NA Beer?

[MyOwnWoman]

Have any of you abbers found that drinking non-alcoholic beer or wine became a step toward relapsing? I've had a few really painful days with my daughter - the first time she's been in big trouble, and after 4 months AF I was thinking more about drinking than I have in a long time. I ended up getting some NA beer. And boy is it good. On one hand I just like the taste of beer so am enjoying that. But am I walking a slippery line?

[Winefree]

NA Beer?

Haven't made it that far, but anything sounds bad at this point if you can't abstain
Anything non AL with calories doesn't make sense for me

[cymru]

NA Beer?

For me, I drank to get drunk. I rarely enjoyed the taste of beer or wine, but it was there to get me drunk and away from reality. For me, alc free beer/wine is pointless, as it doesn't do the job intended. Would I drink 4 ltrs of pinapple juice and lemonade because I liked the taste? Nope! But if it was cider, then no probs!!!
All the best.

[last call]

NA Beer?

I totally agree with you cymru I'm the same exact way.

[mario]

NA Beer?

100 per cent with cymru, and what he said,i think it would be putting you on the wrong track

[Guitarista]

NA Beer?

Mow. From here, and taking all you have said into consideration, including your af time, i sense that you are walking on very thin ice.
Best wishes.................G.

[Marshy]

NA Beer?

MOW,

I disagree with everyone else. Haha. I used to have AF beer in the first months of being AF when I really wanted to drink and found it did the trick nicely. I didn't make me want the "real" thing (because I wanted that anyway!), and felt like enough of a "treat" to actually prevent me from wanting the real thing. It wasn't a slippery slope for me.
I haven't had any for months now. It helped me over a hump and now I don't need it.

If it works for you, great! WHATEVER works, great. And you're obviously aware that it might trigger something and you're keeping an eye on that.

Well done on the four months!

[Doggygirl]

NA Beer?

MOW, I'm with Marshy. If NA Beer keeps you from the real thing, then go for it. I too drank some NA beer late last summer / early fall to help me through some drinking situations that otherwise would have been more difficult. I couldn't drink more than 2.5 cans bottles as I just got full so for me, it didn't seem to trigger the old drinking behavior (where I would have kept drinking it until it was ALL gone).

I think this is a "your mileage may vary" situation. If you feel that NA beer is making you think MORE about wanting the real thing, then it's a bad idea. If you feel like you would have gone for the real thing if not for the NA beer, then the NA beer was a good choice.

I DO think it's important to progress in our sober lives to where no particular beverage or substance consumes too much space in our heads. As an example of what I mean, sugar is like that for me. I need to stay completely away from sugar. If I eat some sugar, I start craving sweets to the point where I'm thinking of donuts or cake all day long. NOTHING should occupy my mind like that. (which is exactly how AL used to occupy my mind - all consuming all day long)

I'm sorry to hear about the issues with your daughter. I hope this passes quickly for you both! We alkies are used to hiding from our problems by sticking our head in the bottle. It can be very scary and difficult at first to face problems head on as that's not how we've typically done things. No beveral - AL or not - is going to make our problems easier, or make them go away without the necessay effort. But of course you know that already!!!

DG

[SAUSAGE]

NA Beer?

I too have found NA beer very helpful in my recovery yet I wasn't really a beer drinker before I quit (wine was my poison). I drink AF Cobra Beer which they sell in the UK and I find it excellent (no other AF beer seems as good). Sometimes I just fancy something cold and not tea(never drink coffee) hot chocolate, soft drinks/ juices, - I'm not one for fizzy stuff anyway and an AF beer hits the spot. My personal view is that it doesn't make me crave real beer - but that's just me - others could be different. I have however not found an AF wine that I particularly like.

[AAthlete]

NA Beer?

MyOwnWoman;595665 wrote: ...and after 4 months AF I was thinking more about drinking than I have in a long time. I ended up getting some NA beer. And boy is it good. On one hand I just like the taste of beer so am enjoying that. But am I walking a slippery line?

Way slippery slope MOW, if you want my $.02. Your thinking a lot about drinking right now and you like the taste of beer, right. Not much of a big jump from NA beer to regular beer... I guess the even more important thing is why are you thinking about it at all after four months? It's a reaction to a stressful situation, right? If you're anything like me that is what got me here in the first place - using alcohol to deal with situations that I couldn't control.

Ultimately only you can make the decision though - just spend some time thinking about the reason you are doing it.

[MyOwnWoman]

NA Beer?

Thanks everybody.
I drank two of the NA beers last night. By the time I got home with them I wasn't thinking about booze at all. I enjoyed them - having something besides sparkling water, tea or diet coke to drink - and didn't make me think of real alcohol. And I even noticed that I enjoyed that I could enjoy the taste without the buzz that I didn't always like but sought out anyway.

I was mostly a wine drinker the last few years, but before that I drank a LOT of beer. I have always liked the taste of good beer - and nothing is more quenching at the end of a warm Saturday. That's what I got with this NA last night.

I appreciate the warnings too - they will keep me mindful to watch for that sneaky beast.

[rustop61]

NA Beer?

I have had the same experience as Sausage. My usual drink was wine and hubby still drinks it. AF beer often stopped me pouring that glass of wine from the opened bottle.

Rustop

[crazyforwine]

NA Beer?

I also think it's fine, as long as it doesn't induce cravings. Right now I am drinking diet tonic. Does it taste like a gin and tonic? Kind of. But it does not make me crave the real thing. As summer approaches, I think we need to be creative in finding things to drink that are satisfying, cold and delicious, that do not make us want to have booze.

Ann

[MyOwnWoman]

NA Beer?

That's it exactly Ann - if I can have an NA beer on a hot day, it will kill the craving for real beer.

[LVT25]

NA Beer?

MOW--I keep some NA beer around in case I feel like having one. I like it with tomato juice and some big green olives. It is weird, I don't crave beer like I thought I would--hubby even took some of mine out of his fridge because it was taking up his beer room!:H

Some people think it is a slippery slope and it really is for some. But for me, like you, it's just something different to drink once in awhile! :h