Most people can tell you when they have a problem in their life: maybe it's their job or pay, perhaps it's their weight. If I asked you to name an area of your life that you could improve, I'd bet you could give me one or two. But would you say that you have a problem with alcohol, or drinking? Do you wonder how do you quit drinking alcohol?
Alcohol is insidious. It makes it very hard for any of us to be honest about our consumption. I speak from personal experience, here, alcohol is a wily problem.
Why? Alcohol is a comfort. Despite all of the bad things that happen when we drink, it makes us feel ‘warm and fuzzy' and helps us forget our woes. The numbness is comforting and we begin to crave the numbness.
Let me explain. You're carrying on with your life and ‘poof,' a new problem pops up. Note that by ‘problem,' I mean something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Maybe you're worried about a report at work, your child is failing a class, or someone looked at you funny. This is not a huge problem like the zombie apocalypse, just a minor annoyance. The kind of thing most people deal with 100s of times a day.
But if you have a problem with alcohol, you reach for alcohol when problems appear. And like a magic potion, that drink makes the problem go away (temporarily). You find yourself relieved and comforted. Until you sober up. And find out the problem is still around, only it's a little bigger since you ignored the first time. Instead of facing the bigger problem, you just drink a little more!
Please realize that a problem drinker does this with all of their problems; their declining health, problems with a job/career, crumbling relationships, money woes. All of the big problems and all of the little problems are ‘magically erased' by alcohol.
And by drinking more, and hiding from more and more of our problems, our lives become an unmanageable mess.
If you are living like this, it is very likely that you have a drinking problem.
Drinking too much alcohol to solve problems is not logical to someone who does not have a drinking problem. Why would we keep drinking when we know it has such a negative impact on our lives? When it's making us sick? When it's affecting our families, our relationships, and our reputations?
Please remember that a drinker is ignoring ALL of their problems by drinking. Alcohol makes the person feel like they have no problems. The only time they have any problems is when they are sober. That's when scary real-life rises up and demands attention.
If we comes to terms and say, "Yeah, I think drinking is a problem" then we are faced with the next challenge; What to do about it? How will I quit drinking alcohol?
Here is what I did: Deny it. Forget about it. Try harder to control it. Deal with it later (after summer, after Christmas, tomorrow). Compare ourselves to worse cases and say, "At least I'm not that bad." Trust me; we can hide from our problem for years. Or forever!
And that's too bad, because life (without alcohol) is pretty amazing!
If you can conjure up a little courage, you can see the truth. But you have to be very brave to go for that great life. And you have to be willing to put as much effort into sobriety as you did into drinking.
If you are among the few who actually come to terms with a drinking problem, congratulations!
Acceptance is really the first step. And a huge step. Most drinkers can't, or won't accept the fact that alcohol is controlling them. They continue to live the status quo. As big as it seems, the decision to quit drinking alcohol is really pretty small step in your recovery.
Accepting that you have a problem and deciding to stop drinking will not keep you sober. It only opens the door to sobriety. You have to fight like the dickens to stay sober.
It's going to be a long, difficult journey that you will be walking for the rest of your life. That's some scary stuff! And if alcohol has been our ‘magic eraser' for all things scary, we need to learn to live without it.
In order for to quit, you need help to quit drinking. You need help and support from your family and friends. And a doctor. You need medical advice as your body learns to live without alcohol. After you've discussed your drinking with your family and your doctor, you can investigate some of your options: medical detoxification, a rehabilitation center, 12-Step meetings, counseling, and coaching.
Whatever option you decide upon, don't dabble. Don't do it half way. If you say "I need to quit drinking," mean it and do it. If you dabble in your recovery, you will fail. I like to use the analogy of a train pulling out of a station and getting up to speed. Once a train is moving, it is very hard to stop. Any obstacle that appears on the track likely becomes a part of the grill as the train plows through.
Recovery is very much the same; once you create your own momentum (by working your recovery program every minute of every day), your momentum will carry you through any obstacle that life puts in front of you. If you just dabble, it is easy to stop the train and move it onto the wrong track.
So think of a train moving through beautiful countryside, smashing an occasional bug upon its windshield. That's you moving through a wonderful life, powering through any obstacles that might arise. The faster you're moving, the stronger your train. The stronger your train, the more insignificant the obstacle. Your life will line up with the track, while you become the conductor. Who knows where the decision to quit drinking alcohol will take you!
But it is all up to you answer that one question: "Is it time I quit drinking alcohol?"
Alcohol is insidious. It makes it very hard for any of us to be honest about our consumption. I speak from personal experience, here, alcohol is a wily problem.
Why? Alcohol is a comfort. Despite all of the bad things that happen when we drink, it makes us feel ‘warm and fuzzy' and helps us forget our woes. The numbness is comforting and we begin to crave the numbness.
Let me explain. You're carrying on with your life and ‘poof,' a new problem pops up. Note that by ‘problem,' I mean something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Maybe you're worried about a report at work, your child is failing a class, or someone looked at you funny. This is not a huge problem like the zombie apocalypse, just a minor annoyance. The kind of thing most people deal with 100s of times a day.
But if you have a problem with alcohol, you reach for alcohol when problems appear. And like a magic potion, that drink makes the problem go away (temporarily). You find yourself relieved and comforted. Until you sober up. And find out the problem is still around, only it's a little bigger since you ignored the first time. Instead of facing the bigger problem, you just drink a little more!
Please realize that a problem drinker does this with all of their problems; their declining health, problems with a job/career, crumbling relationships, money woes. All of the big problems and all of the little problems are ‘magically erased' by alcohol.
And by drinking more, and hiding from more and more of our problems, our lives become an unmanageable mess.
If you are living like this, it is very likely that you have a drinking problem.
Drinking too much alcohol to solve problems is not logical to someone who does not have a drinking problem. Why would we keep drinking when we know it has such a negative impact on our lives? When it's making us sick? When it's affecting our families, our relationships, and our reputations?
Please remember that a drinker is ignoring ALL of their problems by drinking. Alcohol makes the person feel like they have no problems. The only time they have any problems is when they are sober. That's when scary real-life rises up and demands attention.
If we comes to terms and say, "Yeah, I think drinking is a problem" then we are faced with the next challenge; What to do about it? How will I quit drinking alcohol?
Here is what I did: Deny it. Forget about it. Try harder to control it. Deal with it later (after summer, after Christmas, tomorrow). Compare ourselves to worse cases and say, "At least I'm not that bad." Trust me; we can hide from our problem for years. Or forever!
And that's too bad, because life (without alcohol) is pretty amazing!
If you can conjure up a little courage, you can see the truth. But you have to be very brave to go for that great life. And you have to be willing to put as much effort into sobriety as you did into drinking.
If you are among the few who actually come to terms with a drinking problem, congratulations!
Acceptance is really the first step. And a huge step. Most drinkers can't, or won't accept the fact that alcohol is controlling them. They continue to live the status quo. As big as it seems, the decision to quit drinking alcohol is really pretty small step in your recovery.
Accepting that you have a problem and deciding to stop drinking will not keep you sober. It only opens the door to sobriety. You have to fight like the dickens to stay sober.
It's going to be a long, difficult journey that you will be walking for the rest of your life. That's some scary stuff! And if alcohol has been our ‘magic eraser' for all things scary, we need to learn to live without it.
In order for to quit, you need help to quit drinking. You need help and support from your family and friends. And a doctor. You need medical advice as your body learns to live without alcohol. After you've discussed your drinking with your family and your doctor, you can investigate some of your options: medical detoxification, a rehabilitation center, 12-Step meetings, counseling, and coaching.
Whatever option you decide upon, don't dabble. Don't do it half way. If you say "I need to quit drinking," mean it and do it. If you dabble in your recovery, you will fail. I like to use the analogy of a train pulling out of a station and getting up to speed. Once a train is moving, it is very hard to stop. Any obstacle that appears on the track likely becomes a part of the grill as the train plows through.
Recovery is very much the same; once you create your own momentum (by working your recovery program every minute of every day), your momentum will carry you through any obstacle that life puts in front of you. If you just dabble, it is easy to stop the train and move it onto the wrong track.
So think of a train moving through beautiful countryside, smashing an occasional bug upon its windshield. That's you moving through a wonderful life, powering through any obstacles that might arise. The faster you're moving, the stronger your train. The stronger your train, the more insignificant the obstacle. Your life will line up with the track, while you become the conductor. Who knows where the decision to quit drinking alcohol will take you!
But it is all up to you answer that one question: "Is it time I quit drinking alcohol?"
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