Quitting Drinking Alcohol Does Not Have To Be Hard
Dec 19, 2022
Quitting Drinking Alcohol Does Not Have To Be Hard
I'm frequently asked about quitting drinking without Alcoholics Anonymous, and even though I have zero interest in creating a smash and grab piece on that particular institution.
I have an interest in assisting individuals who have inevitably made a decision that a 12 step program is not for them.
I went to AA, and I didn't like it one bit. Actually, it made me start drinking even more!
I listened to all the depressing stories of alcohol abuse and came to the conclusion that my own drinking wasn't so bad after all.
AA depressed the hell out of me
In the meetings I went to, I could not pinpoint any people there who I wanted to model my sobriety on. The sense of life in the room felt sluggish and depressing, not useful or positive.
I was dumbfounded by folks who just kept reading the Big Book over and over again, rather than broadening their perspectives. The Big Book itself left me with some unsolved concerns:
If alcohol addiction is an illness of the body and mind, why doesn't anybody in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting talks about getting the body healthy again? Nobody ever talks about exercise or getting fit and well again.
Does it make more common sense to categorize alcohol addiction as an "illness without any remedy" or as a biochemical/metabolic condition with numerous types of, and possibly equally as many remedies? Given the fresh analysis of both alcohol addiction and other quitting drinking techniques?
AA is not a religious organization God damn it!
Alcoholics Anonymous members get very upset when you beat them with the spiritual aspects of the Big Book.
There is plainly something to be said for the metaphysical element of rehabilitation, and of daily life generally.
I'm just one of the numerous individuals who has accomplished a metaphysical revival with a basic devotion to self-improvement and working daily to improve the lifestyles of other people.
I will go ahead to describe ways to stop consuming alcohol without AA, a topic that I wish I 'd understood something about before I eventually found my very own techniques that gave me the happy sober life I have today.
Get support
Life-altering choices may be made on your own. However, they are challenging to implement on when you keep the most significant folks in your life in a constant state of ignorance.
Throughout detox and initial rehab, the evil clown of alcohol addiction will shout and say to you that you NEED to have booze to live. What addiction textbooks dryly call alcohol cravings, feel like severe thirstiness, flu, and suffocation all rolled up into one terrible feeling, if your dependency is as extreme as mine was.
Undoubtedly, cravings may be put to an end by listening to the Evil Clown and drinking. But there are nutritional supplements that can assist to stop the tangible alcohol cravings. And there are 2 significant advantages to getting encouragement for your attempts to stop drinking from at least one individual you can count on:
Responsibility
You might have the ability to briefly trick yourself into drinking once again, but having somebody in your corner who really appreciates your evolution brings in an extra obstacle to relapsing
Freedom
It always feels so much better when you stop hiding a problem, discuss it with at least another person who cares about you, nothing bad ever happens.
Like lots of past problem drinkers, I used to consume alcohol with my buddies and family members. They normally had zero notion of just how much I was really drinking. They also did not understand that I frequently consumed alcohol just before I met up with them.
Each time I tried to stop without informing my friends and family, the people closest to me would have a tough time of it. Not least of all since I was systematically undergoing unattended withdrawal, which transformed me into a nervous, angry and cranky insomniac.
Don't hide the problem
As soon as I opened up to a specific handful of individuals I trusted and announced that I was going to do something regarding my drinking problem. Everything got a little bit easier.
My choice to open up totally eliminated the social pressure issue. I quit seeing "buddies" who just wished to drink with me and devoted more quality time with people who were in my corner. I eventually developed many fantastic friendships that had practically nothing to do with drinking or even quitting drinking.
There is one more type of assistance that you will require to stop drinking. Depending upon the seriousness of your drinking issue, you will require some degree of professional assistance to detoxify properly, get your health back where it should be, and keep focused to keep going down the sober path.
Professional help
This particular type of help cannot be acquired from friends or family, except if they have already walked down the alcoholism path themselves.
Understanding alcohol addiction is no simple task for everyday people who can take or leave a drink. Even more frustrating, many physicians only find out about dependency by taking a one day lecture in medical college, which might clarify why near to 1 in 6 physicians in the United States also battle with substance addiction themselves.
When I first decided to quit drinking, I went to see my GP and he told me to relax about quitting drinking because I was drinking less than him.
Doctor's are not always in the know
In extreme instances of alcohol withdrawal, specialist inpatient treatment may be required. I mention this in each of my posts that talk about alcohol withdrawal, that in extreme cases can result in seizures and even loss of life.
In my assessment, Alcoholics Anonymous's biggest merit is the genuine help it provides to folks who might have burned every one of their bridges with friends, family, and work.
Nevertheless, Alcoholics Anonymous was set up in over 75 years ago, well before scientific research started to shed light on how diet, lifestyle techniques, physical exercise, and mindfulness can practically re-shape our minds.
Quitting drinking solutions
Around 92% of rehabilitation facilities in the United States are based upon Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step model. This means that clients pay tens of thousands of dollars to clinically detoxify and after that devote several months paying to be in an AA-style group support meeting. All while Alcoholics Anonymous members get the same thing for free.
Rehabilitation is a multibillion-dollar business, despite the fact that 88% of individuals who get costly therapy to help with quitting drinking, relapse within 4 years.
You can deal with this
There are alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous and expensive rehab facilities.
Quitting drinking does not need to be embarrassing, painful or expensive. Craig Beck AKA The Stop Drinking Expert shows people just like you how to stop drinking alcohol without any of the usual struggle and pain.
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