Although millions of people are beating alcoholism every day, it is difficult to do so without having all the tools at hand.
There are a few issues that you must understand completely and accept totally before you can start the process of recovering from alcoholism and move towards abstinence. While these may seem to be very easy, without taking care of them, we do not stand a chance.
1. Ask yourself, “If I have problems, are they caused by alcohol?”
The majority of problem drinkers have a hard time realizing that alcohol is the underlying issue. This is because denial, a very strong characteristic of addiction, is so very much in play. When you are in the thick of a problem and refuse to see it, that is called denial. In case your response was “yes, I’ve got issues with drinking”, then we proceed.
2.Am I really psyched on giving up alcohol?
In order to overcome alcoholism, there is no ambiguity, the answer should be a firm yes or no. To abstain implies quitting completely rather than merely cutting back or ‘controlling’ your consumption. If you’re an alcoholic, odds are you already know that drinking is a problem, but you don’t stop either because you still enjoy it or the consequences are not grave enough to force your hand.
3. You must ask yourself if you are ready to make the changes needed.
I am able to quit most anytime I choose to, I simply do not want to at this time. Another common negative thought pattern is thinking that you know you should stop, but refusing to do so right then and there because you will stop someday of your own volition. These are just several typical ways of thinking that will stop alcohol recovery from happening. If you are overwhelmed by the thought of never having another drink, concentrate on the present and merely take the first step.
4. You know you need a sobriety plan, but are you willing to do the work?
It is not enough to make a spot decision to stop drinking; much more is involved and at stake. Most people are unsuccessful because they don’t have a believable, functioning recovery method in place. Not having a method is as bad as have a poor method. It is important to seek support from self help groups and trained professionals who have an in depth knowledge about the subject.
5. Get that plan going.
Even if you’ve got the perfect possible plan, unless you implement it, it’s worthless. One of the main reasons that alcoholics relapse is being complacent. While many people put a lot of time, energy and money into getting the job done, they also don’t have a lot of follow-through at times. In order to recover you must persist at it and be constantly conscious of it.
These are only a few of the issues that you need to address to have success. IF you want to stop drinking, there are many resources available to you that can help in your efforts at sobriety.
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Dead on man! Great post, more like this please.