To stay dry or to control your drinking within healthy limits, and to keep this going will require you to change your outlook on the world. This is a longterm, life-long project, whether you choose abstinence or controlled drinking. People who have become addicted to alcohol (whether physically or psychologically addicted) have become used to the availability of 'the quick fix'. Whatever you use this 'quick fix' for (to feel high, to socialise better, to relieve feelings of depression, to relax, to quell boredom etc. etc.) it is simply not going to be available to you after you have given up drinking. (That is, unless you decide to replace alcohol use with the use of another addictive drug or destructive activity such as addictive gambling; this often occurs when someone has not prepared themselves adequately for how they are going to feel when they are dry.) In the modern day world there are very few healthy options that can completely replace the unhealthy quick fix of heavy alcohol or drug use. In times gone by, when human beings literally had to fight for survival on a daily basis, this 'fix or rush' may well have been supplied by activities necessary for survival such as hunting or escaping from a life-threatening situation. As our lives have become safer and more comfortable these natural activities have all but disappeared from our daily lives. Of course there are activities undertaken by some that provide the equivalent of this - mountain climbing, rally car driving, bunjee jumping and extreme sports such as snowboarding down dangerously steep mountainsides.
The common theme with all these activities is their potential to produce an adrenaline rush due to the risk involved; it is also the case that heavy exercise causes the release of a natural (and healthy) form of heroin in the brain. So, it seems, there is some potential to replace addictive drinking or drug taking with other forms of healthy activity, and if you are interested in involving yourself in such activities then they really could help you to stay off the drink.
However, there are two main problems with this - firstly heavy exercise, high risk leisure activities neither appeal to nor are practical for many people who have a drinking problem. Secondly, there is a subtle difference between all these activities and drinking. That is, they all require some form of planning in order to implement them; they are not immediately available on demand. The only planning necessary to take a drink is to plan to lift the bottle towards your mouth.
The bottom line for most people reading this book is that you will need to readjust your expectations and desires. Everyone who drinks heavily has become reliant on the availability of an 'activity' that both makes them feel better (even if just for a short while) and that is available immediately. There are very few (if any) healthy activities that offer the potential to replace this exactly. In short, if you are to overcome your reliance on the immediate fix of a drink, you will have to replace your desire for short-term immediately available rewards with an acceptance of the long-term rewards that come from committed work on your life as an adequate replacement. You must aim for a sense of fulfilment and peace rather than a life of spontaneous fun and immediate relief.
For many people, the need to change their outlook and expectations in this way is the single most difficult part of staying dry. I will discuss ways of helping you to achieve this in Part II.
Next page .. Chapter Three - Question Four
How To Enjoy Life Without Alcohol index
Copyright PCUG Addiction 2022
Clinical Governance | Testimonials | Latest News
Contact Us | Site Map | Web Design