I am a sober companion for someone who means the world to me. I want to learn more ways to provide effective support on their journey.
Please share what worked for you, and maybe what triggered you into drinking more, even if it was done with the best intentions.
Thanks in advance!
Comments
Please go check out /r/stopdrinking and /r/AlAnon
Early in my recovery my biggest trigger was people treating me differently and walking on eggshells. I couldn’t stand hanging out with people and knowing they weren’t drinking only because of me. Treat me normally is all.
You can’t help them, but you can work on the ways you enable them to keep drinking. This is what al-anon, the 12 step program is for.
Also if you grew up in a home where alcohol was abused, I would strongly recommend that you have a look at “adult children of alcoholics”
Both changed my life.
I used to drink 40 shots or so a day for a really really long time. It depends on the individual and if they have stopped yet but they may or may not require medical supervision since withdrawal can kill you.
Either way they’re gonna feel like shit for a bit. Personally I just want me to treat me normally. When someone is all weird about drinking infront of me or has to let me know that “there will be drinking” at an event it feels really infantilizing.
I mostly just want to be treated normally. But again everyone’s different.
I don’t have much to add but 8-12 drinks every day is definitely a problem.
I’m more of a social drinker and will splurge maybe once a month when getting together with friends or just a big night out but the next couple days I’m hurting.
My gf and I stopped together(I had a bigger problem than her) and just the accountability, being present, and the fear we were killing ourselves was enough. We have the occasional drink on a date night but I went from ≈50 shots a week to maybe a beer a week
For me, it was a complete lifestyle change. Almost everything had to be reworked, including who I hung out with and what I valued. I no longer went to parties or bars.