It can be so daunting to know what you need to stay sober. Whether you’re starting a short-term alcohol-free challenge or committing to long-term sobriety, we have many articles on our Boozemusings website with tips and tools for staying sober. At the end of this article is a short list of those “Tips and Tools” articles, written by different people sharing what worked for them. We decided to add to the list and ask members of our Boom Rethink the Drink Community this question about what they NEEDED in early days to stay sober:

What are the top one or two things you wish you had known sooner when you decided to go alcohol-free?

Here are their answers :

Eat Earlier, Exercise Later, Change Your Mindset, Decide, KEEP it Non Negotiable, Sleep, Treat Yourself, Journal, Read, Post, Be Selfish, Establish Routine, Understand HALT, Breath, Change your environment, Play the Tape Forward, Find Something to do with Your Hands, Be Patient!

What you NEED to Know to Stay Sober

• 1. Eat earlier.  Eating during that “happy hour” time stops the urge to drink.
• 2. Exercise later.  Even going for a walk during the witching hour helps change those old ingrained patterns.
• 3. You have to change your mindset from “trying” or “hoping” you don’t drink to DECIDING you will not drink. This is a choice you are capable of making. You are going to Decide that you don’t drink today, you are not hoping to not drink forever. This is CRITICAL. Once you have DECIDED, keep it NON NEGOTIABLE. Your brain will offer you a million reasons that you need to drink. Deserve to drink. Can handle it this time. If you’re going to stop drinking, you have to stop drinking. You learn it through the doing.
• 4. You will at times be very tired and have trouble concentrating. This is your brain healing. Go ahead and sleep. Sleep heals. In the long run, you will have more focus and energy than you ever had when you thought wine was your rocket fuel.
• 5. Sober treats are so important! Treat yourself often and brag about your treats in Boom with the same enthusiasm as your friends brag about the fancy thing they’re drinking on social media. Those one-week milestone treats in the beginning became monthly…Now I buy the things I’m inspired to, as I don’t spend money on booze anymore!
• 6. Journal.  Write it down, the good and the bad times.  Going back and reading my dark drinking moments have prevented me from picking up a drink many times.
• 7. Be selfish. It’s essential to put your oxygen mask on first.
• 8. My top tool is a solid sober routine. I think for the same reason you mentioned above. The time had to be filled, and there was a lot of it. My drinking routine was solid too (I never deviated from it) and took up all that time. So it had to be replaced with something that would take up all the time, contain things that would keep me from boredom, provide me with stuff to be able to do HALT, and also be something I could count on, like I used to with alcohol.
• 9. Tea and redirecting my thoughts. If I dwell on a mood or craving, it does me in.
• 10. Emotions are first and foremost my biggest triggers. I thought it would be experiences that tripped me up. I thought it would be relationships, socializing, and advertising that would trigger me. But mad, sad, happy, scared-those feelings are all hurdles on my path. My best tools for handling these are deep breaths, staying in the moment, and really focusing on the next best step. I wish I had known sooner how to trust myself when I need to express my feelings. I used to stuff it all and then explode when the wine witch was around. Now I express myself when I need to and feel personal power instead of shame because I did it with a clear sober mind. .
• 11. Change your environment in creative ways. I turned the drink cabinet into a super cool coffee and tea station.  Now it’s my happy place instead of the dark beginning to every evening.  I wish I had known it would be smooth sailing after a bit and how happy not drinking would make me.
• 12. Mindset really matters. So does knowing the truth about the effects of alcohol – despite its pretty package, it’s all poison.
• 13. Playing the tape forward is always my favorite tool, and distraction… distraction… distraction…!
• 14. Find something to do with your hands. Keeping them busy will be a wonderful distraction. Take up a new hobby just to try it – learn to knit or cross stitch, or how to hand sew a quilt, even just a fidget toy will help your brain focus and keep your hands full (no room for a glass). You will need to fill the time you used to spend on drinking. It’s a lot more time than you think, and you will find yourself at loose ends, which leads me to …
• 15. Understand HALT – Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. HALT is real!! Learn it and love it! I also add a B for Bored; that trips me up constantly.

What do you Need to stay sober?

Be patient, give yourself time!

Your brain and body will find ways to « communicate » to you in their own language! Brain fog, tired, grouchy, hungry, sugar cravings, memories, new emotions etc etc. Grab something, anything to replace that alcohol. Whether it be tea, coffee, soda, water, juice, foods, or knitting needles and some great music to distract your mind : have something at hand.

Remember routine, routine, routine. Change it or what’s within it, but stick to what keeps you AF, on track. Switch it up, remove stuff, add stuff. Activities, rest, treats, a new road to your work. Anything. If it gets boring, find ways to spice it up!

Here’s the thing – you can do this. Yeah, there will be rough patches. There will be days you’re ready to call it at 7 pm and go to bed. There will be some itchy situations that you get through by holding on with your fingernails. There will also be more great and wonderful things that happen than I can list.

Be 100% honest with yourself. Write it down, journal, scream it out loud!

For *years* I could barely put a solid week together. I felt terrible about myself, and I drank to feel less terrible. Speaking of oxymorons, there’s a good one for you.

Being here on BOOM is a big part of my toolkit.

I check in and read every day. I send up some high fives and offer a hug when it’s needed. It’s been here for me for 4 1/2 years now and it’s here for you, too.

Find Community. Find your Tribe – Join us at www.BoomRethinktheDrink.com

Grab some Inspiration, Tips and Tools You May Need to Stay Sober

• Celebrating 100 Days Sober by Reaching Back With Tips on Tackling Triggers and Slips
• Tips on the First Month Alcohol Free from a former Gray Area Drinker
• Want to Quit Drinking? Tips From an Everyday Sober Super Hero
• The Magic of the Sober Toolbox to Power Your Will
• Survival Guide to Your First Days Sober
• Ten Ways to Overcome My Drinking Problem
• Demystifying Sober – Survival Guide From My First 10 Days Alcohol-Free
• 8 Tips and Tools to Get Sober and Stay Alcohol-Free
• The Best Defense Is A Good Offense: Keeping Your Sober Toolbox Full
• Tools to Help you Quit Drinking

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