Posted on

Save Copious Amounts of Money

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the “average” American spends approximately $565 on alcohol a year .  That doesn’t seem like an extraordinarily large amount of money, and maybe it isn’t, but there is a reason I put the word “average” in quotations.  As someone who considers themselves to have the disease of addiction, I am not an average American when it comes to the amount of money I spend on alcohol a year.  So, to get a sense of what an addicted person spends on alcohol, I composed a list of what I have spent/lost over my 16-year drinking career.  These numbers are not exact, but they should give us a decent enough idea.

I estimated the amount I have spent on alcohol itself, the costs of the legal issues that have manifested related to alcohol, the money I lost during the times I was unemployed due to choices I made while consuming alcohol, and the amount of money I have spent on things I have ruined, broken, or lost while intoxicated.  The estimated amount comes out to a disgusting sum of $69,225.  The yearly average would be skewed if I averaged out the 16 total years because I estimated that I only spent about $1,700 from the time I was 12 to 20 years old, compared to the whopping $67,525 I lost from the time I got my first OWI at the age of 21 to my present age, which is 28 years old.  In the past seven years, I have lost approximately $9,650 a year to alcohol and alcohol-related costs.

I do not know your specific situation, but the chances are that if you are suffering from the disease of addiction, you are also losing some money to your drug of choice every year.  Depending on your circumstance, this amount could be less, and it could be more.  Regardless, I think it is safe to say that both you and I have better things we could invest our money in.  Today you can save copious amounts of money!

(Photo by Alexander Mils)

Posted on

Stay out of legal trouble

Other than a few speeding tickets I got as a teenager, 100% of the legal trouble I have gotten in have involved alcohol.  Approximately 1.5 million drivers get arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol each year in the United States.

As I mentioned in my story, I have gotten 3 operating while intoxicated violations.  I also got a few drunk and disorderly related tickets.  Being intoxicated altered my ability to make good decisions.  In fact, being intoxicated lead me to make downright stupid decisions.  I am extremely grateful that I had never hurt anyone when I was driving. Still, the reality is that it could have happened. 

If you have ever gotten into any legal trouble, you know that it can get to be overwhelming and expensive.  If you haven’t, I am very happy for you and would encourage you to do whatever it takes (including remaining sober) to keep it that way.  For me, it has cost me A LOT of money, time, freedom, and opportunity.  It has cost me tens of thousands of dollars.  I have had to spend quite a bit of time in courtrooms, jails, and other institutions.  I have lost my ability to drive multiple times, and being on probation has inhibited my ability to do certain things.I am extremely confident that as long as I remain sober, I can avoid all of those hassles related to legal trouble. 

If you have been in or are currently in legal trouble, I am sure that remaining sober will, at the very least, decrease the possibility of you getting in more trouble legally.  If you are fortunate enough to have avoided any type of legal trouble up to this point, I am fairly confident that you will eventually end up getting in some sort of legal trouble if you remain in active addiction.  In either case, why take the chance?  Today you can get through another day sober and avoid the potential of the negative legal consequences you face in active addiction! Today you can stay out of legal trouble!

(Photo by Najib Kalil)

Posted on

Metaphorically speaking, use current events and circumstances as your muse.

What am I saying here?  Well…  What is the first thing you would think about if I asked you to tell me what is happening in the world today?  I would imagine that the majority of people would reference the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19).  How it has wreaked havoc on our everyday lives.  How it has devastated lives.  How no matter where we go, we are bound to hear someone talking about something related to it.  How everyone has an opinion about how it should be addressed.  Because of this current event, the circumstances in our lives have been impacted dramatically.

“Yeah, so what is this muse you speak of?” you might ask.  A muse is something that causes us to think deeply about the specific thing, person, situation, etc.…  A muse can also be a source of inspiration for an artist, author, poet, musician, etc…  So, in this instance, I found myself thinking deeply about our current events and circumstances and was inspired.  How can such a dreadful experience be inspiring?  Good question!  This is where the “metaphorically speaking” piece comes in.  As I was deep in thought about our current events and circumstances, I began to compare them to that of a person who suffers from issues with addiction.

“WHAT”?!..  Yes, hear me out.  Consider yourself (a person with addiction issues) as the world and your addiction as the Carona Virus.  Up until the addiction manifested, your life was manageable.  Maybe you had some bad breaks, but you were always able to find a way to get by.  Then, slowly you started experiencing some terrible circumstances.  You began feeling symptoms of withdrawal.  You started waking up and craving the source of your addiction.  You couldn’t go to sleep without indulging in the source of your addiction.  At this point, life is getting difficult, but it is still manageable.  Then, BOOM!  Something drastic happens, you lose your job, get arrested, lose custody of your children, etc… 

Now your addiction has wreaked havoc on your life. It is the main cause of your devastation.  Wherever you go, whatever you do, it is always on your mind.  You hear everyone telling you different things about your addiction.  Some people judge you.  Some people encourage you.  Others ignore you.  Almost everyone tells you that you need to quit.  Regardless, your addiction has impacted the circumstances of your life dramatically.  Now you can’t drive, see your children, or go to work. 

Now your addiction has wreaked havoc on your life. It is the main cause of your devastation.  Wherever you go, whatever you do, it is always on your mind.  You hear everyone telling you different things about your addiction.  Some people judge you.  Some people encourage you.  Others ignore you.  Almost everyone tells you that you need to quit.  Regardless, your addiction has impacted the circumstances of your life dramatically.  Now you can’t drive, see your children, or go to work. 

So where do you go from there?  Well, let’s go back to our metaphor.  What has the world done when it’s circumstances have been dramatically impacted?  Take action!  Do not wait for your addiction to ruin you.  Sure it has devastated you, but it hasn’t won yet!  Don’t ignore your symptoms! Seek help!  Avoid risky situations! Do research! Talk to people that have overcome similar issues!  Focus on remaining positive and keep hope and faith.  Just like the world, you have experienced adversity before.  Maybe not at this magnitude, but just like the world, you will not give up!  Today you can, metaphorically speaking, use current events and circumstances as your muse to remain sober!

(Photo by Markus Spiske )

Posted on

Prove to others and more importantly yourself that you can remain sober!

The first thing that comes to my mind when I consider this statement is that “motivation comes from action.”  What that means is that when we start doing something, we are more apt to continue doing something.  Not only that, but everyone has to start somewhere.  A key component of remaining sober is the motivation to do so. The first day might be stressful, but remember that after you get that first day in, you are more apt to continue to stay sober.  If you would like to consider this from a scientific perspective, think of Newton’s first law of motion: “an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion.”  Take that first step! Once you have taken action and get your sobriety in motion, the motivation to continue to stay sober will begin to manifest and slowly but surely remain in motion.

The other thing I think of when I consider that statement is the motivation I get from proving others wrong and right.  Chances are (if your experience is anything like mine), you have made some choices that have affected others in negative ways.  Whether they believe you are serious about your recovery or not, how gratifying is it to either prove them wrong or make them proud by proving them right.    We have all heard the saying, “actions speak louder than words.”  What better way to prove yourself than by taking that step and getting through your day sober?!  Today you can remain sober! Today you can prove to others and more importantly yourself that you can!

(Photo by Nik)