The serenity of 2 years without alcohol

Today marks 2 years of being alcohol free. On January 18th, 2024, I quit drinking. I had been thinking about doing so over the last year at that point. I tried numerous times and yet wanted one more fun day. Almost 2 years before that, on March 8th, 2022, I escaped domestic violence. That changed everything for me. Once I was away from that situation, I could see things more clearly. I had been a heavy alcoholic for about 14 years at that point. I also believed that I didn’t have a problem. I was a high-functioning alcoholic, or I thought, now I can see that was absolutely not the case. I didn’t understand how drinking had put me in that situation to begin with. After I had gotten a protection order against my ex, I began to fix my life. I was still struggling with the drinking, with a few failed attempts to stop. What finally led me to decide to quit was that I woke up super hungover on a really nice day and took it as a sign that it was time to try to stop drinking. It sounds ridiculous, but that was the simple reason that made it click; my whole day had been wasted due to my own stupid decisions. I made a list of reasons to quit and began focusing on recovering. With the help of KMK music and dedication, I’m where I’m at now.

Overcoming Life’s Tests

In my 2-year journey, I have made significant progress. Along the way, many things have come up that should have broken me, but didn’t. Within only a couple of weeks of quitting, my Uncle Tony died. I’ve never dealt with death well. During that time ,I was working in a weed shop ,which was cool, but it was still a retail job that extremely stressed me. On October 14th, 2024, one of my best friends was murdered by her husband. I survived domestic violence, where she didn’t. Survivor's guilt is a real thing. On top of that, I feel guilty that at the time she introduced him to me and asked for an opinion, I said he seemed like a good guy. He’s not; he is pure evil. For a while after that, I sank into a weird, angry depression. When this happened, I decided to do something to try to make a difference. I became a Domestic Violence Awareness Advocate and use my writing to try to help others. Also, I started a petition to make a law in her honor. https://change.org/Dainaraslaw. Other random small things have happened along the way that would have driven me to drink in the past, but I stayed strong and didn’t give in. I’m happy to say that I feel I can now overcome anything without risk of giving in to drinking.

Personal Growth and Healing

Once you free yourself of alcohol, you free yourself from many other prisons. I began to learn what triggered me to want to drink. With more self-reflection, I started to understand things about myself I needed to improve to better my life. I was extremely unhealthy and out of shape from all the years of drinking. I was also super bored, so I decided to start working out at home. A couple of months later, I joined the gym and continued to work out at both places. I’m seeing results and receiving great encouragement, which keeps me motivated. Over the last 2 years, I have seen how much my drinking was truly affecting me. I can watch old concert footage I recorded and hear myself singing along, but I’m very drunk, and it’s very annoying. In a lot of my old pictures, I have the puffy alcohol face going on. Revisited old Snapchat videos from events, and these were much different from what I remembered. This seems small and petty, but things like this are what lead to other bad situations. I could now understand why I was attracting bad people and low-vibrational energy into my life. Letting go of the alcohol has helped me set my standards even higher. I’m now very selective about who I let into my life. I maintain my focus on raising my vibrations and pursuing activities that promote my personal growth.

Let Your Favorites Free Your Soul

Focus on the good in life. Look for inspiration in the people who encourage you to keep working towards your goals. Your vibes attract your tribe. I noticed the more I work on myself, the more positive people gravitate toward me. Spend time with your kids, friends, and family, enjoying life. Find someone who gives you hope. For me, it’s D-Loc from the Kottonmouth Kings, such a positive and motivated person. Go for jogs in the evening when you need to clear your mind. I also started to read a lot more, which led me to take classes in psychology and writing to pursue what I actually want to do: write. Now that I write, I’m working on my first book and have written multiple articles. Also, another thing I feel I have to add, lots of bong rips and dabs have helped too, for me.

Books That Helped Me That Might Help You

• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
• The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz
• Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People byStephen R. Covey
• Manifest by Roxie Nafousi
• This Book is Cheaper Than Therapy by Liz Kelley, LICSW
• The Book of Secrets by Deepak Chopra

The Full Serenity Prayer

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.”

“Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardships as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will.”

“So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.”

“Amen”

If I can do it, you can do it. Stay strong and focused, you got this. I have another article on quitting drinking. https://shopping-feedback.today/psyche/life-without-the-solace-of-alcohol follow me on Vocal, Medium, and LinkedIn for more.