Brittny
Believe it or not, you’ve already made enormous progress with your situation by taking two of the most difficult steps for someone in your circumstance…
1 – you recognized and admitted that you have a problem that needs to be addressed, and
2 – you reached out and asked for help.
Congratulations! You should be very proud of yourself. Now continue to move in a positive direction. Here are some thoughts/suggestions that may help you get started.
• Keep things as simple as possible for now! Don’t even think about “quitting”. Quitting implies “forever”, and forever can be an overwhelming thought. Just focus on being committed to not drinking today. Don’t even think about tomorrow or any other day in the future. You can deal with tomorrow when you wake up tomorrow.
• Build a support group of people in your area that don’t drink or can control their drinking, and who are trustworthy and reliable. This includes alcoholics who are in sobriety. They will have tons of suggestions to help you. You can start right away by going to this website (
Home Page). It’s the closest Intergroup office to you. Look up AA meetings nearby so that you can meet new people. It appears Columbus, TX only has meetings at the Old Library on Tuesdays at noon and 8pm. I strongly suggest that you go to one or both of them this Tuesday and make your attendance the MOST important obligation you have that day. Whatever else you may have planned, cancel, reschedule, or move it around so that you can fit this in. Treat this as if it’s life or death surgery that cannot be missed. Also, call the Intergroup phone number right away and talk to the people there. Tell them your situation and ask them for some guidance on things you could do. (Don’t be afraid or embarrassed because it’s anonymous, so ask everything that’s on your mind.)
• DEFINITELY talk to your doctor about all your medical problems as soon as possible, including your drinking and your reasons for doing it. Your doctor needs to help you find a way to deal with whatever you are struggling with so that you won’t want to turn to alcohol to self-medicate. Don’t be afraid to be persistent about it either. Make sure they understand the seriousness of your situation and how important it is to you.
• Throw out the thought of trying to limit your drinking. It will never work. If alcohol is causing problems in your life, the only way to eliminate the problems is to eliminate the alcohol. Millions before you have tried to set limits for themselves, including yours truly, and we have all failed. No matter what we try, we will eventually cross the line. If we could stick to a limit, we would have done so in the past and not caused so many problems for ourselves, and we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now.
Just remember, every bad feeling you’ve had or shameful experience you have gone through in your life has already been felt or experienced by many others before you. You are not alone. And numerous people have overcome their situations to live happy and prosperous lives. Now you just need to find those people whose circumstances are most similar to yours so that they can guide you through your journey.
Hang in there, keep reaching out for help, and DON’T DRINK JUST FOR TODAY!!!