Whatever your drug of choice is, we all have used the same excuses to justify using again.
To celebrate my 3 year anniversary of being sober, I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the excuses I used to use to justify having that first drink. There are many times I would go 6-8 months without drinking and then start thinking some of the following things. And once I gave in and had that first drink, it was all over. The addiction cycle began all over again and I was in hell.
Here are a list of some of my excuses. Do any of these sound familiar?
I deserve this. I’ve gone so long now without a drink. I deserve a reward.
Everyone else gets to drink. Why can’t I?
There’s no way I’m never going to drink again so I might as well just do it.
I need to just drink less this time.
I can control it now. I just needed a break.
I’ll just drink on gigs.
I’ll just drink at home.
I’ll just drink 1-2 times a week.
I want to get drunk.
It’s fun to get buzzed.
I never do anything fun anymore. I deserve to have fun.
Getting drunk sounds fun
My life sucks. I just want to drink.
Drinking will make me feel better.
It will be different this time.
I’ll just have one day of drinking and then get back to work on being sober and healthy.
I want to be part of the party.
It’s unfair that I don’t get to drink.
I miss the old days.
I think it’s time for a drink.
I’ve been sober long enough to prove that I don’t have a problem.
Every time I had one of these thoughts and then gave in, I would be back into the misery of addiction in days or weeks tops. These were all lies and excuses that led me back to that hell. If you find yourself saying these things to yourself, know that you are not alone. We all have these thoughts. But I have given in enough to know that they lead to an awful life.
All these thoughts are just our disease trying to bring us back. They are lies. And we don’t live in lies anymore. We live in truth. The truth is we deserve to be free. And freedom comes from letting those thoughts go and celebrating another day of sobriety.
Happy sobriety day to anyone who has a day, a week, a year or a decade sober!