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Reclaiming your home

There are three basic tactics for dealing with triggers for drinking: avoid, control and escape. For some places, avoidance and escape are easy options. But what do you do if you realise that being at home is a trigger for drinking? In this article Club Soda team member Nia talks through some of the reasons we drink at home.

When it comes to changes at home, control is key.

If you live alone

If you live by yourself, or you are the only drinking adult in the house, the most straightforward way to avoid drinking at home is to stop buying and storing alcohol in your home.

Secretive drinking can be difficult to tackle, especially if you drink at home alone to avoid others finding out. Be honest about the places you hide alcohol. Fill those places with reminders of your good intentions. And tell someone else in the Club Soda community what is going on – accountability in itself can be a powerful tool, but by opening the conversation by posting about your intentions means you will have an instant crowd of supporters cheering you on, plus you also have a channel to talk about wobbles you might have.

Taking control by not having alcohol at home may sound simplistic, but many of us hold back from this obvious course of action. Instead, we exhaust our willpower by fighting the urge to drink, staring at the cupboard or drinks cabinet. Then we are puzzled why, several hours later, we find ourselves opening a bottle of wine?

You are allowed to make life easy for yourself.

If you share your home with others

There may be things that you can’t control about your home, particularly if you share your space with others.

Having a wine rack in your kitchen is a common issue. It can be a troublesome trigger as you stop drinking but might be a non-issue for people you live with. Change in these circumstances can take some negotiation. But just relocating the alcohol, so it’s not in your field of vision, can help.

More than anything though, make your home a place that supports your good decisions about not drinking. Simple changes can make a big difference.

Take control of your space, as much as you can.