Sobriety

[probablynotanymore]

meditation for 20 mins a day really helps me too

[I Am Not Marty Feldman]

I honestly think playing rock/roll or any derivation thereof makes sobriety far too difficult, and playing that kinda music & associating with those kinds of people while sober is either irritating as hell or dull as shit.

[I Am Not Marty Feldman]

I also hate playing music & would be fine never doing it again. Will probably get back to it at some point down the road, but it won't be ROCK & it will have to be mostly about recording. Just sold my amp & it felt great.

[frankie teardrop]

Unless the band is really talented and you love their music, shows are so damn boring sober.

[2 Cold Scorpio]

Unless the band is really talented and you love their music, shows are so damn boring sober.

THIS

Also you may want to start exercising too as a substitute to shows/parties/whatever....sounds corny but it actually kinda works

[Scrod Prickknee]

I was getting bored even though I was huffing enough weed for a farm family. For years. Too dang old for that shit. There were several fun nights/fun bands over the last 5 or so years, but they were mixed into a shit stew.

Never cared at all about drinking, but I'm going to make sure that I bug someone for weed (I quit) if I get stuck at another one.

Exercise is a good call, as well as some sort of deep relaxation method. I've never been able to meditate properly, but I find hiking or biking out in the woods kills both birds for me.

Playing music is fun as heck. It's shows that suck. I had way more fun before getting talked into playing all those shows years back (and since dropping 'em).

[bradx]

I also hate playing music & would be fine never doing it again. Will probably get back to it at some point down the road, but it won't be ROCK & it will have to be mostly about recording. Just sold my amp & it felt great.

i am basically assembling a band of people who do not drink, mainly just to practice and record, because i am straight up TIRED of being around drunks.  i love playing music but cant handle watching smelling and listening to people get fucked up. 

Unless the band is really talented and you love their music, shows are so damn boring sober.

maybe its different for me because i come from nowhere, but as a drunk, i never could drive myself to shows, and when we played, i was generally too hung over to give a shit about the other bands.  now, sober, i can drive myself to shows, so i go see more live music than i ever have in my life, and yeah, its extremely boring, but much more interesting going to milwaukee or whatever than sitting here in manitowoc.

Exercise is a good call, as well as some sort of deep relaxation method. I've never been able to meditate properly, but I find hiking or biking out in the woods kills both birds for me.

Playing music is fun as heck. It's shows that suck. I had way more fun before getting talked into playing all those shows years back (and since dropping 'em).

i exercise daily.  do alot of walking, and drink alot of water. 

and i agree about playing, i love playing, but i told tom and norb, maybe we can do 5 or 6 shows a year because doing 50-60 is killing me.  its just not fun anymore.  4 years of norb being in the band, we dont have to prove anything.  we're in a holding pattern, we have three more gigs booked for 2016, and if we would book another one or two for sept-dec that would be just fine w me...

[Old Kyle]

Playing one gig every couple of months is plenty, to me.

[Eazy-E]

I also hate playing music & would be fine never doing it again. Will probably get back to it at some point down the road, but it won't be ROCK & it will have to be mostly about recording. Just sold my amp & it felt great.

i am basically assembling a band of people who do not drink, mainly just to practice and record, because i am straight up TIRED of being around drunks.  i love playing music but cant handle watching smelling and listening to people get fucked up. 

Unless the band is really talented and you love their music, shows are so damn boring sober.

maybe its different for me because i come from nowhere, but as a drunk, i never could drive myself to shows, and when we played, i was generally too hung over to give a shit about the other bands.  now, sober, i can drive myself to shows, so i go see more live music than i ever have in my life, and yeah, its extremely boring, but much more interesting going to milwaukee or whatever than sitting here in manitowoc.

Exercise is a good call, as well as some sort of deep relaxation method. I've never been able to meditate properly, but I find hiking or biking out in the woods kills both birds for me.

Playing music is fun as heck. It's shows that suck. I had way more fun before getting talked into playing all those shows years back (and since dropping 'em).

i exercise daily.  do alot of walking, and drink alot of water. 

and i agree about playing, i love playing, but i told tom and norb, maybe we can do 5 or 6 shows a year because doing 50-60 is killing me.  its just not fun anymore.  4 years of norb being in the band, we dont have to prove anything.  we're in a holding pattern, we have three more gigs booked for 2016, and if we would book another one or two for sept-dec that would be just fine w me...

You'll never get on the cover of MRR with that attitude.

[tango fistula]

Good point from everyone here...

12 steps work if you work them...and does the Dharma punks book mentioned above...

Sober for 4 months here and playing/going to shows got dull for me
long before I bailed on partying. I have social anxiety and I dont take anything for it...I just don't go to big shows often. The lack of implied obligation liberates me. I play out about once a month. That's more then enough.

Thing is....most bands are just not that good. Drinking and smoking weed makes those ok bands sound better.

I celebrated 33 years of doing shows and putting out records last November...by wondering if 35 is a good number to bail out on. I wondered that at year 30 too...

I exercise every day and do more things like museums and swap meets and exploring weird little towns and places... stuff that doesn't require me to put on the rock and roll thing.

[SLANG EDIT]

I'm sober and a former smoker. I could go for days without drinking, but once I started, I couldn't stop. I missed that "brain off" feeling. A few years ago, I found running. Growing up, I always fucking HATED running. But now it's grown to be meditative, stress relieving and a time where I don't have to think about ANYTHING. I've gone at it so hard that I'm running a marathon a week from Sunday. Aside from coffee and records, it's the only thing that helps me feel normal (with additional aide from Lexapro and Wellbutrin).

[Old Kyle]

Running does wonders for my mental health.

[WINDIAN RECORDS]

Running does wonders for my mental health.

I drink like a fish so I can't speak to sobriety, but I can back this statement 1000%. Used to run cross-country in high school and the beginning of college and ended up hating it hard, but just started back last year and find myself wishing I had more than an hour to dedicate to it at a time.

[nuggetsvolume1]

Dealing with your old punk rock drinking cronies can be a real pain in the ass after sobriety. I went on a "crusade" of bringing some of my old scumbag friends to A.A. meetings; they usually lasted about a day or two. You gotta realize early on that just because you stopped partying, the world of drinkers keeps spinning. I've had to ditch quite a few people and I even passed up a relationship with a fairly cool girl because she was downing a six pack every time we hung out. Keep sobriety your main priority and everything else will fall into place.

I go to my neighborhood bar/restaurant for a Pepsi occasionally, and it is amazing how many issues the regulars have. From low rent shit like D.U.I probation to serious issues like unplanned pregnancies, all of these people have some kind of drama in their lives. Drama and drinking go hand in hand. God bless anybody trying to quit.

[slog]

Exercise is a big one for me - I'd go fucking bananas if I didn't swim and work out. It's a nice high once you get going and it kind of gets you thinking about taking care of your body + it promotes brain health.

I still dream of that special who gives a fuck attitude that for me could only be attained by getting fucked up! But then again I guess you have to have that attitude when you turn into as big a moron as I do. Also, I hate to say it but for me live punk music just isn't as good without a SIX PACK.

I guess the problem is when the highs are so good how do you match them? A lot of good ideas on here - family, new interests, hobbies, exercise, definitely change of scenery regarding select acquaintances which can be kind of sad and tough to do.

For me with no big substance problems and just a binge drinking problem the issue is enjoying a couple beers and keeping it right there. I know it's small ball compared to what others are dealing with - best of luck to all who keep moving forward after realizing a change is in order.