Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Sober people can have a great time on St. Patrick's Day. But most of us don't. Perhaps it's because the annual American-style day of the drunk tends to trigger memories in some of us, of times we were the ones spilling green beer, while slurring our speech.

For me, St. Paddy's is a day to remind everyone within the sound of my internet voice that a plan to not drink, is not the same as not drinking. Why does this matter?

Because if you planned to stay sober and did not. No reason, no excuse, no justification of how small a quantity you consumed during your slip, gives you the right to drive a car after drinking.

St. Patrick's Day traffic accident and fatality statistics are truly horrifying. And most of the victims are sober drivers and passengers whose lives are changed by somebody who thinks (s)he's just fine to drive.

You're not. You can call Typsy Tow in many cities. AAA wants you to get home safe. Uber and many taxi companies will give you a lift as well. Of course, these options presume that you were not planning on drinking. No guilt here. Just get home safe. If you have to pay for a cab, just think of the money you're saving not needing a lawyer, and tip well.

If for some reason you are planning on joining the party, make sure your designated sober driver is REALLY going to stay cold sober all day and night.

At Northstar Guides, the recovery management, mentoring, and monitoring service where I work, we see people on virtually every holiday break down, forget their plan for avoiding alcohol, and then ending up with at least guilt, and often legal troubles because they wanted to cover up their lapse by driving home.

Hint, if you drive INTO your garage, door and all, your family will know about your lapse and it will not be a small, reset and forget, tomorrow. True story.

A DUI can set back your sobriety plan because it adds legal, emotional and financial stress to your life, and because the legal system doesn't usually care much for non-step recovery programs. In other words, you may be attending 90 meetings in 90 days, knowing they don't work for you, because the judge's uncle got sober through AA in 1962.

All of these potential harms leave out two scenarios that can cause the most mayhem: you can drink, drive, and actually hurt someone. The guilt, fear, and self loathing will last.

Or, you might slide into your driveway, not having been caught committing a crime. A felony in most states. Your sober life plan is not helped by getting away from the accountability and consequences of your bad choice. You can restart your sober life right now but don't fool yourself into denying the lapse and your bad choices.

Slips happen. Lapses are especially hard to avoid on traditional drinking days. You can do it! Remember how far you've come and what you have to gain by keeping sober today. Use the tools you've learned from the recovery model you've used to get to now.  Hopefully you'll have success and celebrate the wonderful feeling of waking up on March 18 knowing that you didn't do something to embarrass yourself or harm others.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

5 Ways to Keep Stress Down During the holidays

5. Don't Overdo It - Don't take on more than you can handle. It's easy to get caught up in all of the festivities and over-commit. Make sure you know your limits and remember it's okay to say no thank you, I already have plans.

4. Plan Ahead - Making a list and checking it twice can make all the difference in making your season bright. Knowing what needs to be done and having a game plan will help you stay focused on what's really important.

3. Go with the Flow - Planning is all fine and dandy, when those plans leave room for the unexpected. It's important to understand you cannot control everything and everyone. Sometimes, you need to take a deep breath and be flexible.

2. Take Care of Yourself - Remember to stay hydrated, eat properly, and get a good night's sleep. Even though you are busy, respect your mind and body. This will give you the energy and clear thoughts needed to carry you through the season.

1. Remember to be Grateful - It's easy to get caught up with to do lists, and the busyness of the season, but remember why you are doing it and whom you are doing it for. It's not about how much you do or buy, it's about the people you spend your time with.

And above all, remember that your decision to not drink your way through the holidays is a huge gift to yourself and those around you. Staying Sober Through the Holidays is our new book, and can be your gift to those you love. 

A Better List for Staying Sober Through the Holidays

First things first: I would love to credit the originator of this fabulous alternative holiday list. It arrived in my inbox, on Facebook, and via Twitter, today with several different attributions. If you know who created this powerful item, please comment so we can all thank him or her.

As we Lose The Booze team members work our way through this busy season, with all of the joys, stresses, messes, and opportunities it brings, this list is up on our wall.

Be
Hug
Peace
Donate
Love
and Be.

May your decision to Lose The Booze be freeing and joyful for you, this season. May, Staying Sober Through the Holidays,  only add to your blessings.

Take care of yourself. Walk the dog. Eat. Rest. Do what is fun and fulfilling.

Another good reason...to Enjoy a Sober Season

The first of the annual, How Not to ruin your career by getting hammered at the company party, stories has hit the wire services. NPR has this week's winner, mischief-under-the-mistletoe-office-partygoers-behaving-badly

If you're a Lose the Booze reader you know that Margaret Gold provides all sorts of great tips and strategies on how not to humiliate yourself at a work or family holiday event.

Whether you are getting sober, moderating carefully, or are a long-time sober person facing the annual stress marathon of holiday events, here are a few good tips to help you stay sober through the holidays:

• Have an appropriate non-alcoholic beverage in your hand at all times, if you are in a must-attend, drinking business or social situation. 
• Ask for non-alcoholic drinks, soda water, etc. to be served in a real glass, with a twist of lemon or lime. Stemware, a highball glass, or whatever everyone else at the event is drinking from, no straw please, will minimize the number of questions or pressure you’ll likely receive from others about your beverage choice, at the event. 
• Insist with staff if necessary – there’s nothing more conspicuous than Coke in a plastic cup at an open bar event. If they tell you that they’ll have to charge you for your soda water or Sprite as if it were a vodka tonic, reflect for .7 seconds on how much booze has cost you, at similar events, over the years, and pay up. 
• Plan an escape if the temptation gets too great.

For many, many more detailed strategies, scripts, trigger management techniques, and support for the choices you are making about drinking this season, please consider looking at Staying Sober Through the Holidays, Margaret Gold's new book for sober people who want to remain that way through Valentines Day and beyond. 

If you are still looking at whether it might be time to Lose the Booze, start here.

Giving Thanks and Offering Sober Holiday Options

As I write this, it is Thanksgiving Eve. Hopefully every shop has been shopped, every platter located, and the roaster unearthed. As you decide whether to skip the marshmallows on this year's yams and consider whether there are enough vegetarian or gluten free options on your menu, please pause and consider this:

Do you have tasty, non-alcoholic drink choices available for all  of your guests?

Whether sparkling water or sodas, juices, or good old-fashioned root beer, please serve up a selection, in the same nice glasses you would use for great wine or bourbon.

This does not require you to spend one minute considering who drinks (alcohol) and who doesn't. We all will drink something tomorrow.

And a fair number of your guests may also drive somewhere. Be it home, or to the earliest shopping emporium to offer great deals, that drive shouldn't happen with evening one drink for the person behind the wheel.

So as you finish setting the table, or even deciding what to take along to the hostess of your Thanksgiving feast, please be thankful for the gift of too many choices. And help everyone arrive home healthy and alive.

"Staying Sober Through the Holidays" is Margaret Gold's new book. We are thankful that the paperback edition came out today, in time for Thanksgiving.

It's full of great ideas for alcohol-free, and optional, entertaining. Whether you are lucky enough to be a moderate drinker, longtime sober, or simply a thoughtful host, the book has many strategies for staying sober, and supporting your sober friends and family, during this often stressful time of year.

Happy Thanksgiving. From the Lose The Booze Team.

Staying Sober Through the Holidays: Enjoy the Season ... Without Falling into Drinking. In Paperback tomorrow

Northstar Ink is proud and pleased to announce that Margart Gold's newest book, Staying Sober Through the Holidays: Enjoy the Holidays without Falling back into Drinking, will join the current Kindle edition, and be available in paperback tomorrow.

The book is designed for those who are already sober and provides specific strategies for maintaining sobriety during the often perilous holiday season.

Early reviews of the book are glowing:

"This is a great book for anyone trying very hard not to drink during the holidays, or even for the spouse/ brother/ aunt etc of anyone that is trying not to drink.
It is very obvious that the author is speaking from a place of experience, and she shares several personal tips that have helped her.
I also liked this books take on AA, I have never really thought about it before, but the book basically says that AA does not work because it focuses on shaming and negatives. You sit in a dank, dark basement and constantly talk/ hear about the lowest times in your life. I actually really agree with that, and staying focused on the positives.
This book provides a lot of helpful tips on avoidance, and staying away from things that you associate with drinking. It is good, sound advice. The book also includes a short quiz and plenty of contact numbers you can call to receive help.
Overall a great read, very eye opening."

"This is a really helpful book which outlines real and practical strategies that make staying sober during the holiday season easier and empowering. The advice was very well explained, and easy to understand. I could see how it is definitely backed up by research and makes sense. This is a book that has definitely raised my confidence. Highly recommended."  

Buy a copy for yourself or as a nice sign of support to a friend or loved one who has built sobriety and might benefit from a little confidence boost to keep their commitment to staying booze free through the holidays.

Staying Sober Through the Holidays - Now in Kindle

We are so proud and pleased to announce that the author of the Amazon bestseller 'Lose The Booze', Margaret Gold, has just released a new book to help former drinkers stay sober through the holiday season.

Staying Sober Through the Holidays  is designed to help people keep their commitment to staying alcohol-free during the holidays without guilt, shame, or hanging around at meetings in church basements.

Congratulations to Margaret Gold and her editors for adding an important voice to the self-help and recovery communities.

Please take a look. New posts, press, and more links soon.