Kick the Drink Easily!

by Jason Vale

  There is nothing final about that final drink; it simply spells a new beginning. You are achieving not only what you want to achieve but, in reality, what most drinkers would love and that is to be able to enjoy and cope with life without having to drink; to be physically and mentally free from drug addiction forever. Just imagine how it would feel to no longer be dependent.

  We have been conditioned into thinking that being truly free from alcohol is impossible to achieve. We have been taught to believe in this mythical disease known as ‘alcoholism’ for which there is no known cure. We have been taught that, if you do stop drinking, you will only be able to expect a satisfactory way of life. This is simply because, to alcohol addicts, stopping drinking is like losing a close friend. This would be true if you thought that alcohol was always there when you needed it and always helped you cope with the stresses and strains of life. All this recovery nonsense is nothing more than a broken heart and people say there is no cure for that, but of course there is.

  When a close friend or relative dies we have to go through a mourning process. There is no physical pain but it is a real trauma and can take years to get over. Even then, there is a void that can last for the rest of our lives. This is what drinkers put themselves through when they stop. This is why they believe there is no cure and why they fear the prospect of that final drink. They feel they are parting with an old friend and, as far as they are concerned, it really does spell the end. They will experience a void for years after they have stopped and in some ways it is even worse for the poor drinker than for the person who really has lost a close friend. At least when a close friend dies, you can start the mourning process and, after time, your brain will accept that they are gone. The poor drinker thinks their old companion is still out there but they cannot be friends any more because they abused it. What’s worse is that everybody else can enjoy the benefits of this friend but they can’t. That is because we are taught that if you abuse alcohol you will pay the price.

  Abuse alcohol? It was alcohol that inflicted the abuse. It was never the other way around. Alcohol addicts who give up will start with a feeling of doom and gloom and that feeling may stay with them forever. However, they are not losing a friend but getting rid of a disease that would have affected their quality of life forever. By stopping drinking you are breaking free and achieving something that most drinkers would love. Have fun, rejoice in your freedom and enjoy letting that disease starve to death.

  I once read a book called The Effective Way to Stop Drinking written by Beauchamp Colclough. It is a catalogue of doom and gloom. I am not directly criticising Colclough; in fact I feel sorry for him as he honestly believes he is a recovering alcoholic and, because he believes it, he is. In his book he states: ‘Alcoholism is a fatal disease if it’s not arrested. I use the word “arrested” because there is no cure. A lot of people seem to think that, if you don’t drink alcohol for a period of time, they will be able to continue drinking again. That is not the case. When a person with a drinking problem puts down the drink, the consequences surrounding the drinking problem cease; if that person picks up a drink again. Then he or she has got the problem back. It doesn’t go away.’

  What does he mean it doesn’t go away? Of course the disease goes away. The chemical addiction to any drug is a disease that gets worse and worse. If you stop putting the cause of the disease into your body then you are cured. It is essential to understand that you have a disease in order to cure it but isn’t it just as important to know when you are cured? In reality, Beauchamp is not fully cured. He has no alcohol in his body but still believes that he is making a sacrifice as he is still fighting a desire to do something he doesn’t ever want to do again.

  To the Colcloughs, Skinners or Bests of this world, the final drink spells the death of a friend and the beginning of a battle that has to be fought every day for the rest of their lives. Is it any wonder they feel so afraid to stop? Is it any surprise they feel so low when they do stop? When I stopped six years ago I knew it was going to be different before I had even consumed my last drink. I could see that moment for what it was; the ending of a disease and the beginning of my freedom. I looked forward to having my last drink, not for the drink but for knowledge that I was a 100 per cent certain it was my last. What a wonderful feeling it was; a feeling that has never gone away.

  So when should you have your final drink? What is the best time? Should you have it alone, with friends, indoors, outdoors? The choice is now yours. You have your final drink wherever you choose to have it but make sure you have it. If you have already had your final drink and, as far as you are concerned, it’s already over, then congratulations, you are now free. However, please finish this book as everything in it is here for a reason. If you haven’t yet had your final drink, choose a time that suits you but don’t put it off. If you have understood what is in this book and can see it clearly, then you won’t want to put it off for a moment longer. If you are slightly apprehensive, which is normal, it is only the last remnant of the false fear that is keeping you trapped. This will be dispelled in no time at all as I explained in the period of adjustment chapter.

  Whatever your views on alcohol were before you read this book, now is the time to dump them for good. Remember:

  THE PAST DOES NOT EQUAL THE FUTURE.

  It is what you do today that counts. So many people carry unwanted failures with them through life. They weigh them down with fear that they won’t succeed today because of what happened yesterday. It’s rubbish. You will succeed and it’s easy. I have made a list of all the instructions. Follow them and freedom will be yours for the taking. It doesn’t matter how long you have been drinking, what your intake or how many times you have tried to stop. Anyone can find it easy and enjoyable to stop drinking. All you have to do is:

  UNDERSTAND THE TRAP AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO FREEDOM.

  You must get it clear that knowledge is nothing without the final ingredient for your ultimate success which is action. So many people know what to do and how they can do it but fail to carry it out. It’s not what you know but what you do with your knowledge that counts. It is no good knowing what to do without acting on it. Why wouldn’t you want to? There is no downside to this decision, only an upside. What are the alternatives? Did you believe when you had your very first drink all those years ago that you would have to spend an indefinite number of years drinking? Did you ever think you would become dependent? When you had your first drink did you even consider that one day just the thought of stopping would put fear into you? Has it got better or worse? Unless you do stop this disease, what is there to stop you spending the rest of your life drinking?

  I have already given you the instructions you need but, to simplify them, here are …

  The True Steps to Freedom

  Decision

  Make your decision that, after the final drink, you will never drink alcohol again. I have explained just how powerful a genuine decision really is. It cuts off all other possibilities; it gives certainty that literally destroys any doubts. You must realise that you can easily achieve it. There is nothing different about you because the only person that can make you drink is you.

  Nothing to give up

  Keep it clear in your mind that there is nothing to give up. I can understand that stopping drinking seems difficult if you think you are giving up a genuine pleasure or crutch but, once you realise there is nothing to give up, it’s easy. I don’t mean that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages; I mean that there are no advantages. All the apparent advantages, were just that – apparent. The courage, confidence, relaxation, pleasure, etc. were simply illusions based on the removal of our natural fears. The advantages never actually existed. That is why you would feel just as stupid moping around wanting an alcoholic drink after you stopped as you would searching for Santa Claus or fairies, because they do not exist. I have illustrated over and over again that alcohol will exist for a long time but that all the things we were conditioned to believe alcohol
did for us, do not exist. That was all you were hooked on – the illusions. So remember, there is nothing to give up and you are not making any sacrifice. It is the people who drink who make all the sacrifices.

  Never say ‘I can’t’

  Constant And Never-ending Torture is precisely what ‘recovery’ is. Do you want to be in recovery, just surviving from day to day, or do you want to be fully liberated and living every day? Never say ‘I can’t have a drink’ when you know full well that you can physically pick one up if you wanted to as there is nothing stopping you. You can inject yourself with heroin too, you just do not want to. You do not want to be a slave to alcohol any more, so don’t torture yourself by saying ‘can’t.’ Remove the T from the word and you have immediately removed the self-imposed torture, replacing it with Constant And Never-ending happiness.

  Think drink

  Do not try not to think about alcohol or worry if you are thinking about it a lot of the time. It is impossible to try not to think of something. Just make sure, whenever you think about it, whether it is today, tomorrow, next week or for the rest of your life, that you think ‘I don’t have to do that any more, isn’t it great, I’m free, I’m a non-drinker!’ That way you can think about drinking every minute of the day and you will still be happy. It is what you think that makes the difference.

  There is no such thing as an alcoholic (as society understands it)

  You must get it clear in your mind that there is no such thing as an alcoholic. Whether you thought you were one or not, your common sense should help you realise that there is no such thing. You are just a normal person who fell for a very clever confidence trick, just like millions of others all over the world but, unlike many others still stuck in this psychological trap, you are breaking free. Having made that decision to break free, never begin to torture yourself by doubting it. The disease only exists for the people who need to drink, not for those who don’t.

  Do not feel down – Rejoice in your feedom

  There is nothing to feel down about. Start off with a happy frame of mind. The second you finish your final drink, it’s over. Rejoice from the start, because you are free from the start. Do not turn into a whinging ex-drinker, there is nothing worse. There is nothing to pine for and everything to feel happy about.

  Do not count days

  What is the point? What are you going to do, count the days since you stopped for the rest of your life? How pathetic would that be? Almost as sad, as the poor souls in AA who celebrate every year with a cake. The more candles you have on your cake the longer you have survived. You don’t want to survive or hang on in there for the rest of your life, you want to live. So just do it – live. Leave alcohol behind, it’s something that you used to do. Now you don’t have to.

  Do not avoid any situations

  You have stopped drinking, not living. Enjoy social gatherings from the start; they are so much more enjoyable when you are the real you.

  Never say ‘Just the one’

  Drinking alcohol is drug addiction and causes a chain reaction. See the whole business of drink for what it is, drug addiction and peddling on a massive scale. If you think there is genuine pleasure in one drink, you will think there is a genuine pleasure in a million. Face the fact that, whether you like it or not, you have a disease. It will not go away simply because you put your head in the sand. Like all crippling diseases, it not only lasts for life but gets worse and worse. The easiest time to cure it is now.

  Do not use any replacements

  Avoid non-alcoholic beers or wines. These simply perpetuate the illusion that you have made a sacrifice.

  Do not envy drinkers – Feel sorry for them

  Do not envy people who need to drink alcohol as there is absolutely nothing to envy. See drinkers as objects of pity, not envy. Most of them are not even aware that they are trapped. They have a progressive disease and feel dependent on a drug and most do not even know it. Is that something to envy? Once they realise that you are free and happy about stopping, they will probably envy you.

  This is not a safety net

  Never think for one second that this method is a safety net. I will explain this in more detail in the final chapter – Final Warning.

  Finally: Do follow all these steps. They are your guaranteed ‘twelve steps’ to freedom.

  If you have understood all I have said and realised how simple the alcohol trap is and if you actually follow all the instructions then, in no time at all, you will receive the …

  Biggest Buzz in the World

  The biggest buzz you will get from alcohol is when you no longer have to take it. The feeling is one of elation; a true mental and physical boost that is yours to recapture whenever you wish. This feeling will happen for you, if it hasn’t happened already at some point during the adjustment period. I had the sense of joy and freedom even before I finished my final drink but the biggest buzz was yet to come. During the first few weeks after I had stopped, everything became so clear. It was at this stage that I realised alcohol did absolutely nothing for me. I was going out, having fun and most of the time I wasn’t even thinking about drinking. When I did think about it I became happier and happier each day as I knew I never had to drink again. I could see this fairly clearly before I’d actually had my last drink but during the first couple of weeks I frequently experienced (and still do today) the biggest buzz in the world from not having to drink.

  I must admit that I did suffer some physical pain when I stopped drinking including bruised legs when I kicked myself for not seeing it earlier. That, for me, was the most frustrating part. But it’s like that damn Rubik’s Cube; it only appears difficult if you go about it the wrong way. Once you have the solution everything falls into place. The reason for my frustration was that it was as though I had been locked in a prison for years then suddenly realised that I’d always had the key.

  In the end I realised that I was my own jailer. I kept myself trapped by believing that there were genuine benefits in drinking alcohol and that alcohol was somehow different from any other drug. Realise that you are your own jailer as there is only one person who can make it difficult for you to stop drinking and that is you. The key is in your mind and this book is about showing you how to turn back the clock to the time before you even started drinking.

  The moment of euphoria or ‘the big buzz’ will happen at some point during the first few weeks, if it hasn’t already. This has nothing whatsoever to do with alcohol leaving your body but simply the adjustment I talked about. Do not sit around waiting for anything to happen, just get on with your life and enjoy purging the disease from your mind and body.

  To be honest, it is very hard to describe just how wonderful it is to be free without coming across as evangelical. I just want to show the world that what they have believed for so long about alcohol is wrong. It is just one big illusion. I want everyone who is hooked to realise that they are. I want the world to see that alcohol creates insecurities while giving the illusion of courage. I want the drinking world to know that they are being conned.

  If you are concerned that social gatherings, meals, birthdays, parties, holidays and lunches will not be the same without alcohol, then you are correct, they are not the same:

  THEY ARE INFINITELY BETTER.

  I feel alive again, awake again, clear headed again. Do you remember what it was like to be a child at a party; that sense of excitement and fun? That is what I feel like when I go out now. I just want to be social, to dance and have fun. When I felt dependent on alcohol, the number one priority was to make sure I had a drink, everything else came second. I even rated a party by the quality and quantity of drink available. Now I don’t say things like, ‘I will talk to you in a minute, just let me get a drink.’

  My only question now is not why was it easy for me to stop drinking but why did I ever think it needed to be difficult? With an open mind and a few instructions, it’s easy. Does this mean that all social gatherings are going to be brilliant from now on and t
here will be no low points? No. This book is about dealing with common sense and reality. Were all social occasions fun while you were drinking? No. Did you ever have bad days when you were drinking? Yes, of course. I am not saying that you will never have a bad time from now on. What I am saying is that, because you will be physically and mentally a lot stronger than you have been in years, any highs are much higher and any lows that do come along are not going to seem as low as they once were.

  So, let yourself get excited. You are reclaiming your freedom and becoming free. When I first stopped drinking I used to hide the fact that I had stopped, such is the stigma around non-drinkers. I used to tell people that I was driving or that I didn’t feel like it at the moment or that I was taking medication. Now I want to tell the world and so should you. There is no need to be embarrassed about the fact that you no longer want or have to drink. How have we reached a stage in our society where we have to justify not needing a drug anyway?

  Remember that the poor drinkers always have to justify their intake to themselves and everyone else. You no longer have to justify anything, so don’t.

  Every time I go out, I get a buzz from not having to drink. I think ‘What a relief I don’t have to do that any more.’ You will too and you won’t be able to help yourself. Although one part of you will feel genuinely sorry for drinkers, another will feel a sense of achievement, a sense of pride and of being slightly different and rebellious, a sense of exhilaration and one of real and genuine freedom.