What You Really Have to Do to Quit Drinking
You've tried quitting drinking so many times that you can't even count anymore.
You feel like you've given up.
You think you should probably try it "just one more time" so friends and family think you're at least trying to quit drinking.
And YOU can face yourself more easily, knowing you've tried to quit drinking yet again.
But it hasn't worked all these times.
Why is that? In my opinion, you've given yourself that option of drinking, whether you know it or not.
You may have decided on January 1st of 2009 that "this will be the day I quit forever.
" You really mean it this time.
Your family, friends and co-workers know you're going to try to quit this time.
You give it a shot.
Things seem great.
You haven't had a drink in weeks and you find out someone in the office is going to have a birthday party at a local bar.
Boy, you really want to go and have a good time.
But you're off the booze.
It won't be as much fun if you don't drink.
Everyone else will be drinking.
Maybe you could have one drink and stop, you tell yourself.
Yes, you can drink just one drink and prove to yourself that you can stop.
That would actually be a good move, so you can prove to yourself and others you can control your drinking.
You go to the party, have one drink then realize you're having such a great time that there's no way you're going to quit drinking now.
You break your promise to yourself and have several more drinks, making a fool of yourself and getting drunk very quickly, since you haven't had a drink in awhile.
You wake up the next day hungover.
Here we go again.
Your intentions were good starting on January 1, but you blew it again, just like you did most of the time you started drinking.
You gave yourself that window of opportunity to drink.
You didn't say unequivocally that you would never drink again.
Being a former drinker, I know that is what saved me.
I said "NO" on day one and never gave myself the chance to even think about it again.
I guess I was lucky in that I never picked up a drink again, nor do I want another drink.
But what an alcoholic must do is to decide not to pick up that drink-ever again-it can be done, and you can have a beautiful life without drinking.
Some tips that could help you are: 1) Make changes in your life immediately.
If you always had a drink after work, then when you get home from work, put on your work-out clothes and have a bike ride, exercise or jog for 10 minutes.
You need to change up your routine.
2) Pray or meditate.
I think this is so very important.
I know when I drank my mind was running a mile a minute.
When I quit drinking, I created quiet time every day to quiet my mind.
I got to love my quiet times.
3) Volunteer.
Very important too, because having a drinking addiction is very self-centered.
Getting out of yourself for awhile is good for you, and will help you not think of drinking.
You're helping someone else who needs you.
You feel like you've given up.
You think you should probably try it "just one more time" so friends and family think you're at least trying to quit drinking.
And YOU can face yourself more easily, knowing you've tried to quit drinking yet again.
But it hasn't worked all these times.
Why is that? In my opinion, you've given yourself that option of drinking, whether you know it or not.
You may have decided on January 1st of 2009 that "this will be the day I quit forever.
" You really mean it this time.
Your family, friends and co-workers know you're going to try to quit this time.
You give it a shot.
Things seem great.
You haven't had a drink in weeks and you find out someone in the office is going to have a birthday party at a local bar.
Boy, you really want to go and have a good time.
But you're off the booze.
It won't be as much fun if you don't drink.
Everyone else will be drinking.
Maybe you could have one drink and stop, you tell yourself.
Yes, you can drink just one drink and prove to yourself that you can stop.
That would actually be a good move, so you can prove to yourself and others you can control your drinking.
You go to the party, have one drink then realize you're having such a great time that there's no way you're going to quit drinking now.
You break your promise to yourself and have several more drinks, making a fool of yourself and getting drunk very quickly, since you haven't had a drink in awhile.
You wake up the next day hungover.
Here we go again.
Your intentions were good starting on January 1, but you blew it again, just like you did most of the time you started drinking.
You gave yourself that window of opportunity to drink.
You didn't say unequivocally that you would never drink again.
Being a former drinker, I know that is what saved me.
I said "NO" on day one and never gave myself the chance to even think about it again.
I guess I was lucky in that I never picked up a drink again, nor do I want another drink.
But what an alcoholic must do is to decide not to pick up that drink-ever again-it can be done, and you can have a beautiful life without drinking.
Some tips that could help you are: 1) Make changes in your life immediately.
If you always had a drink after work, then when you get home from work, put on your work-out clothes and have a bike ride, exercise or jog for 10 minutes.
You need to change up your routine.
2) Pray or meditate.
I think this is so very important.
I know when I drank my mind was running a mile a minute.
When I quit drinking, I created quiet time every day to quiet my mind.
I got to love my quiet times.
3) Volunteer.
Very important too, because having a drinking addiction is very self-centered.
Getting out of yourself for awhile is good for you, and will help you not think of drinking.
You're helping someone else who needs you.
Source...