Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

[Blues Dancer]

I'm new, and a bartender. I can't quit my job right, nor do I particularly want to. I do want to remain AF and continue working. Just wondering if there is anyone else out there like me with some tips to share. I have a fully stocked bar at that house that I never touch. I don't even think about it. Work is a different story. I stayed sober 4 years at the same bar. No problem. This time it's been tough. Any fellow bartenders with tips on how to get the through the night?

[Doggygirl]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Hi Blues Dancer. I'm not a bar tender any more but used to be. That was in the early heavy drinking days so I can appreciate the special challenge you face!

I also go to AA and there are a couple of bar tenders who I see in meetings from time to time. One of them told the other one at some point that in Chicago, there are some meetings specifically geared towards people in the hospitality industry. Wouldn't surprise me if there was something similar in Vegas. Dont' know how you feel about AA, but it might be a place to hook up with others in your business even if you never wanted to work the steps, etc. (many people don't)

Hope some others come along who can help!

DG

[Guest]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

That's a tough call Blues Dancer. I've done that job myself.
'Barkeepers Disease' is well known. All you can do is keep busy. Try handwashing glasses and keep your mouth full of mints. Otherwise clean up the tables and keep moving.
Idleness is the problem. Good Luck.

[hillsidetime]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Hi Blues Dancer, although I am not a bar tender, I do understand how your situation would be very difficult, especially on bad days. Like you, I still have booze in the house for guests and my wife, and I don't drink it. I don't have any hints, although, the longer one is sober, the easier it might become, so keep adding those days up. Club soda with lime or lemon on ice is a pretty nice drink. All the best,
Hill

[IAD]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

In a way are'nt we all bartenders........We seem to be mixing drinks all the time. A friend of my son's mother tends bar, they have a strict code no drinking on the job. Hope you can cope.....if not you might need to get away from the business. Take Care. IAD

[Cinders]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Blues,

IAD brings up a good point. Are you bartending on Saturday nights? In most states, it is illegal for the bartender to drink if they are working.

Or do you wait until closing and drink with your coworkers?

If the latter, I would think a change up might help. Figure out a way to clean up quickly and get home asap.

If the former, you may have to consider changing shifts? Go to afternoon shift on Saturday?

Cindi

[Johnny]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

I think I might have mentioned it before Blues but making plans for the following day might help, especially if - as Cinders mentions - you are likely to drink after a shift. The trouble with bar work which (I have done a bit of myself) is that the constant smell of booze and clink of glasses act as a catalyse for using. It's a tough one my friend and good luck with it. As I said plans for the next day could work, no matter how trivial they are they enable you to see past the night that you find yourself tempted to drink.

[techie]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Blues you mentioned in your post that you had four year of sobriety while working at the same bar. What worked for you then? What's changed? I see others have provided plenty of excellent suggestions, but you may hold the key. You have managed to function in that environment AF for quite some time previously!

[jimmyb198]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

I'm in a very similar position...I play piano and sing in a "dueling piano bar"...for the last 11 years...hour on hour off....always free booze....always party party....always drunk....not sure what to do....It's almost impossible for me not to drink..I went to rehab last year after my wife and kids left...Luckily they came back but i'm slipping back to my old tricks and feel I might loose them again...This is my job...I make 6000 a month and need this job...but it's destroying me and my family....I need a new vocation clearly... any advice?

[Doggygirl]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Jimmy, it sounds like your first choice is to drink or not drink. If you are the kind of addicted drinker I am, then you might be faced with finding a way to not drink, or losing everything.

If you can't find a way to do your current work and not drink, then you have to change jobs. However, if you've been through rehab then you probably already know that the "geographic solution" (in it's various forms - including job changes) doesn't work all by itself.

Several of us were *talking* just this past week about how we have downsized and changed our lives and are living much happier with less these days. So it IS possible to radically change your life and survive and even be happier than before.

I personally could not be happy I don't think, working day in and day out in a drinking environment. I would either be drinking myself and miserable / dying as a result, or miserable not drinking.

A tough situation for sure. But one that you can overcome if you are brutally honest with yourself and have the courage to change what you can.

DG

[savon19]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

I hope I'm not out of line, but Overit2007 (who lives close by!) could be someone good to talk to. I'm pretty sure that my first post to her was: WHAT, You're a Bartender??

I'm still amazed about that. You might be just the perfect person for her to talk to! Well, and you.. her. You could understand things way better than I can.

Send her a message (you can blame mel!). She's a very nice woman with adorable 5 y.o. son - I hope you talk to her!

[Blues Dancer]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Thanks for all the great advice. I did drink last night. I can't quit my job, but I do have to find a solution. I really want to go on antabuse or something like it, but the side effects I've researched are horrendous. My biggest problem is that I'm a blues dancer and Saturdays are when we do class and practice. I have managed to convince self that I can't do it sober. So, I'm at the end of my rope with this. If I do it again. I'm giving up dancing. I stayed sober for so long in the bar, and this is really mean to say, but I didn't want to be like "them". Now, I'm worse. Well, enough of the self loathing. I know what I have to do. Again thank you to everyone for all the support.

[Sunnyvalenting]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

I am on baclofen and as a result am "immune" to the cravings which were formerly quite severe and triggered in certain environments. I think I could be a bartender if I needed or wanted to and not be affected by the cravings or risk relapse. You may want to consider this option. Sounds like you have a great deal of "home base" willpower but at work the rules change for you. Try to figure out why that is. I sense it is the feeling that "all those people can drink so why shouldn't I?" or something like that. Heck, I was jealous of people in movies and books who could drink! Anyway, welcome to this forum. Lots of good options and resources here.
Sunny

[OverIt2007]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

Hi Blues,

Yes, I am a bartendar and a cocktail waitress/food server. I have been in the bar/server business for years and years. I wish I had a success story here for you but I dont. I find that working with, and around alcohol when you have a problem with it is very very difficult. In fact, I was just about to post a new thread intitled "Your surroundings mattter" or something like that.

I would also like to give you a few things to think about. I have known a couple of guy friends bartenders who were former alcoholics. They could still bartend and stay dry. I alway thought this was amazing, but I think the point is.. when you are ready to be sober, your surroundings really should not matter, and even if you work in a bar. I think getting sober is something that you have to want more than anything.

Let me ask you this? If you were not a bartendar, say you were a computer guy or something, do you think your drinking problems would just go away? It is your surroundings that make you drink or would you drink regardless of where you work? Im just curious, because I have to ask myself these same questions as I am around the booze all the time too.

Looking forward to getting to know you better, and I really do believe in the right frame of mind, or with the right meds, you could even continue bartending and be sober. Maybe we can figure out how to help each other.

Oh, I wanted to add something Blues. Two of my most favorite people on here (well there are so many) have had HUGE success with Antabuse. In fact, they keep encouraging me to try it (im getting close really!) They both had incredible success with Antabuse, so dont be so sure to rule it out. Talk to you later!

[Sunnyvalenting]

Are there any other bartenders out there trying to get sober?

I would definitely reccommend baclofen before antabuse. The reason people relapse is the cravings which the baclofen suppresses significantly or entirely in most people. Once you get rid of them with the baclofen you can do what you want where you want. Antabuse is quite dangerous and toxic.
Good Luck