If You Want To Quit Drinking You Need To Face These 3 Lies

If you want to quit, you can’t keep hiding from the truth.

You want to be fit, healthy, and sober because you are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

There’s just one thing getting in your way. It’s you and the lies you are telling yourself.

When it comes to lying to myself about alcohol, I and no doubt countless other drinkers have been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.

Since I quit drinking over 2 years ago, I’ve been able to take a step back and watch others tell themselves the same foolhardy lies that I did. I can see them squirm internally because they know deep down they are just feeding themselves bullshit to justify their out-of-control drinking.

To help reframe the conversation about alcohol so people can see things more clearly, I’m going to call out three lies you need to stop hiding behind.

Lie 1: Everything in the Garden Will Be Rosy

We drinkers love to pretend that when we quit drinking, everything in our life will be perfect.

It won’t.

If you were bored before you quit drinking, you will still be bored. If you’re a miserable and unhappy person, you will still be miserable and unhappy.

Getting sober is not going to change the essence of who you are right now.

It’s going to change what you do and what happens in your body. Quitting drinking is not going to miraculously solve all of your problems. It’s going to make you more aware of them.

I drank in the evenings because I was bored. When I quit drinking, I was even more bored. I drank after work because I was tired and wanted to relax.

When I quit I was still tired after work so I had to think of other ways to take care of myself. Turns out a quick 5 min walk helps shift that tiredness and gives me a better way to clear my head.

Make some time to look at your life as it is now. What needs to be improved? How are your relationships? Are you drinking because you’re bored?

When you understand your triggers you can start looking for solutions.

Start working on yourself right now. A really easy way to start is with breathing. I use a really simple technique. I breathe in for 5, hold for 5, and breath out for 5. This helps to keep me centred. You can start doing this right now. Just this little bit of self-care can and will make a difference.

“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

― George Bernard Shaw

Lie 2: You Don’t Drink So much

You’re going to waste your energy and life defending the amount of alcohol you drink and justifying it to yourself and everyone around you.

Phrases like, “I only had four the other day because I was so stressed.” Or, “Well, we did push the boat out and have a couple of bottles, but it was a celebration,” are going to trip effortlessly off your tongue.

You’re going to make it sound like it was some one-off unicorn event like you never normally drink that much. The truth is you’re doing it all the time.

You’re going to downplay the amount of alcohol you’re drinking by telling yourself lies like, “I’ve only had a couple.”

Really? A couple?

I would tell myself, “I’ve only had a couple of wines,” then it became, “I’ve only had a couple of small wines.” In this way, I was able to lie to myself and minimise the amount of alcohol I had thrown down my neck so I could drink more.

I saw the same lie being used by the host of a birthday barbeque. It was sad to see, and I felt really bad for the guy. I could feel his pain.

When we arrived at the bash, he was already full of bonhomie. As he cheerfully opened a fresh bottle of red wine, he explained how he’d already had a couple of tots to celebrate. He felt compelled to justify his actions by saying to himself, “It is my birthday. You’ve got to have a drink on your birthday.”

Two and a half hours later he was two and a half bottles of red wine down and struggling to think and talk cohesively. That wasn’t going to stop him. He was all set to finish the bottle and move on to shots.

What you put into your body is going to have consequences. There’s going to be a price to pay. The only question is, are you prepared to pay it?

There is no dispute about the damaging effects alcohol has on the body. You are not special, you will be experiencing them. Whether you are sabotaging your relationships, giving yourself a hangover, or setting yourself up for liver failure, there will be a consequence.

Let’s get clear: anything over zero is too much. This is the advice of forward-thinking governments in countries like Canada. They now recommend you don’t consume any alcohol at all due to the overwhelming evidence that even moderate drinking of alcohol is bad for us.

Be honest with yourself. Keep a record of how much you’re drinking. Try to reduce it. Don’t be afraid to get professional help or support. The quicker you do this, the better it will be for you.

Lie 3: You Are Not Responsible For Your Drinking Habit

You’re going to hate me for saying this, but I’m going to say it, anyway. If you’re not responsible for your drinking, then who is?

Quit lying to yourself and blaming other people for your actions. Take responsibility for your choices.

There’s a really good reason why the big booze companies don’t get sued for selling a toxic product that causes cancer, brain damage, and 200 other nasty diseases.

Judges will not listen to cases claiming alcohol has ruined someone’s life.

Why?

Because it’s a well-known fact that alcohol is addictive and damages the mind and body. Not only that, in the UK it is the government that grants licenses permitting alcohol to be sold.

When you take that first sip of alcohol, you are deemed to consent to every shitty little thing that happens to you as a result of knowingly ingesting poison.

Like it or lump it you are responsible for your thoughts and actions. It is the only thing we can control in our lives.

Don’t get me wrong. The big booze companies have been psychologically manipulating us for decades. In the same way, the cigarette manufacturers turned women into smokers and got dodgy scientific reports commissioned “proving” how beneficial cigarettes were for us.

We’re now in the age of information and, as any lawyer from the big booze company would say, “The facts are there for you to see if you choose to look.”

If you continue to throw poison down your neck, then everything that happens is on you. It’s harsh but it’s true.

When you accept where you are and how you got there, it makes moving forward easier. You don’t have to like it. You just have to acknowledge it. Say to yourself, “This is where I am.” Next, figure out who you want to be and what you have to do to get there.

Final Thoughts

Drinkers always downplay the amount of alcohol they consume when they are around people they feel will judge them or that drink less than themselves. But these little lies we tell ourselves about how much we are drinking really matter. It’s these lies that stop us from confronting reality and getting help with our problems and drinking habits.

When you find yourself saying,

“I’ve only had a couple this evening, not that much, really.”

You know you’re lying to yourself. You’re trying to minimise the amount of alcohol you have consumed.

We live in a cause-and-effect world where you reap what you sow. So if you are turning your mind and body into a toxic waste dump site, don’t expect anything great to come from it.

You can quit drinking and stay sober. You can build a better, healthier, sober life.

Live Strong, Love, and Stay Sober

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