when you're preparing to quit drinking
alcohol one of the best things that you
can do is to think about what you're
going to replace what you've lost right
so the benefits and of you quitting
drinking what are you going to use to
replace those benefits once you've
stopped drinking I'm Kevin O'Hara for
alcohol mastery comm and today I wanted
to talk about replacing what you lose
once you start drinking or once you've
quit any bad habit right once you've
stopped in using and alcohol cigarettes
any drug when you're trying to lose
weight all that kind of stuff right so
what are you going to replace the old
habit with now what is it that you're
going to for instance in in quitting
alcohol if you using alcohol to relax
what are you going to replace that with
you know how are you going to relax once
you've stopped drinking and you know
when you're quitting drinking when
you're preparing to quit this is
something that you've really got to
spend a little bit of time thinking
about because if you don't replace the
reward if you don't replace the benefit
that you're getting out of drinking then
you're going to find it difficult right
more much more difficult than you would
have otherwise you know when you're when
you're drinking there's a habit sequence
right it's a habit sequence in any habit
and that's your trigger what sparks off
the habit to kick off and the behavior
itself so whatever it is drinking
smoking eating and then the reward and
it's this reward at the end the
consequence or
the benefit that you derive from the
behavior that you've got to replace
right so before I started to talk about
some of the things that I had to replace
and your well worth while it's well
worthwhile for you to sort of sit down
take whatever it is half an hour an hour
and just think about your own habit
think about it from and run through it
and just think about your the reasons
for you starting to drink right you know
why why do you drink I know this can be
difficult right it's it's difficult when
you've been doing something for a long
time because you know some of the
reasons might be well hidden in you know
this is the habit so a lot of the stuff
we we just do when it's is sort of
unconscious you know you their
motivations are unconscious certainly so
it's something that you have to
personally think about some of the
things that I used to do the reasons for
me drinking were to relax in the
evenings to de-stress and I used to
drink for the boss certainly and I used
to drink for because I was bored I drank
Basie because you know that's what I did
in the evenings that was part of my
ritual and and I also drank for the
thirst
so no boredom is an easy one you know
you just I'm here I was born most of the
time because I was drinking it wasn't
the other way around it was drinking was
causing me to be bored drinking was
causing me to be boring you know this is
what I did this is all I did you know
and go to work and eat food drink
alcohol instead of my ass you know you
can drink alcohol and be active it's
just you know you might do it for a
while but you won't do it into the long
term
and you know I need to just don't go
hand in hand together you know I'm not
talking about fair enough you can drink
alcohol and you can sort of be in a
place where you're dancing oi the other
stuff that I'm not talking about that
activity I'm talking about getting
outside and see in the world and doing
things and and trying to be somebody you
know trying to broaden your horizons
increase your knowledge that kind of
thing so I don't think you're going to
have any problems with boredom once you
stop drinking if you think about it
right if you put in the work and put it
in the effort and in your preparation
before you stop you know you know I'm
often asked about how to reduce the
symptoms the side effects the cravings
of alcohol and quitting drinking alcohol
what what how do you reduce that and
I'll tell you one of the best things
that you can do is preparation you know
spend a lot of time before you quit
drinking thinking about what you're
going to do after you've quit drinking
and I tell you you'll get great benefits
from this because there you set your
mind in the right sort of framework you
know it's a bit like getting your GPS
out and put it in the right coordinates
from the start but if if you don't know
where you're going if you don't know how
you're going to get there then journey
is going to be a hell of a lot
longer a lot harder and a lot more
frustrating so to avoid all that
frustration to avoid a lot of the
frustration you can and spend a bit of
time preparing beforehand so you know
write down your list of benefits think
about this these things
I get back to my own list he's only a
few things and a few of the benefits
that I used to get from drinking some
yeah
boredom was one another one was the buzz
and you know I can't replicate that
alcohol drunkenness but I don't want to
anymore you know
this is you know I want to get out of my
face and smashed and whatever you want
to call it locked out of my head as we
used to say in Ireland and because I was
bored because my life was my life sucked
big time you know when you're a drinker
and you drink all the time and that's
what you do for pleasure
it's like eventually you stop getting
pleasure out of it for us there you know
that pleasure disappears then it's like
your everything revolves around alcohol
you sort of become more isolated you get
into yourself a lot more you know sort
of lose interested in other people not
being around other people you know and
drinker always likes company but they
it's not the same company as when you're
fully in your own mind and you're fully
attentive to what's happening around you
because drinkers and not that way at all
you know when you're in company when
you're drinking you're locked up in your
own brain you're having fun with other
people because whatever reason you know
you know that kind of stuff is yeah
might seem to be fun when you're a kid
but when you get older just this there's
no fun in it anymore I mean my drinking
was a lot of my drinking 60 65 70
percent my drinking was isolation
drinking it was on my own it was sort of
sitting there and watching boring TV
watching doing something boring on the
computer and waiting for that time to
come when I just got drunk enough to to
not care anymore
to go to bed to not have to think about
it anymore you know that that was my
life I drink and I know that's what many
people think you know that's the way
many people's alcohol drinking goals to
you know and it's the same as you know
if you're doing I'll doing heroin if
you're a smoker I mean tell me a smoker
that enjoys the habit they say they
enjoy it but they don't really you know
it's one cigarette after another
cigarette and you know these days it's
normally rush cigarettes outside an
office building you know or outside your
home where you're not allowed smoke in
your home anymore you're not allowed you
know so there's no enjoyment
so the boss you know that aspect of
things I think you know that's all I can
get a much better buzz I do get a much
greater pose now doing the things that
I'm doing getting out and getting up in
the morning knowing I'm not going to
have a hangover I mean sort of I'm used
to that now but it's like I was getting
great buzz out of that in the beginning
you know and now I'm getting a great
boss here just stood here over you know
looking over there there the Med and I
moved here after I stopped drinking so
I'm sorry I moved here before I stopped
drinking
so yeah just a great feeling so the
other three and the thirst relaxation
and distressing I mean the thirst is an
obvious one right I mean I can certainly
you know cure my thirst much better with
water than I ever did with alcohol I
mean alcohol just doesn't cure a thirst
right it was on here
I was totally cutting myself all the
time there alcohol came anywhere near to
curing my thirst was just something that
I had in my head it was an excuse to
drink an excuse to get down to the poor
guy yeah I was thirsty I wanted a few
pints yeah not that I needed an excuse
and and relaxation distressing you know
that's all
another thing that's in the mind you
know I sort of do a lot the similar
things that I used to do you know and I
like sitting down and relaxing watching
a TV program watching that kind of stuff
you know and and
I like getting out with other people I'm
having a laugh I still do those things
so just taking the alcohol out the
equation you know we we equate alcohol
with and whatever it is that we're doing
but you take the alcohol out and give it
a bit of time
change your attitude a little bit then
you know you'll soon see that the two or
not that you don't have to go together
you know that you can have fun
much more fun without alcohol than you
ever did without all because you're
there in the moment you're with yourself
you're with other people and you can pay
much more attention if you just watching
TV for instance you know you can just
pay much more attention to doing that
and you know I've said this before about
alcohol that your body will never relax
with alcohol in it because well you're
presuming that your body is relaxing and
you feel like you're relaxing you're in
that relaxing atmosphere that you've
built for yourself that you've
constructed for yourself I mean it takes
a lot of work to sort of build this you
know whatever it is that you've got in
your own home where you drink and it
takes a lot of work to get that right to
get it to how you like it to be to get
it so that you're relaxing that you can
relax right so you've gone to all this
effort of building this place for
yourself nice comfy chair put your feet
up a big TV whatever it is that you've
gotten whatever it is you use and then
you put alcohol into the equation and
you presume that this is adding to the
relaxation right because that's what
we're told but you know as a matter of
fact while you're presuming to relax
your body is underneath on red alert
right it's all there your body is there
trying to get rid of the alcohol it's
trying to and
fight to keep you alive so how is that
relaxation so now there are plenty of
other ways there are plenty of ways now
other ways because alcohol is not
relaxing
it doesn't distress you you know it puts
you out the game for a while but so does
sleep you know a good night's rest I
tell you is a better D stressor and
relaxant then anything else and you
never get that when you're drunk never
because you your body just can't sleep
you know you've gone conscious but
that's not the same as proper
recuperative sleep right so so just
think about those things you know this
is all about finding the benefits
thinking about the benefits that you're
getting from drinking alcohol and first
of all looking at the man scene if they
are actually benefits you know if if
these things if they are real or you're
just kidding yourself and and secondly -
and figure out whether which benefits
which how you can replace it you know
figure out how are you going to and get
a good sleep how you're going to relax
how you're going to de-stress how you're
going to stop yourself from getting
bored right how you're going to get that
buzz in your life I guarantee you that
if you put some effort and time into
thinking about these things before you
even stop drinking right in that
preparation stage then
you're going to find it a lot easier
afterwards to deal with these problems
as they come up you'll know what you're
going to do you know you know lay out
your roadmap before you even need it you
know lay it out from the beginning so
and so that's it for today if you have
any questions at all any comments leave
them down below in the comment section
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think this is I've tried to design this
course to give you as les the least
amount of hassle once you've stopped
drinking to get yourself prepared you
know to get your mind prepared to get
your body repair prepared people around
you prepared and for this new life that
you're about to take so I think it's a
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get 40% of the course so until next time
keep the alcohol out here out your mouth
stay safe stay relaxed stay stress-free
I'm Kevin O'Hara for alcohol mastery
comm onwards and upwards
you
you