Here's what i beleieve
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Sask
Posts: 117
Here's what i beleieve
I am on day 10 of being sober, and today is going very well. I just wanted to share some thoughts with you.
I'm not going to go into how I got a drinking problem, because it doesn't really matter. We all have individual stories, with VERY common themes.
I have read with a voracious appetite everything I could in the last 5 years concerning alcohol, so I could unlock the ball and chain from my ankle..
Things I believe:
I believe alcohol alters brain and body chemistry - in fact I know it. I'm not just saying your personality changes when you are DRINKING/DRUNK, I mean it CHANGES your personality.It changes who you are. But that doesn't mean you can never go back to who you WERE.
Chronic drinking upsets the balance of serotonin and other neurotransmitters . Your body does it's best to cope, but as long as you drink, it fights a losing battle.
I believe alcohol is far more destructive than smoking, for example. I used to think smoking affected the others around you, where drinking did not, you were only affecting yourself. NOTHING could be further from the truth ! Your drinking creates self-loathing, poisons your body, changes your personality. After you say or do something you regret, because you were drunk, the guilt and self-loathing kick in again........how do you get those terrible feelings to go away? Another few drinks. All the while, the longer this goes on, your brain chemistry is getting more and more screwed up, and alcohol is becoming more a part of your life, until it is ingrained, and you think you can't do without it.
Alcohol steals from you - it steals your self-respect, confidence, dreams, and the relationships with your friends and most importantly, your family. The most important thing in life you can do is to love yourself - and alcohol robs you of this too.
Alcohol buries you - it puts you in a hole where you are constantly trying to dig out, but can't. You hate the booze for what it is doing to you, but short-term, it is making the pain go away so it is "helping" .
Anyways, those are a few thoughts I had. I'm currently about 1/3 through the book "The EasyWay to Stop Drinking" and have "Seven weeks to sobriety" on the way.
That may sound odd to you, considering I haven't had a drink in 10 days, but I figure you can never learn too much, and I will grab every edge I can in my battle against this drug.
I would highly recommend the book "5-HTP" by Micheal Murray to everyone, he describes in depth how the brain chemistry can be upset, and how to fix it. Also, so far the book "EasyWay to stop drinking" has been very good I'll keep you posted on it.
I believe EVERYONE here can beat this addiction. Just find YOUR way. Find YOUR reasons. I DO believe that it is tied to upset brain chemistry,..........now that brain chemistry may very well have been in a bad state before the heavy drinking (Mine was - Depression, fatigue, etc) but long term drinking sends it into absolute termoil, making it far worse.
Think about what you have lost/missed in your life due to drinking. What are you missing out on right now?? What will you miss out on, or lose if you continue drinking?? Reflect on this. I'll bet you booze has brought IMMENSE misery into your life.
Find your way to beat it. You know it is harmful you know the pain and suffering it has caused you and those around you. Why in God's name would you want to continue?
My way, has been to bite the bullet and go through the withdrawal. Heavy nutritional supplementation. Better diet, plenty of water, exercise.
I'm no expert. But, boy if you could feel as great as I do today, you would be developing a plan right now!!
I think what has helped me the most is what I said above " Think about what you have lost/missed in your life due to drinking. What are you missing out on right now?? What will you miss out on, or lose if you continue drinking?? Reflect on this. I'll bet you booze has brought IMMENSE misery into your life."
For me, I realized I am throwing away months of the precious life I have on this planet, missing time with my kids, and losing their desire to spend time with me, because of my drinking. Those are days I can NEVER get back, and I'm not willing to lose anymore of them.
I wish everyone here strength, wisdom, and hope you can sit down today and develop a plan to help you beat this drug.
Stay strong.
I'm not going to go into how I got a drinking problem, because it doesn't really matter. We all have individual stories, with VERY common themes.
I have read with a voracious appetite everything I could in the last 5 years concerning alcohol, so I could unlock the ball and chain from my ankle..
Things I believe:
I believe alcohol alters brain and body chemistry - in fact I know it. I'm not just saying your personality changes when you are DRINKING/DRUNK, I mean it CHANGES your personality.It changes who you are. But that doesn't mean you can never go back to who you WERE.
Chronic drinking upsets the balance of serotonin and other neurotransmitters . Your body does it's best to cope, but as long as you drink, it fights a losing battle.
I believe alcohol is far more destructive than smoking, for example. I used to think smoking affected the others around you, where drinking did not, you were only affecting yourself. NOTHING could be further from the truth ! Your drinking creates self-loathing, poisons your body, changes your personality. After you say or do something you regret, because you were drunk, the guilt and self-loathing kick in again........how do you get those terrible feelings to go away? Another few drinks. All the while, the longer this goes on, your brain chemistry is getting more and more screwed up, and alcohol is becoming more a part of your life, until it is ingrained, and you think you can't do without it.
Alcohol steals from you - it steals your self-respect, confidence, dreams, and the relationships with your friends and most importantly, your family. The most important thing in life you can do is to love yourself - and alcohol robs you of this too.
Alcohol buries you - it puts you in a hole where you are constantly trying to dig out, but can't. You hate the booze for what it is doing to you, but short-term, it is making the pain go away so it is "helping" .
Anyways, those are a few thoughts I had. I'm currently about 1/3 through the book "The EasyWay to Stop Drinking" and have "Seven weeks to sobriety" on the way.
That may sound odd to you, considering I haven't had a drink in 10 days, but I figure you can never learn too much, and I will grab every edge I can in my battle against this drug.
I would highly recommend the book "5-HTP" by Micheal Murray to everyone, he describes in depth how the brain chemistry can be upset, and how to fix it. Also, so far the book "EasyWay to stop drinking" has been very good I'll keep you posted on it.
I believe EVERYONE here can beat this addiction. Just find YOUR way. Find YOUR reasons. I DO believe that it is tied to upset brain chemistry,..........now that brain chemistry may very well have been in a bad state before the heavy drinking (Mine was - Depression, fatigue, etc) but long term drinking sends it into absolute termoil, making it far worse.
Think about what you have lost/missed in your life due to drinking. What are you missing out on right now?? What will you miss out on, or lose if you continue drinking?? Reflect on this. I'll bet you booze has brought IMMENSE misery into your life.
Find your way to beat it. You know it is harmful you know the pain and suffering it has caused you and those around you. Why in God's name would you want to continue?
My way, has been to bite the bullet and go through the withdrawal. Heavy nutritional supplementation. Better diet, plenty of water, exercise.
I'm no expert. But, boy if you could feel as great as I do today, you would be developing a plan right now!!
I think what has helped me the most is what I said above " Think about what you have lost/missed in your life due to drinking. What are you missing out on right now?? What will you miss out on, or lose if you continue drinking?? Reflect on this. I'll bet you booze has brought IMMENSE misery into your life."
For me, I realized I am throwing away months of the precious life I have on this planet, missing time with my kids, and losing their desire to spend time with me, because of my drinking. Those are days I can NEVER get back, and I'm not willing to lose anymore of them.
I wish everyone here strength, wisdom, and hope you can sit down today and develop a plan to help you beat this drug.
Stay strong.
Last edited by Seekingsobriety; 05-30-2009 at 11:40 AM.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,243
Thanks for posting. Those are great mental reminders of the not so pretty side of alcohol we all need to hear.
By the way "Under The Influence" in the sticky section of Alcoholism is also an excellent resource for information and can be picked very inexpensively used in E-Bay.
By the way "Under The Influence" in the sticky section of Alcoholism is also an excellent resource for information and can be picked very inexpensively used in E-Bay.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Sask
Posts: 117
Just another thought to add. If you can make it 6 or 7 days sober, you will get an immense boost..........................because now you realize that life woithou alcohol IS possible. It will excite you and give you greater hope to move forward. You will DREAM again about your future, and your optimism will shoot through the roof. Try for a week, and take it from there !!
YouTube - Keith Urban - You're Not My God
YouTube - Keith Urban - You're Not My God
Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 118
Originally Posted by Seekingsobriety 
Just another thought to add. If you can make it 6 or 7 days sober, you will get an immense boost..........................because now you realize that life woithou alcohol IS possible. It will excite you and give you greater hope to move forward. You will DREAM again about your future, and your optimism will shoot through the roof. Try for a week, and take it from there !!
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,496
Hi,
I'm glad you're doing well.
For me, I have found that I have to deal with my addiction in a physical, mental and spiritual way, each and every day. I need the three pieces of the puzzle to fit together to give me the sense of well-being and peace that I want to have.
I'm glad you're doing well.
For me, I have found that I have to deal with my addiction in a physical, mental and spiritual way, each and every day. I need the three pieces of the puzzle to fit together to give me the sense of well-being and peace that I want to have.
Community Greeter
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 51,560
Thank you - that was great. In particular, I relate to the part about trying to get rid of the guilt & remorse with more booze. The insanity of it all - and yet I lived that way for over 25 yrs., believing I needed to be numb to cope. I remember always feeling so alone with my thoughts, and didn't understand what I'd been putting myself through until I came to SR.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Virginia
Posts: 818
Hey Seek, Like you, I've read just about everything there is to know about alcoholism, which is suprisingly little by the way. I had a career in the Navy and was trained to know my enemy and that helped my immensely in my sobriety. But that's me. One thing that I didn't see mentioned in your posting was AA. All the knowledge in the world and all my willpower couldn't match the help I got in AA. You may want to add that to your arsenal.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Sask
Posts: 117
Thanks Joe, tried the AA group here........it wasn't for me, and unfortunately there are no other groups close. But I may travel and attend a different meeting. If I found a group I liked, I would have no problem travelling to the meetings
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