Terminally Unique

Are you stopping because you think you will feel bad when you drink? If so, this is fear-based quitting, and here is what usually happens. You feel bad after a bout of drinking, so you stop, telling yourself that you are stopping because it feels bad. However, there is another part of you that knows perfectly well that there was once a time when drinking felt really, really good, and that part of you may never go away.

So, you hold out with this fear-based strategy for a while, but eventually, you start to forget the pain, which was your reason for quitting. Unfortunately, since you won't easily forget the pleasure you once derived from drinking, a little voice in your head starts talking. It says something like "Come on, Camille, just a little won't hurt, if you're careful. Besides, how do you really know that things will be bad. It might be wonderful instead, just like the good old days."

Does any of this sound familiar? If so, try shifting your perspective. Instead of quitting simply because drinking will feel bad, presume that drinking will always feel absolutely marvelous, but that you will nevertheless forsake that particular synthetic pleasure. By doing it this way, in contrast to fear-based quitting, it won't matter if you forget all the bad stuff, which you probably will.