Destressing Alcohol Addiction is what I would like to discuss this day.
Hello there my friend. How are you? I pray that you are happy, healthy, and feeling love in your life.
In my last post, I wrote about Destressing Addiction, and I received a couple emails about alcohol addiction so I decided I would talk about that today.
First of all, I want to define alcoholism. If you have been reading my blog for a while you must know I have my own definitions for words like alcoholism and addiction. There are definitions for the word alcoholic by professionals who research, study and write about it but I'm gonna give you my definition.
Okay, so an alcoholic is someone who is unable to stop their drinking. It could be on a daily basis where the person just has to have a drink every day or on an occasional basis where the person can't stop drinking on that occasion. Does that make sense?
If a person has their mind on alcohol throughout the day and is thinking they can't wait until they have a drink, he or she is an alcoholic.
If a person is drinking at any time, and they can't stop, he or she is an alcoholic. For example, if someone is out to dinner, or at a special occasion like a wedding or party, and he or she is drinking and keeps drinking without the ability to stop, he or she is an alcoholic.
In my last post on destressing addiction, I explained that an addiction is something we cannot quit.
So, if you are an alcoholic, how do you destress your addiction?
The most important thing is awareness. What do I mean by awareness?
Awareness is knowing the truth rather than defending one's behavior.
Let's say you have a story in your mind about why you must drink. This story may be that alcohol helps you relax, or makes you feel better. These stories may be true in a way but, if you really seek the truth then you are able to see that addiction to alcohol makes things worse, not better.
If alcohol helps a person relax and feel better how does it make things worse? It's instant gratification versus long-term satisfaction. Alcohol causes long-term dissatisfaction.
In my nearly fifty-two years of living, I have known my share of alcoholics, and they, and the people that are around them, are truly miserable individuals.
In my nearly fifty-two years of living, I have learned that alcohol only hurts, and never helps with the exception of instant gratification of numbing, and momentary relaxation.
Knowing this truth about alcohol is awareness. Nearly everyone I have dealt with knows this and yet those who drink continue to drink because addiction is real.
Awareness is also knowing that habitual thoughts can heal or hurt the self.
When an individual thinks thoughts like, "I can't wait to have a drink," or, "I need a drink," or, "I have to have a drink," they are living with habitual repetitive thoughts that are hurtful mantras.
If we are aware of these thoughts, we are able to turn them around with healing intentional mantras like, "I don't need a drink today," "I don't need a drink," or, "I don't have to have a drink today."
This may be so very simple to you that you may be thinking, "That shit ain't gonna work." But guess what? It will work! If you are an alcoholic that can't go a day without drinking, and if you do this, you will find days you will go without drinking.
No shit! Seriously! Sorry about the cuss words but I just want to deliver emphasis.
I want to provide emphasis because NOTHING, NOT ONE THING, good comes from drinking alcohol. Matter of fact, I believe there are more direct and indirect deaths caused by alcohol than smoking causes cancer.
Not only does alcohol cause death, but it also causes destruction of peoples' lives and property. It causes devastation of lives, and it causes divorce, which is very specific devastation of MANY lives.
Awareness is the key to destressing alcohol addiction!
If you are an alcoholic, begin destressing yourself with awareness, healthy intentional mantras, and watch yourself drink a little less. Drinking a little less is so very powerful because it will show you that you can, and will, not only slow the process of drinking but, eventually quit the drinking.
One last thing...
In the early stages of alcoholism, many people believe that everything is hunky dory because they have not lost anything yet. Is that you? If it is, let me ask you this...
Are you in the constant state of going nowhere? In other words, are you in the same place you were last year, two years ago, three years ago, or five years ago?
Better yet, are you in a worse place than you were in last year, two years ago, or five years ago?
If the answer is yes, and you are a drinker, I would urge you to consider destressing your alcohol addiction with awareness, healthy intentional mantras, and the beginnings of watching yourself drink a little less.
In my nearly fifty-two years of living, I can tell you this... I have meditated for over sixteen years, and I have overcome nearly every hurtful addiction through my awareness of my thoughts, feelings, and actions. Yes! Even alcoholism.
Life is supposed to get better and better!
Life is supposed to be fun!
Life is supposed to be joy!
I believe with all my heart and soul that life can, and will, get better and better, be more fun, and have more joy for anyone who develops the art of meditation as a regular exercise in their life.
And that is why I want to teach the world to meditate. But first, I have to convince them to.
I hope I have convinced you, and/or you'd love to learn how to practice awareness and meditation.
That's all I got!
If you are a drinker, I hope and pray I have touched your desire to destress your alcohol addiction.
I love you... You know I do!
God bless you, my friend...
Speak soon!
Elizabeth
Destressing addiction is what I'd like to discuss this day.
Hello there, my friend. How are you on this beautiful day in July? I pray you are doing alright. It is always my prayer that you are not only doing alright but that you are doing better and better every day.
To destress from an addiction, we ought to consider several things. First, what addiction is; second, why we are addicted; and third, the very first step we can take to relieve ourselves from it.
As I see it, addiction is a habit with tremendous momentum that we can't, don't believe we can, or do not want to quit. There are healthy addictions and unhealthy addictions.
Some healthy addictions are eating right, exercising, getting plenty of rest, relaxing, having good hygiene, and being kind. These are things that some of us do that we simply cannot quit because the habit of it has such an influential force.
Some not-so-healthy addictions include alcohol, anger, anxiety, debt, depression, drama, drugs, eating way too much, gambling, insomnia, meanness, and worry.
I understand that you may say that your anger, anxiety, depression, drama, insomnia, meanness, worry, and/or any other things I mentioned are not addictions. Believe me when I say I get that, but if addiction is something that you cannot, don't believe you can, or don't want to quit, then just consider the thought for now. Consider that if you have an unhealthy behavior and are unable to stop it, it may be an addiction.
Now, one reason why we are addicted is that we start something, it becomes a habit, and then our subconscious mind kicks in and solidifies it with great energy and power.
Our subconscious mind is our habitual mind, and it is there to help us, and it does that by sustaining the idea that if we practice something a lot, we will get nearly perfect at it.
Consider your daily behavior, like getting up, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, getting ready for the day, and driving to work. You have done this so often that you are nearly perfect at it and could even do it in your sleep. As a matter of fact, you most likely have. This is all possible because the subconscious mind sustains habits.
Before I discuss the step to relieve the self from addiction, I want to share how you may tell the difference between a healthy addiction and a not-so-healthy addiction. A healthy addiction makes you feel really, really good about yourself. A not-so-healthy addiction may make you feel really, really good at first, but then it ultimately makes you feel really, really, not so good about yourself. The unhealthy addiction may be a love-hate relationship; you love the feeling of doing it and then hate yourself after.
An excellent example of a not-so-healthy addiction is drinking alcohol. Alcoholics love that first drink, but sometimes, in the middle of the drinking, they feel horrible about themselves because it may ruin their family, finances, relationships, and careers. Trust me, alcoholics verbally beat themselves up for drinking. It's a love-hate relationship. They love the alcohol but hate themselves for not being able to quit.
It is the same thing with any behavior we want to quit deep down in our hearts but are unable to for some crazy reason.
An unhealthy addiction is a thing you can't quit, and you do not like yourself for it.
An unhealthy addiction is a thing that you beat yourself up over.
The unhealthy addiction is the thing that you know is, deep down inside, ruining your life.
An unhealthy addiction is a thing that keeps you in a constant state of going nowhere.
An unhealthy addiction is a thing that is digging a hole in your life that you may not get out of.
An unhealthy addiction is a thing you believe, no matter what you do, you cannot quit, and that brings me to the step that will relieve you from addiction just a little bit. Sometimes a little bit at a time is all you can do and all you need for now.
The first step you can take to begin relieving yourself from addiction is awareness.
Awareness that we want to quit the addiction that hurts others and ourselves so much.
Awareness that we are constantly convincing ourselves that we cannot quit when we can convince ourselves otherwise.
Awareness that we are absolutely capable of quitting whatever it is that we are determined to stop, even alcohol, anger, anxiety, debt, depression, drama, overeating, and worry.
This awareness that I am articulating comes from being still, quieting the mind, and recognizing the hurtful thoughts holding us back. Painful repetitive thoughts like, "I need it," "I've tried everything, and nothing works," or "I can't quit." These thoughts are negative affirmations that keep the momentum of the addiction going.
These negative thoughts are on autopilot from the subconscious mind and are the mantras we repeat moment by moment.
Once we are aware of these thoughts, we can, and will, change them more positively, like, "No! I don't need it," "I can quit," or "I really want to quit." These thoughts are much more encouraging and more deliberate.
The subconscious mind keeps our thoughts on constant autopilot, and we can be more deliberate in our self-encouragement rather than being unaware of the hurtful thoughts that keep us in the steady state of going nowhere.
Do you want to quit?
Do you want to quit whatever unhealthy habit is keeping you in the constant state of going nowhere?
Do you want to quit whatever the unhealthy habit is that is digging that deep hole in your life that will, someday, be very difficult to get out of?
If you want to quit, begin with awareness. Begin with understanding the habitual mantras you are stating to keep you in the addiction. Begin with the attention that you can quiet your mind, and deliberately create the new healthier mantra.
Lookie here, it may not happen overnight, and neither did your unhealthy addiction, but it will happen if you practice it.
Practice makes it nearly perfect. However long you have practiced your unhealthy addiction, is how long it has been gaining momentum. So, it's time to start practicing the healthy and removing the harmful.
Your thoughts have value!
Your thoughts are governing your life!
When we govern our thoughts, we begin to be more deliberate in our lives, and this caution and care will create more happiness, joy, and vitality.
One more thing!
It is human conditioning that makes us despise people who condemn, criticize, discourage, or judge us; that is why I have tried with all my might to eliminate these behaviors from my life. This includes condemning, criticizing, discouraging, and/or judging myself.
If you tend to condemn, criticize, discourage, or judge others, I can almost guarantee it's a habit. Therefore, I can almost guarantee you are condemning, criticizing, discouraging, and judging yourself.
What I am trying to say is, do not beat yourself up!
Part of practicing awareness is recognizing all unhealthy thoughts, including self-condemnation.
I want to teach the world to meditate because it is the best way to practice awareness. When I work with anyone, I always try to persuade them to meditate because I know the power of it and many people I work with do meditate.
If you'd like to begin meditating, try sitting in a quiet, uninterrupted environment for five minutes a day, the same time every day, and just focus on your breath and heartbeat.
You could also focus as you listen to the sounds of this meditation video.
Never give up!
Have faith in yourself!
Have hope for you!
Well, that's it! My ramble on destressing your addiction.
Have a fabulous day, my friend.
Love you lots!
Speak soon...
Elizabeth Stanfill
Destressing your life with awareness is what I'd like to ramble about this day.
Hello, there, my lovely friend. How are you? Happy Memorial Day.
Did you know that you could, and should, wake up on the right side of the bed every day?
I have no idea where that saying came from, but if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, it implies that you are in a bad mood, and so if you wake up on the right side of the bed, you are in a good mood.
You could wake up on the right side of the bed because you are the chooser of your choices.
You should wake up on the right side of the bed because you should do things for yourself! You are the most crucial choice-maker of your life!
The best way to wake up, in my personal opinion, is with awareness on the right side of the bed.
Awareness is living in a space where you make moment-to-moment decisions based on appropriate thought processes by being fully present in the now. The opposite of attention would be reacting to situations out of sheer habit.
Do you wake up and struggle out of bed?
Or...
Do you wake up and jump out of bed?
To wake up, struggle, and/or jump out of bed is just a way of reacting out of habit.
What if you woke up and just lay there appreciating life, others, and yourself for a little while?
Every morning, believe it or not, when I wake up, I lay there for at least thirty minutes appreciating the warm, soft bed that I am lying in and whatever else I can think of that I am grateful for. This is one of my ways of cultivating awareness and how I start my day.
Depending on what day it is and what I must do, sometimes I wake up and lay in bed for a couple hours contemplating, reading, or both. I do this because I know that it is my duty to begin the day with awareness on the right side of the bed, and so I do.
You may say, "Who in the hellackey has time to do all that stuff in the morning?" My answer is that it only takes a moment to bring yourself to full awareness and begin the day with appreciation.
How often have you been in a bad mood in the morning and just went about your day in that mood, not knowing why or doing anything about it?
That moodiness used to be a massive part of my life, but now, I will not allow it. You do not have to enable it if it is a part of your life.
If I am ever in a not-so-great mood, I notice it and ask myself, "Why are you in this not-so-great mood?" That question alone provokes awareness and then destresses me.
Whenever we are in a bad mood, we are not enjoying life, which is supposed to be joyous. Life is supposed to be fun.
This is what I am trying to say...
You can and will destress your life further if you develop the habit of waking up on the right side of the bed with a few moments of awareness and appreciation.
This is what I really want you to hear...
If you are stressed out, I mean really stressed out, you can relieve your stress a little bit more each day if you choose to wake up, consciously become aware and appreciate the soft, warm bed that you are in, and think of things you are grateful for, and/or eager for in this day.
Even if you are only a little stressed, this awareness and appreciation practice will allow you to increase your feeling-good status. And who in the heck wouldn't want to improve their feeling-good status?
You are the most critical person in your life.
You can make yourself a priority by being good to yourself first thing in the morning.
You can start every day on the right side of the bed and begin your day with joy.
And that is how you destress your life with awareness.
Have a wonderful day!!!
I love you... You know I do...
Elizabeth Stanfill
