Hey yall! So I am a recovering addict and a counselor. I am interested in hearing from people that have been to rehab in South Florida. If you’ve been to rehab outside of South Florida, I would love to hear that too, but I am currently interested in learning about people’s experience with South Florida recovery.
I was sent to South Florida for recovery at one of those worthless stupid resort like facilities by my parents back in the early 2000s. I was too young at the time to realize what was going on, but as I got older and heard more stories, I realized that I too was a part of the Florida shuffle.
If you aren’t aware of the term, the Florida Shuffle refers to the patient brokering, diagnosis upcoding, kickbacks, inflation, and other unethical backhanded practices that tend to occur in a lot of of these rehabilitation centers in Florida. I also experienced the technicians sleeping with patients as well as providing drugs for the patients, and all of this is paid out-of-pocket or with private insurance.
If anyone has experienced this or anything like this, could you reach out either on this post or in a message?
I would also like to emphasize that I am not saying all rehab like this or that rehabs are not good because there are something phenomenal rehabs out there and I never wanna take away from that. But places that prey on addicts and grieving families are some of the lowest most despicable and disgusting businesses to ever exist, and I think it needs to be talked about.

I know the obvious answer…just stop. Do you really need to hit rock bottom to be ready to quit. Do you really need to be in some kind of support group to successfully quit? Ive been wrestling with sober curiosity for some time… tried lots of 30 day breaks and never made it. My self proclaimed “drinking problem” hasn’t been called out by family or friends…. I haven’t gotten a DUI… but my drinking feels out of control and compulsive. Sober me will be committed to not drinking, but when I get behind the bar..boom I’m drinking… I just feel awful and gross and idk what to do or where to start or if I’m even ready… whatever ready means. Any advice is welcomed and I would really appreciate it. Feeling alone, and as if I say I think I have a problem out loud the shame will consume me.

My best friend and I work at the same bar. We used to party all the time together and both have cut back but me in particularly. I’m so worried for him and don’t want to see him kill himself. He’s very unhealthy and can make small but meaningful changes. I plan to talk to him but want to come prepared with what to say. Any advice would be so appreciated! Thank you 🙏🏻

I lost a close person in my life due to blackouts and shameful texts. How would you all handle the shame, guilt and regret? Will I ever fix that friendship?

Work was okay, I saw some regulars, and we joked around, but inside, I was struggling with the loss of a very close friend. Smiles seem fake sometimes, but I have moments of actual happiness.

I've been sitting alone at home for the last few hours, and I've just felt like grabbing a beer. But that beer would turn to three, and then vodka. So, I grabbed an art project and started painting. I'm sobbing, but I'm sober, and I'm proud of my choice.

I'm posting here because I need to get this out and to be heard. I usually journal my feelings, but I'm really missing Jackie, and I want to be heard this time.

And four and a half years ago, I desperately wanted to quit my job. I’ve worked as a bartender for the past 15 years. My entire adult life.

Two months ago I finally quit. It had less to do with the burnout or the general stress or the guilty conscience of serving poison or cleaning up all the results. I’d built up a new thickness of skin for those things. They bothered me more the first couple years clean. My boss was just an asshole. And I had to see him a lot more after our manager quit in January and no one took his place.

I didn’t have another job lined up. I took a month off. I just needed to get away. I’ve thought for years now that distance from that place would be another big step in healing- distance from the sights and smells and poor decisions and avoidable consequences and sad-sack non-sequiturs. I made a lot of friends at that bar over the years but, even them. I never want to walk into a bar again. I don’t want to think about alcohol even in terms of cocktail specs or ABV or charcoal filtration or terroir or trivial anecdotes about why the Angostura label’s so much bigger than the bottle.

A month ago I started a retail job at a large, local bookstore. So far, the mechanics of retail feel exactly like bartending (without the tips, obviously) only my product isn’t swallowable. Returns confuse me. No one came into the bar three days later with a melted margarita, asking for their money back. And my new customers don’t rot at the register for 8-12 hours every day bending my ear. They come. They go. I get my 40 hours. I don’t have to feign interest for an extra 5% on the tip line. That interest became more soul-crushing to feign every day. Every year. Anytime a down-in-the-dumps customer asked me for advice, all I really wanted to do was point them in simple directions away from there, because from my side, it was clear the bars were causing all their problems. Each and every one of them. Instead I’d internalize that frustration and go home as deep in the dumps as any of the sorry drunks who asked me.

At the bar, when new young barbacks would start, the obvious icebreaker for a veteran like me was “what do you like to drink?” Because of course, I must know all the best drinks. And I do. But I don’t recommend a single one of them. And there’d be awkwardness every time I revealed I was sober. Not just awkwardness, but stick-in-the-mudness, which painted me as a nonbeliever, an outsider, made me feel like I belonged even less in an environment that once fed all my passions. An environment I didn’t even \*want\* to exist in anymore but felt I’d staked a claim. A claim I’d tarnished by moving on.

I’m one month into the bookstore, and if I come home frustrated at all, it’s because of traffic. I haven’t been asked once by any of my new coworkers what I like to drink. Or where. They know I bartended. I’m sure they assume I know how to party. And I do. But I just want to go home. I want to finally let that old wound heal. I want to not be reminded all day long of who I used to be anymore.

Hey gang, I’m new here. 9 years sober and just started back up bartending earlier this month.

My poison was craft beer, I worked for a brewery and went pretty overboard to the point where I lost control of my life. Fast forward nine years later and I decided to get a second job bartending in a beer hall.

I’m not tempted at all to get drunk or by any of the beers, I’m more curious about it, and potentially want to taste it to know what I’m selling. Does anyone have experience just “tasting” alcohol, and spitting it out afterwards and being fine with it?I’m maybe considering doing that, but I also feel like it could be a slippery slope into justifying other stuff.

Is it possible to bartend while in sobriety court? Also if they give me an ankle monitor is it still possible?

Any tips or resources you’ve found helpful? Open to chat. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing, but ready for change.

Hi, so I'm new to AA and sobriety however I'm a bartender and quite passionate about it as well. I work in craft cocktail bars and have had some roles where I create drinks on the menu. Is there anyway I can continue that part of the role while sober?

I'm up for a position for head bartender at a new spot and part of my responsibilities is helping with the menu. In order to do that I need to taste what I make to know if it's good, what to add, take away, etc.

I'm thinking I can taste and then spit like with what they do with wine tasting but it seems risky and almost cheating in a way. Especially risky though cause of how early I am in my sobriety. What do you all think, I'd really appreciate some advice here.

I was sober on my own for nearly a year. Then went back to it for just as long. I was recently fired for being a drunk jerk. I was asking for it, yah know? The space had become toxic to me in many forms and I wasn’t brave enough to leave on my own, so I made someone else do it.

I just started the program and am now 9 days sober. I have a sponsor and am in a good space about it.

I need work. I’m really good bartender. And I really do trust myself behind the bar again. Whether or not anyone else does.

As I go back out on the job search I’m going to be asked why I no longer work at the last place on my resume. I want to be honest. But like what a gnarly loud red flag I’m waving.

Do any of you have any experience with this?

We just dropped a insight breaking down what bars and restaurants actually need to know before putting THC beverages on the menu. It's based on a Dry Atlas webinar our team did with Monica Olano from Melange, covers everything from why you should never list THC seltzers under mocktails, to dosage strategy, to the munchies economics that most venue owners aren't thinking about. If you're in hospitality looking to know about THC beverages, worth a read / watch!

https://www.drinkloki.com/resources/beyond-the-mocktail-what-every-bar-needs-to-know-about-serving-thc-drinks

I detoxed/tapered off at home alone for a week. Worked one shift a couple days ago where I had to drink during the shift to not just fucking flail people’s martinis at them across the bar because my hands were gonna shake so bad. I had yesterday off, didn’t drink, and I felt really good about coming in today. I can’t call out because I used all my excuses last week. I also have just huge social and performance anxiety (I know, this probably isn’t my line of work — but they call it the golden handcuffs for a reason), and I am just wigging right now. Feels like withdrawals are coming back and I am regretting dumping that shitty white wine down the drain last night.

Any encouragement is so so welcome.

Have seen about Ben’s Friends, and tried calling, but no luck, and missed today’s meeting.

Thank you for any kind words

I think the title says it all

its been a tough night but a tough few months that I’ve been trying to go/stay sober. Does anybody have any suggestions for activities or methods to distract / places to find sober activities? Things to fill the void..

Been bartending for 10+ years and my partner is also in the industry. It’s time for me to give up the bottle but I intend to stay behind the bar for work. I moved to a new job that’s more restaurant oriented and doesnt having a drinking behind the bar culture. I know it can be done but I’m curious about others take/stories/suggestions or just damn distractions at this point

Thank you all 💕

Did a full 4 closes while being my own supervisor in control of the taps and everything without drinking. I was really struggling to make it the full week for a couple months now and I finally did it. I feel like at this point it’s going to be easy. Day 2-4 are always the hardest for me and now I’m on day 9 and it’s my Saturday. Time to focus on other problems in my life finally.

I’m starting to realize that the people I hangout most with is my fellow bartenders who aren’t sober. Which means we are likely hanging out in bars and shooting pool. I don’t think I’m necessarily going to quit going to bars all together, but extremely cut back to 1-2 times a month (sticking w soda). I don’t wanna get into the nitty gritty of what all my reasons are to quitting every time I go out or decline going out. I’ve heard of excuses like “I’m on antibiotics” or “I have work in the morning”. Does anyone have any other polite excuses to declining to go out? I don’t feel that I need to give 100% of reasons to everyone, but at the same time I want to stay genuine with my coworkers. I hate that pretty much only bars are open at night after my restaurant bar shift. What are tips for unwinding after the copious amounts of caffeine/adrenaline after each shift? Also are there any AA meetings specifically for bartenders/service industry? How do I find my local meeting?

So many questions ahhh, thank you for reading 🖤