Think of the Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

“The greatest benefit of quitting alcohol is to have the knowledge that you are still alive and you have the opportunity to see for yourself if quitting is really beneficial.” – Aliyah Arsiton

The Importance of Knowing the REAL Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

The power of benefits entices everyone. If a person expects in seeing the rays of light at the end of the tunnel, he will try his best to complete the journey to enjoy the brightness of the light. Being familiar with the benefits of quitting alcohol will stimulate someone to immediately do something to get rid of the addictive substance. In fact, reflecting upon these benefits is just enough to institute a firm decision to quit drinking. The notion of having the second chance in resolving every problem that occurs in the past due to alcohol abuse and embracing the thought that there are opportunities to change the old direction into a brand new opposite path can affirm that decision.

Enjoy the Advantages by Thinking of the Disadvantages

Now that a person is seeking for ways to effectively quit drinking alcohol, I assume that one has already realized the damages done or the potential destruction that may transpire in the near future. Majority of people decide to quit because they have already seen and realized the fact that alcohol is doing more harm than good. Once a person realizes these eventual damages, he will get his feet out of the denial stage and enters the moment of truth that there is a need to quit drinking alcohol.

One cannot enjoy the sweetness of a fruit if he does not taste a sour one yet. A person cannot appreciate the benefits of living without alcohol if he doesn't experience being caught in the middle of this chaos called addiction.

Appreciating the benefits of quitting alcohol is synonymous to thinking of the alarming effects the habit has brought forth in one’s life. One is in the elimination stage - in the middle of what seems to be a trying time in one’s life - which is choosing between good and evil, differentiating right from wrong. Looking at the negative will allow the positive to be the center of attraction. The positive will brightly shine and this will outshine all the negative factors. Accept these as realities - there are real benefits of quitting drinking alcohol and these health, social and personal benefits are far weightier and wealthier than those advantages a person achieves when one is still in the drinking mode.

There are Benefits - Grab Them All

Quitting alcohol can remarkably change your life and can greatly boost up your physical, psychological and emotional health. It can significantly improve your career and work performance; your intimate and family relationships; your points of view about yourself, the people around you, the world and your personality as a whole. These benefits are all connected and one benefit leads to another. It makes no difference whether it is simply for the sake of lifestyle changes or you are doing it for someone special, quitting alcohol can benefit you and your loved ones from all aspects available there in.

Health is Wealth

No one will argue about the fact. No one would want a disintegrating health condition and nobody wishes to spend the rest of his life lying in a hospital bed. People who are engaged to regular (make believe “controlled”) drinking are putting their health in jeopardy. They are literally and figuratively playing with their own lives – a Russian roulette ongoing. And how about those people who are into heavy and binge drinking? They are slowly killing themselves. Once the habit reached into a full blown addiction, their physical condition will eventually exceed the limit and surrender its maximum strengths sooner or later.

Drinking Alcohol is Chaos in Disguise

The bottom line is that regular drinking of alcohol can potentially damage one’s health, no matter how hard he tries to compensate it with proper work out and balanced diet. Consuming alcohol is harmful, not only in the physical health aspect but to the psychosomatic part as well. It is a slowly destructive force that will surely come about anytime soon, regardless of how much effort one does to control his drinking.

Alcohol is a silent threat. It is biphasic in nature. Consuming it causes euphoria and dyphoria into the brain, meaning that every time alcohol is introduced into our system, the effects will always be into two-phase effect - the feel-good effect and the depressive effect. Each time a person drinks, the effect will always be in accordance to this biphasic stimulatory principle. There is only a thin line between euphoria and dyphoria - this is why drinking alcohol is a dangerous ticking time bomb. Once this thin line breaks, the result can be disastrous. (I will dedicate a sole article about this in the future.)

Consumption of ethanol, the main chemical ingredient of alcohol, can cause a person to feel depressed in one way or the other. The depression manifests its way not only into the mental side but also to the physical part.

Chain Reactions - The Health Benefits are Intertwined to Social and Personal Benefits of Quitting Alcohol

Once you quit drinking alcohol, you will be surprised to know how much it is easier to be happy and composed, that is, physically and emotionally. Isn't it what matters most – genuine happiness? The happiness inside will reflect on the outside. It will be instinctive to wear a smile because you will discover that everything in your world is slowly getting into the right place even without the element of the feel-good effect of alcohol.

“A social drinker will experience short and long term benefits once he says no to alcohol and a heavy drinker will notice a great deal of changes in his health in a matter of few days of quitting alcohol.”

Let’s underline first the health aspect. Once you get rid of the addictive substance from your system - your internal organs, external anatomy and senses will rejuvenate automatically. No more toxins, no more poisonous chemicals, no more addictive substance that will interrupt the system from recharging. The body will repair itself from the injuries it accumulated during the drinking state, controlling the damages that have been produced, and preventing further damages.

Your heart will return to its normal pumping function, your liver will restore its cell; your kidneys will love you! Your blood pressure will normalize. The skin will replenish noticeably. You will stop gaining weight as you are no longer consuming the sugar contents and the high calorific value in alcohol.

You will have no trouble sleeping because your body is now patterned not to rely on the booze to get a deep sleep. In fact, you will notice that your sleeping pattern returns to its normal course of action because you are also no longer worrying about worries (which alcohol basically brought) that you shouldn’t be worrying in the first place!

Your balance and reflexes will come into order because you are now getting adequate sleep which the body needs to function normally. You are now responding to the environment, the people around you and the world, in general which you would commonly ignore.

Since the body already enters the rehabilitated point, the psychological part will then follow. You will profoundly enjoy a clearer mind, without the burden and depressive thoughts that provoke the drinking most of the times! This makes it easier for you to practice critical thinking and thorough analysis before making a decision or taking actions.

Then we emphasize next the social benefits of quitting alcohol. Once your mind is free from the cluttered it accumulated during your drinking days, you will experience relief through the positive vibes that will set in. Other people will notice this big difference in you. You will gain back the trust and confidence of your boss and colleagues because you can do your tasks maturely. Not only that you can attend to your duties responsibly but the most important thing is that you can accomplish it soberly! This will open lots of career doors and opportunities!

You will become an effective provider to your family because you can now go to work every day. No absence means full salary. This will resolve financial difficulties of the entire family. Less worry denotes less familial disputes, which also means sweet and smooth relationship with your parents, siblings, children or significant other.

After quitting alcohol, you will improve your social interactions not only with your co-family members but also with the people in the community since you are no longer the rude-and-offensive-kind-of-human who always throws foul words at people when under the influence. People will start to appreciate you.

Now, let us put our focus on the personal benefits.

In addition to what has been said, quitting alcohol can develop and strengthen your personality. You will turn into a responsible and productive human being that can be a part in resolving problems associated with addiction and drinking problems. You can help others to be a part of the solution, not the problem because your quitting story can inspire and motivate other individuals who are in the same shoes as you were. No person can understand the condition of a problem drinker or alcoholic better than the person who went through the same circumstance and experience similar condition.

Helping others achieve sobriety allows you to appreciate yourself because of the feeling of sense of fulfillment. It provides you a sense of worth and promotes self-confidence to keep the ball rolling. This will motivate and inspire you. If you look at yourself with pride and dignity, you feel contented and happy, which is the most important and real benefit of quitting alcohol – GENUINE HAPPINESS.

Genuine happiness expands your thinking. It helps broaden your focus and ease up problem solving. It boosts immune system and protects your health. It also improves physical, intellectual and social resources that can help you in coping up with daily stress. Furthermore, it helps in overcoming boredom that might be due to routine tasks or dry activities.

Of course, there are incidents that can and will go far beyond our expectations but the point is we have the chance to prove to others and ourselves that it is possible to change for the better and there are real benefits of quitting alcohol that we can enjoy for the rest of our existence. So if you want to experience these health, social and personal benefits; enjoy being with your family with good health and continue the journey of life worth living, quit drinking alcohol, that’s that.

You have already started leading to the right direction, and you have the power to keep on the right track so do your best to maintain it. At the end of the day, your full recovery and how long it will take to achieve it, all depends on you.

Written by: Aliyah Arsiton for QUIT ALCOHOL NOW Blog