How do you handle social gatherings or events where alcohol or drugs are present?
What strategies have helped you stay sober in environments that used to trigger you?
Social anxiety is a huge factor in my journey to substance use. I felt I needed it to be social in any way shape or form. All my relationships were built upon it, all my interactions were clouded, the most fun I had was under the influence. Entering recovery stripped all my coping mechanisms away and forced me to experience the world raw. In the beginning I was always triggered being in social situations. I would get physiological reactions and the only thing I ever knew to make it go away was the one thing I could not have.
That sounds really hard. How did you end up learning out to deal with the social situations without the substance?
Therapy haha CBT challenged my unhelpful thoughts and allowed me to realize no one actually gives a shit more than I do. Started small and reframed my thoughts around what “social” means. It wasn’t going out to bars, parties, group events etc. for me being social is just getting coffee with a friend. Start small and tiptoe into the “size” of social events. But also radical self acceptance. I say weird shit when im anxious, or don’t talk a lot, it is what it is.
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