A Simple Path from Alcohol Misery to Alcohol Mastery PDF EBook Seb Grant Quit Alcohol Formula | Page 12

Change your thinking
about alcohol
If you believe that alcohol can help you to
cope with your problems, you will continue
to be at risk of drinking again. Alcohol is
a drug. Like many other drugs that can
affect the nervous system, it is addictive.
It can kill. It causes the steady build-up of
damage to the body. As you begin to drink
on a regular basis it takes more alcohol to
have the same effect. Your body becomes
tolerant of the effects of alcohol. In people
who are tolerant of alcohol, the body shows
signs of ‘protest’ when they stop drinking.
Once the body tissues have adapted to
being surrounded by alcohol, the absence
of alcohol sets off a withdrawal reaction:
excessive sweating, shakiness, restlessness
and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things
that aren’t really there). These are all signs
of physical addiction or dependence. Before
physical dependence develops, you may
become psychologically dependent. You
believe that you can’t relax or enjoy yourself,
or can’t cope with a problem, unless you
have a drink first. Such thinking is mistaken.
Most people cope with life’s problems
without turning to alcohol. You can too. And
if you drink to be one of the crowd or a good
sport, or to impress others, you need to ask
yourself if it is worth the risk of harming your
relationships, your health and your self-respect.
Drinks list:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Develop your interests
To stop drinking, one of the changes you’ll
need to make is the way you use your time.
You may have spent lots of time drinking or
doing things that encouraged you to drink,
like working under stress or going to the pub
for a ‘boys’/girls’ night out’. It’s important that
you think now about how you’ll live your life
differently. If you just stop drinking and don’t
fill your time with activities you enjoy, you
may end up fed-up, bored and frustrated,
and tempted to start drinking again. Draw up
a list of activities and interests you would like
to take up. Think of the activities you enjoyed
before you began drinking regularly. Enquire
at your local library or community centre
to find out what is available. Organise your
free time and you’ll increase your chances of
finding an interest you enjoy. Write down your
ideas on the next page: