How to Drink Less Without Quitting Your Social Life

We may fumble, make mistakes, and almost certainly feel uncomfortable or a little awkward. We learn from our missteps, and the initial discomfort is gradually replaced by confidence. That’s what the Result pillar is all about—embracing the entire journey, celebrating the wins, and learning from the hiccups. Another reason someone with alcohol addiction may blame others is to cope with their underlying guilt. Feelings of guilt and shame commonly underlie alcoholism, and they occur when an alcoholic blames themself for their addiction.

Look for social events or activities that don’t revolve around alcohol. Attend concerts, art exhibitions, sporting events, or volunteer activities focusing on shared interests or experiences rather than drinking. Look for cultural festivals, fitness classes, or hobby-based Sober living house groups. Exploring new and diverse activities can provide alternative avenues for socializing, creating memories, and connecting with others. Many people wonder how to justify not drinking alcohol.

• However, you need to put yourself first and remain confident in saying ‘no’, stand your ground and resist any advances to get you to imbibe.
• If you don’t drink or you do drink and feel good about the role alcohol plays in your life, I love you, carry on.
• Seek out individuals who appreciate and respect your choices.
• Your voice is a powerful tool in resisting peer pressure.

Real Advice for Socializing at Work When Alcohol’s Not Your Thing

• Here are a few tips on how to stay sober at the bar without ruining your’s and everyone else’s time.
• Instead, just tell them that you’re a recovering alcoholic and leave it at that.
• Feeling left out when you’re the only one not drinking can be challenging, but there are strategies that can help.
• If someone pushes, you can repeat yourself, change the subject, or step away.
• I went with them to the bar just so I can hang out with them and spend time with them and try to be sociable.
• If you have a drink when you didn’t plan to, the first rule is to be kind to yourself.
• I also highly recommend this podcast episode from Andrew Huberman.

Virgin mojitos are Sober living house especially tasty and look like the real thing if you are trying to avoid prying questions about your beverage choice. Of course, always be aware of your triggers and avoid drinking anything that may be too similar to the alcoholic drinks you once favored. People who respect you as a person will honor your decision to abstain from alcohol. If someone continues to pressure you to drink, the best approach is to simply leave the party. Don’t put your sobriety at risk by continuing to spend time with people who won’t honor the progress you’ve already made in your recovery journey.

Keep learning

• You may have started this year with Dry January, but it doesn’t need to stop there.
• Ultimately, it’s up to each person to decide what their relationship with alcohol looks like over time.
• Share this news with others as good news in an optimistic manner.
• This answer also sets a positive example of prioritizing career growth over social drinking, which can be inspiring to others.
• In the beginning of your recovery, you have to be mindful of what you interact with.
• In treatment settings, we attempt to teach our patients who suffer from an alcohol use disorder to cope with the realities of an alcohol-infused world.

So I always give people the same respect that I’m hoping to get myself,” says Foster. This means that just as he doesn’t like people prying into his reasons, he doesn’t dig too deep into others’. No matter your situation, says Pomeranz, you have the right to choose whether you tell your story.

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It can be difficult for those drinking to understand why someone else doesn’t want to join in with their drinking. Yet, there is never a good reason for any person to force another person to have a drink they don’t want. It’s not right to make another person feel they’re not fitting in because of this preference.

Prepare your responses

When trying to cope with these factors, it is sometimes easier to blame others rather than face the truth. One form of therapy that is especially useful in cases of alcoholism is cognitive behavioral therapy4, or CBT. This form of therapy allows people to overcome distorted ways of thinking, replace them with healthier thought patterns and change negative behaviors like drinking. One of the quickest ways to ruin everyone’s time and exclude yourself in the process is by lecturing your friends when you’re telling them why you don’t drink. You do want to come up with an explanation but not one that makes them feel bad for drinking.

Joining a gym, taking fitness classes, or going to a yoga studio is another fantastic way to make friends. The connections you make from these activities will likely be with people passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re sober or not, an essential quality of a good friend is one who encourages and supports you to be healthy. If a 12-step program doesn’t sound appealing, you can look for other support groups. Many will organize substance- and alcohol-free events to help fill members’ evenings and weekends.

• After all, everyone else is drinking and one person staying sober makes the rest look bad.
• Saying no to a drink can feel hard, especially if the people around you are used to your easy yes at every pour.
• If that sounds overly optimistic and simple, you’re not entirely wrong.
• Meet at a coffee shop, a park, or around someone’s house.
• With this kind of teamwork, staying sober and getting used to this new lifestyle is much easier.
• Setting goals can help you get the most out of the gathering and navigate tricky situations.

Step 2: Make a simple plan before you go out

If you want to stop drinking but quitting seems hard or even impossible, remember that drinking probably feels hard sometimes too. We can do hard things (more recommendations on how below). Distraction can work wonders when it comes to gracefully avoiding sticky situations.

Read on to learn how not to drink when everyone else is. When a friend or family member is overdoing it with drinking, it doesn’t necessarily mean they have to quit completely. Many people without serious alcohol problems find ways to slow down and cut back without eliminating alcohol from their lives completely. Just remember that drinking (or not drinking) is a personal choice. You can still have a good time with your friends, even if you’re the only one not drinking — as long as you and your friends are all cool with each other’s choices.

Explore the 6 stages of changing your relationship with alcohol and find out what to focus on in your stage. Cravings are another problem area that come up with people looking to cut back. The good news about cravings is they generally only last 15 to 20 minutes. So if you’re able to do something else for that amount of time, like go for a walk, take a shower, call a friend – you’ll probably bypass the most intense part. That self-control takes a while to build, but it’s very helpful.

Effects of Peer Pressure: How the Teen Brain Responds

Everyone has their own reasons why they don’t want to drink alcohol – keep reminding yourself of yours if you feel like giving in to peer pressure. Don’t be afraid to open up about these reasons to trusted individuals just in case you need someone else to remind you as well. Throughout the course of an alcohol recovery journey, there will be situations that challenge even the most seasoned person in recovery. In the beginning stages, typically one immerses themself into a community void of alcohol and alcohol-related activities. When surrounded by like-minded individuals, the likelihood of maintaining sobriety increases. Think about which friendships will be supportive of your sober life going forward.

Do what you can to avoid drinking, but for the most part be low key about it. Like I mentioned at the start of the article, if some people find out you don’t drink, they can get surprisingly defensive and challenging about it. They may feel you have something against how they live their lives, or that you think you’re better than them.