How did you drink last night?
Was it a relaxed glass or two over dinner? Chatting with a friend, or as a treat, as you watched a movie, or read a book?
Or did you drink a bottle, when you promised yourself a glass? A glass that you promised yourself you wouldn’t have when you woke up this morning?
How on Earth is it that you can make the daily decision, that you will not drink tonight, and yet, you always give in and always drink ?
What happens to that early morning heartfelt ‘NO’ decision?
Why does your craving for alcohol get stronger as the day wears on?
Why do you get weaker?
What’s wrong with you?……
Here’s the TRUTH about your daily drinking battle, and how to stop it before it starts…….
From the moment you wake up, be it 3am dehydrated and sweating, or 7am after a restless, disrupted night’s sleep, your daily drinking starts with your very first thought of, “I’m not drinking tonight”……a decision that you know you have to make, because you can’t live like this, and one that you make every day, and that you ‘fail’ to stick with.
Why? Because you made the decision to not drink, not from a place of empowerment, trust, care and love for yourself, but from the plummeting feelings of disappointment, desperation, weakness, hopelessness and lack of control that always surround your drinking.
These feelings wound you, they lacerate your self-esteem your self-respect, your sense of who you are and what you deserve……..and you drink to ‘comfort’ those painful feelings.
But that doesn’t mean you pick up the glass first thing in the morning, Oh no, you start your day feeling lesser but with a strong resolve that tonight the cycle is broken, and you go through the motions of parenting, working, what ever your day needs from you,……but as your day wears on, your drinking thinking starts to shift.
Maybe you feel physically better, maybe your day distracts you from your alcohol thinking, but at some point, maybe at lunchtime, or 5pm or whatever time you have designated as Wine O’clock approaches, you notice the ‘pull’ towards alcohol within you start.
Your thinking turns from “Not tonight”, to feeling it will be OK to have, “Just the one”, or “This time it will be different”, or “It isn’t so bad” or “I’ve had a busy day, I need a drink, I’ll start tomorrow”….you know the rap…..and your inner battle commences, and you give in, and come the evening you drink. Again. As you always do……..
The truth is, that it is the emotions behind how you make your decision not to drink, that determine if you will drink or not, and as you make that decision from a place of pain, you have set yourself up to ‘comfort’ that pain later in the day, with alcohol……..
Your first not drinking thought, is your first drink, you just wait until the end of the day to pick it up and knock it back.
Do you recognise that?
To change your daily drinking, you must change your daily early morning thinking about YOU, your world, your life….you drink because of the way you think about those, and then add your alcohol pain into the mix and increase your anguish.
Let’s change that now and change your daily cycle, by creating a simple, loving MORNING ROUTINE, that takes no more than 10 minutes that will shift your energy and future proof you from your evening drinking.
And please, don’t come back with any variations of “I don’t have 10 minutes”….create 10 minutes. You want to change your drinking, to end your daily drinking struggle and stress and you deserve change, and to get the change, you have to ACT. You have to DO.
If necessary, prepare the night before. Take a look at your morning and see what small things can be done your sober night before – make lunches, leave breakfast ready, prepare your clothes, kids clothes…..something small that you rush around doing in the morning, and use that time.
And then follow these simply, joyful steps.
- Deep breathing, to calm and ground you. Four of five, deep long slow breathes, with a longer exhale. You can do this in bed.
- A glass of hot water, with lemon wakes your system. If you don’t like lemon, just have the water. Sip it slowly, standing / sitting still
- Gratitude – you have many things to be profoundly grateful for, and yet far too often we focus on what hasn’t worked, who / what we have lost, and in doing so, we go into sadder, darker places in our thinking, which create sadder, darker feelings.
Make a list of 10 things (people/places/gifts of you that you are profoundly grateful for), and always start your gratitude’s with the acknowledgements of the wonder of who YOU are.
After the awareness’s of the just 2 – 3 you will open the floodgates of everything you have and your heart will swell with abundance and your energy will soar.
Finally, finish your Morning Routine with a prayer of LOVE to you, from you. Wrap your arms around yourself, hold you tight, and again breathing deeply, repeat 5 times,
“I am here for you, I will listen to you, I love you, I LOVE you. Thank you”
In taking these simple, nurturing steps you create what you truly need, a place of grounded peace. From there you will easily be able to go about your day, making your best decisions to nourish you, to stay connected and safe, and the cravings for the non-comfort of alcohol will simply disappear.
Be kind and gentle with yourself
Sonia x