Abusing Alcohol - What Is Your Future Looking Like ?

There is nothing at wrong with having a social drink now and again, but for many people such as myself, having a social drink once in awhile is impossible.

For millions of people, one or two drinks is not enough, and that includes me. Sure I loved to drink alcohol just as much as the next person, but a social drink just didn't cut it.  I needed more and more in order to get to that feeling alcohol gives everyone.

Abusing alcohol, what is your future looking like, I have to ask you?

Do you feel if you continue to abuse alcohol the way you are now your future will be bright and healthy?  In my opinion, I don't think so.

Alcohol makes us feel as if we can conquer anything in the world.  It makes us feel like we know everything.  It makes us feel we are indestructible, and the next morning it makes us feel sick, hungover and wondering why did we drank too much.

It is really worth abusing our bodies with alcohol and for others, drugs.  We all know, or at least we should know, alcohol and drugs will catch up with us sooner or later, and when it does, we will be very sorry we abused alcohol and drugs the way we did over the years.

Here we are in a new years 2015, so how about starting it off with a new outlook on life and try your hardest to stop drinking and abusing alcohol, and in other cases using drugs.

We are all here on Earth but one time, so make that one and only life you have a wonderful and sober life, and start the New Year of 2015 a great one, and one to be proud of.

By saying being proud of, means, that you changed your life and realized that alcohol and drugs will kill you in the end and you have made that decision to change and live that one life you have clean and sober.

Lets make 2015 a year to remember by living life with sobriety.  You will thank yourself in the end!

Are You Afraid Of The Holidays Coming Because Of Your Past Addiction?

Well everyone, the Holidays are right around the corner, and for those like myself, it is tough to watch others drink and have a good time during these upcoming Holidays, or is it?

Are you afraid of the Holidays coming because of your past addiction?  I bet you are, just as I am afraid.  Yes, the temptation is always there, and everywhere you look people are at Holiday parties, in bars, clubs etc. drinking and having a so called a good time, till the next morning right?  That is something I will never miss, those massive hangovers.

Listen everyone, I know it will be hard for all of us that have had a past with battling our addiction of alcohol, and for many others, drugs.  We are battling our addiction every single day, but we all have to be stronger than the addiction that once ran and almost ruined our lives, and the lives of the very ones that loved and cared for us, and hopefully still do.  I hope and pray we all got sober before it was too late.

I have been clean and sober since October 27, 2009 and have gone to many parties, bars and other functions that alcohol was at my hands reach.  In fact, my daughter got married and even though I bought all the alcohol for the reception, I had not one drop, not even a toast, because I know myself, and know if I were to take just that one sip and taste what alcohol feels like back on my tongue, I would be doomed and right back to my drinking and abusing alcohol once more.

I can not do that to myself and ruin all the hard work it took to first off, stop drinking, and secondly, the work it takes to stay sober each and everyday.  It truly isn't worth that one sip or that one drink my friends.  I hope you feel the same way and have the strength and willpower to say NO Thank You, I don't drink anymore.

Be proud of your sobriety, and tell those that may ask you if you want a drink during these Holidays, or any day for that matter, No I stopped drinking, but Thank you anyway, I'll pass on that.  

I love to brag about my sobriety as you should too.  After all, we worked our ass off just to get sober and still working each and everyday just to stay sober. 

Don't be afraid of the upcoming Holidays.  Just sit back and enjoy yourself SOBER.  You will thank yourself for not drinking, or even having that temptation.  It is not worth it, for that one more and probably many more buzzes ahead if you are too weak and break.  Be strong and proud of your sobriety.  Your body will indeed thank you too.

I have learned since I have been sober, I have more fun at parties and functions that alcohol is being served than I ever did when I depended on alcohol to make me think WOW I had a blast at the party last night, etc. IT IS FAKE FUN REALLY.

Never Lose Hope On A Life Of Sobriety

Many people that have an addiction to alcohol want in the worse way to be sober, but their addiction is holding them back from getting and staying sober. Many times the alcoholic is simply not ready for sobriety to be back in their life.  I was one of them. For many years I tried to get and stay sober with no success.

I did get sober twice in the years I drank.  The first time sobriety lasted for about a year and the second time I tried to stay sober lasted only two years until I went back to my old ways of drinking and abusing alcohol.

The reason for these two failures of trying to stay sober was that I simply wasn't ready to stop drinking and live a life with long term sobriety, BUT I never gave up hope on myself.  I knew sooner or later I would finally admit that something had to be done with my life and live with long term sobriety.

You can never lose hope on a life of sobriety.  The road to recovery is tough when you have an addiction to alcohol or any drugs for that matter, but if you continue to keep hope alive you will achieve that life you wished for.

If you truly want to change your life, and know that you indeed need to change your life, than anything is possible in life, and that includes long term sobriety.

Like I said earlier, it took me three times to get and stay sober, but I never gave up hope that one day I would finally surrender to the one thing that was running and ruining my life, and that was my addiction to alcohol.  The third time was the charm for me and I thank God each and everyday for giving me the hope, the willingness and the strength to get sober and stay sober.

You truly need to love and believe in yourself in order to have a wonderful life of sobriety.  You also need to get out of that negative mood you are in because of your addiction.  For myself, I was a very negative person and always wondered why nothing would ever work out the way I wanted it to.  Once I became sober and changed my attitude in life to nothing but positive, everything I wanted and dreamed of started to become a reality for me.

As hard as it was to finally make that life change and become sober, it was worth every bit of hard work, and my life shows it now.  I am a much happier person.  I continue to keep a positive attitude even when times are tough, and I never once reached for an alcoholic drink just because things were a little rough.

If you never give up hope, your life will indeed change as mine did.  Sometimes it may take longer than you wanted it to take, but if you continue to try your very hardest to change your life, it will happen.  Like I said before, it took three tries before I nailed sobriety and got rid of the demons that were in my life for so many years.  Three is a charm so they say!

So my advice to all those that are suffering from an addiction to drugs or alcohol is to NEVER give up hope on yourself.  Your life is so precious, and all of us were put on this Earth for a reason.  All of us should enjoy the life we were given and not destroy your one and only life with an addiction.

Lets everyone try our very hardest to make that change, and take Massive Action in order to make that change.  Some of us may have to stay distant from our friends that we drank with in order to keep that temptation and urge to drink again from coming over us.  As for myself, I did just that, and in the long run I lost many friends because now we had nothing in common such as drinking and getting drunk with each other.

It seemed like they all ran away because my life was now much different than their life was. I was sober and they still had their demons running their lives. I never preached to them about sobriety, although they saw that I was a new man because of my sobriety.  My hope is for one day they see the light as I did back in 2009.

NOW LET ME TELL YOU WHAT THINGS HAVE CHANGED IN MY LIFE BECAUSE I NEVER GAVE UP HOPE!

• Even though I had lost many friends because of my sobriety, I gained many new sober friends in the end. Great sober friends are really awesome.  To be able to speak a conversation with out blurring your words, and to not get in any drunken fights because the alcohol is altering your thinking and acting is a wonderful thing.

• Back when I drank and abused alcohol my relationship with my wife and children started to decline, although we still loved each other very much, it still wasn't the same when I drank.  Today, now being sober the relationship with my wife and children are unbelievable.  It is so amazing how being sober and happy can change so many lives that are in your life.  People now are excited to be in my company and I get along with each and everyone of them.  No one wants to be around a drunk person unless that person is also drunk. Misery loves company so they say, and believe me I was very miserable when I drank.

• When I had a couple of drinks there were many people that stood and talked to me at parties or other occasions, BUT after those couple of drinks as I continue on my way to getting drunk I started to feel the effects of the alcohol and then people would shy away from me because they knew what the future hours would bring as far as my continuing to drink. Now being sober I still go to those parties and occasions, but without a drink in my hand and still have those conversations that last the complete night without anyone walking away because of me getting too drunk. Sober conversations are always the best believe me.

• I truly believe, and I hope that I am a service to many people that read my articles here on my blog and on so many other websites.  I write just about everyday regarding alcohol addiction and ways that I have found that helped me get and stay sober since October of 2009. Writing has been my life since 2009 when I got sober.  Each article I write gives me more hope knowing that maybe one of these articles will touch someones life and will help them to understand that having an addiction of any sort is not the end of their life.  Never give up hope on your new life.  All of you that have an addiction have the chance to make that life change.  The only thing you have to do is to want your life back no matter what it takes to get it back.

• Writing about my alcohol addiction experience indeed helps me to stay sober each day.  Some may wonder how writing keeps me sober and my answer is... as I write, I think about the way my life was years ago when I abused alcohol, and then I think as I write, how many people I maybe helping that have been suffering with their addiction as I was for so many years.  It brings me great joy and happiness to know I may help someone in the world, even if it is only one person. 

I pray for all those that are suffering with an addiction, and hope everyone can get clean and sober and live that one and only life they have with happiness, contentment, love and sobriety. 

Why Do So Many People Abuse Alcohol?

Here is a question for us all of us that drink and abuse alcohol.  "Why do so many people abuse alcohol?"

These are my thoughts, and my experiences of why I drank and abused alcohol, and maybe some of my thoughts here may reflect on your life as a person that abuses alcohol to the extent of being addicted to it.

• I thought that drinking and abusing alcohol would solve any problem I might of had at that moment and beyond.
• I thought that more people would take a liking to me because I was cool and drank alcohol.
• I felt as if I could really speak my mind more openly without being nervous when speaking.
• I thought that I knew all the answers to everything when I drank.
• I thought that I was a fun person when I drank and acted like a fool.

The fact is that I just loved the feeling that alcohol gave me.  When I first tried alcohol at a very age it was just out of curiosity and a experiment with the guys.  That curiosity and so called experiment turned into an addiction to alcohol.  I couldn't live a day without it as the years went by and was so used to having the buzz that alcohol gave me, it turned out to be a huge part of my everyday living.

I didn't mean to get addicted to alcohol.  I didn't wake up one day and say, "I want to be an alcoholic."  This goes for anyone that has an addiction of any sorts.

I never knew by drinking alcohol as just an experiment with my friends would turn out to be a horrible addiction to it.  This crap we call alcohol, if we are not careful will take hold of your body and soul and then watch out, because once those demons get hold of you it will be hard to get rid of them.  It took years and years to get my demons off my shoulders.

PLEASE don't let alcohol get the best of you because we all know that once addicted your life will slowly change for the worse.  You will begin to loss everything one by one as I came so close to doing until I finally had the strength and willpower to say NO MORE and finally surrendered to my inner demons.  

I have to tell you that by quitting drinking has changed my life completely around all for the better.  If I knew, in which deep down I did know, I would of stopped drinking alcohol years ago, but that is the past and now I am working on my recovery and my long term sobriety and know I am beating the demons inside of me each and everyday.

Don't let alcohol ruin your life and the lives of all the people that are in your life.  Be strong and have the willingness and desire to change your life as I did.

If I could do this and get sober so can anyone that has an addiction to alcohol.  Keep that positive attitude in your life every single day and believe if you want sobriety back into your life than it will happen just like it happened to me.

Don't get me wrong, I am not against having a couple of social drinks with family and friends, BUT if you can not control your drinking and drink responsibly then you should consider not drinking at all.  That was the huge problem I had.  I could not just have one or two drinks and call it a day.  It was never enough alcohol for me once I got started drinking. I needed to feel that buzz my body longed for each and everyday. If you feel you can not get sober on your own then PLEASE ask for the help you need to help you get sober and live that beautiful life of sobriety!

You can read more of my articles written on HubPages on addictions, sobriety, positive attitudes, Jersey Shore Living and much more right HERE.
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Abusing Alcohol And Your Life Ahead

I have nothing against anyone that drinks alcohol, but abusing alcohol and your life ahead can be disastrous in the upcoming years.

What I mean here is that drinking to much, or doing to much of anything can be harmful.  For a guy like myself, I only wished I could drink only one or two social drinks, but in my case, and in many cases, we that abuse alcohol just don't when we have had enough to drink.  We continue to drink until we have had our fill of alcohol for the day and get to that buzz or high we all long for.

I have been sober since October of 2009 and have not touched a drop of alcohol, although there were many times I had that urge or temptation to pick up that drink and get drunk just like the old times.

I made a promise to myself back in October of 2009, telling myself I will never touch another drop of alcohol no matter how good or bad my life get.  I continue to keep a positive attitude at all times and continue to tell myself that drinking and abusing alcohol helps nothing in life, in fact it only make matters worse.

You will never realize what you were doing to your bodies and those people that loved and cared about you until you have been clean and sober for some time and then it hits you exactly what you have been doing to destroy your one and only life.

Drinking alcohol and having a good time is okay by me if and only if you drink alcohol responsibly and not drink and abuse alcohol.  That is the part that just didn't go right with me and so many other people that have an addiction to alcohol. 

If you are one those that are abusing alcohol than you really need to sit back (in a sober state of mind) and look into your future and see the life that is ahead of you.  If you truly look hard enough you will see that your life will be going nowhere except downward to rock bottom.

Once you see what is going to happen, and you except this, you might want to make a huge change in your life as I made that change in my life.  I am not telling you what to do because it is your life, but I am just warning you of the outcome that is ahead if you continue to drink and abuse alcohol. It won't be a pretty thing, so act now and get yourself sobered up, and live that one and only life you have with long term sobriety.

There is hope for every alcoholic, if you really want to change you life.  Your life is not over just because you have a addiction.  Your new life is waiting for you!  Now, all you have to do is to go after that new life and make good of it.  Sobriety cost nothing except your acceptance that you need help and you are willing to change your life for the better.

Put the drink down once and for all and start living the life you were put on this Earth to live.

If you think alcohol will not ruin your life, you are dead wrong.  You just have to wake up and see it for yourself, and not let someone like me tell you in an article like this one.  I write these articles because I went through all of this and finally realized after many years of drinking and abusing alcohol that my life was going nowhere and I needed to change, so I did, and could not be happier.

Alcohol will ruin your life if you let it!

Read more of my articles here on the Clean Life, and my articles on HubPages.

Is Loaning Money To An Alcoholic Enabling Them?

Here is a question to think about for all those that loan or give money to an alcoholic.  Is loaning money to an alcoholic enabling them?

For anyone that does this, I know what you are thinking right now.  You think that you are helping the alcoholic by giving or loaning them money to buy their alcohol, but in fact you are enabling them and making them think that is perfectly okay to drink and abuse alcohol as they are doing.

They then think by you giving them money to help them get the alcohol necessary for their fix you will continue to do so whenever they ask again.

You, the enabler, feel bad by saying, "NO I will not feed your addiction by giving you money!"  You hurt inside by saying no, so you give in and give the alcoholic what they need to make them happy. You are not helping by any means by giving in and saying yes here is some money so that you can buy your alcohol.

By doing this and giving in, the alcoholic will expect this yes for an answer everytime they ask for money.  You have to be firm and same No I will not support you habit and your addiction no longer.

I know this will be hard for you to say, but I have been there in my life of my own addiction to alcohol.  I used to ask my wife, "please go out and buy me more beer because I was so buzzed and drunk I couldn't drive, so I pleaded with her to go out for me, or simply take me so that I didn't have to drive.  She didn't like it, and in fact hated that I would ask her this, but she always said yes just to shut me up.

See she thought she was doing good by shutting me up, but in fact she was letting me win all the time if I bitched and complained enough.  You simply have to say NO I will not go out and buy you  more alcohol, and I will not drive you anywhere to buy it.

She just wanted to keep peace in the house and I can see that, but in reality it was making it worse,, until one day when her words to me were, "IT IS ME OR ALCOHOL...YOU MAKE THE CHOICE!"

She meant business and I knew it.  It really made me stop and think. "what really is more important, my wife or my addiction to alcohol?"  I was smart enough to figure out I'd better change my ways real fast before it is too late.  So I did, and that was over 4 years ago and haven't touched a drop of alcohol since.

Our married life improved 1000 percent and life couldn't be any better than it is right now.  Our love has grown more than ever and we are closer than ever before, and why is that you may ask?

Because she laid the law down, and stuck to it, and I made the choice to stop drinking and chose my wife over my addiction to alcohol.

Life is great and so is SOBRIETY!

For anyone that has an addiction to alcohol, just try out living sober. You will be very surprised of how your life will turn around all for the good!

Why It Is So Hard To Stop Drinking Alcohol

There are many reasons why it is so hard to stop drinking alcohol.  The number one reason for so many alcoholics is that they are just not ready to stop drinking and start living a life clean and sober.

As for me, it took many years to finally realize I was slowly killing myself by drinking and abusing alcohol. If you truly want sobriety back into your life, you will need to first get yourself out of the denial you have been living in for so long.

I know that I lived in denial for many of years, thinking and saying that I had no problem with alcohol whatsoever.  Once I got out of denial and admitted that I truly had a huge problem with this addiction I had, it made it easier to stop drinking and start to live the life I was put on this Earth to live, and that was living sober, not drunk.

Many people just don't want to change their live, or they are simply afraid to get sober worrying about what might happen if they gave up alcohol.  They worry about if they would get sick for not having alcohol in their system, something they are so used to having.

They may worry about losing their long time drinking buddies, but do they worry about dying or losing their family because they pay more attention to the addiction to alcohol they have then their own spouses, children, fathers or mothers?

When I finally got clean and sober back in October of 2009 I never realized just how easy it was once I made my mind up to quit drinking.  The thing is, that you must want to stop and not be made to stop drinking.

I have to admit though, it was hard in the beginning when I stop drinking alcohol, and the reason being was, I was so used to having alcohol everyday of the week, and to go from that to nothing was a hard adjustment to make, but I made up my mind that I had enough of the life I was living and I wanted a new life for not only myself, but my wife and children as well, and that was enough for me to stick to my guns and never go back to the old ways of drinking and abusing my body anymore.

I did it when I thought it would never happen, and so can you!!  Keeping a positive attitude is a must my dear friends, and staying away from all temptations, and people that are still drinking is a MUST.

Abusing Alcohol And Your Body

Abusing alcohol and your body is one thing we the alcoholics never think about.  Once we get that first taste of alcohol of the day, the eye opener so they say, we think of nothing but trying to reach that buzz we had only hours before.

It truly is sad for me to think and talk about something like alcohol that was a huge part of my life, and my families life as well for so many years.  Being sober now for over 4 years I get sick to even think about what I put my body through all those years abusing alcohol and my body.

Now is the time like no other for each alcohol and anyone who is addicted to alcohol and can't seem to stop drinking.  Sobriety is right at your finger tips if and only if you choose to change your life for the better.

I have found out through my own experiences with drinking too much, that drinking and abusing alcohol and your body is so foolish.  I often asked myself, "why can't I just have one or two drinks and call it the day just like others I watched through my dark days of addiction?"

They seem to be perfectly satisfied with one or two drinks, and I and other alcoholics just can't get enough alcohol in our bodies.  I think for myself that I was just too weak and let the demons inside me run and try their hardest to ruin my life.

I often wonder till this day, why and how did I get clean and sober 4 years ago?  Why couldn't I have done that years before?

The answer I came up with was, "I JUST WASN'T READY TO CHANGE MY LIFE!" I guess you just have to hit rock bottom in order to do something drastic to change you life.

A dear friend of mine, and the one that changed my life with his website says in his addiction site, TAKE MASSIVE ACTION!! Taking action to change your life is great but MASSIVE ACTION is what needs to be done in order to have success and sobriety in your life.

Just remember this one thing when you are abusing your body with alcohol.  Each and everyone of us have only BUT ONE life here on Earth, so why would we destroy this one and only body with alcohol when we can just stop drinking and start living clean and sober?

I know it was super hard for me to quit drinking alcohol, as it is for all of the alcoholics out there, but I made my mind up and stuck to the promise I made to myself saying,  "I will never, after this day (October 27, 2009, my sober date) touch another alcoholic drink for the rest of my life no matter how good or bad life gets!"

Once you make up your mind, and stick to that decision, you are on your way to living the life of sobriety just as I am right now.

I did it and so can you!!  Get out of denial, and just take a look around at the lives you are taking down with you all because of your addiction to alcohol. It is so possible if that is what you want out of the one and only life you have. Get out of denial, think positive and be stronger than your addiction, and believe me things will start to get better each and everyday from that point on.

Check out some other articles I have written about alcohol and positive attitudes in life.