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Hebnick 03-10-2017 05:15 AM

This helped me quit
 
I swore that one I'd quit, I'd pass on the things that made me realise alcohol controlled my life, and share with others who were in the same position. If it comes accross has being high and almighty, or I'm a better person than you, it's certainly far from that, the opposite in fact. Some of this you've maybe seen before, but I'm true to my word and am sharing nonetheless.

Hope it rings some bells, all the best.


Why I HATE alcohol

1. I don't like the taste
2. The only thing that is ‘rewording’ is the relief from a craving the drug created
3. Alcohol is ruining my life, though my addictive brain will/would never admit to that, but it's a fact, consider these;
a. I don't like the tast, at all
b. My life is so unhappy – the cause is alcohol, it keeps me locked in a prison
c. If alcohol genuinely made you happy, then why is point B true, and why do you cry when drinking?
d. Being drunk is the most bland feeling one can have
e. Alcohol is THE biggest cause of stress and anxiety my life, further adding to the fact it doesn't make me happy, it makes me miserable. How can being miserable be relaxing?
f. Alcohol created the fear and anxiety that I can't live without it
g. Fact I NEVER had these fears before I drunk alcohol
h. Alcohol keeps me in a permanent state of trying to feel better – how on earth is that relaxing? It's the equivalent of taking a drug that you know will put you on edge and make you tired
i. Relaxed? Then why is there such a thing as alcohol induced anxiety?
j. Everyone has good and bad days drinkers/non drinkers
i. Add alcohol into the mix and you get confusion and a deepening sadness

4. Dopamine – why you got hooked in the first place. Dopamine is that ‘feel good feeling’ that Alcohol gives you. But the reward system (see point 2) is being used to end cravings, not provide a genuine reward. In the case of Alcohol, all it's doing is giving relief from the drug alcohol. Non drinkers don't suffer these cravings, and the cravings are uncomfortable. So once more, relaxing and making you happy? No, how can it be given the previous statement.
a. The reward system reinforces important behaviour essential for our SURVIVAL. I.e. Drinking (not alcohol!), eating, exercise etc. I.e. The reward system ensures when you're hungry, you reach for food – and bingo you get rewarded by getting a release of Dopamine. That's so true!
b. So the reward system makes the activity enjoyable and wants to do it again. Alcohol hijacks the reward system acting like a virus and fools the reward system into releasing a much higher dose of dopamine. The reward system now sees alcohol as essential for survival. Alcohol is a poisonous drug. Not a smart thing to do.
i. So this means that as the brain craves dopamine to end the cravings, the reward system has turned your natural needs into DRUG needs.
c. Repeated exposure to alcohol eventually desensitises the reward system. The reward system is no longer responsive to everyday stimuli. THIS is why life becomes bland and boring. Even alcohol (as experienced by me) at this point just makes you feel bland and un-excited.
i. The reward system now sees alcohol as the #1 source of survival. That's why alcoholics don't eat or shave, wash etc. Life for them evolves around one thing ALCOHOL.
ii. From my experience everything I do/did evolved around alcohol. I wouldn't consider doing anything that didn't include me getting my ‘fix’ and that's just exactly what it is.
iii. This made my life a slave to alcohol. Not enjoying life when not drinking it, not enjoying life when drinking it. For me knowing everything I've learnt, quitting was a no brainer. I wanted to LIVE life, alcohol stopped me from doing this. I'd become a slave to alcohol.
iv. Knowing alcohol didn't make me happy, or relax me – giving it up was easy.
d. Remember alcohol is ADDICTION, the relief you crave(and get up to a point, see section c above) is just a relief to an end of the cravings. This is not happiness or relaxation. Again, remember non drinkers don't suffer any of this.
e. If you don't stop drinking alcohol at point c, and continue to abuse the reward system, you will need to take dangerous levels of alcohol to ‘achieve’ that feel good feeling. This can lead to an overdose. Alcohol poisoning.
i. Alcohol depresses nerves that control involuntary actions such as breathing and the gag reflex (which prevents choking). A fatal dose of alcohol will eventually stop these functions.
ii. It is common for someone who drank excessive alcohol to vomit since alcohol is an irritant to the stomach. There is then the danger of choking on vomit, which could cause death by asphyxiation in a person who is not conscious because of intoxication.
f. Now do you see that allowing to abuse your reward system is not only stupid but life threatening?!

Conclusion

I knew at the point I decided to quit alcohol my life would be immeasurably better. I mean, when you're at the bottom there's only one way you can go, that's up!

I wasn't ‘giving up’ alcohol, I was getting rid of the elephant in the room that was my life.

To all those who are struggling to quit, my heart goes out to you, sincerely. I didn't mean to sound obnoxious when I said I found it easy to quit, in fact it's taken me nearly two years to understand how we’re fooled by alcohol.

I have to give immense credit to the book by Allen Carr for starting me on the journey. The one thing the book didn't go into was the chemistry (dopamine). So I had to get to the bottom of that!

If this article helps just one person escape from the prison that is alcohol, or even gets them on the track to quitting, then that’ll be the biggest ‘high’ ever for me.

Thanks and god bless

Nick

ScottFromWI 03-10-2017 05:53 AM

Welcome to SR and thanks for sharing Nick. I think you'll find a lot of people who feel the same way here as you do about alcohol, hopefully you can stick around and join us for some conversation.

thomas11 03-10-2017 07:28 AM

Hi Nick, glad to hear you were able to get the beast back in its cage. I also agree with much of what you said. There isn't one thing that drinking doesn't make exponentially worse.....and its tastes terrible.

Hebnick 03-10-2017 09:05 AM

Thanks, took a long time to reach that conclusion!

Hebnick 03-10-2017 09:06 AM

I will stick around, I'd like to help others, even if it's just to be an ear for someone.

Daucuscarota 03-10-2017 01:10 PM

Hi Hebnick,

Thanks for a great post.
Allen Carr's book also helped me a lot.
Rational Recovery feels like a very similar approach as well.
Keep up the good work, and good luck to us all on this journey.

Hebnick 03-10-2017 01:24 PM

Thanks Daucuscarota
 

Originally Posted by Daucuscarota (Post 6362124)
Hi Hebnick,

Thanks for a great post.
Allen Carr's book also helped me a lot.
Rational Recovery feels like a very similar approach as well.
Keep up the good work, and good luck to us all on this journey.

Ive not heard of Rational Recovery. I'll google that.

I also read Jason Vales book. Neither explained the chemistry in what alcohol does to our brains, dopamine is the major player. I've an inquisitive mind that wont accept anything as fact if there's doubt.

Thanks my friend for a positive comment.

Nick

SoberLeigh 03-10-2017 02:02 PM

Thanks, Nick, and welcome.

jazzfish 03-10-2017 02:19 PM

Thanks for the great list. A great book that mirrors a lot of what you said is This Naked Mind by Annie Grace.

One of the things I used to ask myself when debating whether to quit was: "If alcohol is so great at enhancing my life, shouldn't my life be a whole lot better now?" Look at the wreckage of my life from that perspective, it was pretty easy to identify the culprit.


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