There is no magic trick to this.

No clever method.

You stop drinking alcohol.

And you take every day
as a new one.
And you don’t drink
whatever happens.

And you read
and you do other things.
And you live through feeling
so very uncomfortable.
And you live through feeling
so scared and anxious.

At first.

And you go to bed early
and if you can’t sleep
you don’t panic
you maybe read some more.

And you cry and you smile and you scream inside.
And you slowly work out
‘when’ you drink,
‘why’ you drink,
‘how’ you drink.

And you drink other cool refreshing drinks
instead of alcohol.
And you make sure you eat regularly. 

And you find out ‘who you are’ and what insecurities alcohol fills.
And you find other ways
to “fulfill you”
and relax you
and replace the ‘whys’ you drink.

And you don’t drink alcohol
even when your whole being
tells you that you deserve
just one drink.

And you don’t listen
to the voice in your head
that tells you
“it’s ok you’re not that bad.”

And you stop looking
for a perfect you
and accept yourself
warts and all.
( although you can change the things that can be changed
– if you want to )

But through all of this,
you do not drink alcohol –

because you can’t…

one rule.

And slowly,
very slowly,
your life starts to change
in subtle ways.

And slowly,
very slowly,
you start to get your pride back.

And slowly,
very slowly,
you change your life by changing
the drink in your glass.

Anyone can do this. 
But it’s the commitment
to not drinking whatever happens
that is the key. 

Without that commitment, your life will stay the same.

I’m making it sound like it was easy for me.
Hell no – it wasn’t at first.

Definitely not.

I didn’t think I could do it
yet I did by following that one rule
no matter how hard it was at first.

Do not drink alcohol –

whatever happens. 

For now just think about it.

There’s no pressure right now.

Just read on here and listen to podcasts etc and remember
there’s no magic to what I and others have done.

You are perfectly able to do it too.
❤️

This post was written by Zoo. You’ll find more of her writing on Boozemusings here :

Learning from the Stop – Start Cycle and Dealing with Alcohol Cravings

Musings from Five Years Alcohol-Free – Understanding WHY I Drank

Will the fun be over if you stop drinking alcohol?

Shake off the Myths of Everything Alcohol Can Do For You – Be a Unicorn!

If you’re “sober curious” …If you are drinking too much too often and want to stop or take a break… Talk to Us. 

We are an independent, anonymous and private community who share resources, support and talk it through every day. It helps to have a community behind you in a world where alcohol is the only addictive drug that people will question you for NOT using

---