Old 04-24-2012, 05:22 AM
  # 11 (permalink)  
sayonara
Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Nelson, British Columbia
Posts: 20
Apart from the obvious of eating well, trying to sleep properly, take vitamins, exercise and generally feel good in knowing that I'm doing good for myself and others by not consuming, avoiding "triggers" and awkward or potentially dangerous situations where it might be easy to relapse (like the company of past drinking pals etc.) I've found that trying to educate myself on as many of the issues about what alcoholism and addictions "mean".

By this I mean trying to understand what the physical effects of what alcohol does to the body and "how it works", how different approaches to long term sobriety have been successful (or unsuccessful) for different people. AA and twelve step methods work for some people (and that's great) but they are not the only approaches to long term sobriety. AVRT, Rational Recovery, "the beast within", and "lizard brain" approaches work for some people (and that's great) but once again, they aren't the only way to go.

So finding a method to maintain sobriety that works for you and you're comfortable with will strengthen your chances at success. Personally, I like to keep it light and not to put too much pressure on myself.

What it boils down to for me is, if I weigh the benefits of drinking vs. the benefits of NOT drinking, the latter outweighs the former by a longshot. When I boil it down to this simple principle, it becomes pretty much a "no-brainer", for me anyhow.

Happiness and success to you all.
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