Why You Aren’t Ready to Quit Drinking and How to Get Ready
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When I was prepping for this, I was thinking about the people who say never again or not today, but then talk themselves into drinking again later that same day or a day or so later. It's not because you're weak, it's because you value alcohol more than you value sobriety. That's it.
When you wake up with a disgusting hangover you feel terrible and you want to stop the cycle so badly. In this moment, you'll value sobriety much higher than you value alcohol.
However, as the day goes on your hangover fades and your reasons for drinking start appearing. Work stress, family stress, triggers, boredom, etc, and you don't know how to deal with any of it so it just keeps piling up. As this happens, the amount you value alcohol starts to increase because you know alcohol will take the edge off, let you numb out, or reduce your anxiety levels. Once the amount you value alcohol becomes greater than the amount you value sobriety, it's going to be pretty hard not to drink.
Learn more in episode 115:
If you’ve been in sober Facebook groups then you have probably seen some comments saying “you’re just not ready yet” or maybe they’ve even been said to you before. These comments used to infuriate me, but now that I’m sober I see how true it is. It’s a long process to get ready to quit drinking, and most of the time we say we want to stop drinking when really we just want to drink less. One important step you can take is acknowledging that maybe you don’t want to actually quit, maybe you just want to find a way to drink less. In this episode I share what it means to not “be ready yet” and steps you can take to accelerate the process so you can quit for good.
What to listen to next:
E106: What Happens in the Brain When We Are Overwhelmed (The Amygdala Hijack + Life Update)
E98: Emotion Intensity and How to Start Self-Regulating
E94: Drinking to Cope or Numb Out Doesn't Help, Here's How to Really Cope
E91: Do You Want to be Sober or Do You Want to Drink Without the Consequences?
E79: Why We Romanticize Alcohol
Cite this episode
Tietz, G. Episode 115: Why You Aren’t Ready to Quit Drinking and How to Get Ready. Sober Powered. 2022.
