Stop Drinking Now

Stop Drinking Now
John E. Portland
Copyright 2006
Distribution Free


If you bought this article it is a sure sign that you sincerely want to stop drinking. If someone gave it to you it is a sure sign everyone wants you to stop drinking. Either way it signals that it is actually way past time to stop, and stop forever.

But, don’t feel alone in your need to stop because every year millions of drinkers go from ‘problem drinking’ to ‘chronic drinking’ and suddenly find them selves feeling lost and inadequate.

The main question here is, are you ready to stop? By ‘ready’ I mean, are you thoroughly sick of drinking and all it has done to you, your family and friends. Truth is you have to be really sick of it to even attempt to stop. A healthy dose of fear can be useful here too.

If you think drinking is not a problem for you then come back after you have a few more bad episodes. The key to stopping is having enough disgust for yourself that you can redirect that hate towards the liquid that is both the cause of the disgust as well as the reason you cannot stop.

I’m sure you are aware that 1 of 3 heavy drinkers die from something stupid they did while drinking, or disease caused by drinking. The other 2 of 3 pay heavily with money wasted or lost from missing work, disgust suffered by loved ones, and jail time spent for DUI and other such stupid offenses. I’ll bet you know several close acquaintances who have had major problems from drinking, even died from it.

All us drunks have a short attention span so I’ll keep this short and sweet. YOU CAN STOP. I stopped 10 or 12 years ago, so you can stop.

Here’s how you do it.

First of all realize and believe that drunkenness is not a disease. There may be something in your brain that really likes the out of control madness, but it is not a disease, so you have no crutch to lean on. Take responsibility for it instead of rationalizing that ‘poor me I just try and try but this disease won’t let me stop’.

Remember the time(s) you slapped your wife or girlfriend around and whined like some pathetic slob how sorry you were? Well that was just the disgust you have for yourself trying to do yourself in. That’s right, you hate yourself so much, but are so cowardly about it, that you will act out violently when drunk in hopes of losing someone you don’t really believe you deserve.

Second, don’t think that only AA or some expensive rehab clinic in the Aspens can give you the cure. They cannot do it. Only YOU can do that. You are responsible for everything, whether it is good or bad that goes on in your life. The last time you got drunk you did something totally out of character didn’t you. It was like you were in some alternate state of reality where you could do whatever the hell you felt like, right? But the next day there was shame and disgust all around.

Multiply that by hundreds of times over 30 years and that is exactly what my life was. After trying AA, Antabuse, and rehab and failing to keep off the stuff for more than a month or two I finally found a way that really works.

How low is your self-esteem? Do you know how it got so low? You told yourself it was low. You have been calling yourself stupid and worthless for a long time. Whatever you think of yourself is what you are. If you believe you are stupid and worthless then you have a great excuse to drink, don’t you. And the more you drink the more you tell yourself how stupid and worthless you are. That’s the definition of a loser. Are you tired of being a loser yet?

Stop drinking now and slowly but surely gain back the self-esteem you have lost.

Stop giving all your time, money, and attention to some bartender or liquor store.

Save your life and make your family proud, if you have not totally alienated them by now.

The truth is you will lose a few friends in the process because they only needed you to be a part of their excuse to drink, just as you needed them. Drinking promotes drinking, while sobriety is looked upon as a weakness.

And you won’t suddenly have more money because it will take most of what you earn to make up for all you squandered while drinking. On the other hand you will not find yourself stealing the kid’s piggy bank to buy a pint of cheap vodka.

Are you ready to stop? I mean REALLY ready?

Here’s what you have to do. You know all that hate and disgust you have for yourself? Redirect it to a place where it will do some good instead of harm. Direct all the venomous bile you can spew towards the hold that liquor, booze, beer, vodka, whiskey, liquor stores, and bars have on you. That’s where it belongs.

You know that stash you have hidden on a top shelf in your closet or the trunk of your car? Take it out and smash it on the ground while screaming every filthy obscenity you can think of at it.

I want you to hate that stuff at least as much as you have hated yourself. More is better. I personally would drive to and from work screaming with windows up at the liquor stores I passed along the way. I knew that if I didn’t actively hate it I stood a very good chance of not surviving another drunken binge.

This process will take quite a long time. And every day does not get better. This is hard as hell to do, but in the end you will respect yourself again and that is all that matters.

After you have been off it for a week, you will not believe how strong you are becoming. The cravings will still be there, but after a month you will know it is really happening. After 6 months you will start becoming cocky and self-assured, but you will also have thoughts that a few sips now and then won’t really hurt. After all you have it under control, right?

Wrong! This will be your first experience with the super demon that booze really is. You have GOT to crank up the hate to even higher levels to get through this. Hate it! Scream at it! Stomp on it! Let every bit of your rage come out against it and then you will start to have a life once again.

The idea, as you can see, is to redirect the energy you spent hating yourself into something worthwhile. It worked for me and it will work for you. Do it!

Some things I learned along the way;

Get a Hobby! You have to re-channel all that time you spent drinking into something useful. I started making jewelry and that worked out real well. Find something to do with your hands and do it all the time.

This should seem kind of like breaking a particularly bad habit. I don’t want to say that’s all it is, but I also don’t want to give it too much weight. We all know habits can be broken, but diseases must be cured. Don’t cop out just break the damned habit.

Look to the future as much as possible. If you start dwelling on the past it will just make things harder. The past is where the evil lies so let it die for now but deal with it later.

Do not make it a point to remember the day or even the time of day you stopped. This thing doesn’t deserve an anniversary.

Everywhere you look there will be people drinking and laughing, taunting you. It is the biggest lie ever perpetrated on you, so hate that too. Eventually you will stop noticing it so much. Much later you won’t believe it ever even got your notice.

Stay off the sauce for the long term by asking yourself, ‘what is the point’? Am I so stupid I would ever go back to that? Why risk your recently regained self-respect for a lousy drink? I quit drinking 3 times, because each time I became closer to suicide. This is life or death. Respect that.

This is a long-term thing. You will never be the same, but you will get better. You will still have the bad dreams but they will get further apart. Many things will trigger bad memories, but in many people’s eyes, as well as your own, you will be some kind of hero.

Big Bonus!

This technique works for smoking too, but I would not advise trying to kill two habits as bad as these at the same time. I waited until I had quit drinking for a full year before having my last cigarette. I have not smoked or even been tempted to smoke since then.

So, put that self-loathing to work where it will earn some dividends, direct it towards the real enemy and finally have a life worth living. Two years after I stopped drinking I took early retirement, found a money making hobby, and began traveling throughout the west and southwest. I have made some long lasting friendships and sleep like a baby at night. There is no more shame or disgust in my life, only satisfaction knowing I have now done the best thing I could possibly do with my life.

You can do it too.