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There are some people who can drink alcohol moderately and control their drinking without giving it much thought.
And then there’s people like me.
Once I would have a drink, I coudn’t stop. And as a competitive introvert with a “go hard or go home” mentality, I thought drinking heavily was acceptable, so long as other areas of my life didn’t suffer. But there came a point where it did, and for years my life revolved around getting drunk on a daily basis.
Quitting alcohol was the best thing I have done for myself as well as for my family. And while I am grateful that I have remained sober since having my last drink in August 2017, I still get urges and cravings to have a drink from time to time.
Affirmations can help with those urges!
Here are 10 affirmations that come to mind when I get challenged by thoughts of giving in to “enjoy just one drink…”
1. Today, I choose not to drink.
2. I am in control of my relationship with alcohol.
3. Alcohol serves no purpose in my life.
4. I never feel good after drinking alcohol.
5. I choose what I put into my body, and alcohol is a toxic substance that does not belong in it.
6. Every day is full of making decisions and deciding whether to drink alcohol is not one of them.
7. Alcohol alters my brain and my body in negative ways.
8. No amount of alcohol will ever take away any pain or struggles I might be going through.
9. When I drink alcohol, my body goes all out to remove it (If my body works hard to remove it, why put it in there in the first place?)
10. By not drinking alcohol, I have more time to achieve my dreams and goals.
Why Use Affirmations?
Affirmations are powerful statements that we can use to alter our thoughts. Reprogramming our thoughts and beliefs around alcohol can be done by utilizing affirmations. When we keep telling ourselves lies and misconceptions regarding alcohol, we keep feeding our addiction. Affirmations are a powerful way to change our mindset and relationship with alcohol.
Finding Truth In Each Affirmation
Let’s dive into each of these affirmations and discover why each statement holds truth, unlike alcohol.
1. Today, I choose not to drink.
YOU are in control of your choice to drink or not to drink. Today, you can make the choice not to put alcohol in your body. What a powerful statement! And every day, you can continue to make the choice not to drink. Because decision fatigue is a real thing and by choosing sobriety today, you have made the choice to not stop by the liquor store, to not have to moderate how much or what you’re drinking, and to not have to work through the feelings of guilt and shame that inevitably wake you up at 3am after another night of heavy drinking.
2. I am in control of my relationship with alcohol.
This ties in with the above affirmation, but YOU ARE IN CONTROL. Alcohol doesn’t wear the pants in this relationship, you do! We are taught by design (and strong constant advertising by the alcohol industry) that alcohol is necessary to socialize, relax, have fun, celebrate, or grieve. It’s not!
3. Alcohol serves no purpose in my life.
Alcohol serves no purpose other than to make us drunk, lower our inhibitions and increase our tolerance to it. Nothing good has ever come from the decision to drink alcohol. At best, we wake up with a hangover. At worst, we make less than noble decisions to engage in behaviors we might normally avoid. Personally, I realized alcohol truly served no purpose and was actually a detriment when I realized I was desperately willing to put my family’s well-being on the line just to get my hands on some alcohol every night. One choice to drive under the influence could have changed my family’s (and someone else’s) life forever.
4. I never feel good after drinking alcohol.
I have never gotten a good night’s sleep after drinking. Sure, I’ve passed out into a deep slumber after heavy drinking, only to wake up at 3am with the room spinning and a throbbing headache. Waking up with the spins, dry mouth, crusty eyeballs, and terrible breath that smells like you drank the whole bar? Not cute. And near the end of my decades-long drinking career? I actually started smelling like the bar, all the time. I had an alcohol-smell to me that no amount of showering could get rid of, even when I wasn’t actively consuming alcohol. It was like my body was working overtime to purge my system of the alcohol abuse and was starting to lose the battle. Who knows what would have physically happened if I didn’t get sober when I did?
5. I choose what I put into my body, and alcohol is a toxic substance that does not belong in it.
It is worth repeating it again…you are in control, not alcohol. You are in control of what goes into your body, every day…What you choose to eat, drink, and abstain from is your choice! And alcohol, also known as ethanol (YES THE SAME SUBSTANCE THAT FUELS OUR CARS!!!!) is a known carcinogen, meaning it is has the potential to cause cancer. (read more here and here.) This isn’t talked about enough! Since 1988, alcohol has been labeled a carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO), yet the alcohol industry still goes out of its way to make it look cool, relaxing, sexy, gratifying, HEALTHY EVEN to drink. Well, it’s not!
6. Every day is full of making decisions and deciding whether to drink alcohol is not one of them.
Every day we make many decisions on multiple levels, before we even get out of bed. What will you wear today? What will you eat for breakfast? What’s for dinner? When can you squeeze in that workout? Don’t forget to grab your water! Is that after work meetup still happening? Pack some flats! Don’t forget to prep the kids’ school lunches! Did you pack your own lunch?
So. many. decisions. And if you are trying to moderate your alcohol intake, decision fatigue becomes a problem because the last thing you need to do is make even more decisions on how much alcohol you should or shouldn’t be drinking. If you make the decision to NOT drink alcohol, it takes away all of those sneaky factors that may affect your will to control your drinking.
I’m not drinking today, so I don’t have to go to the liquor store.
I’m not drinking today so I don’t have to lower my calorie intake of food to account for alcohol.
I don’t have to moderate my drinking, I’m JUST NOT DRINKING. The decision to not drink alcohol is truly freeing!
7. Alcohol alters my brain and my body in negative ways.
Alcohol slows down our brain function and if taken in excess, can cause death. Alcohol can also cause blackouts, liver damage, heart damage, gastroentestinal problems, and pancreatitis, to name a few issues (of many!) Along with the increased cancer risk, the long list of negative effects of alcohol on our bodies just doesn’t make having that drink worth it! Alcohol is a toxic substance that is just not worth the risk to your health, today, tomorrow, or ever.
8. No amount of alcohol will ever take away any pain or struggles I might be going through.
From experience, no amount of alcohol can take away any emotional struggles or grief you are going through. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to medicate with alcohol, and it never worked. I still felt like crap emotionally, and alcohol only made the situation hurt more, or made my anxiety even worse. Or, the icing on the cake, waking up the next day hungover and still deep in the grief or emotional turmoil I was going through and realizing that nothing changed. That grief, that pain, that turmoil is something you must work through, and alcohol will never, ever help you through it.
9. When I drink alcohol, my body goes all out to remove it (If my body works hard to remove it, why put it in there in the first place?)
When we drink alcohol, our organs team up (liver, stomach, lungs, etc) to clear our body and blood of it. Metabolizing alcohol takes high priority in our body, why? Because it’s a toxic substance and our body knows it! Alcohol is that toxic friend that our body doesn’t want you associating with, so it works hard to try to rid you of it, each time you drink.
Think about this another way: when you finish a tough workout, your body works hard over the course of a few days to repair damage to any muscles that may have broken down. However you also reap the benefits of a clearer mind, a sense of accomplishment, and that glorious post-workout calorie burn. There are benefits to the workout, and your body is healing to help you grow, recover and get ready for that next workout. You are getting stronger both physically and mentally. With alcohol, there are no benefits of drinking it, and our body only wants to remove the poison. Alcohol takes something from us each time we drink and provides nothing in return.
10. By not drinking alcohol, I have more time to achieve my dreams and goals.
By giving up alcohol, we have time to focus on greatness. Let’s face it, alcohol is a definite time suck…from planning for our drinking, to making our drinks, to sobering up from our drinking…it takes more of a commitment than we might realize! I have more time now because I am no longer feeding my addiction. I can explore new hobbies and activities, reach both professional and personal goals I have set for myself, and work towards dreams and goals for myself and my family. It’s actually terrifying to think about how much drinking alcohol consumed my mind, especially with having a large family with 4 young children. Between everything they need to function from sun up to sunset, I don’t know how I was making it all work before giving up alcohol. Getting sober has truly allowed me to make way for greatness and to put my best foot forward each day for myself and for my family.
You’ve Got This!
Read these affirmations daily to remind yourself that alcohol is crap and that you are worth it! And if you need to do more reading, This Naked Mind by Annie Grace is a fantastic reading resource to help come to terms with alcohol and your relationship with it. This was the first book I read on my sobriety journey, and I am forever grateful for the eye-opening lessons I learned about alcohol.
So, which affirmations are your favorite? Share them below!
