Overcoming triggers and wobbles on your Sober journey

How to recognise and get through triggers or wobbles when going sober.

Thank you so much for reading my blogs, I hope the previous posts Deciding to be a sober Gal, What to expect in early Sobriety and attending your first big event have been a help and encouraged you on your journey.  If you haven’t read them yet, WHY NOT?  Go check them out. 😊.

It’s a given that the first few months are going to be hard, however, what happens when you are a few months down the line, feeling fabulous and suddenly you have that overwhelming voice in your head saying, “surely you can give up now” “will it really matter if you have a bottle of wine”?

What I will say is, it’s your journey, you do you. It might be ok for you to decide to drink again, however for me, I know without a doubt it would end up being that slippery slope back to where I was querying my drinking habits.  I’ve had these wobbles a couple of times, confident that I can totally manage it, just have one night off and then get back off it.   It’s been a real internal battle but what I had to remind myself was, why would I want to give up on all the hard work an effort I have put into myself for the last 10 months just to have a drink and then no doubt feel like crap in the morning. 

For many though this overwhelming urge to give up can be really stressful.  Just know that it happens to everyone, it all about recognising what the triggers are and dealing with them. 

Emotional triggers -

Emotional triggers are so common before relapse, addiction experts have come up with an acronym: HALT.

·     H – hungry

·     A – angry

·     L – lonely

·     T – tired

 Emotional triggers can come about from anniversaries of losses or traumas and even celebrations. Financial problems and relationship turmoil are also a massive trigger for people. 

Physical or environmental triggers –

Being around people who are drinking, large events, going to places and hanging out with friends that would usually be a drinking session and sometimes even seeing people on TV drinking can be enough to trigger a craving. Stress can also be a huge trigger, especially if you previously rewarded you hard day with a glass of wine.

 The trick is finding new ways to fill your time and reward yourself. For me this includes the following:

The gym – I have found a love for the gym again, Seeing the changes in myself physically and mentally keep me going and are enough for me to talk myself out of reaching for the Vino de Plonk.  The buzz I get from some of the classes feels like a night out too believe it or not.  Friday night Spin class with the old house tunes.  Can’t beat it.

Alcohol free options – These are great when you feel like you are missing out.  It’s usually enough to stave the craving and feel like you have had a beer with pals.   I’ll link some of the best option I have found at the bottom of this post.

TikTok/Instagram – Look at other people’s journeys, and not some boring old school recovery page, real people who are our age and going through the same journey.  They really are a great motivation, they are honest, funny and relatable and can be great for accountability.  Check out Stef- Ex binge drinker, her videos are brilliant!!!!

 

As promised here are some of my fave AF option to help stave those cravings.

The fantastic website Dry drinker also has tons of options depending on what your old tipple of choice was.