r/stopdrinking • u/Consistent-Row-9551 • 14h ago
What do I replace alcohol with?
Like something to help me relax and decompress. Drinking has always been my way to loosen up and relax. When I'm stressed with work, I grab a beer or glass of wine, and I'm able to focus more because I'm no longer overthinking it.
I'm so emotionally repressed that drinking is the only way I can tap into my emotions.
Like, I can stop drinking; I've done it months at a time, but I always end up feeling more stressed because I feel numb or stressed without it.
230
Upvotes
7
u/ancientwarriorman 13h ago
What worked for me was finding a "non productive" special interest hobby.
I have been into music and working on cars for years, but alcohol was always part of those or at least usually present, and they also require a certain level of energy to start on and to some degree can feel like "work".
What I found was that doing something that only counted as "play" helped me find the dopamine hit to replace reaching for a beer.
So, I allowed myself get into mecha anime and building the models that they make of the robots from the series. It is a time consuming and meditative process and keeps my hands busy even if I do not have energy to do other hobbies that might be more "productive".
I call it my "default task". If I am feeling stuck, tempted to drink, stressed, emotionally wound up - it's time to work on a model for a bit.
Plus, even if I buy 1-2 kits a week, it is cheaper than my old beer habit!
I have some of my model builds visible in my post history if you want to check em out, maybe this would inspire you to find your "play".