There is no way around it, drinking is a social activity. If that’s not obvious to you, just try telling your social circle you have quit (or are thinking about giving it up). Their response will reveal what’s going on here. Silence. Subdued encouragement. Passive alienation. Hidden resentment. Open aggression. What’s going on here?
The problem is easy: you giving up booze messes with their lives.
False Social Life Foundation
It actually has very little to do with you or your decision. Never mind the fact that alcohol was killing you and alienating your family and bringing you to the brink of destruction. Admitting that alcohol is dangerous and addictive is countercultural and has implications that most would rather not think about.
In so many people’s minds, alcohol is the main source of personal and social happiness. And when one person stops, this action calls into question a precarious shared, albeit false, foundation. And this is a very serious problem.
Not Drinking Is a Social Statement
The truth is that many people rely heavily on alcohol for their social comfort and as their source of fun. In fact, many people are afraid to quit for that single reason: without alcohol, they won’t have fun anymore.
There are a couple of things about this.
Someone has told us that alcohol is the source of fun and happiness.
Wow. When did we let that happen? How did we let that lie become our truth?
Before you ever drank alcohol you didn’t miss it. You were happy. And you didn’t know it but you were free—unchained to a substance that dictated your life.
A Dangerous Source
Just to understand the absurdity of this idea, if we truly believed it and chased it just a little bit, we would come to the conclusion that a person with limitless access to booze and can drink all day every day should be the happiest amongst us. How fun does that sound? Not very. Also, how many heavy drinkers are truly the happiest amongst us? We all know at least one person who drinks frequently and in great quantities and is still profoundly empty and unhappy. Maybe you are one of them yourself (or were one at one point).
Things are not fun because of alcohol. YOU create fun. It is your presence and your connection to the environment and the other people wherever you choose to be.
False Options
Once we have given alcohol a significant place in our lives, we think there are only two options available to us:
- 1. Give it up and live a life of boredom and misery in without alcohol, or …
- 2. Continue drinking and pretend there are no consequences
Most people choose option two. And for people with substance use disorder, this is a slippery slope that leads to even worse problems such as loss of family, alienation of all our loved ones, physical deterioration, financial destitution, even early death. How does option two sound at this point?
However, there is a third option.
The Third Option
Get help. This sounds trite for the serious issue, but really it is the only option once alcohol addiction has taken hold. (Not sure you are addicted? Use this resource and make a self-assessment.)
Of course, you are afraid that treatment will work. And then there goes all fun in your life. This is the big lie. Fun still exists without alcohol! In fact, it gets better. Your brain is currently hijacked by the chemical addiction. You are actually brainwashed. You physically cannot understand the idea of fun without alcohol because your body has been rewired to experience that. It’s time to get your wires back in place.
And yes, some of your drinking buddies will leave. But your real friends will stick around.
And you are going to have time and desire to chase some of the things you love. This will result in connections with people who have common interests that aren’t alcohol-related. And all of this will snowball into a life that you forgot was even possible. And all the sudden you will find yourself again.
We Can Offer Guidance
Are you ready to take the first step to being free from the lies of alcohol addiction? SoCal Detox is a premier Orange County detox facility that can help you or your loved one bring true fun back to life. Please call us today; one of our addiction specialists will help you walk through every aspect of your options. And no matter what, we will help you find the treatment that works for you. Call us today: 888-590-0777.
