Tips for Staying Sober at Concerts

Enjoying live music at a concert or festival is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Unfortunately, is it associated with many of us with the use of alcohol or other mood-enhancing drugs. Attending a concert or music festival sober can seem unthinkable for those who are new to recovery. However, it is still possible to have an amazing time without the use of alcohol, weed, or LSD. Check our tips for making it through a concert sober.

In fact, while it may at first take some getting used to, watching live music is in many ways a better experience when drugs are out of the picture. Generally, though, for your first couple of times, it is usually a good idea to keep a few words of advice in mind. If you do, things should go pretty smoothly.

Tips For Staying Sober At A Concert

Saying No to Drugs and Alcohol Without Making it Weird

It is easy to feel triggered in a concert environment. You’ll likely smell weed and alcohol and see people who appear to be having a good time on these substances. The trickiest part, however, is saying no to these people without alienating them or feeling alienated yourself. It is important to keep in mind that the majority of people offering you alcohol will not interpret your refusal as anything bizarre.

There’s no need to explain your history of drug addiction and recovery. The vast majority will just assume you’re not in the mood — or something similarly benign. If, however, for some reason you do find it necessary to explain that you’re a sober recovering addict, many people will find your ability to confront your demons admirable. Some will even be inspired and might ask you questions as a prelude to seeking your help for their own substance problems.

Invite Another Sober Drug Addict

One of the most important aspects of any addiction recovery is developing a sober community. Going to a concert sober — and alone — can be very difficult. For many alcoholics, part of what drives the impulse to drink is a desire to fit in and be a part of. Having a sip of beer or a hit of a joint can, during a dark moment, seem like the solution to feelings of separateness.

By inviting a fellow sober addict or alcoholic, not only will you have someone who will be supportive of your decision to remain sober, but you’ll also decrease feelings of alienation. Chances are, with a friend at the concert with you, you’ll also have a lot more fun. Bonus points if you invite a group of friends!

Focus on Enjoying the Music and Having a Good Time

Chances are, you can name at least a few concerts you attended that you have no memory of whatsoever. Blacking out at a concert from drinking is generally a recipe for a bad time. While many people at concerts may be laughing and smiling while they smoke and drink, the results hours later are usually hidden away in bathrooms or other private areas.

What a shame to spend half of a festival throwing up while a friend holds your hair back, or getting into an alcohol-fueled fist fight, or having a panic attack from too much THC. By remaining sober, you vastly decrease the chances of a mishap like that occurring. You’ll actually be present for the concert.

Remember that Your Favorite Song is Already Good

Why are you going to a concert in the first place? More likely than not, you are a fan of the artist or band. It’s about the music, silly. While it may be tempting to try to enhance the overall concert experience by using mind-altering substances, chances are this is only necessary for people who aren’t real fans of the music.

If you like the music being played, enhancement is hardly necessary. Music, according to recent studies, is similar to drugs in that it causes the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain. So if you’re ever in doubt, just remind yourself that the only high you’ll ever need is your favorite song.

Staying Sober at Design for Recovery

What is the definition of Addiction?

Dear Addiction,

When I first met you, I wasn’t sure how I felt. I liked the way you made me feel, but I didn’t like how I was around you. This is my letter to my addiction, a candid confession of our twisted relationship. I acted differently around my friends, I ditched school to be with you, I even spent my hard-earned money on you.

You flattered me, told me good things about myself. You said I was smarter than other people, even more attractive. I believed you for a while. I felt like if I had you by my side, I could conquer the world. This is my goodbye letter to addiction, a farewell to the false promises and illusions you created.

After a while, you started to tell me that I didn’t need anyone else. I should abandon my friends, shut out my family. You advised me that I was too smart for school.

When I objected that I needed school to find a good career, you told me that I didn’t need a career, that there were other ways of making money aside from hard work. You seduced me with the idea that I was free of all prejudices and that “society” was trying to brainwash me.

This is my goodbye letter to drugs, a rejection of the destructive path you led me down.

Cooped up in my apartment for weeks at a time with only you for company, I began to dawn on me that I was in an unhealthy and abusive relationship with you. You wouldn’t let me see anyone else.

I would try sometimes to go out and have fun with my real friends. After only an hour or two, I would feel you calling me, tugging at me, telling me I had to go home and be with you or I would suffer consequences.

You threatened me with illness, depression, and anxiety. I reached a point where I wouldn’t go anywhere without you. The other people I was with were bothered by that, and they began to avoid me because they didn’t like you — and they no longer liked the “me” I had become. This is my dear addiction letter, a testament to the isolation and pain you caused.

I tried abandoning you. I succeeded for a while. I stopped frequenting the liquor store you always hung around in. I cleaned my apartment and redecorated to remove all traces of you from my life. I started a new job, got a girlfriend, and started to forget you. I realized how good life could be.

Sure, there were times when I missed you when I felt weak or bored without you, but I was happy. This is my goodbye addiction letter, a declaration of my newfound strength and independence.

And then I saw you at a party. You were with someone else. I wasn’t jealous. I didn’t even look at you the whole time I was there. I knew it wouldn’t be good to talk to you. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you.

A week later, I found myself fighting with my girlfriend. I was upset. Without thinking, I went to you. I thought it was just a rebound, that I would see you once and then return to my life. But it never worked out that way with you. Once I was with you, you wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were together again.

After that, my life is a blur. I spent years trying to leave you, but I never succeeded for more than a few days or weeks at a time. I had no money. In fact, I was in debt because of you. I spent time in prison because of you.

You sent me to the hospital more than a few times. I felt so alone, even though I had you. You were no longer a consolation. I knew you were destroying my life. And I knew there was nothing I could do about it.

And then I sought help. I don’t know why I didn’t do it before. Maybe I was embarrassed to admit how much control I’d given you… But I was so desperate, I called someone I knew who was sober. He told me I didn’t have to fight you alone.

I enrolled in a treatment center. The first few days were the worst. At a medical detox center, I missed you every second of the day. I was sick with withdrawal from you, but I felt your hold weakening.

Afterwards, I went to an inpatient treatment center where I made friends with a bunch of other people whose lives, like mine, you had wrecked. We bonded over and shared stories about what you’d done, what you’d made us do. I realized I wasn’t alone. This is my sobriety letter example, a beacon of hope for others who are struggling.

Now you’ve been out of my life for three years. I realize when I first left you, I never properly said goodbye. I guess back then, when I first got sober, I wasn’t confident that I would stay that way. Now I am. I’m taking enormous strides in my life.

I went back to school. I am close with my family again. I have an active social life. A great girlfriend. And the obsession is gone; I don’t miss you. And I don’t blame you either anymore. I’m responsible for my own behavior now. I know I’ll never completely forget my first love – no one ever really does.

If I returned to you, I know I’d be hooked again. But every day I will keep doing what I have to do to keep my obsession at bay — counseling, 12-step meetings, etc — so that I never have to see you again. And so that I can be there to help others who you might victimize.

This is my sobriety letter, a pledge to myself and others that I will remain steadfast in my recovery.

Well, I guess this is goodbye.

-Jay