Your divorce wasn’t directly related to your drinking, but it did force you to take a good long look at the person gazing back at you from the mirror. You realized that you had a drinking problem, went through detox and rehab and emerged feeling much healthier and happier.
But post-rehab, you found that the drinking culture in which most of America lives can make it hard for a person in recovery to remain sober. After-work events with colleagues, gatherings with friends and even family all seem to revolve around drinking alcohol. You find it easier just to order a mocktail, an alcohol-free drink that looks like a cocktail, right down to the garnish to eliminate nosy questions about why you aren’t drinking.
What’s wrong with drinking mocktails when you are sober?
There are a couple schools of thought on this. The most alarming is that drinking a bottle of non-alcoholic beer or a mocktail is the tip of a very slippery slope that could cause an alcoholic to plunge right back into their addiction over time. Plus, there is always the chance that a bartender could inadvertently serve you a vodka and soda with a twist instead of just club soda and lime.
During a child custody battle, the ante is upped
If you are fighting your co-parent for custody or even just liberal visitation rights, consider how drinking a mocktail or near-beer could backfire on you. Photos of you raising a glass in celebration with co-workers at the bar could be uploaded to social media or even snapped surreptitiously by the private investigator your soon-to-be ex hired to decimate your case for custody. It’s just not worth it.
Gathering additional information about the custody laws in Tennessee can prepare you for what you will face in the courtroom.
