If you have been unable to quit drinking then it is highly possible that you are physically, mentally and psychologically addicted to alcohol. This doesn’t mean that you are a ‘bad’ person, nor does it mean you do ‘bad’ things to others or yourself when you’ve had too much to drink. Some people simply have a hard time quitting because they don’t consciously see how much their addiction is affecting their lives.
A drinking habit is not unlike any other idiosyncratic behavior a human being develops. For example, perhaps you twirl your finger in your hair at red lights or always answer the phone in the same way. You are probably not consciously aware of these habits, and yet you do them anyway. A drinking habit is much the same.
Even if you have drained your bank account, strained your romantic relationships, hurt family and friends, and maybe even gotten into trouble at work – the damage that alcohol has caused you is not fully grasped on a conscious level.
Once you DO make a conscious choice to quit drinking you can begin to change your life for the better. However, this is only the first step. You should know up front that it will not be easy, because your unconscious habit will start to play some very interesting mind games with you when you consciously try to change. The ‘addicted you’ has been functioning in ways that the ‘addicted you’ thinks are effective or even fun, when this is certainly not the case.
The ‘addicted you’ will fight with the ‘new, healthy you’ to try to get back those fun days. You know, the ones where you puked on the bathroom floor, barely made it into bed before 3am and completely blew off an important career meeting the next morning – that kind of FUN! The ‘addicted’ you, which is primarily the ego disguised in the suit of an alcoholic, will try to convince you that you don’t need to change and that you can continue your current lifestyle indefinitely. And don’t be surprised if every possible reason to drink again comes up – in a big way – to tempt you, and to tell the ‘new and improved you’ to take a hike.
Persevere to Find the Power to Quit Drinking
In these cases you really have to persevere. If you really want to quit drinking you can start to talk to these two opposing voices in your head, and observe them fighting it out, almost as if you are a third-party witnessing it all. Doing this will give you just enough mental space to choose from wisdom instead of habit. The next time you are feeling drawn into the old habit of drinking too much, try to think it through from start to finish – up to and including all the bad things that alcohol brings in the end. Be as objective as possible, and try to choose, not with the wounded, alcoholic voice – but the smarter, wiser voice.
Finding the power to quit drinking is nothing more than developing the habit of listening to your smarter inner-voice; that part of you that KNOWS you must change to have a better life. By focusing on what you internally KNOW is right you can begin to build up the mental resolve to change your habits for the better and turn your life around. Listen to the wisdom inside of you, for it is telling you how to make yourself happier and healthier – by once and for all getting the alcohol OUT of your life. ♦