Alcohol and Nicotine

[Mr Aedan]

Hey everyone,

Aside from being a hard-working teacher, I'm also very focused on my business interests outside of my job. But one thing that's always let me down in life is my addiction to binge drinking and smoking cigarettes.

I've been in a two-year on-and-off battle with it, with occasional lapses. But I'm proud to say that the last time I drank was over a month ago.

This time feels different. After much speaking with my girlfriend, we are making sure I keep on the straight and narrow and never touch a drink or smoke a cigarette again. I'm very, very confident I will succeed at this.

I'm focused more on my fitness—and I'm very fit for 39 years old. I eat a very good diet and have a very good lifestyle. I'm extremely hard-working. But I know I just need to always keep on top of it every day, so I don't ever fall back into my old ways.

 

[pwg_jonathan]

Congratulations on over a month without a drink! After a two-year on-and-off battle, that is something to genuinely celebrate. It's great that your girlfriend is in this with you, and that you're putting energy into fitness and a healthy diet instead. Those are real, practical changes.

One encouragement: if a hard day or a slip ever comes, don't let it convince you that you've failed for good. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Jeremiah wrote that in the middle of ruin, and it reminds me that God's strength for us is given one day at a time, not all at once.

Leaning on a few other people too, like a pastor, a recovery group, or a doctor who can help with the nicotine side, can make the road a lot lighter. Praying that God keeps strengthening you each morning and that this season becomes a lasting testimony of His faithfulness. Keep going, brother!

 

[Mr Aedan]

Thank you very much for your kind message. I will definitely keep it in mind, and the Bible verse is a great help to me.

I should mention that services and guidance here where I am are quite limited, as an expat working out here. And where I am, they don’t really tend to do that, as far as I know, though I could be wrong. Still, I think I have enough willpower to see this through myself. You know, I’ve just realized that with how I’m living my life at the moment, with a nice, busy schedule, good fitness, and clear goals set for the future, I feel that I’m going to do very, very well this time. God bless you.

 

[maria878]

A month is a real milestone, and the fact this time feels different usually means something actually changed rather than just white-knuckling it.

I spent years in those on-and-off cycles before I checked into Zia Recovery Center, and what finally made it stick was treating the reasons I was drinking, not just the drinking. Most of their staff have been through it themselves, so they don't lecture you, they just get it. That's a big part of why I stayed.

The fitness and diet side is a real advantage, you've already got the discipline for that. And having your girlfriend actually involved beats her just worrying from the sidelines. Keeping on top of it daily is right, but I'd also have a plan for what you'd do if it does slip, that's what stops one lapse turning into a year.