Quitting Alcohol Is the Most Effective Life Hack

If alcohol causes you problems then it’s time to stop listening to its lies.

My beliefs about alcohol have shifted so drastically in the four years since I got sober, that I am driven to keep writing about it. There were many lies that I believed, but these three were the most harmful.

1. Alcohol made me more fun, attractive and interesting.

2. Life without alcohol would be boring and not worth living.

3. I could stop drinking any time I wanted.

These lies are a huge part of what makes it so difficult for people to successfully quit drinking. That, plus the fact that alcohol is incredibly difficult.

And the way that so-called alcoholism tells you that you don’t have it.

This is why I keep writing. I want to share the truth. And encourage people to seek help if they find that they cannot stick to their own rules around drinking.

Doing research for my memoir I found a letter to myself, written on New Year’s Eve in 2015. A few months before I would finally admit defeat, and ask for help to stop drinking.

Reading it now, I’m cast back into the bewilderment and confusion that was the last months of drinking.

The frequent failed attempts to control it, and the disastrous nights I had when I let go and drank the way I liked.

The frequent arguments.

31/12/15

“I love you so much,” Alex said to me last night, and I felt it, mostly, that he does, so what broken fool part of me can’t accept it?

“Do you love me like a sister?” I said. It hurts to recall.

Oh never ending agony, why must you insist on being wakened?

Something that soothes me is work. The idea of Not Drinking For A Year. It seems impossible, which must mean it’s worth doing.

I’m terrified of failing at it and feeling terrible about myself. My hunch is that this is interesting that there are lots of people like me who don’t fit the criteria of AA but experience damage from drinking and yet can’t seem to give it up.

When everyone around me is drinking, and I can’t escape, what do I do? Drink soda water and observe and join in. Without a drink. Write about the urge, and not giving into it, and all the arguments your subconscious throws up. Use AA if you need to BUT DON’T TELL ANYONE.

If I see this through, I will respect myself.

If I fail to see this through it will be more ammunition for the evil self-loathing strand, more proof that I am a no-good worm, a slithering bottom feeder.

Remember, it is a project. You are doing some work. You are finding out what it is like not to drink alcohol for a year. You are testing your own resolve and will power.

Remember: the last few times you have drunk have not been magical or remarkable.

People become interesting and exceptional because of what they do. What do you want to do? How do you want to live? For the first few months avoid the pub. I can feel a storm of resistance to this idea. A lack of faith. Prove yourself wrong. Prove Alex wrong: “You’re good at making resolutions, but not good at keeping them.”

Remember the feelings of anxiety you wake up hungover with, and the strength of mind that builds after a run of sober days. Practice going into bars and ordering soda. Practice going out for dinner and ordering soda. Or apple juice. Or elderflower pressé.

Think of the money you will save, the brain cells you will rescue, the time you will collect.

The time after uni, when more than anything you want a glass of wine, you will have a bath and read for an hour. If Alex wants to go to the pub he can find a friend to go with.

You don’t need to talk about this. You only need to do it. Become more disciplined and see how your life is altered. Become a person you can respect.

After you have done this, you will have something to write about. And if Alex doesn’t really love you then it won’t work out. Stop this insane second guessing and try to enjoy your life.

Protect yourself. Stop letting everything in.

You are adequate. You are adequate. You are adequate.

Yep, I don’t miss those days. I was so sad and confused. My brain was constantly in overdrive trying to work out what was wrong with me.

And although the answer was staring me in the face — YOU HAVE A DRINK PROBLEM — everyone around me insisted that my drinking was absolutely fine.

All of the problems in my life were caused by alcohol, and yet somehow, I believed that drinking was the solution.

It took a long time for me to listen to myself, and do whatever it took to stay sober, but I got there in the end. If that’s what you want, you can get there too.

If alcohol is causing most of the problems in your life, then quitting booze is the quickest and most effective life hack you are ever going to find.

It takes work and commitment, but it’s worth it.

Don’t listen to alcohol’s lies. Ask for help. If you relate to my writing, then there’s a good chance you will find out the same as I have: life without booze is better.

If you’re struggling to quit drinking, help is available.

If you’re ready to try something different, try my alcohol experiment. Do whatever it takes to stay sober for 30 days: go to your doctor, try Smart or AA or Hip Sobriety or Soberistas. Read beautiful hangover. Listen to Recovery Elevator and SHAIR podcasts. If you think it could work, try Moderation Management.

There is a whole community of people just waiting to help you. Reach out. Something better is waiting for you.

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Chelsey Flood is the author of Infinite Sky and Nightwanderers, a lecturer in creative writing and a dedicated truth-seeker. She writes about freedom, addiction, nature and love.