Let’s talk about this for a minute shall we?
Quitting an addiction is never an easy process as it takes a strength within yourself.
You have to dig deep down within your soul and every fiber in your being to accomplish this task.
Quitting an addiction
Let me start by saying this… Quitting anything is difficult. If it were easy this would not be an issue.
People would have no problems if it were easy, right?
Now, I can tell you how I accomplished this yet, everyone is different.
I found my way to be not so easy as I went cold turkey on my own.
No help from a professional only me and at the time my support group which was not a group at all… Just me and my Mother.
I have talked about all this process in a few other blogs. One of which I posted just a little while ago and on another a few months back.
The last one I titled: At what point did you realize that your drinking problem had become unmanageable.
You can find it here.
In that post I talked about my journey and start to my sobriety.
As mentioned above, it is different for everyone.
How it goes for you is completely up to you and nobody can tell you exactly how to go about doing so.
If you have gone way off the deep end then as most will tell you, you need to speak to a doctor about the steps you might need to take.
Sometimes quitting can hurt you worse or even more, can kill you. So, you need to make sure you start this the right way.
If you go about it on your own then, by all means… Read about my own journey and maybe just maybe it may help you.
The quitting process
Now, I can give you tons of facts on this topic yet if you want to know how to go about it on your own, I can
only give you a few ideas that worked for me.
I have said this a million times, everyone is different.
Here are a few things that helped me on my path towards sobriety and maybe they can help you:
- Quit for yourself and not someone else
That may seem a bit self centered but all I can say about this is… This journey is yours and yours alone.
- All results are not typical
What works for some, may not work for you.
- One step at a time
Normally, you hear one day at a time but in the start… It takes baby steps, don’t go beyond what you are not capable of.
What I mean by this is don’t be hard on yourself if it does not go as you planned. Just pick yourself back up, dust yourself off and try try again.
- Distance yourself from other alcoholics
It is not the best idea to keep hanging around those who are drinking. As harsh as this may seem, if these friends are truly friends then they will
or should understand. If not then they are not really true friends or do not realize that they may have an issue with alcohol as well.
This can lead you to a relapse and if you are not too sure what a relapse is all about, I have touched on this subject more than once and you can read
about this topic here as well.
- Change your daily habits, find new hobbies
An example of this is, most of those things you did when you were drinking will not seem as fun as they were when you are sober.
For me, this was fishing, golfing, playing video games and even working on my truck. After time, these will become fun again. They really will!
- Don’t use alcohol as an excuse
Not even when someone that was close to you passes as an excuse to drink again.
This one is specially important to me as a few of my friends who watched me go from being a complete drunk to becoming sober, have passed.
You falling off the wagon will not honor them if they were completely supporting you through your journey through sobriety.
- Find a support group quickly!
Finding someone who has been where you are and or were will help your chances of staying on the path of sobriety. Whether it is through
Alcoholics Anonymous, church, family, or even other sober fiends and family.
You will need a support group to keep you focused on your task ahead.
Now, don’t rely on them 100% as this is your journey and not theirs, they can only help you and not do it for you.
- Eat healthy and stay active
The more you sit around and dwell on the fact that your body and mind is not getting what it wants will lead you to relapse as well.
Even eating foods that you did not eat when you were drinking because at the time alcohol replaced food is a good start.
For me, I found milk and cookies and anything sweet was a humongous help as I always hated eating anything sweet while drinking.
Other than breath mints to cover the smell of alcohol, which was not fooling anyone.
Go for walks and start exercising, your body will need this to get back to how you were before you killed your body with alcohol.
- Get a new mindset
Try things that you have never tried. New tasks or accomplishments will show yourself that things are possible without alcohol in your life.
New activities may help you find new friends who share your same journey.
- Keep a daily journal
Now, I know that most will not do this as sometimes your hands will shake like leaves and trying to write will feel impossible but with new
technologies and even old ones, record yourself.
You might need this down the road to get you back on track if you feel like you may slip or relapse.
I wish I had done this but you know what?… That is what this blog is and is for.
You may need to be reminded of why you started this journey in the first place.
These are but just a few things to do to help you keep on that path of sobriety.
Now, you may be saying to yourself that this all sounds impossible when you are first starting your new life in sobriety but trust me,
Things do get better!
I write these blogs not only to help you towards your journey but also a way to keep myself focused on not slipping back to the hell I was in
while being an alcoholic.
Trust me, I do know what I am talking about on relapse because this is not my first go with sobriety, it is actually my second time.
The first time I did this, I did it on my own as well.
The first time I actually stayed sober for a year and a half and you want to know how I slipped back into it was this:
I was working out of town and had to stay at a mobile home filled with a bunch of drunks and not only that, they were into crack cocaine as well.
I never touched that stuff but the alcohol was in a vast abundance between the four of them. Each of them drank a 24 pack a night and anyone
who is recovering, whether it is a week or three years would have to have an awesome support group to lean on or talk with to stay away from that
scenario.
I had none of that and went at it alone.
Sure, I went to AA but not all the time and sure not enough to even care that I was there.
I went about it completely the wrong way and for all the wrong reasons. One being the first one on my list above, I stopped for someone else more
than anything.
Quitting an addiction is not an easy process yet it is very attainable with the correct tools and knowledge and the ability to accept your responsibilities.
One thing is for sure…
You have to be the one who realizes that you have a problem and you have got to really want a change or it will never work
out in the long run as I can attest to.