’t be able to go if it was me. I had to get quite a bit of sober time under my belt before I would consider anything like that.
Good luck.
Always have your own drink in your hand and have an escape plan.
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I went to a Floggy Molly and Dropkick Murphys show the day I quit. It sucked. I mean, the show was great, but the constant desire to drink, to see it all around and NOT be able to partake, it was torment.
2 days later, I had tickets to see Rise Against and I gave my ticket to a friend, I couldn’t do that again.
So, if I was in your shoes, and there was one iota of concern about your sobriety or mental well being, I’d stay home until the time comes where that is no longer a concern.
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There’s no way I’d be going with only a week of sobriety under my belt. I had to protect my sobriety at all costs. I did not attend any events the first few months, including the holidays with family and friends. It’s been a few years and I can honestly say, I did not miss out on anything. I found there were many more fun things to do once I felt steady on my feet. I’ve seen it time and time again, where people go around alcohol too early in sobriety and wind up relapsing either that day or a few days later.
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I had tickets to see my favorite band about two weeks into sobriety.
They were the best tickets I ever sold.
Selling those tickets gave me the space to get some days of sobriety strung together. From there I took about a year or so off concerts all together. When I finally went back…maybe 14 months into sobriety, I had been rid of the obsession to drink, had a lot of tools in my toolbox, and had a very clear “I get to leave the second I feel tempted” memo out to my friends I was with. With all that under my belt, I was able to enjoy a concert again! And…my experiences with them since have been fantastic.
IMHO……don’t go. Concerts will always be there. But you might not.
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Your sobriety is number one, so you have to do what is necessary to protect it. Do your friends know your situation? Or if not all, then at least one friend? Who is driving? What is your exit strategy if you need to leave? Does the venue have NA drinks available? Are you concerned about what others will think if they catch on that you’re not drinking alcohol? Is it a good idea to drink a caffeinated drink like Red Bull that could make you nervous? So many questions, and I’m not trying to fire them at you to convince you one way or the other. Just have a plan in place that you can stick with, be it don’t go at all, or test the waters as a sober person. I wish you well, whatever you decide. 
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