Key takeaway
You are at the office copier and your hands are shaking for a drink or a drug. You have a few minutes. Step into a bathroom, drink water, text someone in the fellowship, and look up a meeting for after work. If the shaking is withdrawal, get medical help. A copier is not a plan for that.
Last updated: 2026-10-06
The copier is warm and your hands are not. You are shaking for a drink or a drug in the middle of a workday, with a stack of paper and a few minutes before someone needs the machine. You can smell toner. You can also smell the plan forming, the one where you leave at lunch and do not come back right.
You have a few minutes. Use them small. Bathroom. Water. A text to someone in the fellowship: "At work. I want to use." Then look up a meeting for after the shift, before the wanting talks you out of it.
Do not invent an office policy
You do not have to tell the person waiting for the copies anything. "I need a minute" is plenty. Your workplace has its own rules, and you do not have to guess them out loud at the machine. Your privacy can stay intact. A meeting after work does not require a speech at the printer.
You can just listen when you get there. Anyone with a desire to stop drinking is welcome. There are no dues or fees. If you cannot wait until evening, phone meetings can happen on a break if you have a door that shuts. The Meeting Guide app is the lookup. Confirm the listing. Find A.A. near you helps for a room you can reach without a heroic commute.
If the shaking is because you have been drinking heavily and you stopped, withdrawal can be life-threatening. Get medical help. Call 911 for severe symptoms. A copier plan is not care. The meeting is not treatment.
If you are about to walk out and hurt yourself, call or text 988. The paper can wait. You do not have to.
When you want a treatment referral, call (800) 653-9376. The call is free to you. Treatment providers pay for the referral.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
- A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
- A.A.: Find A.A. Near You
- A.A.: Meeting Guide app
- NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
- NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
- SAMHSA National Helpline
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- SmarterRecovery meetings search
- SmarterRecovery about page
Common Questions
Can I get through the next hour at work?
Maybe, with a small plan. Bathroom, water, a text to someone who knows you are trying, and a meeting after the shift. You do not have to explain the copier to a coworker. If your body is in real trouble, work is not the priority. Get medical help.
What if someone asks why I look rough?
You can say you need a minute, or that you are fine and then not be fine at them. You do not owe a diagnosis to the office. There is no rule here about what your workplace allows. Your privacy is yours. A meeting after work does not require an announcement at the printer.
How do I find a meeting before I lose the nerve?
Look it up now, while the copies run, in Meeting Guide or the meetings search you trust. Confirm the time. Phone meetings exist if you cannot wait until evening. You can listen. Anyone with a desire to stop drinking is welcome. There are no dues or fees.
This shaking might be withdrawal.
If you have been drinking heavily and you stopped, withdrawal can be life-threatening. A copier plan is the wrong plan. Tell a clinician or call 911 for severe symptoms. Do not drive yourself if you are confused or seizing. A meeting cannot monitor you.
I am going to leave and drink at lunch.
Text someone before you hit the door, or step into a phone meeting on a break if you can do it privately. If the urge comes with wanting to hurt yourself, call or text 988. You can still choose the meeting after work even if lunch was ugly. Stop when you can.