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Alcoholic Relapse | How to Deal With Alcoholic Relapse | SDA36

by | Stop Drinking Alcohol, Year One | 8 comments

Q & A

This week, I chose a comment from YouTube.

Alcohol Relapse

A 16 oz beer is about a pint, so you’re drinking about 2 pints a night and 4 at the weekends. In comparison to some, it’s not a great problem. You’re really the only one who can truly assess whether you have a problem or not. Are you being told you’ve a problem? Are you acting in a way that suggests you’ve a problem. When I first started drinking, I’d have 4 pints at the weekend. That’s all I could manage. For me, that was a problem, because I was drinking until I couldn’t drink any more, until I felt like puking. Drinking every day probably a bad sign. As far as I’m concerned, alcohol is a poison so any consumption is bad. That’s what the site and the channel are all about. But that’s the world we live in. If you’re going to pull back, I’d say skip a day or two during the week.

Alcohol Relapse

A man’s mistakes are his portals of discovery. – James Joyce

You need to view all your previous attempts at quitting drinking as a series of successful experiences. Every time you quit, you learn something about yourself, it’s an education.

Look for the solution instead of the problem. We’re all on a journey to alcohol mastery, sometimes the journey is long, but at the very least we’re taking the steps that are necessary for the ultimate freedom.

Never dwell on the negative implications of your attempt. Instead look at it as a temporary detour on your alcohol mastery journey.

Use the experience as an opportunity to learn something about yourself.

What could you have done differently?
What happened to trigger the relapse?
Who were you with?
What were you doing?
How did you feel?

You should still take responsibility for the mistake, owning it, but without blaming yourself. Blaming achieves nothing! When you don’t blame yourself, put yourself down, or try to ignore the situation, you’ll become stronger.

When we learn from our mistakes, we are less likely to repeat them in the future, less likely to make those unwanted detours. Our experiences help us to recognise the wrong path, lowering the risk of making the same mistakes again.

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So, that’s Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 32.
Thanks for visiting the site.
Until next time…
Onwards and Upwards!
Kev

Previous Tallies

Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 33
Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 34
Stop Drinking Alcohol Week 35

8 Comments

  1. Robin T

    Hi there
    How do you cope with spending time with family members and friends who are all heavy drinkers? I’ve very recently admitted that I’m an alcoholic and have stopped drinking and I’m really worried that family especially will think I’m being sanctimonious for having given up.
    (This is a fantastic website by the way, your advice and stories are really helpful!)
    Cheers

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      Hey Robin, Thanks for the kind comments. If you don’t mind, I’ll do a video for this question. I think might be something that other people might want some advice on. For now, you have to think of yourself. There’s nothing you can do about other people, don’t let anyone else stand in your way. If you have to avoid people, do it! I people think you’re sanctimonious, that’s their problem. You’re only responsible for what you think. Quitting drinking is a step up for you, a chance to improve yourself in a most fundamental way. Some people are just not going to like it. You must think about yourself! Onwards and Upwards!
      Kind regards and good luck
      Kev

      Reply
      • Robin T

        Thanks for getting back to me Kevin, and great that you’re going to do a video based on my question! I appreciate your advice but I guess the thing that I find really tricky is that with a family of alcoholics (I’m learning to say the word as opposed to ‘heavy drinkers’) is that my choosing not to drink seems to shine a light on their own alcoholism, and the fact is some of them drink way more than me when I was at my worst. I don’t want to make anyone feel bad or guilty or resentful. I do agree with you though that I can’t let anyone stand in my way…God knows this is fricken hard enough without adding further obstacles!
        I’ll let you know if I come up with any magic way of dealing with alkie kin!

        Cheers
        R

        Reply
        • Kevin O'Hara

          They’ll all be looking at you in a couple of months, seeing how well you’re doing, how good you look! That’s the best way of highlighting their drinking issues. Leading by example. You don’t have to say anything. Gandhi says “Be the change you want to see in the world!”
          Cheers
          Kev

          Reply
          • Robin T

            Thanks Kevin, that’s a great quote from Gandhi and certainly one worth living by. I can’t wait for that day to come because at the moment I feel like rubbish. One day at a time I guess…
            Thanks
            Robin T.

          • Kevin O'Hara

            That’s it. It might be a cliche, but it’s very true, one day at a time. It’s the only way we can live our lives, all of us. We can only do it moment by moment. Keep it up, keep strong, you’ll get there! Onwards and UPWARDS!
            Kev

  2. Pat

    Is there a “dry drunk ” spell that you must go through when you quit.

    Reply
    • Kevin O'Hara

      Hi Pat,
      I’m not sure what you mean by “dry drunk”?
      Kev

      Reply

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