humanity
Alcohol is nothing without someone to drink it and the substance changes lives for many who partake; a glimpse into the impact of alcohol on humanity.
15 Steps to Get You Through Your Very First SOBER Christmas
Drink non-alcoholic drinks like an addict—also known as "Sugar Crushing". Juice, soda, more juice. Avoid most parties. Get comfortable with feeling lonely and weird at home in your sweatpants. Force yourself to go to a party, because you’re starting to feel sorry for yourself. Resist the urge to talk about your sweatpants and your cat. Pull your "awkward happy face" when people look at you and ask you why you are so quiet. Resist the urge to whisper "fuck you" quietly to yourself when they walk away. If you must, whisper it quietly. If needed, practice saying “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME” in the upstairs bathroom. At family events, take MANY breaks in the kitchen pantry, and practice deep breathing to soothe the cutting remarks & comments from family members about your career choice and lack of children. Resist the urge to steal and consume the shared box of red wine set up in the family dining room. If needed, take a long, deep sniff of your sister-in-laws glass of chardonnay. Carb load like crazy. Breads, cookies, more breads. Drink coffee until as late as 11 PM. Enjoy the sweet relief of having something you are addicted to flowing through your system. Lie. Answer "cider" when everyone asks “WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING?” It is non-alcoholic apple cider, with soda water, and ice cubes in a wine glass. Not lying, it’s cider. Quiet the voice that is screaming at you that you are torturing yourself by doing laps around your parent's house. Never stop walking in and out of rooms. Get used to being bored. Like REALLY bored. When relatives start to slur their words and ask you inappropriate questions, go to the play room and strike up a conversation with your five year old nephew about "butts." Realize and accept that 95 percent of the holiday "magic" you used to feel in past holidays came from the drinks you put to your lips. Accept the fact that the magical-bubbly-sparkly feeling that had been there every Christmas was primarily from a bottle. The magic that made the snow prettier, made the people more charming, made the financial worries more palpable, and made Christmas Eve mass go by faster. Let yourself feel sad about this. Start planning today how you will "get through" and make the next Christmas season more fun and rewarding for yourself. Now that you've made it through your first sober holiday season, the worst is over! It will be much easier next year.
By Elizabeth Webb7 years ago in Proof
A Drunk Mind Doesn't Speak a Sober Heart
I hate the phrase "a drunk mind speaks a sober heart." It's not true. When I am drunk, I have a completely different agenda than when I am sober. I can list about 800 things that I would never in a million years do when I'm sober, but I have done those things when I'm drinking. To make it short, most of us have done stuff when we are drunk that we regret the next morning; eating at that taco place that always makes you sick, calling an ex, hooking up with someone, or even fighting with a friend. It's happened to a good portion of us. The next morning, it's not a good feeling and not just because of the massive hangover. Putting the pieces together after a black out is always a nightmare, too. It's almost worse than remembering what drunk you did.
By Michelle Schultz7 years ago in Proof
Drunk Moms Aren't Cute. Top Story - October 2018.
Oh how pop culture likes to glamorize moms who drink. It's all so fun and silly, right? And heck, moms work super hard! We deserve a little drink right? Yeah!!! Even Hoda and Kathy Lee have a healthy glass of wine on their desk every MORNING on their show. So see, it's okay to get started early!
By C.Ing IsBelieving7 years ago in Proof
How Do You Remember
How do I remember the first time I got drunk? As a Christian boy who was raised going to church, I was taught that drinking was evil. 15 was the first time I ever saw my parents drink; they worked in the church. When I saw that, I thought for sure they were going to Hell. Looking back at my upbringing, I realize my parents didn’t have anything against drinking; they simply just didn’t do it. The years of inadvertently being taught, not by my parents, but by the church that it was a sin to drink, really affected my perspective on alcohol as I turned 21. The church made me scared to drink and it didn’t help that I had a friend die because he was driving drunk.
By Hunter Adkins7 years ago in Proof
Sobriety Is Not Amnesty
When the Victim of Drunk Driving Is a Recovering Alcoholic One moment you’re proud of yourself for attending yet another Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. The next, you are being thrown around like a rag doll inside the vehicle sobriety gifted you. Being sober does not absolve us from being victims of drunk driving. I am proof of that.
By Eric Hunter7 years ago in Proof
Taking a U-Turn. Top Story - August 2018.
First of all, I want to clarify that this piece is not about a struggle with alcohol or an addiction but rather my decision to take a long-term break from the sauce. As I sit here, sipping my morning coffee and pounding away at the keys on my laptop, I find myself thinking about alcohol, moreover, whiskey and just the thought of that getting into my system is making me nauseous. The mere thought of smelling or tasting it makes me want to vomit right here, all over my new rug.
By Morganne Thayer7 years ago in Proof
The Demon
It's almost 2 AM and I just came back from my latest hospital stay. I think this one only lasted three days. Or maybe it was four. It's kind of a blur. I remember or I wish I could remember the number of times I've visited the hospital for this same thing. I know I've done it in at least four different cities now in three different provinces. I'm laying here thinking about how I'm gonna pay my rent in four days after blowing all my money on this last bender, if I still have a job (probably not) and about the latest girl I've lost. It's always the same things. The usual cycle of insanity. It repeats itself over and over. Like I'm stuck in an endless loop. My own version of hell on earth. It just doesn't stop. The demon has struck again.
By Jeffrey Joseph7 years ago in Proof
