Alcohol Addiction: How My Life Changed After Quitting Drinking

It has been two and a half years since I was diagnosed with alcohol addiction and stopped drinking.

To be honest, before I quit, I thought, 'I can't imagine a life without alcohol.' That is how much drinking was at the center of my daily life.

This time, I would like to write about what has actually changed since I quit drinking, including both the good and the not-so-good.

My body has clearly changed

The biggest change is my physical condition.

My body feels light, above all else. There is no lethargy. When I was drinking, the heaviness and sluggishness the next morning were normal, so I thought that was 'standard.' But since quitting, I have realized how much that 'standard' was draining me.

Waking up in the morning has also changed. I am still sleepy, but it is completely different from when I was drinking. The puffiness in my face is gone, and I feel that my body's recovery power has increased. I continue to exercise, so I think there is a synergistic effect, but I believe my body is able to recover properly because I am not drinking.

The fact that it has become harder to gain weight is also a subtle but significant benefit. Depending on the type, alcohol itself can make you gain weight, and when you drink, you inevitably end up overeating. That entire factor has been eliminated.

Time and money have returned to my hands

Drink after work. That was almost everything in my previous life. Most of my private time was spent drinking alcohol.

Now, I have all that time back in my hands.

Currently, I use that time for FEELCYCLE, karaoke, and work. Drinking alcohol was certainly fun. But in the long run, nothing was being built up in terms of health or skills. Exercise is directly linked to healthy life expectancy, and karaoke is not just a distraction but also training for the throat. Even with the same use of time, what you build up is completely different.

Money is the same. Even if you try to keep alcohol costs low, it still adds up. The daily cost of canned beer, the expenses for drinking parties, and the impulsive spending while drunk. When you lose your composure, your purse strings loosen along with it. Those expenses have completely disappeared.

I feel like I have regained both the time cost and the financial cost.

Honestly, there are things I have lost too

If I only write about the good things, it will probably sound fake, so I will write honestly.

I get invited to drinking parties less often.

When there is someone who doesn't drink, the tension of the gathering doesn't quite match. I felt the same way when I was drinking, so I understand how the other person feels. I originally had many social connections through drinking, so I didn't really know how to meet people outside of that. I had to rethink how to build connections from scratch, and in terms of meeting new people, it has become almost zero.

One more thing. I lost a way to fill the little gaps in my heart.

When I was lonely or angry, drinking alcohol would at least soothe my feelings. Since I can no longer do that, I have had to find alternative methods. My daily life is currently packed with work, FEELCYCLE, and karaoke, which helps, but even so, there are still moments when I honestly think, 'I wish I had a drink.'

Even so, I recommend quitting alcohol.

It has long been said that a small amount of alcohol is good for the body and mind. However, recent studies have shown that it is healthier not to drink at all, even in small amounts.

In addition to that, as I have written so far, what you lose by drinking is greater than you might think. Time, money, physical condition, and memory. These are all things I only realized were being affected so much after I stopped.

Of course, I have no intention of forcing this on people who like to drink. However, if there is anyone who is even slightly thinking about quitting, as someone who has done so, I can say that it is not nearly as bad as you might think.

In the next article, I plan to write about why I was able to go to the hospital alone. Taking the step toward addiction treatment was more difficult than I had imagined. But there is a reason I was able to go. I will write about that exactly as it happened.