There Are Only 2 Ways To Quit Drinking

Am I an alcoholic? How can I stop drinking? Everything you need to know is here. Doctors & advisors suggest many ways to quit drinking but they don’t necessarily work. Frankly, I think most of them are rubbish.

Your brain functions and physical metabolism start to slow down once you pass a certain age. I believe if you want to delay the process, you should stop drinking. You shouldn’t get drunk, you shouldn’t be in a tipsy state at any time if you want to maintain good physical and mental abilities. Sadly! I strongly believe you should turn your eyes away from Bacardi Mojito or Vodka Martini is shaken not stirred for the rest of your life if you don’t want to get fat & stupid anymore.

So this is one of the reasons I wanted to write this article today because this site is about middle-aged men’s lifestyle, health and wellbeing. But can I also take this opportunity to share my own experiences in this space;

I Am An Alcoholic

I’m a recovering alcoholic, have abused myself with alcohol for 25+ years. Alcohol has damaged my brain cells permanently and changed my personality. I used to be loud, quick and funny, but now I’m completely opposite. I can’t talk fast and it takes me time to digest what I’ve heard or read.

I attended Alcoholic Anonymous in 2000, successfully stopped drinking completely, started drinking again 2007 after I met my husband – living together under the same roof I thought I could control the amount somehow. How wrong was I… I just poured myself some more while he wasn’t looking. Now I’ve been sober for the last 4-5 years, and intend to remain sober for the rest of my life.

The pointlessness of “Do You Drink Too Much?” Tests

There are many instant self-assessment tests available online such as;

• How often do you drink more than X units of alcohol in one day?
• Have you ever been responsible for accidents while drinking?
• Has any of your friends or family expressed concern about your drinking habits in the last X years?
• Do you ever feel guilty after you’ve been drinking?
• Have you ever experienced ‘blackouts’ after drinking?

The result of which will tell you whether you are “safe or not safe”. In my opinion these tests are only as effective as “today’s lucky colour” or computer-generated Tarot cards reading. They only reaffirm what you already know.

Definition of Alcoholism

Not everyone will agree with me, but I believe whether you are an alcoholic or not is determined by your addictive personality level. It’s not a personality in your heart, it’s a personality in your brain. As far as I’m concerned, if you drink every day, you are an alcoholic.

The ONLY test to confirm is; can you cut down the frequency of alcohol consumption?

Will you be able to drink only once a week, at least for the next 12 weeks? Or even twice a week – Tuesday nights and Saturday nights only. For the next 12 weeks, starting today. If you can give it a try and get through this, you are not an alcoholic. But you are if you can’t.

My Brain Was Soaked In Alcohol

Let me talk about my battle again – I had to drink every night. The amount of alcohol is irrelevant because of the long-term habit, with my liver weaken, it only took me two glasses of whiskey & coke to get myself drunk. My eyes were dirty, cloudy yellow showing how the liver was damaged. While my husband could enjoy the taste of good wine, I was purely drinking to get drunk.

I never had lunch because I needed to have my stomach empty for the alcohol in the evening. I became boring, making all sorts of excuses to avoid socialising after work. I would come straight home and start drinking.

Just like any other alcoholics, I’d wake up in the morning and swear never to drink, ever again. By mid-afternoon I’d be planning about what to drink – my mind was completely controlled by that toxic drug.

The 2 Ways To Quit Drinking

I’m sorry to disappoint you but based on my simple test above, the two ways to quit drinking are;

1. If you are not an alcoholic – cut it down gradually.
2. If you are an alcoholic – stop completely NOW.

If you are #1 above, cutting down alcohol should be easy, comparing to those who are #2. Decide to drink less frequently during the week – have some sweets instead, with a little bit of motivation. Get some exercise and determine you’ll get fit.

But if you do have an addictive personality, you can’t just cut it down. It doesn’t work – I’ve tried that many times since 1994. (I just remember it was 1994 I was sick & tired of being sick & tired for the first time of countless times to follow!) The only way, the ONLY way for alcoholics to stop drinking is to stop completely.

So if you are sick of being in this cycle, here is a method to completely forget about alcohol within 21 days, i.e. 3 weeks.