"Do you want a drink?" My reply, "Yes please. An iced tea." No excuses and no need to explain myself or my sobriety.

I remember when I went to my nieces wedding, there were over 200 people in attendance at the reception and not one person questioned what I was drinking but I think they all must have assumed the drink I had in my hand had alcohol in it because everyone of theirs did...... or am I assuming too?

God Bless

Interesting that you can be vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free and no one really questions it, but when you say you don't consume alcohol some eyebrows are raised. I'd like to see a movement in this country that embraces sobriety as a lifestyle and not necessarily the result of addiction. I choose sobriety as a healthy lifestyle and way of life...

In the last almost 25 yrs, I've been to clubs, wedding receptions, parties, etc and not once have I been questioned about drinking diet coke. I was self conscious about it but no one else was.

But I was so happy when my sponsor told me that I could say no and not have to explain my way out of the situation. It was one of many epiphanies for me.

For much of my life I would have been obsessed by what other people thought. This manifested itself not just an inability to say ‘No’ but also being tortured by simple tasks such as walking across a crowded room or speaking in front of a group of people.

One of the great side benefits that have come from dealing with alcoholism is an increase in self-confidence to the point where I am no longer a hostage to other people’s opinions. ‘No’ is indeed a complete sentence and there is usually no need to add excuses or justification to it.

There is an interesting article at the link below on The Power of No.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201311/the-power-no

Becomes easier and easier to say no thanks or asking for a soda when asked if they can get you a drink.