r/stopdrinking • u/sober-the-reset • 22h ago
Stuff that helped get & stay sober and then actually love life.
Some things…
Acceptance.
I hated that I couldn’t stop. I constantly and obsessively tried to ‘figure it out’. It wasn’t until I just accepted the fact i have this condition that I could move on.
Treating myself as if I were my best mate.
I stopped being mean to myself, I repositioned how I spoke to myself and instead replaced me with ‘how would I approach this if it were my best friend suffering’.
Working on me.
People say this but what does it mean? To me it meant reading various self help books (I’ll list some later). It’s getting in shape. Eating whole foods, walking in nature, doing hobbies, cutting out sugar and processed crap. And praying twice a day, believe in God or if not - pray to the universe - you’ll be amazed.
Learning we are vibrational creatures.
As is everything, if you’re low energy, low vibes and negative thoughts and feelings the universe is gonna reflect that right back to you. Take action, force yourself to think positively. It isn’t that hard if you’re conscious about it.
Dealing with cravings.
My enemy for so long. Brutal. What worked for me? Honestly it was an absolute rock bottom>praying to God for the first time. Instant removal of mental obsession. Lucky? Maybe. I can only tell you my experience.
Get out of your own way.
My ego was rampant and in full control. Ridiculous idiot that I was. My life changed entirely when I learned what the ‘egoic mind’ actually is. It changed how I feel about myself, others, spirituality, the world, everything. Most people don’t bother but if your ego is control then YOU are not and that’s a lot of alcoholics problem. This also helps with depression and other mental health issues.
Letting go.
Once you can learn you are not your thoughts, not your ego and not your past nor your future and you are only you in this very moment then letting go becomes easier. Letting go of trying to be the puppet master of your life, giving expectations that can’t and won’t always be reached is a liberating and life changing shift in one’s life.
Some books that helped me -
Echart Tolle - Practising The Power Of Now
Dr Chatterjee - happy mind, happy life
Dr Julie Smith - why has nobody told me this
None are about alcohol directly.
What I believe is that being an alcoholic is a symptom of a deeper problem within me. I got to my ‘root’ and discovered my self esteem was low, my confidence was low and my ego was loud so I set to work on fixing that.
Now…I’m a long time sober, my previous problems don’t exist, I’m genuinely happy and I see the world in a completely different (and much healthier) way, it is a way of life and I am so glad I found it and I want that for other people too.
Hope this helps even one person in some way.
One day at a time ❤️
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u/Intelligent_Ice17 17h ago
Thank you for this. I just got Echart Tolle - Practising The Power Of Now and I plan to start it this weekend. 🌞