Gaining Freedom

I have struggled with alcohol throughout my life. From 2014 to 2016 I quit for 2 years and 4 days. I had a slip when I was on vacation, I wasn’t prepared for the circumstances and I chose to drink one night. I secretly drank after that slip, on and off for about 3 months. I then got back on the wagon and made it another 9 months sober, until I decided to quit smoking. When I quit smoking my anxiety was through the roof in the early days. I chose to use alcohol to combat that anxiety, I told myself ‘at least I’m not smoking’. I wasn’t smoking cigarettes but I was unleashing a demon I had thought I put to rest already.

The drinking began as occasional, then weekends only, and towards the end I was drinking nearly daily. Instead of just drinking beer I had graduated to hard liquor like rum and vodka. When the pandemic hit my husband and I freaked out that there would be a shortage on beer so we did what any rationally minded person would do, we bought cases and cases of it. Needless to say our drinking increased tremendously. We drank just about every day. It was getting hard to take a break from the booze.

Finally, as the newness and fear of the pandemic wore off , I began questioning my drinking. I knew something needed to change. In April 2020 I began trying to quit again. My MO was to go about 4 or 5 days alcohol free then I’d drink again. It was so difficult not to drink on the weekends! After doing this for a few weeks I found an on- line challenge that lasted for a month where you don’t drink for 30 days. I signed up and was so excited about it and thought I could do it. I lasted 12 days, which was better than what I had been doing, but still something wasn’t clicking for me.

I was invited to take part in a program called Be Sober by Simon Chapple, a well known sobriety coach, speaker, and author of “The Sober Survival Guide”. I was desperate at this point and after checking the course out it seemed like a good fit for me and I signed up at the end of this past May.

This is an interactive on-line program that includes videos by Simon that teach you the skills you need to get sober and stay sober. There is a Facebook group called Be Sober Stay Sober and is filled with amazing, kind people who really encourage you and get where you’re coming from. On top of those things there are interactive LIVE Facebook sessions as well as ZOOM sessions that Simon hosts himself. We really are a tight knit group of like minded people, it’s awesome!

In the last 45 days I’ve drank 3 times, as of right now I have a full 22 days sober with no intentions of going backward. I am more confident, sleep better, more energetic and just plain like myself more. I am full of joy and contentment instead of sadness and anxiety.

If you are questioning your relationship with alcohol there are many on-line and in person resources that can help you out. Here’s some links to some on-line sober communities.

https://besober.co.uk/

https://thisnakedmind.com/

livingsober.org.nz

You can find more from me at my blog

https://greenhorizon139.wixsite.com/website

Or at https://medium.com/@craftywon2

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