How to Find Social Activities That Don't Involve Social Drinking

When you stop drinking alcohol, social settings can become a bit more challenging to navigate. After all, a big part of socializing for adults tends to include alcoholic beverages. The good news is that there are still plenty of social activities that don’t have to involve social drinking when you are in recovery. In this article, we will be covering a few ideas that can help you find more activities while staying sober.

Discover New Hobbies

A lot of people tend to socialize as part of their free time instead of having separate hobbies. If you are trying to avoid social drinking situations, you may want to focus on developing different hobbies. This doesn’t have to be a solitary thing since there are plenty of communities out there with like-minded individuals. For instance, you may take up cooking, and there are plenty of cooking classes available where you can meet new friends. Or you can learn how to paint at a local painting class with other people who have the same goal.

Meet Local Communities

Every community has different branches that allow people to get involved depending on what they are interested in. Some common examples of this include communities that help control litter and keep the town looking nice. Other communities may be focused more on charitable acts like serving food at soup kitchens or helping at hospitals and senior facilities. These are just a few examples of local communities you can get involved with, as the options are usually endless. This is a great way to meet people and do things that have meaning without worrying about alcohol being involved.

Get Active

There are many ways of entertaining yourself that are far healthier than going to a bar or restaurant with alcohol being served. One great example of this is spending time outside and being more physically active. You could start hiking or jogging, or you could even join different athletic events in your area. These are all great options for expanding your friend group and meeting more people who have a common interest.

Explore New Interests

Speaking of interests, when you quit drinking alcohol, you are probably going to have a lot of free time. The good news about this is that it opens up a lot of opportunities for exploring all of the interesting things around you. You may start to visit local museums or art galleries to get in touch with your creative side. Or you may want to join some nighttime college classes to expand your education for more career opportunities. These are all roundabout ways that allow you to meet different groups of people and socialize in a non-alcoholic setting.

How to Navigate Alcohol In Social Settings

No matter how hard you try, you will most likely still find yourself in situations where there is alcohol. Because of this, you will want to make sure you are prepared for the situation and know how to act accordingly. Here are some methods you can use to navigate social settings where alcohol is present.

Be Honest

As embarrassing as it may feel, the best solution when you are staying sober is to be honest with the people you are around. Honesty is also the only way to remove the stigma around alcoholism. Let friends and family know that you will not be drinking and that this is not negotiable. Once you draw that line, you shouldn’t have to continually repeat yourself or remind people in settings where there is drinking. It also gives people the opportunity to prepare options for you and create a more amicable environment.

Provide Other Drink Options

There are some social situations where you can go above and beyond to create a better environment for yourself. One example is providing non-alcoholic beverages if you are going to a party at a friend's or family member's house. This can help to take away the guilt if you have to decline alcoholic beverages and allows you to still feel included in the fun. It is also a great way of showing other people that there are still plenty of other fantastic drink options that don’t include alcohol.

Avoid Boozy Settings

When you are staying sober, there are certain situations you will have to avoid, whether you want to or not. You want to make sure you are not putting yourself in situations where the temptation is too great or too triggering. Because of this, you may have to completely avoid going to specific social settings such as bars and clubs. If the main point of the outing is to drink, this is also another situation that is best avoided.

Find a Sober Buddy

One of the best ways to avoid temptation in social settings is to have somebody who can hold you accountable. The best way to do this is to find somebody else who is also staying sober. They can become your sober buddy so that you know there will always be somebody who is sober at whatever event you go to. They can also hold you accountable if you put yourself in situations where there is too much temptation. If you can’t find a local sober buddy, you can still find like-minded people online who you can turn to when you are struggling.

Conclusion

When you are staying sober, social activities can be difficult to navigate since social drinking is so prevalent. This can make it feel uncomfortable to go to different events with friends and family members since you won’t be able to drink with them. You will need to find alternatives to these kinds of social outings as well as cultivate ways to avoid triggers and still enjoy going out. It requires a delicate balance of holding yourself accountable in difficult situations but not actively putting yourself in triggering environments. It is also important that you have a community or at least a few people who are also sober that you can confide in when you feel isolated or tempted.