Originally Posted by Ariesagain

What worked best for me was understanding the biochemical and socioeconomic aspects of alcohol addiction. Alcohol isn't a wonderful sophisticated thing that enhances lives...it's a toxic depressant chemical that is implicated in 60+ diseases and conditions, many of which are fatal. That toxic chemical is being pushed down our throats almost literally because it's incredibly profitable...beer and wine are largely water. So we see it everywhere...television, movies, grocery stores...in short we are brainwashed into thinking we're missing something when we don't drink and all we're missing is compromising our physical and mental health...not to mention our finances.

Seeing it for what it really is helps me feel liberated, not deprived and that's key to staying stopped. Not many of us can rely on pure will power for the long haul, but mentally reassigning booze from the reward to the punishment category is a big help.