Living In Recovery

Living in recovery is something we the alcoholics need to get used to.  After so many years of drinking and abusing alcohol, getting and staying sober is so different to all of us.

Our bodies are so used to drinking alcohol everyday and when we stop drinking and want to change our lives we tend to be a bit bored with our new life.

Why are we bored?  The simple reason is that when we live our life for alcohol and need to have alcohol everyday we just cannot get used to the fact that our alcohol demons are no longer with us, so we need to find something in our life to occupy ourselves and get our minds off of the poison that was going to kill us sooner or later.

When I stopped drinking alcohol I was a nervous wreck trying to figure out what I would do for the entire day without having a drink in my hand.  It was the most unpleasant feeling in the world.  It felt like one of my arms or legs were missing.  That is how much I depended on alcohol each and everyday.

I am very sure many of you that have stopped drinking feel the same way as I did and do.  I am used to being without alcohol now because it has been almost four years without a drop to drink.

We need to learn how to stay busy and occupied each and everyday.  Living in recovery is a wonderful thing I must say.  When we drink alcohol and abuse it to the point that we depend on it everyday we tend to forget what it feels like to be sober and live a life of sobriety.

We also need to stay positive and have a positive attitude at all times.

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT KEEP ME SOBER DURING MY RECOVERY:

• I think to myself how hard I worked to get to the point of where I am now in my recovery.
• I think how many times I hurt my family and friends while I abused alcohol.
• I think how much money I wasted on alcohol, when I should of been using that money for my family needs.
• I think of all those horrible mornings feeling like crap from over drinking the night before.
• I write articles each day here on my blog and also on HubPages in hopes to help others that are suffering with an addiction to get and stay sober.
• I think of all the wasted days I had because of drinking my life away.
• I think of all the things I missed out on because I put alcohol before all else.
• Loss of quality time with my family and friends.

Those are a few things to think about when you are in recovery.  You don't want to pick up that first drink when you ever get the urge for alcohol.  This will happen to you as it has happened to me a few times.  Having that temptation to drink when something may not go the way you have wanted it to go.

Living in recovery is a wonderful thing, but you will have those days you just wished you could have a drink and make things get better, but as we all know, drinking alcohol will not fix one thing in your life.  I learned that the hard way and it took many years to finally figure that out.

Enjoy your recovery and be proud of what you have accomplished in your life by beating your demons.

Stay strong and keep that positive attitude at all times.  Never let anyone or anything stand in your way of your recovery.  You need to be proud of yourself and love and respect yourself more than ever.

You will indeed have bad days in the future, as we all do, but never let those bad days make you reach for that first drink of alcohol.

Alcohol - The Temporary Escape From Reality

Alcohol the temporary escape from reality is so true and I can certainly relate to it. The buzz or being flat out drunk is only temporary and it will go away when you stop drinking and be taken over by your huge hangover in the morning.

So what should someone do to keep reality and whatever problem you may have from coming back? Well of course, keep on drinking and keep that drunk on.  This is what many people do to escape from reality.  They continue to drink each day hoping for things in their life to get better, not knowing that those problems will never go away because you are drinking alcohol.

I used to think, "wow I feel great drinking all this alcohol and I am not worried about a thing."  Sure drinking will tend to ease the problem because you simply don't care anymore at that time, until the booze wears off and then reality sets in and Bang, there is your problem you originally had.

Drinking alcohol will sometimes just make matters worse than they are.  You sit there drinking your life away coming up with all these stupid ideas that you may think will work to solve this so called problem in your life, and when you sober up and reality sets in again those so called great ideas sound stupid.

Your sober and think to yourself, "how in the world would this idea I had last night being drunk even work?"  Although last night when thinking up these wonderful ideas, they all sounded great, because you were not thinking clearly and you were drunk.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?  It sure does to me!

When I was drinking and getting drunker by the minute I thought I could run the world. I thought nothing could get me down. I knew everything and had answer for anything, although those answers were most likely wrong.

Alcohol is a wonderful thing?  It make you forget about anything happening in your life, but just for short while until you sober up.

Don't get me wrong, I love alcohol and loved to drink it every single day of the week without missing on day.  If by chance I was sick and down in bed, my mind only though about when "will I get better so I can drink again?"  That is really a sorry thing to think about when you are down and out with sickness and you are thinking about drinking alcohol and not thinking about getting better and what you can do to get better fast.  It was as if someone cut one of my limbs off.  That is how addicted you can get when you are missing a day or so without alcohol.  Pretty sad right? It is sickening to me now being sober.

I would give a anything to go into a club and have a drink or two and just shoot the breeze with the people at the bar, but I can't do that.  One or two drinks wouldn't cut it for me.  I would start a fire inside me if I were to have one sip of alcohol.

I know what would happen to me, so that is why I simply don't drink anything.  You have to know your body.  I know for a fact if I drank one sip of alcohol I would be right back to drinking alcohol every single day of the week.  That's why I don't drink and will continue not to drink for the rest of my life.  Sad, but true!

I have a friend that has written a book and has a website called "living sober sucks, (but living drunk sucks more)" Those words are so true in my book now.  Living sober does indeed SUCK, but I have to do what I have to do in order to save my life and all those that are in my life.  Family and friends are far more important to me than any alcohol by far. What is your choice?

I guess it is all what you want in life.  To be happy, healthy and sober or just live drunk everyday.  Sooner or later the alcohol will indeed catch up with you and you will be the one that suffers in the end.

Alcohol Addiction And How It Will Effect Your Life And Others

So many people have this huge problem with alcohol addiction.  We all need to really sit down and think of our alcohol addiction and how it will effect your life and others in the future and right as of today.

We get so involved in our addiction to alcohol and we tend to forget about our life and what our addiction is doing to others that care and love us so.

The more we drink and abuse alcohol the more we are getting addicted. I know from my experience of drinking alcohol, that as each week passed by I needed more and more to get to that point of being satisfied with the buzz I was out to achieve.

We tend to get blinded by our own addiction.  We think more of alcohol than our own life and others that are being effected by what we are doing.

Do you think you are just a social drinker or do you think deep down inside you may have an alcohol addiction?

HERE ARE SOME TELL TALE SIGNS THAT YOU MAY HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM.

• Do you try to hide your alcohol and pretend you don't drink as much as others think?
• Are you ashamed or feel guilty by your drinking habits?
• Does your family or friends worry or say things regarding your drinking?
• Do you need to have alcohol in order to get through each day?
• Do you drink alcohol in order to relax?
• Do you disagree with what others say to you regarding your alcohol intake?
• You never know when to stop drinking.
• You think of alcohol, and when you can have your first drink of the day as soon as you wake up.
• You drink alcohol alone.
• You are embarrassed of your addiction.
• And you live in denial, thinking there is nothing wrong whatsoever by what you do.
• You use alcohol to try and solve problems.
• You relationships are falling apart, but you do nothing to stop drinking. 
• You refuse to attend a function that alcohol would not be served.
• Continue to have trouble with the law (DUI) etc.
• You make any excuse to drink alcohol.

So there are a few things I can think about, and what effected my life regarding my own addiction to alcohol.

If you think you may have a problem with your drinking, then really consider making a life change and seek living life clean and sober. Believe me, lots of your drinking buddies will say something to you about your decision to quit drinking alcohol, but never let that stands in your way of sobriety.

Let them continue to kill themselves as your life begins to improve and you get healthy and happier as each day passes. You will never regret living a life of sobriety.  As I said many times before, "all of us here on Earth have but one life to live," so why would we shorten that one life with an avoidable addiction to alcohol?

One thing I have learned that helped me get sober and stay sober is having a positive attitude. It has changed my life in more ways than one. You need to continue to tell yourself that you Can and Will get and stay sober. No negative thoughts whatsoever, and that means anything you do in life, not just getting sober.

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.

Making Peace With Yourself After An Addiction To Alcohol

Making peace with yourself after an addiction to alcohol was harder than I thought.

When I stopped drinking alcohol in October of 2009, I never thought that my earlier addiction to alcohol would haunt me for many years to come.

It was a very hard decision to stop drinking alcohol, because my entire life revolved around alcohol for so many years. Alcohol ran my life and included in that, were the people that loved and cared for me.

I never realized how I hurt them with all those years of my drinking, but now being sober, I now know that you and I could destroy the lives of your own flesh and blood and we would never even realize it.  That is so sad to me now thinking back at those horrible days of my addiction to alcohol.

None of us ever think about others in our life that we are hurting, while we are so much in denial, and don't even think for a moment that we have an alcohol problem.

You know, you or I can not turn back the hands of time and make things better of what we messed up over the years of alcohol abuse, but we can fix our life now and make things better for ourselves and the ones that loved and cared for us while we abused our lives.

If you happen to have an addiction to alcohol or drugs, just stop and think for a moment and look around you and see with your own eyes what you are doing to others.  They don't deserve to go through the hell you are putting them through by your habit of drinking your life away.

They don't deserve being pulled down to rock bottom along with you. This is what bothers me the most.  I put many people, such as my parents, my spouse Linda (of 32 years) and my children through hell.  They saw their husband and father drink every night of the week, and they got to the point when they were older, that they were embarrassed of my life style and they way I acted and talked when getting that buzz and drunk on.

Abusing alcohol, and being so selfish can, and will destroy families sooner or later if you and I don't do something to change it.  We, the alcoholics are the only ones that can make things right in our life and make the lives of those that love us right.

Please don't get me wrong, I have nothing against drinking alcohol at all.  I loved alcohol just as much or ever more than the next person, but I was one of those guys that never knew when enough was enough.  More, more I would say to myself until I got that drunk on that I was so used to having.  In the meantime, it took more and more alcohol to get to that point that I was satisfied.

So getting back to my earlier statement, I never knew how my alcohol addiction would haunt me for years to come, meaning, yes I got sober, but I did ruin many things along the way to my sobriety and I felt, and still feel ashamed and upset of my past lifestyle.  But, I have made it right now, and with that said, I am proud of myself and happy my family stood by my side through all the hell I put them through.

It is my turn to help others now understand that if you have an addiction of any kind, never give up hope. You can change your life.  All you have to do is to DO IT!

I still, to this day, feel bad for what I caused my family and friends to have to go through while I was having a great time drinking my life away.  I remember the arguments and fights (verbal - never physical) over my abuse of alcohol and what I was doing to myself.

So many times I was told to stop drinking, or least slow down. I just let those words go in one ear and out the other.  You know what I am talking about, I am sure of it. None of us alcoholics what to hear the true because, WE CAN'T handle the truth. And why is that?  Because we all live in DENIAL, that is why.  We don't think for a minute that we have a drinking problem, and the people that tell us we do, don't know what they are talking about.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Once you own up and admit you are an alcoholic, and want to stop drinking alcohol, is when you will start to feel peace in your life.  You will not have your demons running your life anymore.  You will feel FREE and at peace with yourself, and at that time you will begin to have peace in your family life as well. Those that you hurt along the way while you were drinking and abusing alcohol will feel that peace in their life too, and will be so happy and proud that you took action and changed your life as I did.

It is the time to make things right in your life, and the people that are in your life.  They too will feel that sense of peace as well when they see that person that they love and care for being clean and sober and getting their life back on track.  In that case, everyone involved will be getting their lives back on track.

It is then you will feel the peace in your life, that you let your demons go and are now living a sober life.

You will start to see how your appearance will improve and will start to feel so much better, physically and mentally.  You beat your demons, and now it is time to take care of yourself and others in your life.  Before, all we thought about is to feed our demons and give them the alcohol they needed to thrive in our bodies.  Bye bye demons, you will no longer run and try to ruin my life for not one more second.

This is what you have to think about and tell yourself in order to make that huge change in your life.  Sobriety will not just come to you.  It will take hard work to get sober and then stay sober forever, but once you make that life change and stick to it, you will be so proud of yourself that you won the battle between you and your inner demons.

Don't get me wrong, it will be a battle for the rest of your life to stay sober.  Your demons will be hanging out in your body just waiting for you to mess up and start drinking alcohol again.  They will never go away.  It is up to you to keep them where they belong, and where they belong is NOT IN YOUR LIFE anymore.

So, if you want that peace in your life and continue to have that peace, DON"T ever give in to the demons of alcohol no matter what happens in your life from now on.  There will be urges, craving for the rest of your life, but never give in, NEVER!  

No ones life is a bed of roses.  There will always be something that will come up that will upset you, or you may have a sickness in the family, or financial problems, but whatever pops up in your life, never give in and turn back to drinking alcohol, because it will NOT solve anything! 

Stand strong and keep that positive attitude at all times in your life and you will see how being strong and positive will help you stay sober.

The past is the past and now it is time to make things right for you and yours.  Get sober, and stay that way, and you will see what a great life awaits you and yours. 

Admitting Your An Alcoholic Is The First Step

There are millions of people all over the world that drink alcohol, but how many of them will admit they have a drinking problem?

Admitting your an alcoholic is the first step towards a new life and a life of sobriety.  That's of course if you really want to get sober and live that life of sobriety.  I know so many people that really think they have no problem whatsoever with their alcohol consumption.  In fact, I was one of those people back almost four years ago.

Denial is a huge thing when it comes to drinking alcohol, drugs or any kind of addiction for that matter.  We never think we have a problem, but many people that know you and see you and your actions know better.  They can talk to you until they are blue in the face and you will look at them like they have two heads.  I know I did when someone approached me and told me I drink too much and I might have a problem.

If we, including myself, just would look at our lives and see which way our life is going, and if you have your eyes wide open and be open mined you will see exactly where you are headed in the future if you continue to drink and abuse alcohol.

If you ignore what you see, and what you have been told by others, then the future will not be a surprise as you look back at those statements, because you were told, and you saw your life through your own eyes, but blew everything off because you were living in denial and never believed a word.

I know for a fact, for me, I knew deep down inside that I have a serious drinking problem, but never wanted to change my life for I was so afraid to be without my alcohol.  I was afraid to admit to my family and friends I was a true alcoholic. Although I was a functioning alcoholic, this was one of the reason I thought there was no problem with my drinking.

After all, I never missed work because of those late nights of drinking and never got into fights at bars.  I never got a DUI and never arrested for drinking in public or drinking and driving.  So I thought to myself, "what seems to be the problem with my drinking?" See, that is how I thought, and I am very sure many alcoholics can relate to these words I speak.

When I speak of the first step admitting your an alcoholic means to get out of your denial you live in and take a good hard look at your life and the lives your are taken down on the way to your rock bottom.  Remember you are not only hurting yourself, you are hurting many people that love you and care for you, such as your spouse, children, parents and your friends.

Don't let yourself down or the people that love you.  Stand up to your addiction to alcohol and tell your demons goodbye once and for all.  You don't need alcohol believe me.  Once you have got sober and stay sober you will then realize why in the world was I killing myself when all I had to do is to stop drinking.

Yeah I know, it sounds pretty easy by just writing this, but anyone can stop drinking alcohol anytime you want.  The problem is, and the question is, "Do You Really Want To Stop Drinking?"

If you said yes I would love to stop drinking alcohol, then you are on your way to a new life of sobriety.  Yes it will be hard and yes it will not be easy by any means, but if you have that determination, the willingness and the desire to change your life it will happen.

You have to make up your mind and just do it and stick to it with no cheating whatsoever.  You will need to stay clear from your drinking buddies, the bars and anything that has anything to do with alcohol.

As time goes by you will find it easier and easier to live each day without your crutch, the demons of alcohol.

God Bless to all those that have made it to sobriety and those that are trying so hard to get sober.  Never give up hope because your life is full of hope and sobriety is just sitting there for your taken, so go after it and don't look back at your horrible past of addiction.

Stay positive and strong to yourself and never let anyone or anything stand in your way of changing your life and living that one and only life you have, clean and sober.