Alcoholism is considered one of the worst vices a person can have due to its harmful effects on the body, mind, and soul. Despite its reputation as a substance that can ease social situations, alcohol can cause numerous negative consequences such as lost friendships, financial loss, and missed business opportunities. It is important to consider quitting alcohol if it has repeatedly caused harm in your life, especially if you hope to succeed in your personal and professional endeavors. Abstaining from alcohol can be a guiding principle throughout your life and can be achieved through gradual steps.
I have personally experienced the negative outcomes that result from alcohol use, including the loss of financial assets, friendships, and business prospects. My aspiration is that through sharing my stories, individuals will be compelled to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol.
The decision to give up alcohol can serve as a guiding principle throughout one’s entrepreneurial endeavors, and the beauty of such a decision lies in the ability to gradually transition away from alcohol use.
Prevalence of Binge Drinking and Heavy Alcohol Use
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), in 2019, 7 million people ages 12 to 20 (18.5 percent of this age group) reported drinking alcohol in the past month (17.2 percent of males and 19.9 percent of females). Binge drinking has been associated with anxiety and depression. Moreover, it can have a detrimental effect on brain development, and weakening one’s ability to learn and retain information.
What does this tell us?
These studies inform us that binge drinking is more common than one might think. It affects young people to a great extent, but anyone at any age can be a binge drinker and an alcoholic. This is a problem that unfortunately has existed for decades, and there is no easy solution. However, if we each take a look at our own personal lives, I’m sure that there are things that we could do to make much needed changes.
So the question remains, what can you do to stop drinking? There is no easy one answer for everyone, but you do need to take a hard look at your own self and decide whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Look at your current situation. Do you often find yourself wanting to drink alcohol? Are you unable to socially interact without the use of alcohol? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may want to consider quitting alcohol for good.
The worst situation I ever was in because of alcohol was at a party 10 years ago. We were celebrating my friend’s birthday, and they were probably 40 people at the gathering. In the beginning, everything was okay. I began drinking and talking with those present. Life seemed beautiful, and although it was not my day, it was a good friend of mine, and I wanted to make sure to be as friendly and interesting as possible. And I was both, until a certain point…
At around 1:00 a.m., just after the last of the remaining friends had left, I began to talk with my birthday friend. During the conversation he told me how during the night I began approaching others, even those I didn’t know, and talk about the same things. Subjects that were totally inappropriate. Fortunately for me, I did not physically threaten anyone, though my friend would later tell me weeks after the party that I had been talking romantically to women. Fortunately, she was not married and had told me afterwards that she totally understood that I was under the influence of alcohol.
But the worst part of the night, was the fact that I don’t remember much about it. I can only recall me dancing to the tune of some ’80s music, while drinking the beer on the floor. My friend would later tell me that I’d spilled some of this onto the floor but fortunately had not dropped it. That would have been dangerous and for sure cause many to question whether I was some lunatic drinking alcohol.
Fours hours later, I’d wake up on a sofa and my other friend’s home. But sadly, beside me was a bunch of broken beer bottles. I would later be told that during the night I had thrown eight beer bottles against the wall, which had broken into pieces and although no one had been cut, the neighbors downstairs had heard my screams throughout the night during the alcohol-induced lunacy.
It was at that point that I decided I would give up on drinking forever. And I really meant it. To this day, I haven’t had one drink since that tragic night of seven years ago. Do I sometimes struggle with urges? I do, though what time it is become easier to push these aside. Sometimes it takes a major event for us to make changes, and this was one of those things that had embarrassed me so much, that I consistently reminded myself that if I didn’t stop drinking alcohol, someday I might end up dead.
Visualization may be helpful. In this time-honored and effective practice, which has been proven to be useful in many cases, you’ll close your mind and visualize opposites. The first is you drinking and putting yourself in a gathering. In this vision you are happy and everything is going well. However, after sometime, you begin to vomit onto the floor. Why do you want to pick yourself vomiting, you may ask? The purpose of this is to see an image so ugly that you will want to avoid it in real life. That way, you’re not doing any actual harm. You’re just imagining what you want to avoid. Now see yourself as being very ugly and everyone screaming at you. This seems like a silly little exercise, but it works.
Consider other activities or hobbies that will take your mind off the alcohol. Find those things that you enjoy doing, and do these as often as possible. You may wish to make a list of activities that you have enjoyed in the past that has allowed you to be more happy. Every day, look at your list and pick one thing out from it, and be patient on yourself if you still have urges while performing these activities. After all, for most of us it takes practice before one begins to see the results. Look forward to an alcohol-free life, and tell yourself constantly that this activity that you’re doing is helping you to give up one of the worst habits one can have.
You could for instance exercise, or try to write a book. Journaling is excellent for those who wish to get their minds off of unpleasant thoughts, and the great thing is that you don’t have to be a good writer to start. You could just simply write down your conscious thoughts, and let your mind wander. A vivid imagination is important for success in many other areas of life, including business.
You may also want to then concentrate on a vision of you without drinking alcohol. So you will close your eyes and see yourself happy and smiling and looking forward to all that life has to offer you. When you see this vision so clearly in your mind that it seems real, then that’s when you know that this will be of help to you.
Meeting with others who have gone through the same problems and overcome these issues is important as well. Alcoholics Anonymous, for instance, arranges meetings with alcoholics in a small social setting so that you can share your struggles and successes and stories. In the stories that you will hear, you will know of others’ struggles and embarrassing situations. Some of these hopefully will be enough to shock or disgust you into giving up alcohol.
AND NOW…
10 Horrific Drunk Stories That’ll Make You Give Up Alcohol Forever
Alcoholism is an issue that affects millions around the world. Not only can one lose the potential to be the best version of themself, but it can also lead to dangerous situations. Here we present 10 horrifying stories related to excessive alcohol consumption that may compel you to reconsider your relationship with alcohol and decide whether or not you wish to continue drinking. These stories were submitted to us by a variety of individuals who at one time or another have faced challenges with alcohol in the past. Our hope is that you can take these stories and learn from them, so that you could give up on alcohol and embark on the road to healing yourself both physically and mentally.
1. Paul
It was my son’s birthday. He was turning 12, and I was supposed to attend a party to celebrate his big day. His mom would be there. I hadn’t spoken to her in 3 years. According to witnesses at the event, I become so drunk that I had to be let out of the party. Needless to say, this wasn’t a good example that I was setting for my son. I still struggle with alcohol each and every day. The temptation is always there, but fortunately I haven’t had a drink since that horrific, embarrassing day.
2. Jonathan
I was at my mom’s birthday. She was holding an event at a local community center. Many of the attendees were residents of the neighborhood, but there were also a few friends that I had recognized from my childhood from school days. None had ever seen me drunk, but on that day, I would later be told, I’ve been drunk and going from table to table asking everyone personal questions. It’s truly astonishing to witness the actions people are capable of while under the influence of drugs. I consider myself incredibly fortunate that I have never engaged in such reprehensible behavior that would lead to my arrest. But, it’s situations like this that make you really consider whether you want to drink or not at an event.
3. Melody
The first time I had ever traveled, was on an airplane in France. Let me know that the French are a fans of wine, and on the plane I met this guy who told me he was from California and visiting France for the first time. We hit it off with each other, and during the conversation he asked if I would like to try some of the French wine that the flight attendants were passing around. I said yes, and I don’t remember much of our conversation, because, I was left later told by him, I was drunk. He and I still keep touch on the phone, but every time he mentions how forgetful I became because of the alcohol, I get embarrassed and ashamed and am not able to speak confidently with him.
4. John
I was invited to a party to celebrate my cousin’s 21st birthday. At this event they were many people, including friends whom I hadn’t seen in over 10 years. The party started at around 8:00 p.m., and already by then I was a bit tipsy. During the festivities, I drank a total of seven beers, and the next day when I woke up I was shown my dancing on a large screen in the living room when most of the people at the party had gather the next day, and I was so embarrassed that I told the host to stop the video only two minutes into the viewing.
5. Ana
I was at a date with someone who might met online. He told me that his name was Jonathan and that he liked me bearing much. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that this person was actually a criminal who had been in prison for seven years for armed robbery. Obviously, he wasn’t going to tell me this during our meeting. Well I went with him to see a movie at the theater and long story short, 5 hours later, I found that I had blacked out at a restaurant while drinking wine with him. I don’t remember much after we take the meal, because according to witnesses, I have been vomiting throughout the night. But I guess it was a blessing in disguise because I never saw him again. But I did find out afterwards of his criminal past.
6. Terry
I was studying one night for an important test that I had to take the next day. I started at about 10:00 p.m. and realize that I wasn’t getting very far that night, so I decided to head to the store and buy a six pack. I began drinking the beers one by one and slowly, yet I did not realize by the time I was drunk that already I was incoherent not only to myself but to others. Nonetheless, I continued studying, but the next day when I woke up, I realize that it was 9 in the morning and that my class had already begun and I had not studied or learned very much that night because of the alcohol.
7. Tom
I was on a city bus heading to a friend’s house one day come when, all of a sudden I decided to take a sip of 2 beer bottles that I had in my backpack. For this, I went to the back of the bus. After the first two six, I told myself that it wouldn’t be bad if I had a bit more. As I indulged in one drink after another, the line between tipsiness and drunkenness blurred, leading me to become increasingly belligerent towards those around me. I do not understand how you know what reacted physically. As you know, things can get quite dangerous in public if you say the wrong words to the wrong person, but somehow, thanks to the grace of God, nothing bad happened to me.
8. Edgar
Mine is probably one of the worst alcohol stories you will ever hear. I was hired at a local convenience store. The pay was decent, about $10 an hour, and since I was living at my parents, this job was quite helpful to me. The first week, I learned the ins and outs of the store, and was told that I could be promoted to manager in 3 months if corporate agreed that I was a good enough employee. Well, that chance never came, because one night I cook three bottles of beer and drank them secretly while working. Stupid me, I know. I know that they record at every store, but I just wasn’t thinking right because after the first beer bottle, my judgment became cloudy. I was fired the next day, and was not told to come to the store. This was one of the worst things that has ever happened to me.
9. Timothy
I was hired by a company to do some door to door canvassing. Well, on my first day I hate drink three beers before meeting a client. I tried to disguise the alcohol breath with mints and orange juice, but, as the homeowner would later tell my boss, I was spelling of alcohol. He also informed my employer that I have been a bit aggressive with him. That part I don’t remember, but I do know that whenever I drink a bit too much till I can become aggressive, so I believe the homeowner. Fortunately, the boss did give me one chance, and I haven’t messed up in the years since, and it’s been over 15 years.
10. Stephen
I was at school taking a test for advanced physics. It was the last test done for the semester at my college, and I needed to pass it to secure a great necessary for passing. Unfortunately, I sneaked in a little bottle of Bacardi and began drinking it during the test. No one ever noticed during class. However, the teacher would later tell me how he could smell it. And while he was talking to me, I noticed several students laughing. I never you would laugh was about, but somehow, I knew that there was something seriously wrong with me if I needed alcohol to take a test. It was in the most embarrassing situation for me while drunk, but it is up there.
Conclusion
If you want to give up on drinking too much alcohol, then take a good hard look at yourself. How much alcohol am I drinking? And is it affecting my personal or business life? Ask yourself these questions, and if the answer to any is yes, then it’s time for you to give up alcohol. Go cold turkey, and if that doesn’t work, then you’ll need to give it up gradually. Replace the alcohol with activities you enjoy so that in time you’ll have less urges. It’s no easy feat, but with time and practice and willpower, you’ll be well on your way toward an alcohol-free life and better health and abundant success and a better outlook in life.