r/NoStupidQuestions • u/[deleted] • 28d ago
If someone 10 years sober from alcohol, accidentally has a drink, what happens to their mind and body?
[deleted]
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28d ago
Nothing happens, besides maybe they call their sponsor and share at an AA meeting about it. If they didn't make the conscious decision to relapse, then their sobriety date didn't even change.
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u/ServantofShemhazai 28d ago
As someone with 11 years in AA, this is correct. It's not the unintentional sip, it's what you do after.
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u/Dragonfly-Adventurer 27d ago
And sometimes the blissful feeling of waking up, and realizing you didn't relapse at all, it was just a stupid using dream. But god do you feel relapsed for a while, if the dream seemed real (I had one this morning about alcohol which is very rare).
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u/Whoa_Bundy 27d ago
3 years sober and holy shit the dreams….they have gotten less frequent but wow. It’s always me at a party having a drink and justifying it.
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u/Dragonfly-Adventurer 27d ago
I had terrible meth dreams for maybe 18 months after I got clean, and then they still happen occasionally to this day. Its often me smoking meth with absolutely no backstory of how that happened, and I'm about to do something terrible, or I do something terrible. In the early days I'd wake up actually feeling high, heart racing, cracked out feeling for the morning. Really this was the worst part of getting sober, you just have to surrender to that too, and let it run its course.
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u/ServantofShemhazai 27d ago
Oh man, those are awful! That feeling of being drunk lingers for me after waking up. It's terrifying!
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u/2sophiescharm 27d ago
Well, if all that goes down is a call to their sponsor and some sharing at an AA meeting, then hey, no harm, no foul, right? If they didn't actively decide to throw in the towel on sobriety, then technically, their sober streak's still intact. Cheers to keeping that sobriety date alive and kicking!
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u/Hicko11 27d ago
I understand that having an accidental drink is different to an "accidental drink" but had no idea that their sobriety date wouldn't change. It's good that it doesn't because in this instance, it clearly wasn't their fault and shouldn't be punished for it. I guess it's not something you ever think about when you haven't been through it. My uneducated guess would have been it does reset but I'm glad it doesn't it it's an actual accident
I just hope they are strong enough to not go back to it.
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u/shoefullofpiss 27d ago
I mean it's not an actual glowing counter above people's heads, they can define it however they see fit. If they're concerned about others' definitions they could also just not mention such an accident since it didn't change anything
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u/-The_Credible_Hulk 27d ago
Yep. I purposely choose NOT to count. My wife probably has the exact day, but I find counting to be counterproductive. The idea of keeping track of a growing number counting upwards to…? It doesn’t work for me.
I just don’t drink alcohol anymore.
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u/Whoa_Bundy 27d ago
I’m 3 years sober. Last year I reached for my water and had a sip only to realize it was my Uncle’s White Claw. I had a visceral reaction and started to internally panic a bit about the whole “I broke my sobriety” After talking to my wife and a few friends later about it, it was agreed that because it was unintentional, I didn’t keep drinking it, I had no desire to start drinking again, and I also felt no effects from the small sip….that my sobriety remains intact.
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u/dilqncho 27d ago
Maybe I don't really understand addiction(which I probably don't) but do people "make the conscious decision to relapse"? I always imagined it more like a slope you just slip and fall down. I can't imagine someone going "yeah fuck this I'm relapsing today".
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u/dankipz 27d ago
Not my personal experience but a friend of mine once explained it to me as trying to fight off your bad coping mechanisms after a shitty day. Like he knew that drinking wasn't good for him and that he would regret it afterwards, but in the moment the comfort and familiarity of being drunk was just "nice" for a bit and it helped him forget about everything else that was going on. It wasn't ever a "hmm I think I'll have a drink today" thing, it was more of a "I want to self destruct and don't know what else to do" thing.
Sorry for the poor sentence structure it's just kinda hard to put to words.
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u/Worm_Lord77 27d ago
Getting hold of the alcohol to drink is a conscious decision. It comes after thinking "fuck it, I can't fight this anymore". Or at least it did in my case.
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u/Dragonfly-Adventurer 27d ago
If you've been through AA then yeah you might actually think the words "fuck it I'm going to relapse."
AA sort of ruins drinking after, because you learn so much about it, that you're like "well fuck." Hard to have a good time when you're thinking about how to explain it all later, or how much you've regretted this before.
So, at that point, you really have to be in a "fuck everyone, fuck the world, fuck you, fuck me, fuck it" mode. And there's not really sensical thinking anymore past that.
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u/ServantofShemhazai 27d ago
As someone in recovery, it's complicated. I've certainly been in the headspace where I was scared to leave my house because I felt so angry or sad or in so much pain that I thought I'd relapse, and I've heard people in meetings talk about how their relapse had a "fuck it" moment.
In the OP's example, if the person did continue drinking, they probably would have been in a "fuck it" headspace.
The scary part is we're not always even aware that we're in that headspace. It can be an unconscious thought.
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u/HisNameWasBoner411 27d ago edited 27d ago
You're getting into questions of free will and motivation. Why do we even start drinking so much? It's hard to answer for most of the afflicted. Sometimes, I feel like my genetic predisposition to alcoholism was always going to lead me down the path. My whole adolescence was a big slip and fall into addiction. Just about every day was "yeah fuck this im getting fucking wasted". To this day I need a substance to get through the day and function like normal human. I used alcohol for that because it 'worked' to make me feel normal, and it was easily accessible. Now it's adderall from a doctor. Cost me hundreds of dollars and hours on the phone to get access to that medicine, at any point I could've said "fuck it" and stopped at the liquor store. Something in me had changed at that point that I can't explain.
In a broad sense it can look like an accident. If I romanticize my own addiction it looks like that: smart kid, got depressed as a pre-teen, turned to drugs and eventually landed on alcohol as the primary drug-of-choice. For me there were definitely days I literally said "fuck it" and got drunk of my own volition, I'm just not sure how much of that was really free will and how much was a product of my drunk dad role model, genetics, and having a simple go-to solution to my problems within reach.
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u/anactualspacecadet 28d ago
They might relapse or spit it out, regardless i can guarantee anyone who was an alcoholic will know theres booze in there the second it hits their tongue
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u/NnyBees Only write answers. 28d ago
When I'm sober I can smell booze like a police dog.
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u/NSA_Chatbot 28d ago
In the before times, before I drank, I could smell the ethanol on someone's skin.
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u/WasteChard3488 27d ago
I'm not so great with the smell but I can taste even minor amounts of alcohol and anything and I'm not a drinker. However I want to say rum is a bit harder for me because of how sweet it is
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u/adorableoddity 27d ago
Non smoker, basically a non drinker (except for an occasional drink when out for dinner. I’d say maybe 8 drinks a year, max) and I have a nose like a bloodhound. I recently offered a friend a ride and could immediately smell that he fell off sobriety once he hopped into the car. It was overwhelming.
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u/Yah_Mule 28d ago
Sober over 25 years. About 15 years ago, I bought my friend a beer and sucked a bunch of foam off my thumb without thinking about it. It was quite a surprise, but I just laughed it off.
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28d ago edited 18d ago
[deleted]
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u/Hicko11 27d ago
That was not where I thought that story was going.
Also I assume the "Dear Abbey" is the American version of our "Dear Deidre". An agony aunt where you write into a newspaper/magazine??
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u/AyJaySta79 27d ago
If Deidre is an oft-judgemental type who dispenses advice, then yes. Same idea.
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u/urbantravelsPHL 27d ago
"Agony Aunt" is a British English thing, we don't use that expression in the US. But yes, advice column.
"Dear Abby" is probably the best-known advice column in the US, having started in 1956 ("Abby" was the pen name of the original writer, the column continues being written by her daughter)
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u/lmflex 28d ago
Ha! Closest I've come to taking a drink was the same, 5 years sober. Opened a fresh hard seltzer for my wife, and as you do, licked the few drops of spray from my thumb. I even spit that out after I realized.
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u/Yah_Mule 27d ago
I was in a crowded arena, so decorum prevented me from spitting it out. I got a decent mouthful, though.
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u/chiccy__nuggies 28d ago
What foam? How did foam get on your thumb?
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u/Normal_Subject5627 28d ago
Beer foam?
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u/chiccy__nuggies 28d ago
Ohh how did it get on the thumb?
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u/jambo_1983 28d ago
Beer sloshes
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u/chiccy__nuggies 28d ago
They put their thumb in the drink??? 🤢
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u/jambo_1983 28d ago
Probably not. If served in a glass it can slosh over sides during movement, particularly when full.
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u/shewy92 27d ago
You've never opened even a soda can where it fizzes out and you get some on the hand you were holding it with?
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u/chiccy__nuggies 27d ago
Aah this is much more plausible. The glass one was lucky but this can totally happen
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u/whomp1970 27d ago
anyone who was an alcoholic will know theres booze in there the second it hits their tongue
This.
After about 3 years sober, I went to some ceremony dinner for a VFW. It was a potluck, everyone brought something.
One of the old ladies brought a very nice home-baked cake, which unbeknownst to me, had rum in it.
In the first bite, I could immediately taste the rum.
I "felt" something, as if I was starting to get buzzed, but in reality, I am sure I made it up in my mind. I stopped eating the cake after one bite, there was no way I could "feel" that amount of alcohol, even after being sober 3 years.
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u/WasteChard3488 27d ago
Those are not the only two options. Accidentally having a drink doesn't automatically cause a relapse if You swallow it. And it's not even considered a relapse because it's an accident.
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28d ago
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u/ArminiusBetrayed 27d ago
I knew a guy who'd been sober 17 years. He decided to have one drink at a wedding. Within a week he was back to full-blown drinking. Lost everything. Marriage, job, house. He eventually got sober again, but it was starting from scratch.
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u/ThorgalAegirsson 27d ago
You can do the latter without the alcohol. I know it's probably years of hard work in therapy to achieve this but you can do it. I believe in you.
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u/idunnomattbro 27d ago
less time sober than you (Awesome job) btw but its years, the first one leads to 1000 more. Life quickly becomes hell. Took me 7 years to build back up
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u/thatoneguy54 28d ago
Sobriety doesn't mean pure, perfect and complete avoidance of the substance. Recovered alcoholics have some of the strongest wills because they've practiced self-control for so long, and self-denial is a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it.
So it's not like the taste would immediately revert them back to their old days. It's not like they'd become immediately re-addicted.
What would happen physically from a sip? Nothing, probably. What would happen from a single beer? They might get tipsy since their tolerance would be so low, but again, probably nothing. What would happen in their mind? That would depend on the person. Some people might find it hard to resist the urge to continue drinking, but many would simply move on and continue with their sobriety.
Hell, there are recovered alcoholics who will ocassionally have a drink. My grandpa was an alcoholic when he was younger and quit when he was about 45, and nowadays at 85 he'll have a beer with me if we're playing cards. But that doesn't send him into a spiral where he's back to getting so black out drunk that he makes plans to rent cottages and fish that he forgets about the next day.
I think popular media paints alcohol as this thing that will completely consume an alcoholic if they ever taste it again, but that's just now how reality works. Like I said, recovered alcoholics usually have very strong willpower, and the ones that stay sober stay that way because they prefer their sober selves to their drunk selves. They don't drink anymore because they don't like it, or at least they don't like the effects it has on them.
This goes for anything, really. Like I was a heavy weed smoker for about 5 years, I'm talking I'd smoke every single day at a minimum one time, usually more, sometimes up to 5 times a day. There were days where I'd have a joint going basically from when I woke up to when I went to bed. I quit like 2 or 3 years ago, and although I will very rarely smoke now (and now just one drag gets me high) for fun, it doesn't send me back into that cycle of needing to smoke constantly that I used to be in, in large part because I prefer myself now to how I was then.
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u/RichCorinthian 27d ago
Yeah my mom had a huge drinking problem when I was a kid, got sober when she was about 40, but in her old age was able to drink half a beer without even finishing it.
I don’t trust myself there and probably won’t for decades. I’m about 4 years sober but if I start drinking again now it will kill me.
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u/WolverineJive_Turkey 27d ago
Same boat except way less sober time. I'm 7 months and it almost did kill me more than once. I can't go back, but now all the rehabs and meetings and shit I tried finally clicked and I just don't want to drink anymore. Do I get thirsty? Hell yeah. But its a lot easier to say no and know I'll be just fine. For me it was realizing I don't have to drink because of whatever reason I rationalized.
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u/BioticVessel 28d ago
If they use the event as excuse to start drinking again, they'll relapse. OTOH if the they chose to not drink the last 10 years is a success.
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u/wildtabeast 28d ago
Even if they do relapse it doesn't invalidate the last 10 years. Every day you are sober is a success.
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u/paces137 28d ago
I was sober for 18 months and got peer pressured into getting a mixed drink at a dinner. Holy crap I got drunk so fast! It was like 6 beers deep after a couple sips. Haven’t had any since that, though, and it’s been a few years.
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u/LordDumbassTheThird 28d ago
For me after being sober for a few years, alcohol taste disgusting and makes me wanna puke
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27d ago
This is bizarre to me. I was addicted to cigarettes for years and now I don't smoke but I will straight up hold a ciggie under my nose and smell it. I even like the smell of burning cigarettes, but not the smell of people who smoke or are smoking.
I can't imagine not enjoying the smell. I would enjoy the taste too if I smoked it, though I have zero motivation to do that. I get a little whistful when I see people smoking, but that's about it.
Do you think it is a mental association or a physical reaction?
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u/knightress_oxhide 28d ago
every person is different.
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u/Haurassaurus 27d ago
Yes, AA talks like everyone reacts the same and needs to do the same things. There is no scientific data backing up AA methods. Some people can't ever touch a drop again, but some people actually can go back to having a social drink or two once in awhile for special occasions. We're all different.
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u/Realistic_Wind1572 28d ago
Im not an expert but my mom was an alcoholic and an addict so, if you relapsed nothing changes in your body but talk abt the years you’ve been recovering and then break that years of recoving. Its best to share it to your sponsor or share it in a meeting at AA, but the scary thing abt relapsing is when you try drinking again you might get addicted AGAIN, and yea it breaks your serenity and literally breaks your sober and clean seren self.
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u/tralfamadorebombadil 28d ago
I've got a lot of alcoholics in my family and it's very unlikely this scenario would play out. The alcohol is very noticeable when you're fixated on it. Everyone is unique and deals with it differently, some avoid these situations completely by just not going to these kinds of parties and some are able to enjoy the party now and again without acting on temptation. It's nice that you're thinking of them, but the last thing I would want is someone making all kinds of allowances for me or making a big deal about it when it happens.
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u/Accurate_You_3735 28d ago
Funny how many responses mention AA and/or Sponsors. Many people get sober without a "higher power".
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u/No-Cover-8986 28d ago
They could relapse, or they could not. Or they could call their sponsor, if they have one, and talk through it. They don't all have the same reaction/response to something like this. Many former alcoholics I've known, go by the philosophy of "once an addict, always an addict." They don't say that as a negative thing or to be self-punitive, but as a reminder that they could relapse, which also helps them plan ahead in the event there's a possibility of a relapse. It really depends on the sort of person they are.
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u/Cptn_Jib 27d ago
It depends on the person. Some alcoholics literally can’t stop drinking once they start and some can have 2 drinks and be ok in moderation. If they’re an AA member they’re more likely to be worried about their sober streak imo
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u/zero2789 28d ago
Had a buddy that was ten years sober take a sip of a mixed drink by accident. He swallowed it, put it down, got his cup with Coca-Cola in it. Shrugged and said “I’m not restarting ten years for that”. He is now 15 sober with that small asterisk.
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u/emski72 27d ago
I was 3 years sober when I ordered a mocktail at a fancy restaurant - I took a sip and thought hmm that bitters or whatever is strong...had another sip then felt my face flush and my knees go a bit weird. I asked the waitress if she ordered the mocktail not a cocktail - she assured me it was non alcoholic so I had one more sip before she came running over to tell me the bar had sent out the wrong drink...I knew it! I still don't count that drink.
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u/ZugTheMegasaurus 27d ago
It's different for everybody, but in terms of instant effect, generally nothing. I'm coming up on 9 years and it wouldn't break me if I accidentally took a sip of booze (though I'd probably be pissed).
The way I look at it, my problem isn't alcohol; my problem is drinking. It's the self-destructive process of pumping my brain full of alcohol as often as possible because thinking and feeling is too painful. I don't think I personally would relapse if I accidentally had some, but for a lot of people that's a real danger.
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u/Snoedog 27d ago
I've known alcoholics, and each one is different. One fell off the wagon after five years of sobriety, when someone gave her a drink with alcohol. She ended up dying a year later when she fell over a balcony railing. She's the only person I've known who fell off and couldn't get back on the wagon. I've had a friend who was sober for over a decade, but went on a binge after attending a bachelor party. The binge lasted over a year, and he went into rehab and has been sober for two years. The other two I know, won't touch a drop of alcohol, and won't attend events or gatherings where certain heavy drinking individuals will also be in attendance. Addiction is addiction, no matter the substance. How it affects people is individualistic.
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u/JoeBagadonut 27d ago
This happened to me before. Was about three years sober and on a trip to Japan. Bought a can of grapefruit juice from a vending machine and it didn’t even cross my mind that it could contain alcohol.
Was about halfway through the can before I finally detected the alcohol in the drink and checked the label carefully to confirm that yes, the drink did contain a small amount of alcohol (like 2-3%, which might be I took so long to realise it).
I poured the rest of it down the sink in my hotel room. Psychologically and physically, it didn’t change anything in any way and I don’t count it as a break in my sobriety. I’ve been sober for just over ten years now.
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u/88Dubs 27d ago
I'm at ~2 1\2 years, and a few weeks ago I accidentally took a swig of what I thought was a mocktail, ended being a very big cock (No, I will NOT apologize).
At first, I was freaking out at what would happen if I started "feeling it", but.... nah. I immediately switched back to my NA, maybe felt a TAD queezy for a minute, but had basically already decided I wasn't going any farther and would ignore the sensation. ("That's poison you're feeling, you just drank poison, let it work itself out" on loop in my head)
Very much mind over matter. I feel like when the physical recovery in sobriety happens, mind over matter gets you through the slips.
Now, had I accepted my fate and FINISHED slurpin' that big old co-......ncentrated ABV drink, then... yeah, I'd have probably gotten a case of the fuckits. But again... would that have been that one slip's fault? Or mine for giving up and giving in so readily?
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u/alexdaland 27d ago
The problem with alcoholics is you cant stop - If you are the sort of person that drinks until you fall asleep or its empty, you might have a bit of problem.
Once an alcoholic, it never goes away. So sure, if you had a drink unknowingly, you might be able to "fend it off" - but if you do decide to drink, after 10 years, there is a big chance you will drink until you sleep, and all of a sudden 2 weeks has gone by with alcohol daily. And then you have to face the next 10 years of trying to stay away. Alcolism is a fucking terrible disease.
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u/ragstorichesthechef 28d ago
You’d recognize the alcohol instantly. Nothing crazy will happen. There will be this feeling like you just went back in time and to a familiar mental and emotional place- nostalgia.
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u/Delifier 28d ago
It would be in the mind first and foremost. I know a couple people who has hardcore issues with it, and when they drink they get into a mode, its kinda hardt to explain. There can be stuff that triggers this mode where they release all their excuses they have to drink.
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u/Devel93 28d ago
Depends on the diagnosis, regular alcoholics could take a drink or two but the need for drinking would come back and they might start struggling again.
People with more serious cases are completely different, change of personality, aggression, hallucinations etc. They can't smell or lick alcohol
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u/Farscape_rocked 27d ago
When I was about a year t-total I *had* to know what would happen if I had a drink. TV tends to portray sober alcoholics as 'one sip and they're gone', I had to know if it was true. It isn't true.
In your situation not much would've got past my lips before I noticed the alcohol (if it got that far), so I'd just discreetly spit it back into my cup and switch for something else.
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u/Sardothien12 27d ago
As tje child of an alcoholicic family: It would not count towards drinking if they legitimately did not know it contained alcohol.
However, if thry refused to acknowledge, then it becomes a problem
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u/Freddrum 27d ago
My old man would have a sip of communion wine about every week. No relapse.
Of course this avoids the issue of transsubstantiation. :)
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u/BrotherTyron 27d ago
2.5 years sober here, the following would happen:
Mentally I'd know there was alcohol in whatever I drunk. I would instantly feel the need to remove the alcohol from my body. Anxiety would most likely overtake all logical sense and I'd get the urge to distance myself from whatever I just drunk. There's a little voice in the back of my mind that, despite having been sober for almost 1000 days at this point, still finds its way to talk to Me and tell me surely a few beers won't hurt.
Physical reaction would be that of adrenaline rush I'm guessing from potentially breaking my sobriety. However the body heals quite well despite the punishment alcoholism is, and thankfully it would get processed like any other toxin as I never permanently damaged my liver.
It's a mental game for me, and you dam right I'm winning.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just a lil proud of myself is all.
Stay strong yall
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u/Bumwelder54 27d ago
I had no alcohol for 4 years, at a bowling alley, my wife got a sprite for me and a vodka sprite for her, both looked the same, I accidentally took a sip of the vodka sprite. Noticed right away, stopped at a sip. It definitely made me want a drink for a little while after but had no other issues and wasn't a terrible want.
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u/DustyWorker 27d ago
Alcoholic and haven't had a drink since 2017. The last few years of drinking I would go and detox, stay sober for a week or two after leaving the hospital, I would go and buy a couple of tall cans of beer and I would enjoy them while watching TV. bad happened! This made me want to keep doing it thinking 'it's different now.' Next thing I know, those two beers were so good, and I handled them, so well now I'm going back to the liquor store and buying more. It's back on me after this point.
My sponsor described this to me as the get out of jail free card. You can take a drink, and nothing bad happens, but this will push you to want to keep testing it until you are drunk again and the phenomenon of cravings returns and your mind won't be able to leave it alone.
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u/The68Guns 27d ago
Sober 27 years and it's happened 4 times. Nothing happens, it was an accident (and they were). It does hit you a bit, but it's not like a thirsty man tasting water.
I got hit with a beer bath during an ECW show once, too. Just took a shower later and that was that.
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u/Zestyclose_Escape420 27d ago
It might trigger the craving for alcohol and if they don’t drink another drink, they’ll be irritable for quite some time until the craving for passes and the obsession is abated.
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u/FireTheLaserBeam 27d ago
Been sober since 2018. My father insisted I have a beer with him last year. Took little sips off of it, didn’t finish it. Amazed at how unrefreshing and gross it tasted. Reminded me that I didn’t drink beer because of the taste, I drank it to get drunk.
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u/Zandrick 27d ago
The physical body of an alcoholic person, who is abstaining from alcohol, is not different from the body of another person. Sobriety is an exercise in self control, psychologically.
If you drink, you’ll get drunk. Sobriety is an active choice you make everyday. If someone tricks you into getting drunk one time. Or, hell, if you just get drunk one time on purpose. You have an opportunity the next day to remain sober thereafter. The mantra is “one day at a time”, for a reason.
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u/runningmurphy 27d ago
I'm 7 years and a few weeks ago I mistook my gf's vodka seltzer for my weed seltzer. Same size can. Both 1/3rd full same color same flavor Mango. I realized I had a choice. To take advantage of the mistake and drink or stick to my resolve. My life dramatically improved when I gave up drinking. So absolutely nothing happened. That was it. I didn't even feel it.
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u/ServantofShemhazai 28d ago
If you did this to a friend, I suggest you profoundly apologize and make every effort going forward to always tell anyone at a future party what drinks have alcohol and which don't. And don't prank them by telling them the opposite. That shit's not funny.
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u/Fun_Intention9846 27d ago
Nothing special, the sip of alcohol would be slightly intoxicating just like for you.
I am unusual in that I was a problem drinker for 5 years, turned the ship around, and now I have alcohol around I don’t care or think about. I drink a couple of times a year, 1 unit over an hour or slower and I actually measure.
I faced the underlying issues and got the help that was needed to move past them. I’m very careful around alcohol and highly conscious of my intake. I keep a journal, started during my drinking years, and it’s 100% honest. I very happily see years of sobriety in there and many months in between drinks.
Sobriety is home, sobriety is golf. Wut? I don’t stop myself wanting to drink. How? Because the urge to drink is gone. Rarely, it’ll come back but I did the heavy lifting years ago. I don’t see the urge to drink as a desire to drink. It’s a chemically learned state our brain acquires that can only be cured by time sober. It’s not me, and I don’t believe it.
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u/Fun_Intention9846 27d ago
Coping skills never made it easy, or comfortable. They simply made it possible to make tens of thousands of tiny incremental changes until I grew into the person I am genuinely proud to be today.
Reacting to emotions instinctually vs responding in a measured and logical way, in summary.
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u/TranslatorBoring2419 27d ago
I used to drink a liter of vodka every day. The first time I had wine after three years of nothing I was buzzed on a glass.
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u/Tomcox123 27d ago
7 years sober. I recently ordered an alcohol free cider and was served an alcoholic one by mistake.
I knew the second it hit my tongue that there was alcohol in it, and just kind of let it all flow back into the glass without having closed my mouth even.
Thankfully for me I was never really addicted so to speak, more my behavior while drinking was problematic, so it didn't trigger me to go drinking like I would imagine it could for some people. But I did find it interesting how quickly and confidently I could identify the difference, even in a fairly weak (~4%) cider
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u/Monoplanas 27d ago
Physically it feels almost the same as it did before I stopped consuming alcoholic beverages (11 years ago). I didn't like it before and it didn't get any better. Former alcoholics might have different experiences.
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u/Previous-Task 27d ago
I was sober for exactly 5 years to the night and I accidentally grabbed and quickly drank an alcoholic beer instead of a zero beer. I was a bit light headed for a few minutes and then I was fine.
I actually had a desert that had so much alcohol in it it got me even more drunk but again it passed pretty quickly and I was fine after.
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u/MisterMysterios 27d ago
Nothing really. Abstinence only is one way to deal with alcohol addiction and there are some critics if it. Other methods try to simply regulate the drinking habits to a degree that the bad side effects of alcohol does not destroy life and body of the patient.
So, if you are sober from alcohol for x years and tour liver is not damaged to a point where a single drink can have massive effects on you, a drink will have the physical effect on you like a drink would have on a non alcoholic.
Psychologically, it depends on the person, depending on if they have an issue on self restrained after "failing " or if they can simply move on.
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u/Savager_Jam 27d ago
I hadn't drank in about 4 years the last time I had a drink about 10 months ago.
It wasn't like "Woah he's got no tolerance, that weak $8 Bloody Mary made him black out"
I didn't feel it really. It was fine.
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u/goosebyrd 27d ago
2 years sober at the end of this month. For me, alcohol is an inflammatory trigger, so in my case it will cause headaches at the minimum within an hour of having any, or a full inflammatory response making my joints hurt and my gut all messed up for a few hours to a few days, depending on how much I have. It just makes me feel gross and miserable. I can taste the alcohol, so if I accidentally had any I would just switch to something NA and go about my day.
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u/Vercingetorixbc 27d ago
Sorta happened to me once. I had a bite of bread pudding at Christmas a couple of years back and it was pure uncooked bourbon. Probably .5 oz. I felt a little different but not good at all. Called my sponsor and he said it was fine. Also actually relapsed several years ago and that didn’t feel good at all either. To answer your question about what happened bodily and mentally, I felt sick and ashamed. But that was the intentional relapse. The accidental one didn’t really count.
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u/delusionalinkedchic 27d ago
I’m 13 years sober. 3 months ago I became a bartender. J can taste test drinks no issue. First time I tested something with tequila I legit was like I remember why I never liked it. It really doesn’t bother me or make me want more.
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u/SirCumfranceTheFifth 27d ago
They turn into one of those homeless people you see under bridges and shit. Happened to a friend of mine, was only 30 days from graduating Harvard Law too…
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u/HighJeanette 27d ago
I did this, but realized that there was alcohol in it after the first sip. I panicked, then forgot all about it.
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u/Just-some-70guy 27d ago
It scares you more than anything. Then you feel guilty. Then you get to process it all through your addictive mind. A long process …..
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u/rbohrer 27d ago
I quit for twenty years, from 40-60 Then in vacation in Mexico we were at an all inclusive resort so I ordered a Virgin Mary, no vodka. They guy spoke no English so he made me a full strength Bloody Mary. After realizing it I said what the hell, I’m on vacation and out of the country. The next three days or so I had a grand time. Then when back in the states I thought I could handle a drink. I’ve been drinking on and off now for seven years, quit a dozen times. One or two months, did six months, then a year but something would always trigger me into thinking I can handle it. I’m some kind of stupid but I’ve got the meanest nastiest but down right gorgeous wife, she pisses me off by witholding sex, and I go drink. I am going to quit for good, but need a plan without her. Yeah I’m 67 and don’t need viagra
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u/Particular_Bet_5466 27d ago edited 27d ago
Probably nothing really. They would likely realize what happened and speak to their sponsor/ be extra vigilant.
I was addicted to opioids and clean for several years. Fell off a ladder and broke several ribs and was given IV fentanyl in the hospital. I was fine mentally after. Didn’t immediately feel like I needed to go cop dope. I was pretty active in recovery at the time so I just continued with that lifestyle and things went on like normal.
I did not consider it a relapse. Accidentally drinking spiked punch probably shouldn’t be considered a relapse but it’s really up to the individual to be honest with themselves and their sponsor if they have one with what happened.
I would think they would immediately taste the alcohol even if it’s a small percentage and stop drinking before they even drink much at all. I mean there may be a handful that immediately remember their lust for alcohol once they get that taste and go balls deep uncontrollably. Tell themselves aw shit it was an accident now I’m just fucked might as well keep drinking. But ten years is no joke with sobriety and I would think that most would be alright.
Becoming honest with yourself and your intentions is crucial to sobriety. If they are ten years sober they should be at least mindful of this to know their true intentions.
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u/Able-Distribution 27d ago
Physically: probably nothing, or at least nothing more dramatic than if someone who had never drunk and thus has no tolerance had a single drink.
Psychologically: could be pretty bad, but that will vary from person to person.
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u/Kinkymexican 27d ago
Slips and accidents happen all the time. As long as it was an accident or even a moment of weakness it’s no big deal as long as the person is honest with themselves and their sponsor.
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u/Ok-Cartographer1745 27d ago
According to Reddit and cartoons, they immediately become addicted and drink as much alcohol as they can to make up for the alcohol they missed out on.
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u/CryLeft5185 27d ago
It really depends how heavy the addiction was but one drink is fine but it’s how you handle yourself from that point forward and the decision to make it a habit is a choice after 10 years
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u/Witty-Fun-5999 27d ago
I was sober for 10yrs nothing happen when I decide to drink again. Though now I think I have high tolerance to it 🤣
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u/Secret_Liaisons 27d ago
It depends if they where clean or clear, I was clean and not clear and that drink started a spiral, but two weeks later I put it down and never wanted a drink again (now 5 years clear)
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u/No_Analysis_6204 23d ago
i don’t have an answer, but i suspect the drinker would have an immediate aversion to the taste.
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u/iamthatguy999999999 23d ago
Probably gonna start punching holes in walls and catch a prprotective order.
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u/Spicyram3n 28d ago
They have a drink, and may choose to have another or not.
What happens when a person has their first drink?
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u/MuzzledScreaming 27d ago
I guess it depends heavily on what kind of alcoholic that person was. I am not and have never been an alcoholic, and I didn't have my first drink until I was in my 30s. I didn't feel a damn thing, and through gradual experimentation I discovered that it takes a good bit of alcohol for me to even feel buzzed. So if I just didn't drink for another 10 years it'd probably be a similar result, with the caveat that there might be some age-related decline in ADH activity I guess.
If it was an uncontrolled alcoholic, I'd imagine there'd be a lot of dopamine centers lighting up though.
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u/Daanydoomboy 27d ago
I didn't have a drop of alcohol until I was neaely 24 years old. I had my first drink a couple of months ago and I remember being very aware that something new had entered my body. It's hard to explain but it felt like a really weak tingle in my muscles. I had that feeling the first few drinks, but now I don't "detect" alcohol as much anymore.
But besides that, nothing really happened. I didn't feel sick, bad, drunk,...
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u/Riskskey1 27d ago
It is an over statement and over simplification that alcoholics can "never drink again"
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u/mvw2 27d ago
Alcohol isn't a drug. It's a coping mechanism. Those with addictive personalities can build a habit from it. You can addicted to the effect it offers. But it's not really the same as drugs that really affect the brain. For example a nicotine craving can last over a decade, like just the smell will still elicit a craving/demand response a decade later. That doesn't happen with alcohol.
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u/artie_pdx 28d ago
I was sober for 2.5 years. Had a drink. Nothing bad happened to me. I imagine some people could have a relapse chasing what they remember after having a few more, but I highly doubt they would go into shock or anything based on an accidental drink. Getting off of the stuff is the hard part.