Alcoholism is a really cruel and horrible disease. It has cost millions of lives down the years, but there are also many success stories too.
Visit any alcohol rehabilitation treatment centre and you’ll see people going through their own programme in a bit to be another of those success stories, of which you could also be one of them.
Many of us are struggling with alcohol these days. It’s commonplace in society, but the hardest question for yourself to answer is, how do you give up?
Well, it’s not easy, but there are plenty of snippets of advice out there from people who have been through it all before and lived to tell the tale. So, to give you that boost and inspiration to give up the booze, here are some top tips from those that have come out the other side…
First and foremost, the hardest step of all is to accept that you have a problem. Coming to terms that you are addicted to alcohol. It doesn’t mean you are weak, or a failure, it means you are at the point where you can actively do something about it.
The biggest sign of strength is to seek help. It’s a much bigger sign of commitment than trying to attempt it on your own, where going back to drinking is not only easier, it’s also significantly more likely.
You need to embrace the change and how that looks. Getting help is the second step after admittance and those that embrace the programmes they are put on by experts will get much more out of it and increase the chance of success in recovery.
For example, you may feel like meditation isn’t for you. But that can often be one of the most crucial elements of treatment and recovery, and those that immerse themselves in it will have a much more efficient coping mechanism for the rest of their lives.
Put your trust and honesty in others
There’s a common theme among those who are in recovery and loving life. They haven’t done it alone. You need to open yourself up to others and show them you want help and you’re willing to put everything into it.
This will completely transform the relationships you have, from rebuilding them with friends and family, to developing new friendships and support networks with people, either in rehab or places such as AA, where you’re all in it together and all keen to look after one another.
It’s one day at a time, always
One day you can be fine, one day you may not be. There will always be trigger points as an alcoholic so you shouldn’t look too far into the future and concentrate on living in the present.
Living one day at a time is a hugely popular mantra in rehab as it allows patients to break down the journey they are on into more manageable steps. It’s why often recovering alcoholics will be able to tell you how many days they’ve been sober, almost to the exact hour.
Of course, there are many more important lessons that can be learned, but ultimately you’ll figure out plenty of those yourself too. Providing you do accept it and get the help you need, anyway.
