Living, Feeling, and Being Free from Alcohol
By Adrienne Kaliszak
One of the things that may happen to you when you break free from alcohol addiction is having feelings and memories pop up of things you’ve long forgotten about.
Some of these memories may be good, others not so good.
I know that one reason I kept drinking for so long is I didn’t want to think about my life. I was running away from myself, numbing myself until I was emotionally lifeless and dead inside.
Once you stop your addiction, feelings and thoughts you haven’t had in so long will appear.
This isn’t a bad thing; this is a great thing. We are meant to be feeling and thinking beings with deep emotions and mindful thoughts.
It may seem overwhelming to you though.
Some tools you can use to deal with these thoughts and feelings include talking about them with a trusted friend, journaling, and meditation.
I am fortunate I have my husband, daughter, and a great group of supportive people in my life I am able to share my deepest thoughts with.
If you don’t have anyone, think about joining therapy so you can get these deep emotions and thoughts out.
Your thoughts and feelings need to be acknowledged otherwise they will keep returning until they are dealt with.
I find some thoughts come about more often than others and I cope by questioning how I feel about the thoughts, as well as writing about them and sharing with my husband.
Other ways I’ve learned to deal with tough emotions is through meditation. Every night at bedtime I literally tell Alexa to play meditation music. Calm, soothing, relaxing tunes fill the room, calms my mind, and slows my thoughts down.
If you’re not a fan of meditation tunes try another type of soothing music such as classical, jazz, R&B, or love songs.
I find music without the lyrics helps me relax and ease my mind quicker and at a deeper level than music with lyrics as they can be a little distracting.
Other activities I’ve found helpful with expressing my emotions are through art. I have a wide variety of artistic interests. Right now, my main form of artistic expression and release is drawing.
I can draw for hours. It takes me to a deep and beautiful place and helps me release my emotions onto the paper.
Besides drawing I began playing chess and used to play Words with Friends. Both games take me to another place and give me a break from tense feelings and thoughts.
I am working at incorporating walking and exercise into my life because intellectually I know this would be so, so good for me but this has been a huge struggle for me to be honest.
Some of the feelings and memories you have are amazing and cool too. The joy I experience now is no comparison to the days I drank alcohol.
The joy I feel is real and deep.
Just today I laughed so hard about waking up this morning and finding out I said to my husband, while half asleep, “Good morning, my little Keebler Elf.”
When my husband told my daughter and I, I said that to him this morning, we belly laughed so hard, with a rich hearty laugh and tears streaming down our faces. It was awesome!
The sad feelings are a bit tougher to deal with. For those, I cry, I pray, I write, I tell myself the feelings will pass, and life will get better again, it always does.
Remember, on this alcohol-free adventure, that there is no wrong way to feel or think. Every thought or feeling is valid and actually quite a blessing to us, it’s all part of the healing, all part of being wonderfully and beautifully human.
'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.
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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!
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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.
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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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