Making the DECISION to Quit Drinking (E197)

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A lot of us “quit” drinking and we go back and forth for a long time beating ourselves up for being too weak to stick with it. In this episode, I want to discuss how alcohol impacts our ability to make decisions based on our goals, what actually making the decision looks like, and how you can get closer to quitting for good.

Takeaways:

1. Closing the Door to Alcohol: The key to long-term sobriety is fully accepting that moderation is not an option and giving up the hope of being able to control your drinking in the future. 

2. Motivational Shift in Recovery: Over time, chronic relapsers gradually learn to prioritize themselves, learn self-care, develop self-awareness, set boundaries, and lean on their support systems consistently, leading to sustained sobriety.

3. Neurological Processes in Addiction: Addiction involves a transition from goal-directed behaviors to habitual behaviors in the brain, driven by changes in the striatum. As addiction progresses, automatic, habitual responses become dominant, leading us to prioritize instant gratification over long-term goals.

4. Impact of Alcohol on Decision Making: Alcohol consumption impairs decision-making abilities by turning down the brain's goal-directed processes and amplifying automatic, reward-seeking behaviors. Even moderate alcohol consumption can significantly increase automatic decision-making tendencies, undermining self-control and rational decision making.

5. Early Recovery Challenges: During the early stages of recovery, the brain's decision-making abilities remain disrupted, making it susceptible to automatic, alcohol-seeking behaviors. Support from peers and professionals is crucial during this period to counteract the brain's inclination towards automatic responses and maintain sobriety.

Resources I offer:

• Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life

• Sober Group Coaching Program

• Anger Management

• Free resources

Listen to the full episode in your podcasting app: Apple Spotify other apps

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Cite: 

Gillian Tietz. Making the DECISION to Quit Drinking (E197). Sober Powered. 2024

Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.

Sources:

1. Hogarth. Acute alcohol impairs human goal-directed action. Biological Psychiatry. 2012