“24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?” – Stephen Wright, U.S. comedian
Nobody can make you healthier – except yourself.
Yes, you can go off to the doctors, cough and splutter through your appointment, even sneeze all over them, and you’ll get your prescription, and maybe a few days off work. But your near-death experience with the common cold has clearly been worsened by the fact you weren’t that well to start with. The medical world has helped you, but you could have done more yourself, and that’s the truth. In the end, it’s always down to you.
In my case, yes, I most certainly had the drug and alcohol detox, I had the medicine to lessen the severe withdrawal symptoms, I had the professional medical staff to ensure I didn’t suffer seizures, possibly fatal (very common with the high level of substances I had been fairly launching into my body), I had the 6-month rehabilitation program and residential stay, the psychologists, the group therapy, the nutrition education, the exercise regime, the mindfulness classes. Yes, I had all of those things (and very grateful I’ll always be too). However, at the end of the day, my continued sobriety, now over 9 years? I do it myself.
If that sounds a little harsh, maybe, on the help I’ve received, it wasn’t meant to be. It’s important that you understand it always starts with you and ends there too. Positive change is never a bad thing,
Take the U.S. federal government, for example. In all the years of scientific study that has led to the conclusion that smoking cigarettes may actually kill you, and maybe even those around you, have they ever even attempted to introduce a nationwide smoking ban in the workplace? Answer – no. Crazy? Yes. Even just an attempt? No. They’ve left it to individual states to enact, and some of them haven’t done so, even now. Fact. That’s the world we live in. When it all comes down to it, it’s just you – it’s all up to you.
I know what you’re thinking. This recovering drug addict and the alcoholic guy is going to preach to us about the evils of the demon drink, just because he can’t handle it. You’d be right – I can’t handle it. I couldn’t handle it as a 9-year old sneaking his first taste of liquor, and I’m 100% certain I couldn’t handle it now, so many drinks down the road. Until I hit a junction – get well or die.
My name’s Andy. All of the above is like a little resume of my life. I’m a digital marketing entrepreneur now, I’m reasonably successful, I have some great people working with and for me, and I count my blessings every day. I’m here because rehab was the best education I ever received, better than what they were churning out on the days I actually made it college anyway. I’m also here because of me.
From that education, and because I know they work, I offer up this: 5 Reasons Why Quitting Alcohol Will Improve Your Wellness.
1. More energy
Sleep is a chance for our bodies to recuperate at the end of the day, to perform little biological miracles we’re not aware of to ensure that, come the morning, we can do it all over again. And we will. Did you know that 60% of what you did today you’ll be doing tomorrow? Whether you like it or not? We are such creatures of habit, so getting into the habit of not drinking the night before will ensure you get good, restful sleep.
If you do drink, the chances are… you need to urinate more during the night or get up for a glass of water because you’re dehydrated. Or both. Obviously, this will disturb your sleep, thanks to alcohol’s diuretic properties. By cutting out your alcohol consumption, your sleep naturally improves – deeper, and more restful (and without the late-night pee stops). You’ll wake fresher and, this is the important part, with far more energy. Energy = Wellness.
2. Natural weight loss
Like all things in life, alcohol has the good and the bad. One of those “bads” is the type of calories that exist within alcoholic drinks. Empty and useless, these calories offer no benefit to your body, and will usually take up residence on your stomach, butt, or another area that you can’t hide (I remember my Mom saying once that her friend had suddenly grown “bat-wings.” As a huge Marvel fan, I was thinking “How cool is that?!!!” until my Dad explained what she meant).
Would you believe that people who simply stop drinking have seen, on average, a 2% reduction in their weight? No change in any other aspect of their lives. Why? Simply because they’re not adding calories they don’t need, and certainly can’t use.
3. Less stress
Don’t you wish sometimes you could just click “pause” on this digitally-empowered world of ours, where everything takes no time at all and the possibly the use of a satellite somewhere thousands of miles above us? We stress out ourselves if we’re honest. And, then, to ease those feelings, we have a “hard-earned” beer or two or a few glasses of wine at the end of the day to “take the edge off…”
As the old joke goes, alcohol is only a solution if you’re a chemist (I saw that on a hobo’s t-shirt somewhere in LA, and it made me smile). In reality, alcohol doesn’t actually stop stress, just the symptoms of it, and temporarily too. It is far, far better to resolve any feelings you have in a more natural way. Furthermore, and quickly too, you will notice that your sleep pattern has improved naturally too, and a better rested and relaxed person deals with stress far easier.
4. Lighter mood
Get your head around this concept: people who abstain from alcohol can be happy too. When I entered rehab and began my addiction recovery, I was diagnosed as having a co-occurring disorder – that is, addiction combined with depression (and you can’t treat one without treating the other). So, I learned a lot about simply being happy.
By stopping your consumption of alcohol, it means more of those “happy chemicals,” those natural highs, such as serotonin and endorphins, are released more often during your waking hours. It’s a fact that happier people get more done, enjoy healthy exercise, and are just far more productive in all aspects of their lives.
5. Better concentration
As we’ve seen, it’s not just your body that benefits from quitting alcohol – your mind will improve too, particularly your concentration and clarity of thought (at many points in my addicted life, it felt like I’d never had a rational thought ever again).
Alcohol will dehydrate you, which directly affects your levels of concentration, clouds your judgment, and impairs brain function in general (it’s why alcoholics become alcoholics if they’re honest). Additionally, alcohol lessens your ability to retain new information; therefore, abstinence will certainly improve your memory capabilities.
Bill Gates’ bank account…
By stopping your consumption of alcohol, you’ll begin to realize these 5 reasons why its cessation will improve your wellness – more energy, natural weight loss, less stress, lighter mood, and better concentration.
You’ll have more money too. You won’t become the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg in bank account terms (unless your consumption is currently worse than mine ever was), but you’ll be glad of the spare cash, I’m sure. There are other biological reasons, too – better cholesterol results, and a significantly decreased chance of getting type II diabetes. All-in-all, you’ll just feel 100% better for doing it – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
What wellness improvements have you tried? Did they work? Please share with a comment below. Enjoy your abstinence, one and all. Ah, I forgot to tell you about the better sex life stuff… Maybe next time.
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