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.
v

How Remembering Your Past Alcohol Addiction Helps With Your Recovery And Long Term Sobriety

This has helped me in many ways over the past years of my sobriety.  How remembering your past alcohol addiction helps with your recovery and long term sobriety.

I have been sober since October 27, 2009, and I must say it has been a journey to say the least. Many times during those years of recovery the urge and temptation to drink alcohol again came over more than I can say.

Once the urge or temptation came on me I admittedly thought of my past drinking days and what I did to myself and those that loved and cared for me. I remembered the wrong things I said, and the wrong things I did.  By thinking of my past addiction, and the things I did and said put a stop to the urge and temptation to drink alcohol again.

I knew and learned over the years that drinking alcohol solved nothing, and in fact only made things worse.  I drank alcohol all those years thinking that whatever was wrong in my life it would just go away by drinking and abusing alcohol.

If you are in recovery and those temptations and urges come over you, like they do me, just remember those bad days of your addiction and hopefully that reminder of those days will put a stop to picking up that drink of alcohol.  It really works for me and I truly think it will work for you, BUT you have to be stronger than that temptation and those urges to drink.

Another thing that pops into my mind when that urge to drink comes over me is all the years I have been sober and if I were to touch that drop of alcohol all those years would be in vein,, meaning I would have to start at day one in my sobriety and that is something you or I would never want to happen!

So, this is what really helps me to stay clean and sober, and hopefully this will help you to remain sober when that temptation or urge to drink comes over you.

Granted, I am sure that urge will come over you, more than once during your recovery, as it does me, but if you think of what your past was while drinking and abusing alcohol, and give that urge some time to pass, you will be just fine.  Just do yourself a favor and never give in to the demons that will always be inside our bodies. You must be much stronger than them, and if you keep that positive attitude and stay strong (you and I will be just fine!)

God Bless all those that have made it to sobriety and have had the strength to surrender to their inner demons, and God Bless all those that are still coping with their addiction to alcohol, but never fear, with the right frame of mind, having a positive attitude and having the willingness to stop drinking forever, all will be fine for you.  

It is not the end of the world because you have an addiction, but it could be if you don't change your life around for the better.  

I DID IT AND SO CAN YOU!

I Quit Drinking Alcohol So Now What?

So I quit drinking alcohol so now what is the question I asked myself, and I am sure many people that have quit drinking have asked the same question to themselves.

Now what?  Well you are about to start and new and joyous life, BUT you have to stick to your guns and never let those alcohol demons back into your life.  This is where it gets hard for many alcoholics after they have stopped drinking alcohol.

They are bored.  They don't know what to do with themselves because they were so used to having a drink in hand and being in bars and pubs drinking them up with their drinking buddies.  At least this was the life I had, and I am not speaking for anyone else, but I am sure those that have this addiction to alcohol understand exactly what I am talking about.

WHAT IS NEXT YOU MIGHT ASK?

• You quit drinking, and you are now sober, and the next step is to stay sober.
• You  can now enjoy your life sober and start spending quality time with your loved ones that maybe you never did when addicted to alcohol.
• You will be able to start saving money that you were spending on alcohol and not on your families.
• You can now see for your eyes how you are starting to change not only physically, but mentally.
• You can start living the life you so well deserve.
• You need to stay away from things, places and people that will tempt you to start drinking again.
• There will be so many things will be able to do now being sober, such as getting behind the wheel of you automobile without any worries of getting into an accident because of being drunk, being pulled over and getting that DUI. 
• YOU WILL BE FREE!

Granted, there will be days in the beginning, and even far into sobriety, but you can not give in no matter what it takes to say NO!

I have had many times in my recovery that I just wanted to throw in the towel and take a drink. Why?
The reason was maybe that day something went wrong in my life or something just didn't work out like I'd planed it to.  I stood my grounds to my demons and say NO I can not do this!

Back in October of 2009 I made a promise to myself that no matter what happens in my life, good or bad I will never pick up an alcoholic drink again, and I am a man of my word and would never break a promise especially to myself.  Sure it was hard to say NO I can't do this, but as the minutes passed by that urge and temptation to drink passed.  I knew if I gave it some time that feeling and urge to drink would go away, and it did.

You have to be a strong person and much stronger than your inner demons.  The demons are waiting for you and I to mess up and start drinking again.  This way if you and I do drink alcohol again our demons will have full control of our lives once more, but this time if we break and drink it will be harder to get rid of this demons that are out to kill us.
\
So get sober, stay sober, and start to live the clean life like I have since 2009 and will continue for many years to come.

How Having A Positive Attitude Can Change So Many Things In Life

For someone like myself, living with an alcohol addiction for so many years, I didn't know the words, "Positive Attitude."

I lived each day with a negative attitude, and feeling sorry for myself because I knew deep inside that I had an addiction to alcohol, but I just didn't want to do anything to change my life. Now being sober, I know how having a positive attitude can change so many things in life.

There is nothing worse than thinking and acting negative.  You will never get anywhere in life with that kind of attitude. It took many years for me to get straightened out in my life, and once I did, Positivity took over, and life looked so much different with my new attitude, not only towards myself, but life itself.

Here are just a few things that changed in my life once I got clean and sober and began thinking and acting with a positive attitude.

• My entire married life my wife's and my dream was to live by the Ocean, but no matter how hard I tried to make that dream into a reality, nothing worked out.  I truly believe that my addiction to alcohol held me back in so many ways, along with my negativity that came with my addiction.

I got clean and sober in October of 2009, and everything began to work out, and the reason that is, and my beliefs are, that I was not willing to help myself before, and when things didn't work out as I wanted them to, I just drank more figuring alcohol was the fix all. I am now writing this down the street from the Ocean. My dream has now become a reality!

• My marriage and family life was falling to pieces slow, but sure. 

Now sober, I couldn't ask for a better family life and marriage. My best friend, and also my wife stood by my side through thick and thin when I was addicted to alcohol, and now I am proud to say I have sobriety, and we live with nothing but positivity in our lives.  I now realize that your attitude in life can change so many things, for the good or for the bad.

Our attitudes can make or break our lives, so get out of the negative world and start living with that Positive Attitude.  You will be amazed of how your life will change, just by you changing your life, and your attitude towards life.

How Life Can Change Just By Changing Your Life

HERE IS WHERE MY WIFE AND I SIT HERE ON LONG BEACH ISLAND.

For anyone that has an addiction of any sort, such as alcoholism or drugs, we tend to be simply down in the dumps most of the time, and the only thing that somewhat makes us happy is to drink or use.  At least this is my opinion, and my experiences with drinking and abusing alcohol for many years.

After that first one or two drinks, you start to forget all the problems you may have because you just care and only care about getting to that drunk you had the day before.  Mine you, this is my experiences and I am not speaking for anyone else that drinks or uses drugs.

Then it comes the time where you are feeling no pain because of the alcohol, and you begin to start feeling sorry for yourself and start crying in you booze.  "Why me?"  "Why doesn't anything ever work out for me?"  "Why don't I have what others have in their life?" Does any of this sound familiar to you?

It sure does to me, and it is very familiar indeed. You have to realize how life can change just by changing your life. I know it may sound stupid, but it is the truth and it really does work.  Changing your life and your lifestyle will indeed give you a brand new life in the end.

Just by changing your life, meaning giving up alcohol or drugs, and get out of the denial you have been living in will truly change everything, including your life.

Back in October of 2009 I decided to change my own life meaning, I finally got out of the denial I was living in and surrendered to my alcohol demons.   Ever since that night sitting in the garage all alone drinking my last beer of my life I knew deep down inside that getting and staying sober has to be far greater than drinking my life away and slowly killing myself along the way.

You don't have to be an alcoholic.  You have a choice of being drunk all the time or living a clean and sober life.  The choice is in your hands so make the right decision and change your life around all for the better.  Your body and those that love and care for you will thank you, Trust Me!

I have hundreds of articles I have written on HubPages.com so click here to read them.  They might just change your way of looking at life, and hopefully help you to change your life and life a life of sobriety.

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.

How To Stop The Urge To Drink Alcohol While In Recovery

Here is how to stop the urge to drink alcohol while in recovery from what works best for me now being sober for over four years.

As we all know, or for anyone that has an alcohol addiction problem, we know that urges and temptations to drink alcohol come over us more than once while we are trying to stay sober.  For myself when those urges come over me I look back at the dark days of hell when I drank and abused alcohol.

It is a reminder of just how my life was, always depending on the alcohol to make me have a good day, so I thought.

You need to really think of what you put your body through, and not only that, what you put your family and friends through while you were drinking and abusing alcohol.  You know that when we drink too much, and are addicted to the substance that just may ruin your life, and the lives of others, you have to realize once you are sober and that urge comes about you can not give in ever!

The demons that are still inside us are just waiting for us to mess up and pick up that one glass of alcohol.  That one glass of alcohol that will be the ruination of out sobriety.

I know for myself, if I were to touch one sip of alcohol it would be the end of my long term sobriety, and I am sure it would be the same for anyone that has been sober for some time.  All of us have to be stronger than any urge or temptation to drink alcohol and it has to be forever.

Here is what I think about when that urge to drink comes over me:

• How I felt while drinking and abusing alcohol.
• What I put my family through all those years of drinking.
• The money I spent on alcohol instead of spending it on my families needs.
• The massive hangovers every morning.
• What I began to look like over time appearance wise.
• How I felt physically and mentally.
• How negative I became.
• How I felt sorry for myself and wondered why nothing ever went my way.

These are just a few things I think of when that urge to drink comes over me.  Believe me it is enough to say NO to alcohol.

Back in October of 2009, the 26th to be exact, I made a promise to myself that no matter what ever happened in my life, whether it be good or bad I would never pick up an alcoholic drink ever again and believe me, many things have happened over the last four years, some good and some bad, BUT it was never enough to make me drink alcohol again.

I always thought drinking alcohol would solve all my troubles in life and once I became sober I found out that that theory, or saying was dead wrong!  Alcohol solved NOTHING, it only made matters worse!  

Now being sober for the last four years I feel so much better.

My appearance has improved 100%.

All the weight I gained while drinking has disappeared, and I am back to the weight I should be.

My family and married life has changed 100%, all for the better.

No more massive hangovers.

My appetite is going strong.

I am now 100% a positive guy and very happy with the life I now live.

My health is great and I am finally a very happy man!

My dream of living by the Ocean has become a reality, something that never happened as hard as I tried when I was drinking.  Nothing ever worked out for me as hard as I tried.

I guess the old saying is right.... You can't be helped unless you are willing to help yourself first!

How To Make Your Dreams A Reality

Everyone dreams in the world, but the question is "how to make your dreams a reality?" We all have dreams when we sleep.  Some dreams we may not remember, and then there are those that stick in our minds as we wake up and we tell others what kind of dream we had during our sleep.

Some of those dreams maybe happy and some maybe a plain nightmare that wakes you out of a sound sleep, shaking, sweating and your heart pounding out of your chest.

Then of course all of us have those dreams while we are awake.  Dreams of having the best of everything, and dreams of living near, or on the white sandy beaches of that one spot you love in your life.

This is me making that one dream I had my entire life a reality.  Living near the white sandy beaches of Long Beach Island, New Jersey.

The Ocean is only a few minutes from my home and where I live is out of harms way of floods and Hurricanes.  I am not saying a hurricane would not harm my home and where I live because I lived through two hurricanes since I moved here at the Jersey shore two years ago. The best thing is that we had no flood damage, but plenty of Hurricanes force winds.

Getting back to how you can make those dreams you have a reality.  Everyone like I said have had dreams of what you truly want out of the one and only life you have here on Earth.  The problem is that so many people that have these dreams do not pursue them and keep them as just a big dream in life.

As for me, I had that dream of living near the Ocean and I sat down with my wife on many occasions trying to figure out just how to make that dream we had become a reality. One day my wife came up with this brilliant idea, and that idea was to downsize and sell everything we had to get rid of the bills that would haunt us for many years to come.

Yes, selling of my toys, such as my Corvette, my motorcycle and then the house that I just remodeled and the home that I was raised in as a child.  That was the hardest thing I could ever done, because this home belonged to my parents.  The only home they owned in their married life.

When they both passed away the home was left to me.  At that time I lived in another home with my wife and children and and when my parents passed away I had make a decision to stay where I was living or selling that home and moving back into my childhood home.

We decided to move back into my childhood home and remodeled it to our liking figuring this would be the last move in our life.  We still had the Ocean back in our minds at that time and as I said, after about 5 years living and remodeling this childhood home we decided to sell it and move to the Ocean.

We made this decision as a joint one and agreed that we needed to make our dream a reality once and for all.

Long Beach Island Our New Home 

These are only material things.

Yes my toys are all sold, but they can be bought again one day. The plate on the Vette reads, "LIVON" and that is exactly what we are doing in our life. Live on and make that dream a reality.

We thought positive and did everything we could do in order to live at the shore.  We sold my childhood home and downsize to a double wide modular home in a 55 + Community.  No garage and nowhere near the room we had in the home I sold, but living life simple now makes us much happier than we have ever been.

If you have a dream in life, don't hesitate to make it happen because as I said, we are only here on Earth for a short time, so make the best of it and make those dreams you have become a reality.  You will never be sorry.

If you need to sell everything you have top make you a happier person then remember they are only material things and can one day be re-bought if you choose to do so.  For me, it is cash only and no more credit cards that will haunt is to the end of time.  My home I live in now, although small, but we remodeled this one too, and it is paid in full.

Here is the side of our new place. total remodel inside and out.