I was kind of in shock that he had said it.
“I’m going to force you to have a beer at the holiday party, mate”.
Being a teetotaler in the workplace is hard. Being a teetotaler in the workplace around Christmas? Fuck that’s the hardest time of all. But seriously?
Why on earth would someone say that they were going to force me to have a beer at the holiday party?
It’s around this time of year that people often overindulge on things like alcohol, food or extra-marital indiscretions and I think that most likely the problem comes from the other people. Other people will feel guilty, shameful and perhaps even a bit jealous of people who don’t overindulge during the holiday time.
This isn’t to say that I’m perfect - far from it! In fact, I was most likely the one who would ring lead these kinds of things back when I used to drink. I remember a specific time where I was at a holiday party and got so bad that I had to call my wife to pick me up. She loaded the kids into the car at 2 am to pick me up. Not great.
It took me a long time to get to where I am today but it fundamentally came down to a few key points that anyone can master:
- Know your triggers
- Build the right support systems
- Develop new routines
- Focus on health
There isn’t a day that goes by where something happens or reminds me of the old way of drinking and a tiny voice in the back of my mind says I should go for it. Society won’t help you in this front - especially at this time of year.
Which brings me back to the other day and the guy who told me he was going to force me to drink a beer. I gently reminded him in a non confrontational manner that I didn’t drink and I didn’t appreciate his joke. It was tough but in the end made me feel 100% better. This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you the impact it had on him. But you know what?
I don’t give a fuck what he thinks. I’m sober for me and my family.
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