How To Help An Alcoholic Quit Drinking

HERE ARE THE TWO BEACH CHAIRS MY WIFE AND I SAT IN MANY TIMES LOOKING AT THE OCEAN AND THANKING GOD FOR MY SOBRIETY.

There are so many families that have one or even two people (husbands and wives) that are are addicted to alcohol.  In many cases that I know of, and one case was my past addiction to alcohol that my wife wanted to help me try and quit drinking alcohol, but anything she said, I just wouldn't listen because I thought she didn't know what she was talking about.  After all, in my mind, I had no problem whatsoever with my alcohol, and how much I drank of it. I guess I was living in denial for sure.

That being said, there are, I am sure, millions of families going through the same thing as I did.  The spouse wants in the worse way to know how to help an alcoholic quit drinking, but doesn't know the right way to go about it without getting into a huge argument with the alcoholic.

It is like walking on eggshells in a sense.  You want to help the alcoholic, but worry at the same time that you my light a fuse and make things worse than they really are.  Some spouses just say nothing and deal with the tortures the alcoholic puts them through, until one day, they just have had enough.

That is when things could get ugly in a sense, because they have been holding back saying to the alcoholic what they really think and feel.  They just want to help the alcoholic get sober again and remain sober, but in many cases lost for words.  And suddenly they start to spurt out everything they have been holding back for so long.

Sometimes arguments and fights may start because the alcoholic knows the truth deep down, but they still don't want to be helped.  They may say, (as I did) "I can stop drinking alcohol anytime I wish."  Well you know, as well as I know that is a false statement, at least for me it was.

Sometimes the alcoholic needs to be threatened, such as the spouse threatening to leave and not come back until things in the alcoholics life changes for the better.  Sometimes, as hard as it might be to do, you need to light a fire under the alcoholics butt and let them know you mean business in every word you speak.

Many times this will work and make the alcoholic think twice before drinking another alcoholic drink.  It worked for me that's for sure.  Those words, "I WILL LEAVE YOU IF YOU DON'T STOP DRINKING!"

Words such as those are not to hurt the alcoholic, they are to help them.  Those words of meaning business may save the marriage or relationship and will in turn save the alcoholics life. Tough love as they call it!

I guess the whole thing here is, if the alcoholic truly loves their spouse, parents or relationship enough, they will stop drinking alcohol and start their recovery process towards long term sobriety.  That is what will make the difference of continuing to drink or quitting drinking.  Love, and what is more important in their life.  Their spouses, families and friends or alcohol?  It is not a hard decision to make!

If you really want your spouse to get sober and stay sober try sitting down with him/her while they are sober, (with no alcohol in them) and try to explain in a calm way what they are doing to them self and how their drinking is effecting the family and friends they have.

The alcoholic has to know this unless they are totally blind to the whole situation.  I knew and agreed that every word spoken was correct, BUT when a alcoholic lives in denial it might be a bit hard to convince them to stop drinking.

The alcoholic has to be ready to change his/her life on their own and not be forced or threatened into sobriety, because if the alcoholic is not ready, no matter what you say will make a difference. I can relate, because I had those talks many times and might of stopped drinking for short time to let the fire burn out and then, bang, right back at my old habits.

In the case of my 2009 experience drinking my beer in the garage all alone, a voice came into my head and it was a voice that changed my life forever.  While the talks I had with my wife helped me understand what I was doing to the family and myself, the voice that came about me convinced me I had to get sober and to do it at that moment.

HERE IS THE ARTICLE I WROTE ON HUBPAGES
 A LIFE CHANGING WHISPER

I wish that every alcoholic could experience what I did. Many people will not believe me and what I have written in this article, but I know what I heard and that is all that matters.  I am a SOBER guy once again and will remain clean and sober for the rest of my life.  I never want to go through the hell of alcohol addiction ever again.   

Stand up to your addiction and save your own life.  Your life is worth a second chance, so give it to yourself.  You will never be sorry you made the decision to quit drinking alcohol!

Signs Of An Alcoholic

HERE I WAS BACK IN 2009, DRINKING ALONE AS I MENTIONED IN THIS POST AND RIGHT BEFORE I DECIDED TO STOP DRINKING ALCOHOL FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

Millions of people in the world drink alcohol.  Some can handle it and then there are those that can not handle alcohol whatsoever.

Many of those that can't handle alcohol may often ask themselves."what are signs of an alcoholic?"  Am I an alcoholic or just someone that loves drinking?

From my past experiences of my addiction to alcohol, I can honestly say when I asked that same question to myself, it was YES indeed, I was an alcoholic. I knew deep down inside of me that I was, but did I think others thought the same about me?

I can assure you they thought I had a drinking problem.  Many would not come right out and say it to me, but hearing the way they spoke to me I knew they knew something was up and just didn't want to come right out and say it to me.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF BEING AN ALCOHOLIC?

• CRAVING A DRINK THE MINUTE YOU WAKE UP.
• DRINKING EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK.
• NEED TO HAVE A DRINK BEFORE YOUR DAY CAN BEGIN.
• DRINKING TILL WEE HOURS IN THE MORNING.
• PROBLEMS WITH YOUR SPOUSE REGARDING HE/SHE TELLING YOU DRINK TO MUCH.
• YOUR HAPPY AND THE NEXT MINUTE YOU ARE A DIFFERENT PERSON.
• YOUR BEHAVIOR CHANGES AS YOU DRINK MORE AND MORE.
• DRINKING ALONE.
• HIDING YOUR ALCOHOL.
• NEVER WANTING TO ATTEND A FUNCTION THAT DOESN'T SERVE ALCOHOL.
• CAN NOT REMEMBER THE NIGHT BEFORE.
• SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, UNLESS YOU HAVE PASTED OUT.
• YOU NEED MORE AND MORE ALCOHOL TO GET TO THE DRUNK STAGE.
• LOSING JOBS BECAUSE OF YOUR DRINKING PROBLEM.
• FREQUENT FIGHTING OR ARGUMENTS WITH YOUR FAMILY.
• DENIAL THAT YOU HAVE A SERIOUS DRINKING PROBLEM.

If you are seeing signs that you maybe an alcoholic then I would really stop and take a hard look at your life and those lives around you.  Is it really worth losing everything in your life from an avoidable addiction to alcohol.  I bet you are saying NO, it is not worth losing everything from something that will kill you in the end.

If you said No it is not worth it, then are you going to do something about it or just continue to drink your life away?

Believe me once the demons get hold of your body it will get harder and harder to get out of your addiction to alcohol.  Don't let that happen.  Nip it in the bud before it is too late!

I know you might think, "how can I live without alcohol in my life when I have been so used to having it be a huge part of your life?"

Trust me, you can live without alcohol.  You will see a new you my friends!  Your spouse, family and friends will see a new you, and you will be so proud of yourself when you finally stop drinking alcohol forever.

You will start to feel back to your old self.  Your appearance will not look like you are an alcoholic anymore. Your health will improve each and everyday.  You will regain your self-esteem and start living with a positive attitude, and not be so down on yourself because of your addiction. You know how alcoholic may say, Why Me? why doesn't anything go right in my life?

To tell you the truth, nothing will go right in your life unless you do something to change it.  You have to help yourself before anyone or anything can help you.  If you are not willing to make that change and make something out of your life, then I guess you will continue to be a lonely alcoholic for the rest of your life.

You will start to lose things, one at a time, and before you know it, you will then hit rock bottom.  Speaking of rock bottom, sometimes it takes an alcoholic to hit rock bottom before he/she does something to change his/her life.  Don't Let This Happen To You!

Why Is It So Hard To Stop Drinking Alcohol

There are millions of people in the world that drink alcohol.  Some can handle their alcohol and then there are some that just get addicted and wind up abusing alcohol.

For those that got addicted to the booze and want to stop drinking often ask them self, "why is it so hard to stop drinking alcohol?"

I know for a fact, trying to stop drinking alcohol is a very hard thing to overcome since you have been drinking and abusing it for so long.  Somewhere deep down inside us (the alcoholic) wants to live a life of sobriety, but the alcohol that has been in our life for so long wants no part of leaving our bodies.  The demons are settled in us, and very content as long as we feed them the daily dose of alcohol.

But, watch out if we decide to slow down or simply stop drinking all together. That would really piss off the demons inside each alcoholic, and they will put your body through the tortures of hell.  We all know how we feel if we stop drinking.  I know that I felt like crap for sometime, but I keep telling myself that I can and will beat this addiction to alcohol I have.

Any alcoholic can do the same if that is what you want in your life.  Many alcoholics are very content with drinking alcohol everyday of their lives and don't care what the consequences will be in the future.

If you truly love yourself, you will not put your body through this painful thing we call alcohol addiction.  You can stop drinking if you want to!  You are the one that is in full control of the one and only body you have.

Give your life a second chance and just try to stop drinking and see how your life will begin to turn around as mine did back in 2009.

A would recommend highly to seek Professional Help if you do decide to stop drinking.  You have to detox the right and safe way.  It will be very dangerous if you try to stop drinking on your own as I did.  I made up my mind to quit drinking back in October 2009 and simply went cold turkey.  Yes I was scared to death for things I heard about going cold turkey and the dangers of doing so.

I took upon my own to do it anyway regardless of the outcome.  Why, because I was afraid to go to any Doctor or Rehab. Center for the worry of what they may say to me regarding my long relationship with alcohol. I even thought to myself, "it just might too late to heal my body and live a sober life."

With that said, I chose to go Cold Turkey anyway.  I took a huge change and worried every minute of the day and night, wondering if something horrible was going to happen to me.  Will I get sick by not detoxing the correct and safe way? I was a nervous wreck I must say.

Once I made it through the first week or so without a drink, and my nerves started to get a little better, I knew I could make it and change my life.

So Lets Get Back To The Main Question Of Why Is It So Hard For You To Stop Drinking Alcohol?

• Is it that you are simply not ready to stop drinking?
• Is it that you don't know how you will survive without alcohol in your body?
• Is it that you feel that your drinking friends will look down at you because you stopped drinking?
• Is it that you feel you would have no more fun at parties or any kind of functions?
• What is stopping you from changing your life?
• There must be something holding you back from living a life of sobriety.
• You must know the answer of why it is so hard to quit drinking.
• Are you simply afraid of living clean and sober because you have been drinking for so long?

Stopping drinking is not as hard as most people make it to be.  I thought I would never in a million years be clean and sober again, but I sure fooled myself.  If you want something bad enough in life you will achieve it, and that includes your sobriety.

The only thing holding you back from sobriety is, you and you alone.  You make the call my friends.  I guess it depends on whether or not you wish to live or die.

Does that word DIE frighten you?  It should.  We all were given a gift of life and many of us chose to ruin the one and only life we have with the addiction to alcohol and drugs.  

Life is precious and we should start to cherish our life a little more than we do.  Get sober and get healthy again.  Live the life you were given in a clean and sober way, and stop making excuses of why it is so hard to quit drinking.

Put your mind to it and it will happen.  Think positive and act positive and you will see results, and that includes anything in life.  Negativity will get you nowhere in life, but pure depression.

It is not hard to stop drinking.  I did it and so can you!  The only way to stop drinking alcohol is to JUST STOP!  It is that simple.  Now, make up your mind to get sober and do it.  Time is wasting away, and your life clock is ticking away as you hesitate on getting sober and finding your sobriety.