When I Knew I Was Ready to Stop Drinking Alcohol
By Adrienne Kaliszak
When I began questioning my relationship with alcohol, I was 44 years old. Drinking had stopped being fun. My consumption of it had increased to the point I drank most days of the week. I didn’t like the control alcohol had over me, I thought about it constantly, it was all I looked forward to until I didn’t.
One night I was an awful mess. I believed I was going to die, either by my own hand or from drinking myself to death, or I was going to quit drinking. I was fighting demons that wanted me to take my life. I was hopeless, scared, and a shell of a person I once was. That night instead of taking my life, I checked myself into a hospital.
It took about 3 hours before they got me onto a unit at the hospital. They stripped searched me and patted me down. It was humiliating, but I had no fight left in me, so I went with the flow.
While coming off alcohol I couldn’t sleep, I would sweat throughout the night, I was restless. My emotions were all over the place, one second, I’d be fine, the next I’d be bawling my eyes out.
I got put on some medications while at the hospital, one for anxiety and depression (Lexapro). I was already on an antipsychotic called Risperdal, for schizoaffective disorder. I should have learned my lesson long ago that drinking with a mental health condition does not mix.
During the days at the hospital, I attended group therapy sessions, including AA meetings. A part of me enjoyed them, another part hated them because some of the other residents got on my very last nerve. (Still agitated from withdrawing from alcohol).
After a week of medication and therapy the doctor felt I was doing well enough that I could go home. I wasn’t so sure, but I did go home and continued to remain sober for 2 years and 4 days.
It was a great 2 years, but I didn’t know myself or my triggers well enough at the time and while on vacation and presented with the opportunity to drink, I caved and threw 2 years 4 days of sobriety away.
It took me another 3 months to gain 9 more months of sobriety. Major setback that time would be a year and a half before I gained my current bout of sobriety which is over 16 months. (My sobriety date is June 23rd, 2020).
This time, I feel, is different. This time I know I can’t, better yet, I don’t want to have just 1. I’ve never been able to stop at 1 drink. It was normal for me to drink 14-15 beers on a Friday or Saturday, and I’ve even drank more than 20 over the course of a day.
I used to feel such shame to admit that, but I’ve learned that guilt and shame don’t get me anywhere and now I’m proud of the person I am now, and that I overcame that part of my life.
Stopping alcohol was tough, but it was tougher being the person I was before I stopped. I don’t know one person who ever said they regret not drinking, but drinking alcohol is filled with many regrets.
If you are looking to stop alcohol, you don’t need to do it alone. There’s an entire sober world out there waiting for you to join. This is the community I belong to https://besober.co.uk/. It’s awesome and it works!
Wishing you the best on your journey, whatever path you may choose.
'Your windshield is bigger than your rearview for a reason; the mirror is there to help you glance back at where you’ve been, but if you focus too much on it, you’re going to crash.
We are ALL affected by our past and we are ALL reminded of it now and again, but we cannot live in it unless we want to repeat it over and over again. We need to learn from it, take lessons from it, know what’s good (and not good) for us, and adjust accordingly. Mistakes are only mistakes until we learn from them and then they become lessons.'
Love this from the Your Tango blog, it sums up the need for a forward focused growth mindset in sobriety and life in general.
#keepmovingforward #positivequotes #positivity #yourtango #growthmindset #growthquotes #motivationalquotes #motivation #soberquotes #sobrietyquotes #lookforwardnotback #leavethepastbehind #movingforward #quotestagram #selfhelpquotes #positivemindset
Having an amazing time in #Japan and managed to head south out of Tokyo for a few days today to Kamakura by the ocean.
The drinking culture here is totally different to the UK, but all the bars are full, not many AF options either, but I wouldn’t want to visit such an amazing place and spoil it by boozing.
#tokyo #kamakura #tokyonight #tokyoneon #kamakuratemple #japaneseshrine #buddhisttemple #japantravel #tokyotrip #ramen #japaneseculture #japanlife
Wow! Rock Bottom & Rising has won the GOLD medal at the @nautilusbookawards for the best Addiction Recovery Memoir.
The book has 21 incredible stories by real people who have quit alcohol and turned their lives around, it is a truly inspirational read.
So this award is for everyone who contributed to the book, congratulations and thank you!
#bestbooks #nautilusbookaward #nautilusbookawards #nautilusbookawardwinner #sheldonpress #hatchettebookgroup #hodderandstoughton #addictionbooks #adictionmemoir #alcoholbooks #sobrietybooks #soberbooks
Woohoo! Just seen one of my books on the shelf @theworksstores #anxiety #anxietybook #theworks #bookshop #selfhelpbook #bookstore
Just finished recording a piece with @itvnews about the growing number of people quitting alcohol and the sobriety movement as a whole.
It airs next week, so look out for my shiny head on your TV screens.
#itv #sobriety #itvnews #sobermovement #sobercoach #tvinterview #newsstory #alcoholfree #soberlife #sobrietyrules
These two inspiring books from leading sobriety coach Simon Chapple are out today!
Read more...Repost @sheldon.press
Featuring contributions from some of the most well-known personalities in the Sober Space, Rock Bottom and Rising brings us real, raw, relatable stories from individuals who’ve found joy in an alcohol-free life.
The perfect companion to Rock Bottom – The Sober Life Journal captures the essence of journaling and provides space to grow and develop as you embark on a sober life. With hundreds of writing prompts, pages for reflection, focus, inspiration and guided exercises, this beautiful new journal supports your intention to create something lasting and meaningful to accompany you on your journey to an alcohol-free life.
Ideal for anyone contemplating a sober life come the new year, or from #dryjanuary.
Find out more in our bio.
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#RockBottomandRising #SoberLife #Sober #SobrietyCoach #Sobriety #StopDrinking #Freefromalcohol #AlcoholFree #SoberBook #SimonChapple #BeSober #Howtogosober #quittingalcohol #teetotaller #teetotal #alcoholism #aa #cutdown #alcoholic #thisnakedmind #addiction #problemdrinking #soberjourney
Watch the best videos from my YouTube Stop Drinking Channel
Watch my video below – The Best Quit Alcohol Books
Read on for more of the very best quit alcohol books.
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MORE HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR STOPPING DRINKING ALCOHOL
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Don’t miss another video – click below to Subscribe and also click on the Bell Icon to be notified about new videos.
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👥 Join my awesome free private Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1960061840706240/
If you need some inspiration, check this out…
🎥❤️🔥 My Top 5 favourite videos to help you quit alcohol on your own – watch these now if you are curious about sobriety and becoming alcohol-free:
1 – How I quit alcohol after 40 years – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ydqjrN0AI
2 – Awesome tactic to stop alcohol cravings fast – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GedYoBZ_W2M&t
3 – 7 tips for the first week of sobriety – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq4x0vBEwMw&t
4 – Does alcohol cause depression and anxiety – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkrQpZPHBls&t
5 – Weight loss and stopping drinking alcohol – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyw9jM0kj5U&t
🌞 MUST WATCH – Check out my most viewed YouTube video – 7 Big Mistakes to Avoid in Sobriety – here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtBxWrju_ng&t
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