I quit drinking! Looking for simplified phrases to keep me motivated

April 8, 2020 3:01 PM

When I quit smoking, I was able to come up with simple phrases that encapsulated more complex issues to remind me why I was quitting, and kept me motivated. It worked for me!! Now I need this for alcohol.

For example: the powerlessness and loss of control that comes with being addicted became "it's the cigarette wants to be smoked, don't give in."; or, the terrible long term effects of smoking became "do you really want to be 60 and not be able to climb stairs?"

Ironically, one of the prior statements I used was, "only smoke the cigarettes you go buy yourself, and now don't buy anymore." This stay-at-home order has effectively given me an opportunity to do the same for the daily abuse of alcohol. This has got me motivated that now is the right time to quit!!

I'm looking for similar simple statements I can remind myself of, now that I'm almost 4 days sober and seemingly past the withdrawal symptoms.

Thanks in advance!!

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

My goto right now is "do you really want to start drunk texting people?"
posted by joycehealy at 3:17 PM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]

There's a BC Camplight song called 'I Only Drink When I'm Drunk'. That phrase resonated for me when I heard it, because it completely sums up how even the smallest drink can weaken your resolve not to get completely hammered.
posted by pipeski at 3:19 PM on April 8, 2020 [4 favorites]

A couple that help me:

No matter how bad it gets, a drink will make it worse.'

Play the tape forward (just visualize what will happen after you take the first one).
posted by charlesminus at 3:39 PM on April 8, 2020 [6 favorites]

I like this Kafka quote:

You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.

posted by lovableiago at 4:07 PM on April 8, 2020 [4 favorites]

"Why would I buy <beverage/>? I don't drink."

woo-ier, but works for me:

Every numbing behavior is a form of 'energy' leak; you are not making your higher self do the work of staying present. No work, no earned 'energy'.
posted by j_curiouser at 6:08 PM on April 8, 2020 [3 favorites]

My sponsor would end every conversation with “Don’t drink today.” I still do it to myself sometimes, 20 years later.
posted by Etrigan at 6:13 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

I love you and respect you, but I don't want or need you.
posted by No Robots at 6:49 PM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

When I first quit, I'd remind myself that I didn't want A drink, I wanted the whole bottle. Congratulations on 4 days sober!
posted by sumdim at 10:25 PM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

I saw this on Instagram yesterday and loved it: I never woke up thankful that I drank.
posted by ellieBOA at 10:29 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

Right now I keep reminding myself that alcohol is a poison. It poisons my mind by trying to convince me its the solution to every problem (including the "problem" of boredom). And it poisons my body (liver, brain chemicals, increased cancer risk, etc).

Another is that the good feelings from drinking are so brief. 30 minutes at most and then I'll spend the rest of the evening chasing that feeling, followed by regret in the morning.
posted by Is It Over Yet? at 9:13 AM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

A couple good ones to remember:

“It’s the first drink that gets you drunk“

and I heard a guy say one day,

“I’ve never seen a grateful man drunk” (meaning that if you’re serious enough about your sobriety and truly grateful to be sober, you will be given the strength to not drink - one day at a time).

Good luck. It’s hard, especially in the beginning.
posted by strelitzia at 11:02 AM on April 9, 2020

I like the phrase from AA circles, "think through the drink." That is, don't think about a drink, think through it to what happens the day after and in your life after.

This works because you might tell yourself you're thinking about how good one drink would be. But most of the time you end up wanting, and drinking, multiple drinks. And then you are going to suffer all the lousy results of drinking - sluggishness, hangover, weight gain, restarting your quit clock, letting yourself down. So if you give yourself a few minutes to "think through the drink" to tomorrow, and how you'll feel physically, mentally, and emotionally, it gets a lot less appealing.
posted by Miko at 11:49 AM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

I like to reframe it as a freedom that I now have, so statements like "I get to not drink" or "I get to be sober" really speak to me. It's a privileged freedom, is how it feels to me. I don't *have* to drink anymore.

I also like the statement: One drink is too much; Twenty is not enough.

Finally, thinking about not drinking as rebellious or subversive appeals to me. I guess it is sort of trendy these days to not drink or to go for periods of time not drinking. But totally abstaining is kind of badass.
posted by kirst27 at 12:55 PM on April 9, 2020 [2 favorites]

"I know where this leads."
"Too much, for too long, causing too many problems."
"You think alcohol makes you feel free? You're not free from the consequences"
"I'm done. (I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done.)"
posted by mrmarley at 5:49 AM on April 15, 2020