Sunday, August 22, 2010

How to Stop Drinking Alcohol

Have you ever wondered why some many people go overboard when it comes to drinking alcohol? Sure, we all want to have a great time when we are out and about with our family or friends, but where do we draw the line between having fun and getting drunk?

We all know how to drink alcohol, but do we really know how to stop drinking alcohol? This will be a question we will always ask ourselves throughout time.

Alcohol is everywhere in our society today and so many are becoming addicted each and everyday, unfortunately.

As young people start on their way in life, many think that drinking alcohol is the cool thing to do in order to impress their peers. Little do they know by starting to drink at such a early age some will become a prisoner of the bottle. The tolerance to alcohol will become greater as they continue to drink and party away like it was their last day on earth, and for some, unfortunately, it very well may be.

What I learned through my experiences with alcohol and being addicted to it was that my attitude and outlook on life was pretty negative which kind of made me feel worthless. So, what did I do? I opened another beer figuring this would be the fix all of all my problems.

Alcohol will never fix anything in life, it only makes things thousand time worse than they really are. Many people turn to alcohol in hopes that their problem will just vanish, and yes it may vanish when the person is in the drunkin state of mind. They forget about their problem, but only for a short time while drinking. Once the drinking binge stops the problem still is there the next day.

When you finally admit that you have an alcohol addiction you must then make up your mind to surrender to it. As hard as it sounds it can be done.
Many of people are basically afraid to quit drinking do to the fear of living with out their crutch.

They may worry about alcohol withdraw and everything that may go with quitting an addiction. We can not let those thing stand in our way of sobriety.

Here is a few tips that helped my become clean and sober.

* First I changed my attitude from negative to positive in everything.

* I looked at the pros and cons of drinking verses sobriety.

* I basically looked at my life as it was in all areas including the
effects it had on my family and their lives.

* I made a promise to myself to never pick up a drink again for the rest of
my life, no matter what happens that may give me the urge to drink.

* I prayed to our Lord God for the help and strength to be able conquer
this addiction once and for all.

* I had to leave behind some of my drinking buddies that were a bad
influence on me, and kept myself from things that may have given me the
given me the urge to drink.

* I keep myself busy not only physically, but mentally as well. I had to
keep my mind away from thinking about drinking


If you want to quit drinking alcohol you must first surrender and keep a positive attitude throughout the rest of your life. You must have the willingness and pure desire to become sober. You must learn to love yourself more and give your life a second chance to live.

Some folks my need Professional Help with entering a Rehab Center where they will get the tools needed to become clean and sober and in a safe manner.

Keep focused on what you have set out to do, and believe me, with some work on your part everything will fall into place, and before you know it, your life will be what it should be, and that is living sober, healthy and longer. BELIEVE AND YOU WILL ACHIEVE Click Here"

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Drinking Beer

Oh yes, the hot and steaming days of summer. One can not wait for that ice cold frosted mug of beer after a hard days work.

Why do most people go for the beer after working in the heat,or for some of us,just for the heck of it? Watching or going to a sports game we need to bring along our beer.

Having a picnic or outside party, what goes along with that, is beer. Going out on a boat for a nice afternoon cruise and the beer comes along with us.

We decide to go on a camping trip, so we pack the clothing that we will need for our trip. Get all the food and supplies ready to go. Get the tent or our camper packed up and don't forget the coolers for all the beer we will be drinking while camping and fishing.

Having a birthday party,wedding or even a First Communion, don't forget about putting the beer on the menu for all to enjoy. Beer seems to be a very popular thing to many of us when planing just about anything.

It seems to me that beer goes with just about everything in our everyday lives and seems to rank close to all the other things we need in life.

I was one that loved drinking my beer for many years too. It has that effect after so many. The effect that sometimes over powers our minds. Don't get me wrong beer is tasty after that day of work,and just sit down and crack that can or bottle open and that first sip tastes like drinking gold in a can.

There is nothing wrong with having a couple of beers after a hard days work or just chilling out watching a ball game with the guys, but some of us including myself just don't when to quit drinking. Starting out with just a couple beers then lead to a drinking frenzy.

Some of us just get carried away with the drinking and don't stop until the supply is gone. That's the problem with drinking alcohol whether being beer or spirits.

We all intend to have just a couple of drinks but as the day or night goes on the alcohol continues unless you have the willpower to call it quits for the day. Some people just don't know how to say to someone that they have had enough beer and call it quits for the day or evening.

Then there are those how yell out "hey grab me another one of those beers will you."

There is now harm having a couple of drinks, but you must learn when enough is enough and just drink reponsable. Don't ever forget DO NOT EVER DRINK AND DRIVE!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Ways To Get And Stay Sober

So many people in our society today long to be sober, but they just do not know how to start to achieve this sometimes huge task in their lives.

First, you must get your mindset in a position that you are in a positive frame of mind. Being negative in anything in life will cause huge problems in accomplishing not only sobriety, but anything in life at all.

There are many ways to get and stay sober, but you must first want it so bad that you are willing to due anything to achieve this goal in your life.

The way I found that helped me get and stay sober was that I turn to God first off and asked for the most powerful help there is. You need to believe in the power above in order to achieve anything in life. He is the main peron to turn to first. Without you believing in him and without believing in yourself you will find it difficult to start out on the right track to the road to recovery.

Once you have finally surrendered to your addiction and admit to yourself that you have an addiction is when your life will start to turn for the better.

For myself and my experiences, I have found that a Positive Attitude is a remarkable thing to have why doing anything in life. It makes a world of difference in the out come of what you are tring to achieve. Being negative just throws a curve ball into your goals and you will never get to where you want to be in life.

It was somewhat a tough road in the begining for me as I started on my road to recovery and leaving my demons behind. We are so used to having these alcohol demons in our everyday life that in the begining, we tend to wonder just how we are going to survive with out our harmful and deadly friends.

Well, from my experiences I have found it a blessing to leave those demons behind and never look back at that awful life I had when addicted. It was not that hard for me to accomplish this life change because I first started off with that positive attitude and prayed to God that I would make this happen and stay sober for the rest of my life.

I truly believe that our minds can make or break us in life, it's all how we train our minds. Like I said before, if we live our lives in a negative manner then our lives will be nothing but negative in anything we do.

Some of the ways I found that helped me stay sober in the being and still to this day is that I keep myself busy, not only physically but mentally as well. We need to keep doing this in order to stay sober. Keep that mind busy so that we don't have a moment to think of our past addiction problems that once ran our minds and bodies.

Stay positive and focused on your new and sober life, and in time you will see a bright and shinning light up ahead and and a sign saying welcome to the world of sobriety.
To learn more about quitting drinking and ways to stay sober Click Here!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Facing Your Demons Head On

All of us have had to face something in our lives that were not to happy to do.  Some of us have done something wrong and had to stand up a face the problem.  We are very nervous because we don't know what the out come will be.



Many of us such as myself have had those problems and also one other, "Our Demons".  In my case, my demons, or should I say my past friends had almost ruined my life, my family and all of the dreams I had.

I could have lost everything all do to Alcohol Addiction, something that could of been avoided only if I had the strength and the willpower to do so.

With many years of drinking under my belt and still feeling in good health I thought that I was indestructible.  I was very fortunate that I never had any health problem all those years.  But, sooner or later everything catches up with us one way or another.

What caught up with me was that I was on the verge of losing everything I had, including my wife and family all do to selfishness on my part.  I knew I was doing wrong in my life but I just could not Give Up Alcohol.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Crucifixion To Resurrection Of An Alcoholic-My Easter Story 2010

People like myself, who have been drinking alcohol for the good part of our lives have many stories that we can tell of our experiences, being good or bad.



I, myself can say that I have had many good experiences when I was young, such as going on boat trips with my dad and friends.  But, that was just partying with the guys.  I was too young then to even know what the future would bring due to the early years of partying with alcohol.

I never knew what this alcohol could do.  I continued to drink everyday leading myself to an unfortunate addiction to the booze.  If I were to know the consequences in my future I would have thought twice before the partying began.

No one knows what our future will bring, only time will tell.  My time ran out due to being addicted so bad that at times I would only think of the drink and nothing else, even my own family would not matter.

It didn't matter what anyone would say about my drinking, I just didn't care.

I never knew that I was heading down to Rock Bottom, or should I say The Crucifixion of my life.  I was self-destructing myself and could not see it until one day, and that day turned my life around forever.

My wife made a statement to me one day that really hit home and made me take a hard look at the life I now lead.

I immediately started to think of how I am going to make this huge change in my life to the better.

The alcohol has ruined my life and held me back on many things I have wanted to do through my life.

With this change I was about to do, I will be able to now focus on My Resurrection of my life, or should I say to be born again with a new Clean and Sober Life.

When I made my mind up to make this change, I started off with the most important thing, which was a Positive Attitude.  In doing so, this attitude gave me the Willingness and the Strength to be able to take my final ride down Recovery Road.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Alcoholism In A Family - Who Really Suffers?

When a person, like myself, decides to take up a habit of drinking Alcohol, we don't think of the side effects it will have upon others.  We start with a casual drink or two on different occasions.  That's okay for the ones that can handle one or two drinks, and then walk away from the bottle.  But, for some of us, for some reason or another we just crave for more and more.

The one or two casual drinks are just not enough for us.  As we continue to feed our bodies with more Alcohol,  our bodies get used to it and say to us "give me more".  As you feed more alcohol to yourself you don't see the world around you. The world you only see is the make believe world, where everything seems great as long as you are high on your drink.

You are now becoming dependent on the Alcohol, which turns to an Addiction. You think that you are fine and there shouldn't be any problems of what you are doing.  You are basically blinded to the outside world.  Everything now revolves around drinking.  I can say this because I was once blinded to the outside world and saw nothing around me but my drink and never even realized it until I became Clean and  Sober.

Some of us are what you call a working or functional Alcoholic.  You can do all the normal things in life, like going to work, yard work, family functions, and the everyday routines.  That is why I thought I had no problem at all.  I functioned just fine, so I thought.

Alcoholism In A Family can do some real damage to everyone involved..  The people that love you and care about you are on your back burner.  But, the Alcoholic can not see this happening, when it is right in front of their faces.  The families suffer so bad, and the alcoholic is happy as a lark. They try to convince us to slow down or even quit drinking all together.  As we all know, you can not tell someone, or make someone  quit unless they are willing to surrender to their Addiction on their own.

As time passes, with your addiction progressing, you then are wondering what have I done.  I have an Addiction that is now out of control.  So, all the fun times in the beginning are now turning into some bad times in the end.

So, some of us may lose our jobs, our families and friends, and unfortunately some of us may lose our Lives, all due to an Addiction that we could of prevented, only if we had the strength within us to keep this under control, from our beginning casual drink or two.

Always remember that when your drinking down that alcohol, your not only killing your body, but your are killing your relationships, friendships, and the most important the family that loves you so.

So just think about it before you tilt the bottle again, and take a look around you and ask yourself "Who Really Suffers the most"?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Alcohol Detox - Ways I Survived Doing It

In the world we live in today there are so many stresses and things we all have to endure.  Some of us can handle these these stresses on our own, and then some may turn to a different source.  Unfortunately, we tend to turn to some sort of habit which most of the time is bad.

When I decided to turn my life around, and take the road to Sobriety, I had to do a lot of preparing, both mind and body.  I knew I could not just slow down the drinking, because of my last experience, it didn't work.  So the only other thing that I could do is to just go Cold Turkey.

I picked a Sober start date, and I stuck to it.  It was hard to say goodbye to my so called second love, or as I always say my Demons.  But, I did, and I will never look back at the past. I knew deep down inside that this addiction I have is destroying my family, my dreams and goals, and my Life.

So, I said to myself, how I am going to feel with my Alcohol Detox program that I'm about to start on my own?  Will I be able to do this own my own?  I answered both questions with a Positive Attitude, saying, Yes I Can and Will achieve this goal of getting Sobriety back into my life.

So, during my Detox of Alcohol, I needed to find things to do to keep my mind and my body busy.  One of the first things I started to do was to start writing about my Addiction.  Believe it or not, it has helped me so much to be able to express my thoughts and my feelings of my life with Alcohol.

As I continue to write many things pop into my mind.  Some are good and then their are the ones that I am ashamed of.  Those are, what I have put my family through all the years of drinking.  I am not happy nor proud of it by far.  I never realized what I was doing due the Alcohol.

One of my Goals is that, I hope that someone in the world will get a chance to read what I have written, and be able to maybe use some of the things I have learned to help them Achieve Sobriety in their lives.

The Detox program that I did on my own, will unfortunately not help someone completely, that really has a far worse addiction then I.  But, if they really want to Achieve their Sobriety, then I strongly suggest by first Getting that Positive Attitude going in your life.  Without that first you are fighting a losing battle.

Once you Surrender to your Addiction, and  grab a hold of that Positive energy you will succeed.  You will also have to agree to yourself that you will never be able to pick up a drink again ever in your life.  We all know what could happen if you do so, and no one wants a Relapse after working so hard to Achieve their Sobriety. 

With a lot of prayers, and to put your life into God's hands he will help you through all of the things you never thought you could ever do.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Alcohol Tolerance - It Can Sneak Up On You Quick

Remember the old days, or for some of us now, how we felt after our first Alcoholic drink?  We felt like we where floating on a cloud.  But, our body was not used to that strange liquid in our system.

I remember my first.  A friend of mine stole a beer from his parents refrigerator and we shared that one beer.  What we did was to use a straw to drink out of, only because someone said it would give you a quick buzz.  After we finished the beer we then ran around to get the alcohol moving faster into our body.  Sounds funny right, but it did work, at least we thought so.

So,  we did our experiment  and we where satisfied with the results.  That was the end of our drinking day at a young age, So we thought.

As we get older and the times of our lives get tougher, we tend to lean on different things to get our stress out. Some may turn to Drugs and some my turn to Alcohol.  Either way, both will do the same harm to us over time.

When we do start to abuse our bodies with these things, we start off lightly and slowly, because we don't know how it will affect us in the beginning.  Some of us have gotten very sick, including myself, when we have drank to much, and didn't realize just how fast the alcohol would sneak up on us.  So, we say to ourselves, that's it for me, no more drinking for me.

After a day or so, we say, well I feel a lot better now, so I guess I'll have a drink or so.  We get to the number of that drink that put us under a day ago, and realized nothing has happened.  No throwing up, No feeling sick.  So, we then continue to drink until we get to that sick point again, and then call it quits for the night.

This goes on and on as our Alcohol Tolerance gets higher and higher.  As for me, this has happened as I'm sure million of other people feel the same.

As our Tolerance builds higher, we can hang in their with the best of the drinkers.  For myself, nothing to be proud of for sure.

So, for me, to finally be Sober again everyday of my life is a Blessing.  But, if we never started to use Drugs or Alcohol in the first place, then, the word Addiction would never be in our vocabulary.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Giving Up Alcohol

There are so many different things in the world that people love to do.  We all have different hobbies and interest, which makes us all different from one another.  Then there are some that really have no interest in anything in their lives, because they have been caught up in an Addiction of some sort.  Nothing is really important to them except the Alcohol or Drugs they are addicted to. 

Some may depend on Drugs and then some with an Alcohol Addiction.  These folks are missing out on so much that life has to offer.  If only they can just start a new life by "Giving Up Alcohol."  Easier said than done, but it can be done with the right attitude in mind.

When I decided to change my life for the good, I thought about what it might feel like to never have any harmful substances in my body again.  I was hesitant to give up the alcohol do to that feeling I might have with the absence of the almighty drink.

Well, I then said what in the world would I do with no drinking involved in my life?  How will I survive?  This is my crutch that I lean on when life is not going on a smooth pace.

Finally I said this is enough of the playing games, and now it's time to do some real bussiness with my demons that lurk in me.  It's time to tell them who is the real boss here.

As I have learned over time, and still today, I made a pack with myself to always keep a Positive Attitude in everything I do from this time forward.  If you start out with that frame of mind, it will help you so much to achieve not only Sobriety, but anything you do in life.  It has helped me achieve many things in my life in only a short period of time.

Your mind is a powerful and beautiful thing.  You can train it to go in any direction you wish.  Some unfortunately choose the wrong direction and get caught up with the Addiction. 

In order for you succeed to your Road of Recovery you will have to stand strong and agree that if you are going to make this change, you have to promise yourself, NOT anyone else that you are willing to NEVER pick up a drink again.  Don't let your addiction run your life, and ruin the love and friendship of families and friends. Keep thinking what you will lose if you do not change your ways.  Then, think of what you will gain continuing with your addiction. 

You have to do this for YOU!  If you don't have respect for yourself and just do not care about yourself, then it will be a little tough to even have any feelings or care about anyone else.  Even though everyone will be on your side and support you in whatever you decide, this is your life, so give yourself that second chance you deserve-SOBRIETY!

When you find Sobriety, hold you head high, be proud of your accomplishments, smile, and say to yourself,
I DID IT!  I have conquered my Addiction, and now I can Live a Clean Life again.

Stay Positive, Stay Sober, Go For It, you will not regret it!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Quit Drinking Alcohol-Start A New Life

This is for those, including myself, that have or had a addiction to alcohol.  There are many people in all walks of life struggling with an Alcohol Addiction and can not seem to control or even stop their addiction.  I for one, loved the beer and it showed by my appearance, that went down hill overtime.

When you look into the mirror, and say to yourself, "who are you?"  Your not the person I knew my whole life. That is the time to really start to make some decisions of what you want in your life.  This is just one thing that I did everyday, and with each day that passed, what I saw looked worse each time.  So, I said  to myself, well it's time now for the biggest change in my life.  I have seen enough and have done enough, now it's time to try your very hardest to Achieve Sobriety.

As they always say, pictures and mirrors don't lie.  If you want a true picture of yourself just take a look in a mirror or a photo from years ago.  Granted, we all age over our life time but, why try to rush the aging with some avoidable addictions.   I was kind of embarrassed and self conscious of my appearance and how I have changed over time.

So, what we have to do, and what I did, was to face the fact that we need to admit to ourselves that we have a addiction, and it's time to Quit Drinking Alcohol and start a new life.

Now, we have first admitted that we have an alcohol addiction.  Secondly, we have to agree to ourselves that  we want to make this One Way Trip to Sobriety, then we have to start by having a Positive Attitude from now on in.  These Positive thoughts will not only help us to Sobriety but will also help us in our everyday lives.

Another thing that we have to do when heading on the road to Recovery, is that we have to say to ourselves that we will not ever be able to tilt the bottle up again.  If you can handle that, and agree to yourself that you won't let those demons take over your life ever again, then you are on the right track to a new life.  Once you can agree to that, you should be proud of yourself, as I was when I made that promise to myself.

Anyone can achieve anything in life, provided that you have a Positive Attitude, Inner strength, and the Willingness to reach out for help if needed.  Also, think of all those dreams that you can achieve when you are Sober. These ideas will help give you the drive to get to your destination in life.

When I decided to go Sober, I thought what is my future going to be if I stay on this path of destruction? 
What is my future, if I decided to change my life?

The answer was this... MY DESTINY IN LIFE= SOBRIETY

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Living With An Alcoholic

So many marriages, families, and friends are ruined or even destroyed when there is an Alcohol Addicted person involved.  I can relate, do to the fact, that I was one that basically contributed to almost ruining everything I had, including my life.

It took me some time until I finally realized that something is going to blow up real soon.  Whether it would be myself or my family or friends.  I saw it coming over the years but, I didn't pay much attention to it.

Spouses, families, and friends tend be afraid of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the addict.  They have to basically walk on egg shells while around the addict due to the fact they are worried that the addict might just blow up or even get violent in some cases.  This is certainly not a way to live for the innocent ones involved.

Also, lets say that your spouse wanted to take a nice ride out in the country or down the shore for example, but, we the addict  have already started our day on the drinking binge.  So, we are about worthless to them and we now have spoiled their day and evening.  Not very fair is it?

Either one way or another it is hard Living With An Alcoholic.  My wife can testify to that, as I'm sure many spouses and families of an Alcoholic can say the same.

The alcoholic does not realize what they are doing, not only to themselves, but all of their loved ones that want them to get help.   I know, because when I was into the drinking thing, I thought nothing about it and basically did not care about anyone elses thoughts either.  But, I must say deep down inside of me, I really did care, but the alcohol demons in me decided to think for me, and control my thoughts, while being under their influence.

When I decided to become Sober, one of the first things that convinced me was, "do I want those rotten Demons inside me to control and love me, or, do I want my loving wife, family and friends to love and care for me?"  Well, we all know what the best choice is.  Those so called demons I call them only care about one thing, and that is to destroy you and everything around you.

If you really want to change your life for the better, then start by looking at what you are doing to the people that you care and love so much, and just take a good look at where your life is headed if you keep up with your addiction. These couple of things might help you to make that decision to find Sobriety in your life.  It certainly did for me.

Always remember that without family and freinds on our side, we will be very lonely drunks in our future.  As time goes by the people that loved us will start to stray further and further away.  And we will only have one thing left, which is our Addiction.

Start by always thinking Positive in everything you do, and with family and friends on your side you will have a head start to your new Sober life.. Go for it, you will never be sorry you did!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sobriety-How Your Life Can Change With One Single Step

Living with a Alcohol Addiction is a serious problem.  Some of us can occassionaly have a drink or so at a party or some sort of function without any problem.  We can have our fun for the day and leave the bottle alone for some time.  Then there are some people that once they start drinking they can't stop until the party is over or they run out of their supply. 

I know, because I was one of the people that could not stop.  I didn't think anything of it, I was just having fun like everyone else, so I thought.  I was getting more wasted on each drink but, I thought I was fine.  People would say, haven't you had enough?  I laughed and said yeah, right.

The more they harped on it the more I wanted to drink.  This went on for years with no end in site.  I got to the point in my life that I didn't even want to go anywhere unless there was alcohol at the function.  If not, I would bring my own and keep it in the car.

I was embarrassed about my addiction but did not have the courage or the willpower to call it quits. I knew I was doing wrong and that I was destroying myself, and my family too.  But, when thinking about that, it still wasn't enough to surrender to my addiction.

As I got older and wiser I made a point and a promise that I would NEVER drink and drive, and I stuck to it.  Just becuase I was ruining my life I certainly didn't want to ruin a perfect strangers life and their famlies due to an accident caused by me.

I sat down one day, and started to think of what my life will be in the future continued living the life I led.  I added up some of the pros and cons, and believe me the pros out weighed the cons by far.  So, the math doesn't lie, I had to start thinking of what I was going to do next.

First, I had to prepare myself, and start a game plan on this huge change in my life I was about to start.  All my life I aways had big Dreams of what I wanted out of the short life we all live.  But, with the life I lead now it would never happen because I had other things on my mind, like the Alcohol.  That always seemed to come first and when I really thought about it, sometimes before my own family and friends.  I said that this is really sad that I would even think this way.

I'm a sick minded person I said to myself.  But that will change real soon.  I knew I couldn't just slow down like some say to do.  I wasn't that type of person.  I would have to just go Cold Turkey and live with the consequences,  I was worried about the DT's and how I would feel after giving up the drink.

I thought, I accuired this addiction on my own because of no self dicipline, no strength or willpower, so now I have to stand up to my wrong doing and fight the demons within me.

This will happen with one Single Step.  It is the step to Sobriety.  You have to take that first step in order to keep walking away from your addiction.  As they say "Baby Steps".  It will all fall into place if you just have the willpower and keep a Positive Attitude that you can and will conquer this addiction.

It will be a lot harder to give up the drink than it was to start the drink.  Once you have made your mind up, and you have admitted to your addiction, and also realize and accept that you will never be able to pick up a drink again, is when your recovery will start.  Your lives will begin to take shape again, and you will have the feeling of accomplishment and pride that you beat your addiction.

To me, it has been wonderful!  Everyday and everything seems so clear now, and the only thing I wished I could change is that I should of done this years ago.  But, it's never too late to make your change.  With all your hard work, dicipline, and willingness to start a fresh life, you will get to where you want, and that is Sobriety.

Take that Single Step, and keep heading for that light ahead of you, and with your determination you will catch up to the light and will see a  new and brighter life that has been waiting for your arrival.

God Bless To All!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Keeping A Positive Attitude Towards Your Journey To Sobriety

Well, It has been 92 days, Clean and Sober. It really feels great to me.  I never thought in a million years I would be on this journey to Sobriety, only because it was a everyday routine for me, just like waking up and brushing your teeth. It was part and my day, and a big part of my life. Everything I did had to revolve around drinking.  It has been a long time coming.

I have finally admitted to myself that I have a "Alcohol Addiction" that has to be dealt with in a careful manner. First I must be ready to give up the demons on my own, and I am sure ready for that now. I had to prepare myself for the fight of my life. I didn't want to do the "slow down a little at a time routine", like some people do. I knew that I was not that kind of a person that can have one or two drinks and call it the night. No, my body keep asking for more, and I fed it, till I had enough.  The only way to accomplish this addiction for me is to go Cold Turkey, which is what I did. I was worried about the side effects, that people would say might happen. With the help of God, nothing at all happened to me.  So, I proved that their theory was wrong about slowing down a little at a time, at least for me, Cold Turkey worked.  You have to grab the devil by the horns and put up a good fight, until you win for good. They will try and try to get back into your life. You have to be strong, and push them away no matter how hard it is. Don't ever tilt the bottle up again, because if you do, you will be right back where you started and maybe worse than before.

During the first week I did have the desire for a drink, but keep saying to myself, don't let the demon's win.  My mind keep telling me, you are much stronger then the addiction you are fighting, and do not give in. After the first week went by I said, man that was a fast week, then I started counting the days with not a drink. It is like a game I play now, to keep adding the days and rewarding myself for what I have accomplished in a short time.

One day, I thought to myself , I haven't thought about a drink at all today.  It was like I never drank, it simply just disappeared  out of my body and mind.  I felt as if the world was lifted off my shoulders, or I just got released from jail. It was a kinda empty feeling, just like if you were to loss a family member to death. Although, it was a good empty feeling that I had. I felt Free At Last, now I can do anything I want. Before, after I started drinking for the day or evening, I was then a prisoner in my own home, I say that because, I never would drink and drive, so if I needed something after drinking I would have to ask someone to get it for me. That did not go very well in my household.

Now, I am free to come and go as I please, with not a worry in the world, all because, I had a
Positive Attitude from the very beginning of my journey to Sobriety.

Mark

Sunday, January 24, 2010

How To Go Sober With Mind Over Matter

Three months ago, I faced the biggest  challenge of my life, "To Go Sober". I made my mind up, that I have had enough of the alcohol abuse, and the pain that I caused to myself and family.This was a huge decision I had to make, and I had better make it quick before everything totally falls to pieces. 

My first thought was that I have to get a game plan, on how I  was going to tackle this long journey to sobriety. With a lot of thinking ,things started to come to me quite easy, do to the fact that I started with a "positive attitude" and I truly wanted to be sober this time, because the last time I tried, I did not do to well and fell off the wagon for one reason or another.  I really didn't have my whole heart into it the first time.  I was young and just wanted to party with my friends. As years went by, and I got older, I started to see how alcohol was affecting me and my life. It was a big wake up call, all I had to do is to look in the mirror and it said it all. No one had to say anything to me, it said it all right in the mirror. As we all know, mirrors and pictures don't lie.

This was the start for me to first change what I saw in the mirror and to change my life and my addicting habits.I said, I"m going to try this on my own and just bite the bullet and go Cold Turkey. I knew that it may cause some complication, but I prayed a lot for this not to happen, and believe it or not, I didn't have one problem at all. God gave me the will power and the strength to get through that hurdle. I truly believe that anyone can conquer anything if you just put your mind to it and keep a "positive attitude" in what you are trying to do. You have to be Strong and Want It Bad , and it will happen for you.

The first two or three days I had thoughts of the drink, but I prepared my mind for this situation in the beginning, because I knew it was going to be hard in the very beginning for me.  We are all stronger than we think, as far as the mind goes.  We can add habits into our brain, some good, and then, those bad habits.  But if we can add them into our brain then we can also erase them just as fast, if you have the will power and the strength to not let the demons take over your body and mind again. God gave us a great gift, the Gift of Life, and I am going to enjoy that gift. It's never to late to change, I did, and I'm loving every minute of it.

It makes you feel good when you know that you have complete control of your body and mind, and to know that no nasty habit can control you any more. I just keep thinking positive and think of all the dreams I have, that I could not accomplish while being controlled by the addiction I had.

Think of what you really want in life, and if you stand strong to yourself you can achieve what ever you want.
I know, I"m on my way to the Dreams I once had, and hopefully be able to help someone that's trying to Go Sober like I did. You will never be sorry you did!
Celebrate...    "The Clean Life"  that is waiting for you!

The trick to this is very simple, Prepare Your Mind, and Go Sober With Mind Over Matter.

Mark


Saturday, January 23, 2010

How I Did Self Hypnosis To Quit Drinking

I am not a Doctor, nor a therapist by any means, although what I have accomplished over the last three month is remarkable.  I used to drink every day, beer only not the hard stuff for many years.  I have written other posts regarding some on my stories and what I did to conquer those nasty demons that were controlling my body and my mind.

When I first decided to go cold turkey with the alcohol, I thought to myself this is going to be a long journey ahead of me.  I first started by telling myself, what are the pros and cons to my addiction. I really did not have to think to long because.it seemed that all the bad things were out weighing the good right away. I was miserable, not happy, kinda hated myself in a way because I knew I was doing something to harm myself and also my family and friends, but when the drinking started I forgot about those things. I was indeed in denial.

I had to some how get my head together when being sober, to plan my escape from the demons.  I said this can only be mind over matter, I can conquer this with no problem.  When I said that to myself it was hard,
because I figured it might be a problem. I was affraid of the side affects that might go along with the cold turkey.  I keep so busy with my mind and body that it was hard for the urge to kick in.  I also ate dinner right after work instead of 10 or 11 at night after my drinking was done.  Eating made me so full that I did not even want to drink the beer and blow me up even more. So I was full with some good food instead of alcohol.

Then when getting ready for work I would look in the mirror and what I saw  was horrible. I was always skinny but I looked, as you would say, pregnant.  I knew by giving up the alcohol that the stomach would go down quick, and it did. I had to say to myself that if I can only get the first day under my belt it will be a challenge to get to the second , third and so on. It was like a game to me, saying who will win?  So as the days went by and the stomach going down it gave me more willpower to keep it up.  I felt great about myself and what I saw was looking better and better as the days went on. I thought, man this positive attitude I started with is really working. Every day that went by it seems to have been easier and easier to cope this huge change in my life. You really have to want to stop the drinking, and no matter who tells you to quit it isn't  going to work unless you really what to change your life on your own..I know because I was told a thousand times, but I was not ready for the change.  As you know, the saying sometimes is, you just about have to hit rock bottom for the lights to turn on. They sure did for me and I so happy they did. I still have alcohol in the house and it will stay there, and I will still go to parties and functions and just have my coffee and water. I want to keep showing the demons that I am far better and smarter then they will ever be.

The demons can chase me all they want, but their not going to catch me nor get back into my body ever again. When I say, this is like a game, what I mean is, every one in the world whats to win always and never lose anything. So, when I said  How I Did Self Hypnosis to Quit Drinking, it was some of the things I mentioned starting with a positive attitude that you can and will conquer the addiction that has taken over your body. Believe me  to win that war with the demons and to start a new and Clean Life is more rewarding than you can ever know.

I am so thankful to God that I had no side affects at all, something that I was worried about the most, and why, I think that the positive attitude had a lot to do with it from the start. Your brain is a great thing and with a clear mind you can control whats happening inside.  It stores habits, but you can erase those habits with your mind, just think positive and it will happen, it did for me.

My future... "DESTINY LIFE"
Mark

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Feeling Guilty With My Alcohol Addiction

I had a sense of real guilt all the years of drinking.  I did not show it outside, but deep within I knew I was doing wrong, not only to myself but to my whole family.  This past through my mind only when I was sober.  Once the drinking started the quilt feeling left me and I did not care anymore.

My wife, and all of my family keep saying to slow it up, but I didn't  listen nor did I even care.  I thought to myself  I am not doing anything wrong and I am not hurting anyone, so why slow up and even more quit all together.  I saw that when I was sober everyone was around and people would talk to me more so when I drank. I was surely in denial but didn't want to admit I was wrong. I figured what's the problem, everyone drinks so why attack me for drinking?  Well, after many years of drinking and the older I got it started to make sense to me. Everyone was on me for drinking because the cared about me and loved me, and wanted a good life for me.

I was always told by my wife and family, why is it that your job for 8 hours a day gets to see you sober and enjoy your humor , but I, we get to see you buzzed and miserable at night after the drinking starts.  I said  to myself  what in the world are they talking about, I'm the same person in the morning as I am in the evening, so I thought. I was in denial so bad, that I thought everything was just great in my life.  I was told on many occasions  that my own children did not want to be around me when I drank.  I never knew that, I just thought they were going out with friends, but the real truth was they were out with friends but to get away from me.  Over the years of being told these things I finally realized this is a real mess I'm in here, that my family has to hide from me when I drank. So Sad!

I had a real alcohol addiction but could not see it, when it was right in front of my eyes. I was the type of person that could not just have one drink, I had to drink till it was gone.  All said in the nut shell is that I felt guilty with my alcohol addition inside but just didn't want to do anything about it.  In October 2009, I was confronted by my wife with a basic and so familiar statement. I new it was coming sooner or later, and it was, Give it up or I will have to do what I have to do, and she meant it this time for sure. I said to myself woo, this is for real this time and I'd better get my stuff together real quick.

On the following day, I announced that I was going cold turkey and get our lives back the way it should be.
I was so happy that day, when I said, this will be the end of the battle with my demons within, and felt great inside by doing it. Sometimes it takes someone to put you up against the wall with a decision that you have to make, and that decision could make or break everything in your life and your future.  I made the right one and very happy and proud of it.  I said to myself that night, is it really worth my wife, family, friends and my life for the almighty drink?

It has been now,almost 3 months sober and loving every minute of it. I am so happy that my wife called me on this and really not only saved our marriage but she saved my life.  I was on the path of self destruction and never saw it. The thing I have learned is that everyone has deep within the will power to conquer and achieve anything in life if you just put your mind to it. Some, it may be harder than others but it can be done. I am so happy that all the side effects like the dt's never happened to me. God was by my side on that one and gave me the strength and will power to get through this. I can now focus with a clear mind of what our future is  going to be and achieve my goals that I put on the back burner because of my alcohol addiction.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE

All my life I aways had big dreams.  To own a huge house over looking the water with a dock and a nice boat.Or, over looking the beautiful ocean and the smell of salt air and the warm breeze blowing through my hair.
My parents always told me I had rich taste. I guess I got that from my mothers side of the family, because her relatives owned a castle in England, with servants and maids.  That is were I get the rich taste, I guess.

So, my story is that in the last almost 3 months I have been sober, and with the sobriety I can now think straight and have my head together to try and live these big dreams that I could not get before sobriety.  I am on a path to achieve these high goals I have.  First, by going to school to get my realtor licience , and sell some great properties in the shore area and get those big commissions too. Not a over night job, but it is possible in the near future. My father and uncle sold home and did very well.  I know the business of homes only because I have built a few of them with my father in-law from start to finish, including concrete, framing and everything that goes with house building.  So, I have that part  conquered  and I know what to look for in finding a great home for a buyer.

Second, is to retire from the job I have now, which is a Manager for a large Cemetery and Crematory in New Jersey.  I have been working in that field for about 24 years and before that I worked at a hospital for 10 years..In my opinion that is about enough of that kind of work for me. I have seen it all and have done it all, and don't want to see it or do it anymore.  It's time for my big dream to come true!  People say how in the world can you do that kind of work. I tell them first, you have to be caring and kind to the people you serve because they come into the office grieving of their loss and it is my job to try the best I can to comfort them. I must say I am great at that and I will be great in the selling of homes. I have a lot of confidence in myself now being sober and also a clear mind to get those big dreams and make them a reality.

Mark

Saturday, January 9, 2010

FROM START TO FINISH

This is me in the garage having a cold one. It makes me sick to even look at myself holding that beer because as you know if you read the other posts I wrote, you would know why. The start for me was a long time ago, somewhere around 19 years old or so when I was served a summons for a paternity suit.  It was thrown out of court and that was great for me.  I won that battle but, I loss the battle with the alcohol addiction I acquire from the years of lawyers and court dates.  So now I was addicted to alcohol and enjoyed it.  I quit once for 3 years and then again for 2 years. For some reason or another I did not have the will power to continue to be sober.  As years went by and I got older and wiser I thought to myself, this is really out of hand now, and I'm hooked on this big time, worse than the past years. So I said ,what I'm going to do now about this addiction? After a lot of thought and preparing myself for a war with my demons I decided, I would have to go cold turkey with this problem.  So I did about 75 days ago and believe it or not I have not thought about a drink since, and never will again!  I never really relaxed when I drank because as everyone knows that the drink gives you energy. at least it did for me. So I was always on the go doing one thing or another, until I was done drinking for the night and than I crashed.  Today, being sober all the time I feel great, and I relax every night like I never relaxed before. I'm up till one or two in the morning and not passing out at ten or eleven at night.

So, that was the start and now I am on the finish line of the Sober Lane  I wake up every morning feeling great and proud of myself for what I am doing, not only for me, but my family and my friends.  I only wish I would of done this the first time I went sober, but that is in the past and now.  I am only concerned now for the future. So far, everything is on the up for me and I see great things in the future. I learned that I  am the only one that can control my mind and that if you put your mind to something, like getting sober, you can indeed conquer it as long as you have the will power and a clear mind to think straight. Also, stay strong always to yourself and you can beat the demons within.

Mark

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Free at Last

Well, I think I am free at last from the demons within.  I last spoke of the Fresh Start in my last post and now I"ll try to explain to you how I prepared for this journey.  First of all, I began by saying to myself what in the world am I doing to myself and my family?  I wanted to get off the addition I had so bad that I decided to go cold turkey.  Now, some people can be social drinkers and not have a problem. I, on the other hand could not handle drinking on occasion and leave it be until the next party or function. Some people say oh no you shouldn't just go cold turkey, you need to start with having say 6 drinks and the next night have 5 and so on untill your at no drinks at all.  That only sounded like a tease to me, so I than decided to do the cold turkey.  I was surprised how well it went with no DT's at all, which I was worried about. You have to start with a open mind and say to yourself I am going to conquer this addiction once and for all. Be true to youself and respect yourself, because we are all only here on earth for a limited time, so why make that time shorter than it should be do to an addiction. I keep myself busy all the time between work and projects around the house and writing these post which I also think helps me with my problem. Till next time stay happy and sober.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Fresh Start

October 27, 2009, was the day of a fresh start for me and my new life. It has been a long and not very easy journey to give up the drink, as I call it, My Demons. But, I'll tell you what, it wasn't as hard as I thought. With alot of prayers and alot of will power, I have conquered and defeated the demons within.

In order for me to have defeated these demons was first, to be open to myself and to my family, and not to be ashamed to call it quits for good. I used to look at people that did not drink and were sober all the time as not fun people to be around. I thought they were square. We, in the party world, would look down at them. Boy, after being sober for a couple of months, first it feels great, but more important was I ever wrong. Now I have a different look on things and guess what, I was the square one and they were the smart ones. I can't even count the times I did not want to go somewhere because there was no drinking involved. It was a effort for me to go and couldn't wait to leave to get home to the almighty drink. Well things are much different now and the functions and Holiday's that just passed I had a great time and SOBER at that.