Social gatherings

Of course, learning to socialize without booze (or with less booze) is a biggie. We’re used to using alcohol as a social lubricant, something that makes us feel more fun and at ease around other people. Because we know why it’s so hard to stop at “just one drink,” this is complicated—we may want that social lubricant, but perhaps one leads to ten and a trip to the porcelain throne more often than we’d like. To remedy this, we get really clear on what sort of social activities do and do not align with our values. We also begin fostering strong boundaries, so even if we’re in a social setting that is a little risky, we’re able to stick to our guns and drink in an aligned way.

Overstimulation

Much like stress, overstimulation is something we attempt to dampen down through the use of alcohol. Overstimulation might look like anxiety, elation, exhaustion, or even too many good things happening at once. Our physical bodies have a unique threshold for these kinds of feelings—when we’re past our threshold, our bodies are desperately seeking regulation. Alcohol is a quick fix for this, with all sorts of nasty consequences. Instead, we build in tools that allow our central nervous system to relax and return to homeostasis.

Events associated with alcohol

We touched on this yesterday, but it’s high time we all untangle our association with booze and celebration. We’ve become so used to associating alcohol with things like weddings, birthdays, graduation parties… we even drink at baby showers now. Why do we do this? When we use alcohol, not only are we numbing the bad—we’re also numbing the good. We’re dampening these joyful occasions, blurring the edges, or even forgetting them altogether. When we flip our mindset on needing alcohol at these sorts of events, we build resilience against unhealthy drinking habits.