take on a hobby…become a collector …anything so these 2 things can not control you
read–> A million pieces a good book–OK it maybe it’s 1/2 fake but you can see how hard it is to stop any addictions
good luck many blessings

If he had a cocaine addiction, and substitute it for alcohol, then eventually that alchohol is not going to be enough for him anymore, and he will eventually go back to his cocaine addiction. I had seen this happen over and over again with my husband. He had a repeated cycle of going to get treatment, sobering up for 6months to a year or so…. and then he would start back drinking alchohol, and we had countless arguements about the fact that I believed that the alcohol triggered his taste and desire for the crack-cocaine…. (No matter what the drug…including alcohol…it’s all addictive….even cigarettes)..I shared with him over and over, that he just could not drink at all in order to get over that sick/sad addiction…. Key things: A person has to really want to lay down an addiction, they have to have a made up mind to win that fight, it’s not an easy thing to do, but it can be done!! I am a true and living witness! It can be Beaten! I had to take the word and knock that demon down!

So he eventually had to leave it all alone altogether, and Praise God! he is no longer addicted to anything!

You ever notice someone who stops smoking cigarettes, well they turn to soda’s, sweets, and food…..well when they get so use to those things, and so addicted to those, they eventually will go back to their cigarette habits…..(it just always get to the point where those substitutes are not enough)…. It’s like that saying … “You Can’t Beat the Real thing”……..

the best thing to do is to fight off all the triggers and substitutes with prayer, discipline, meetings, and time.

I learned that even my little drinking on beer every now and then, or keeping it around the house, or in the icebox had to cut out…. I was actually not being considerate of his needs, and his recoveries, and I was being in some sense…. selfish and foolish…. I use to think….”well I am not the one with the problem….so why do I need to quit all together”….. that was very selfish…. and I got wiser and closer to God, and I knew that it was not the right thing to do or think……… So it was no longer brought into the house….”out of sight…out of mind”……
But only with God, prayer, and time…. “It truly takes a lot of discipline and perserverance…..

I pray that this helps you out.

I hope the Best for you and your husband

Take care of you!

4 Real Peace

Alcohol is a drug and it’s addicting. A lot of recovering addicts (doesn’t matter what used to be their drug of choice) think they can still safely use alcohol but it takes no time at all for them to use the alcohol as a substitute for their previous drug. Recovery means that they need to learn different ways to handle situations and problems that lead them to the drug use in the first place. Addicts use drugs to cover up/numb pain in their lives. Now they have to learn how to work through their problems instead of turning to drugs.

He’s been told this (over and over again) in rehab so don’t let him try to con you on this.

And I suggest that you begin going to Al-Anon. It’s for the family/friends of addicts (yes, you can go even though he’s not an alcoholic). Please believe me….you DO need help in dealing with this, too. Recovery involves the entire family.
http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/
Best wishes.

But I did not drink at all for the first few months after rehab. And I do not ever have more than 1 or 2 drinks. The times that I did go further than that … you guessed it, my judgment was so impaired that I ended up finding a way to get high.

So I would say it’s better to go without at first, then keep it in moderation. Or, if he’s shaky, he may want to abstain forever.

More important than the rules you set down is your attitude toward him. You can’t make every decision for him. When my husband came out of rehab — he was an alcoholic — his counselor told me something I’ve always remembered: “Allow him the dignity of his own recovery.”

p.s. Around the house, I would worry more about painkillers, tranquilizers, even cold medicines. A lot of recovering cocaine addicts turn to downers — like, if I can’t feel that euphoria all the time like I used to, I’ll just sleep life away. I did that for the first six months or so, and it kept me from really recovering.