I'm loving it. I quit drinking as well and feel fantastic. I've been through the Quitting Mill for years now, but this time it feels so much better and I'm not depressed about missing the drinking friends or bumming the random cigarette.
My aunt died two weeks ago and that would have normally been an excuse to get plowed and smoke, but I took a 5 mile walk and settled in at a Thai restaurant instead.
I am unsure of why my Quit is working out so well this time; it's going great and I am feeling stronger. Many things are changing, and specifically I am finally out of a bad relationship, I am not drinking any alcohol this time, I am exercising A LOT every day, and I am seeking support from others on Reddit usergroups for r/stopsmoking and r/stopdrinking.
I went to my local drinking dive bar last night after a two hour brisk walk with leg weights...the normal waitress was shitty and the bartender was too. I guess they were unhappy because I also QUIT drinking. Anyway, three soda waters later, I had hugged some old regulars, chatted about being smoke free and alcohol free, felt immensely powerful not even being tempted with either vice, saw the effects of addiction I once lived, and received a lot of reverent praise for being a successful quitter.
One guy says I need to write a story!
The one or two drink mantra always turned into "ooh well, tomorrow I continue my sobriety". I had a habit of 3 days per week, which was so much better than 5 or 6 days drinking per week... so I thought everything was doable. I used my free days for recovery from the binging. Then shit would happen and I would justify the Need to drink more...the cycle would be more intense.
Anyway, I sat at my local bar last night to see "friends" after a 9 mile journey on foot through parks and along a canal...a route I use to gauge my progress. I did it non-stop with 7.5 pounds of ankle weights per leg and carrying 15 pounds more in a backpack. No one at the bar was interested in anything about me or my absence as a former regular...same banter about shit-all. The bartender was a friend I thought, but she was seemingly pissed about serving soda water.
I am missing nothing from being alcohol-free. I used alcohol to get a "mind free of overhanging issues"...turns out I was not addressing these issues and living in the past. In short, complete alcohol abstention is really invigorating after getting beyond the Terrible First Two Weeks.
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