Perhaps the most beautiful stories are the spontaneous stories of people who suddenly started writing about their newfound lives after quitting alcohol. I came across this story in a dedicated Facebook-group about life without alcohol. It shows once again that even in the darkest of times you can make a wise choice by don’t giving in to alcohol. Alcohol never solves anything, it just adds another problem. So try to avoid it when you can!
With the author’s permission, here’s his story again:
I had a family business, which resulted in years of enormous stress, an ignored burnout, the eternal pressure of having to perform, 101 things on my to-do list in a day that just got replenished as the working day progressed, eternal insomnia due to all pressure. Always problems. All the time..
I always drank a lot during my life, but that turned to drinking day and night because of the above problems. The alcohol allowed me to flee by seeking something of relaxation (I thought). The result was a huge addiction with all its problems, including justice. I had a totally disrupted family life with 2 small children and my girlfriend. Life was hell but I just kept going with everything. Always keep on going…. always with a lot of beer, wine and booze. I was always looking to secretly drink so I could ease all my ‘suffering’.
After several half-hearted attempts to quit, I stopped in May 2019. I had professional help, which was perfect. The bankruptcy of my company came 2 months after this moment… it was unstoppable. Pretty much everyone thought I’d relapse into booze. But I didn’t!
Thanks to a very good friend, I was able to start a new job immediately in a great position at a well-run and functioning company. My family life was back on track. I picked up my social life and hobby again. No stress. No hangovers. I’m not living life as a zombie anymore.
I still have my ‘things’, such as being very insecure in a group. Especially when people drink a lot, I also have my irritations. Once every few months I am really sick now (the flu), and then also pretty heavily. I didn’t have that before, but I drank my way through it I think now. Staying at home sick was just not an option back then.
After 875 days I have concluded that I occasionally feel like I could just have a beer again. This feeling arises mainly at parties, after football, events etc. But I don’t do it!! I’ve heard and read too many stories about how horribly wrong things can go after years of alcoholfreedom.
To everyone who has a hard time now and then; hold on!! Being alcohol-free gives you so much peace, energy, freshness, etc. You can do it! Even I can, and I really thought to myself that I should be happy if I could already manage a single month without alcohol. My motto was and has always been: ‘the only easy day was yesterday’. Go for it!
Thank you so much for letting me post your story, and big compliments on the way you’ve pulled yourself together! And it’s nice to hear that you’re not falling into the trap of that first ‘single’ beer again… Before you know it you’ll be back where you started, no matter how safe it seems!
And if someone else, after reading this story, would also like to share his or her experiences about quitting alcohol with us: please do! Just leave me your email at this page and I will send you some questions as soon as possible. Hopefully together we will help new people get over the line!
