Sorry to hear you were uncomfortable. I have been sober for almost 17 months now and I still feel I would be uncomfortable in the type of situation you describe. I have been out to dinner and to a wedding reception where liquor was flowing freely. It wasn't too bad but I still would rather just avoid it. Had I been to either of those events after only a month of sobriety I think I would have felt very uncomfortable. Good job on not drinking BTW!

Hi donscone, I sure do remember those feelings. Pretty much my entire first year sober I felt uncomfortable being at social functions. I had to stay away, my sobriety was too important to put it at risk. When I did start socialising more, I'd leave early if I felt uncomfortable. As time goes on, I realise that not everyone drinks at parties, I just used to beeline for the ones that did. Now I notice there are plenty that choose not to and I enjoy it more. xxx

Hang in there bro! It get's better! Don't give up!

Hi Donscone, I am sure you felt like a fish out of water at your work night out. I remember going to such nights out and feeling like I had the word "Alcoholic" tatooed on my forehead. I felt I would never feel at ease.

A bit of time down the line and some good AA behind me, I am a lot different now. There should be some good AA in your area too, I went to one or two meetings when I was up there.

You can find some good support here - and on the Alcoholics Anonymous group we set up on DS.

Hopefully soon (if you don't already) you will have a sponsor and get through the 12 Steps - you can get through that in a matter of weeks if you really want to start feeling the difference.

I took Antabuse years ago but it didn't stop me drinking and side effects were major with me, it made me seriously ill. Another thing was that when I did manage to stay off the pop I couldn't stay awake - which got a bit serious at work....

I haven't tried Campral though and I don't think that has any of those dangers as far as I have heard.

Stick with the alkies just for now, they will know where you are coming from.

Try and be glad that you have come so far without a drink - concentrate on the moment and avoid looking ahead as far as you can.

Thanks for the replies. A nice long walk with the dogs in the cold has calmed me down a bit. I will take today as a positive as it made me realise that I am not better like I was kidding myself I was and that my meetings are not stupid and do help.

Here's the link for our AA group, should take you straight there when you click on it:

http://dailystrength.org/groups/alcoholicsanonymous

Hey Don, I took campral for a short time last year & I experienced a bit of anxiety in the beginning. It will get better, give your system time to adjust to it. I felt very awkward at my company Christmas party this year, but found the small tiny table of non drinkers, stayed with them & then left early.

Maybe give it a little more time before placing yourself in a situation like that, the day will come when you have no problem with it, but for now..might wanna just stay away.

Good luck-hope you feel better.

Yea...I know how you feel...Ibenn sober over 2 months...But I did not put my self in tempting situation...so...I'm just waiting to test my self....What you experienced is anxiety,that hapen to me to....also I' feel upset and angry,that I'm not like other people who have couple beers and enjoy it...Well...Maybe time gonna heal this,maybe some of us are just destined to stay away from temptation.....Isolated island will be great...:-)

I am having the same issues as you, socializing is enervating for me these days.

Thanks again for all the replies, feeling a lot better today. I think you are right and I will stay away from going out in big groups for a while. 1 or 2 people is ok. I might try again but not for a few months. Maybe it was just too much cola.