At Nearly 20 Months Sober, Do I Get Tempted to Drink?
By Adrienne Kaliszak
Was asked some very good questions yesterday about my sobriety. One of these questions was do I ever get tempted to drink?
When I began this quest in June of 2020, the temptation and cravings were very strong. The cravings and temptations were daily and frequent. The initial 2 weeks were the toughest.
By the 3rd week I started to feel like I could actually do this (I was doing it) and seeing the success of the previous 2 weeks propelled me to continue. At this point I still had some temptations come up.
For me the weekends were the most difficult, but once I made it through the first 2 weekends and realized I could indeed get through the weekends without drinking, I knew I could keep doing this.
I would plan ahead for the weekends, having plenty of activities to keep my mind and body occupied.
At a month Alcohol Free I felt a sense of relief. Getting the first month down was huge. It was also a crossroad for me, a time to evaluate this monumental journey I had taken on.
Alright, I made it a month. Do I want to move forward, do I believe I can continue with this?
I did want to continue with my endeavor, so I set another goal of 2 months with mini goals of completing each day and week sober, rewarding myself along the way.
This continued in the upcoming months, and while I still was being tempted at this time when I would attend gatherings where alcohol was being served, I kept in mind the big picture.
I would make many decisions and choices throughout the first 6 months of whether I would drink or not.
I had joined the Be Sober program run by Simon Chapple early in my quitting alcohol journey and I had tons of support and learned so much about overcoming cravings.
The big thing was getting excited about quitting alcohol and looking at it as a grand adventure. Which it absolutely is, one of the greatest adventures of my life.
Getting excited about living a sober life made all the difference in the world on how I thought about being sober. I looked at it as something I get to do, am blessed to be doing, an opportunity for growth.
When you look at stopping alcohol from a different more positive perspective it makes it so much easier to tackle this awesome journey.
At nearly 20 months alcohol-free, I rarely get tempted to drink. I think about drinking, that’s just because I write about it and am involved in Alcohol Free communities.
When I think about it now though I think of it as something that is behind me, and no longer has a place in my life.
I have zero desire to go back to my drinking days.
I absolutely adore being sober and living life the way it was meant to be lived.
This is definitely how I want to live out my remaining days on this earth, Sober and Free!
Nothing better.
'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
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