6 ways your life can get better when you stop drinking

OceanHills

3 days ago3 min read

Lots of hot air balloons flying in a blue sky showing the freedom when people addicted stop drinking alcohol. — People who struggle with addiction feel a huge sense of freedom once they stop drinking.

People who are struggling with an addiction to alcohol can often feel like it's completely taken over their lives. Their days are ruled by the addiction and their identities are often attached to it. They often feel like giving up drinking alcohol will be impossible and can't imagine life without it.

Life without alcohol can seem like a yawning abyss of boredom and greyness. In our culture, booze is everywhere and by many, is seen as fun, a reward, a balm for stress and a solution to boredom.

Alcohol is also a rite of passage for our youth. It's a badge of sophistication. It colours in you world. Without it, you're definitely not a part of the mainstream.

Here are some of the questions people struggling with alcohol ask themselves:

What would I DO if I stopped drinking?
What I would for for fun?
What would I do with my friends?
What would I do with my leisure time?

There's a big wide sober world out there

But there is life beyond alcohol. Life really does get better when you stop drinking.

The team of qualified clinicians at Ocean Hill is not going to pretend giving up alcohol is easy because it's not. Far from it.

But what we can say is that after you've been through the initial physical challenge of stopping drinking, which could include a stay an admission to Ocean Hills Rehab, life becomes full of possibilities you could never have imagined while you were living a life filled with intoxication.

Close-up of a white dandelion puff among green grass. The setting is a lush field, with a fresh, serene atmosphere. — The possibilities of a sober life are endless.

You'll get to know yourself

When sober, you can't help but listen to your body. Instead of drowning out every signal that your body needs something with alcohol, you will hear it and be able to meet that need in a healthy way.

You'll know when you're hungry, angry, lonely and tired. You'll know when you're sad or truly happy.Your emotions will no longer be stifled or mangled by alcohol, and you'll have a chance to process them in a healthy way.

You may also look around and feel differently about who is in your life, and what it is you're doing with them. When you're sober, the world around you looks and feels different and it might not work for you the way it did before.

Man sitting on a bench, reading a book amid tall grass by the seaside. Sunlit, serene setting with blue sky and distant hills. — Getting to know yourself with alcohol is one of the gifts of sobriety.

People will treat you differently

When the sober you emerges, you might find people around you are confused about how different you are.

Loved ones who've been concerned about your drinking may be positive and welcome the change, but still be confused about how your relationship now works with them.

Your friends might not want to be with you if you no longer drink and may not want to join you in a sober journey. Not everyone is going to rejoice in your sobriety and that can hurt.

You will be in charge of your life, instead of your addiction running the game.