Alcoholism

Burn Your Money
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If you’re struggling with alcohol, if you’re waking up with hangovers, missing days from work, not doing the things that you should be doing, here’s some advice: when you feel the urge to go and buy booze, just burn your money instead.

You were going to spend it on booze, let’s say $10 (maybe a lot more?), and booze is the very thing that’s causing so many things in your life to go wrong. By burning your money, you’ll be out the $10, but you’ll avoid the hangover and all that goes with it.

Would you pay somebody $10 a few times a week to make your life miserable? I think not. So why spend money on booze, knowing that it will continue to make your life miserable?

The next time you get the urge to buy booze, read something inspiring, or go out and do something different, or spend your hard-earned money on something fun or useful instead.

It gets easier as time goes by — I promise. And everything in your life will improve.

KTB

What To Do with All This Energy!
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This time last week I had a horrible hangover. I decided it was time to kick the booze. I spent half the day in bed, the other half figuring out how to get this blog up and running.

A week has passed, and I’ve had no alcohol at all.

Sometimes, the old me would drink during the week, maybe after a particularly stressful day, but it was guaranteed that I would unwind on a Friday after work.

A typical routine was to pick up some take-out and drink wine. Initially it would seem fun and relaxing. Then I would go to bed, fall asleep for a while, and wake up in the middle of the night, feeling awful, and unable to get back to sleep again. Tossing and turning for the rest of the night — berating myself, and feeling guilty.

Last night (Friday night), I skipped the wine, and just made a nice meal at home. It was a stressful week at work, and I definitely could have used a drink. But I chose not to.

And today I’m so glad that I did! Because I got a good night’s sleep, woke up and had some coffee, and now I have so much energy! Whereas last Saturday I got next to nothing done, today I’ll do laundry, pay the bills, and get out for a bike ride. And that’s just this morning!

If you’re suffering with a hangover right now, I feel for you. And you’re not alone. Here’s an article that might help you through the day.

Just remember, it’s never too late to kick the booze. You could choose to start right now if you want to.

KTB

Close Encounters of the Booze Kind
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The eve of Day 2, and I’m feeling highly motivated to kick the booze for good, though I did have several unplanned encounters with it today.

This morning I was looking at some vacation destinations for a hard-earned trip that I’m planning with my other half. Most of the photos of the accommodations had glasses of wine in them — by the jacuzzi, beside the stove in the kitchen, on tables beside sunbeds.

Then I picked up a piece of Mahi Mahi at the store (silly expensive – I hadn’t noticed the price until it was too late), came home and googled a garlic sauce recipe to go with the fish. The first recipe that I clicked on was made with white wine.

And while at the grocery store, I was whizzing through gathering bits for the week, and rounded the corner of an aisle into the booze section — I had to go through it to pick up some bread — surrounded by towering shelves of wine and beer.

Booze is everywhere. It’s “normal” to drink, “they’d” like to have us believe. It makes it tough for a person trying to quit. But knowing that that’s what you’re dealing with is a big help; you can come up with some strategies to counter it. And you should.

Remembering that the poison in those attractive bottles, and cans, and boxes has the potential to kill you might help; that alcohol can quickly cause an intelligent person to make really bad decisions; that it ruins so many relationships, with friends and loved ones; that excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years.

Some sobering thoughts indeed.

KTB