Stop Drinking so much

When I was 23 years old, I had my worst experience with alcohol.  I went to my 5 year high school reunion.  They were serving wine there and I drank a lot.  When I left, I drove the wrong way out of the parking lot towards another city – far from where I lived. 

I was so high at the time that when I finally realized I was going the wrong way I hopped over the medium to get to the other lane.  I was ‘out of it’ enough to miss the fact that there was a low concrete median line between the two lanes on the road. 

I remember thinking, “I hope there were no cops around to see that” . 

The next thing I remember was waking up in my own bed the next morning.  I don’t even remember the drive home after that hop over the dividing line on the highway.   I was hung over for 3 days.   I hated that feeling.  My brain was foggy and I had trouble thinking and focusing.  I knew this could not happen to me again.

That’s when I knew that I had to stop drinking.   And I did.  I’ve had very little alcohol since and that was 17 years ago now.

You could say that it was easy for me to reach my ‘bottom’.  A lot of people have to go a whole lot further. I’m glad my bottom was easy to hit.   It has probably saved my life.  I do not want to think how much worse things could have become. 

There is this concept of the ‘bottom’ that all drug addicts will probably hit at some point in time.  This is where they realize something like, ” I need to quit this XXXX or I might die”.   That is the crucial moment.  This is where the personality has to decide, do I care or not? 

If you want to live, this is where determination kicks in.  You need to have or develop the will and you need to fight.  The depth of addiction determines how much will power  you will need to triumph.  Getting help will definitely be a boost.  

There are many stories worse than this one.  If you have a story to share that can help others, please share it.  On the upper right hand side of this page, you will see a link to submit your story. 

David