What are the benefits of sobriety?

20 years of alcoholism and 2 years of binge drinking within, this is my following experience/testimony:

Mental health improves. Alcohol increases cortisol and steals serotonine, specially the day after. When we are experiencing hangovers, we are dehydrated and in a sense of hypervigilance dealing with anxiety, dehydration and general pain, influencing not only in our daily basis but as well in our sleeping habits. You will enjoy of the following benefits:

Refreshen mornings.

Mental clarity.

Better coping stress skills.

Increase of positive outlook. Your attitude toward life changes.

Nervous system works better. Alcohol affects every organ in our body, which will lastly result into bloating them.

Less stomach/liver cramps

Better pooping habits and stools consistency.

Better digestion.

Weight and belly loss.

Improved taste.

Less flatulence.

Less migraines.

Energy increase.

Better sleeping habits.

Brighten skin.

Overall sense of feeling better.

You start to function for the better in your all of your life’s dimensions.

Better social relationships.

Better mood.

Better sexual relationships.

Better work performance.

Better self-image appeal.

Less sense of guilt.

You start to meet yourself much more while in boredom, as a result you might discover new hobbies or activities without alcohol consumption.

Your pocket becomes grateful.

Less expenses.

You start to reach your financial goals or at least find yourself much more vented out when it comes to expenses.

You will be able to provide or do yourself things that you wanted to purchase before but you couldn’t.

Within my personal experience, I have significantly observed the following positive traits:

Evidently, no more hangovers to endure. No more hectic and overwhelming mornings where my body and mind are both in alert or hyper vigilance, disconnected from absolutely everything but the current pain enduring. I am nowadays able to wake up and enjoy of a cup of coffee along my mornings, feeling grateful, instead.

Days feel longer. As I am not usually excessively sleeping or rushing my work to have my day come to an end due to the hangovers.

I live much more clean, as usually while I was drunk I spilled beer in my room or bed, or just was lazy to organize my room. As well, my bed is clean and no longer has vomits or sweat smell in the sheets. My bathroom no longer has vomit leftovers or the rotten beer or drunk pee smell.

My personal things last for more. While drunk I had the habit of either losing AirPods, watches, sunglasses and/or damaging my PC, or staining my clothes.

I can do anything at anytime I want to. When I was drinking, as soon I started to, I knew in the next couple of hours my day would come to its end as I wouldn’t be sober enough to do things such as going to a dinner or party after I started drinking.

I feel much more comfortable with my image, feeling in overall better.

I no longer have drama in my life. As a result of binge drinking, I would easily find myself in dramatic relationships or even poor work performance, as arriving late and making myself vulnerable to caughts up of attention at work and carrying a sense of guilt.

My face traits have changed. Since I am no longer dealing with frequent hangovers, I am no longer suffering of rigidity. Therefore, my face traits or features have been changing for good.

I have been starting to enjoy the present. While I was binge drinking, unconsciously I had this sense of the day to come to its end, due to the emotional pain I was enduring. I have been self conscious of how present constantly changes, which makes me understand that life has to be enjoyed by it’s present, not within the past or future. What I am enduring right now will no longer be in the next day; or what I am enjoying right now, as well, will no longer be in the next day. Embrace the present as it is the only gift we can take for granted.

Less emotional distress. One of the negative impacts of binge drinking is the emotional distress feeling. You are now in a safe zone knowing that you have overcame something bigger than yourself.

I no longer overthink. Overthinking was triggered by alcohol as it is a depressant. Overthinking was a addictive circle which took me to discomfort and discomfort to drinking. If I caught up myself overthinking nowadays, I identify the topic and place an immediate end to it, as I have acknowledged that overthinking won’t provide any solution but discomfort.

Body temperature decreases. I am no longer sweating horrible hangovers, neither my heart rate is raced.

No longer in physical pain or injuries. As when drunk, I was vulnerable to falling, fainting and injuring myself while unconscious, as a result, I woke up with mild injuries in any place of my body, such as scratches, bruises and cramps.

Boredom as a healing tool. If we embrace boredom as a way of our body healing, we found it amazingly refreshing. Is no longer about enduring boredom and finding ways to overcome it such as drinking, but a way for our mind and body to recover from the emotional distress we had.

Emotional workout. After binge drinking, you will find yourself in an emotional path, which will feel uncomfortable at the beginning. This is due to the plenty of emotions we avoided to feel and had alcohol as a sedation tool. Once you have embraced all of your emotions, such as good or bad, you will start to have the emotional intelligence you lacked of earlier.

Supportive environment. People will no longer tag me or point fingers that I am drama oriented as been the drunk guy, or providing the uncomfortable speech advising me to stop drinking. Nowadays, people congratulates me and applauds for taking the leap of faith, which is significantly positive in our self esteem.

No more work anxiety, as I was working with intrusive thoughts thinking I was going to get fired, or not feeling capable enough to overcome daily work challenges.

I can commit to activities that demand discipline. Discipline was a challenge such as in habits, or consistent tasks. I nowadays have my routine of working, exercising and meditating, which was impossible because I was either drunk or hangover/low motivated

No more reflux. As I was enduring mild to severe reflux, either while drinking or after. An enormous bitter taste and uncomfortable heart and throat burn that not only stole my energy but provided me lot of distress.

Much more energy and vitality. When I was enduring withdrawal symptoms, it was a challenge to do my home duties, or even to lift up from my bed, as I would be facing anxiety and general pain. Even cleaning was an odyssey because of the energy demanded, I would rapidly clean and get back to bed.

Less emotional distress. I’ve learned that all of the problems I was facing where the main result of my alcoholic behaviour, either because I was drunk or I was not performing properly in any of my life’s dimensions. I have acknowledged that all of my problems are to be solved, and if they’re not to be solved, then I should not distress about them.

I feel the world is bigger than what I used to think. As an alcoholic, my motivation was only forward drinking, therefore I was narrow-minded toward drinking only. When I stopped drinking, I noticed that there were so many activities and things to do that didn’t necessarily involve alcohol.

I became much more self conscious of my friendships and relationships. As you leave the toxic environment, you will notice those people drama oriented or toxic relations that you were not able to identify as you lacked of self consciousness. You will become much more selective and exclusive of who are you considering in your life.

I try to be supportive with people enduring the same pain. As you have overcome this situation, you know is a hard path to endure but possible to overcome. You try to be supportive toward others sharing your testimony and since you have met the healing path, you would like others to meet it as well. However, you become self aware that unfortunately some people don’t want to heal or don’t want any advice, and that’s ok - you just walk distance.

I have started to feel connected toward my authenticity. Alcohol indeeds disconnects you from your authenticity, as it is used as a mask to either endure or cover a pain that you are avoiding to feel. Alcohol and pain are enemies of authenticity, as it steals your inner peace.

I no longer endure what I personally call “relaxiety”. Since I was binge drinking, I was in a bucle of constant hangovers, and hangovers trigger anxiety as makes our nervous system to be in a constant hyper vigilance, or survival mode. I associate the term of relaxiety to the inability to relax yourself as whenever you try to, you get much more anxious because you are feeling the withdrawal symptoms. This was the most enduring event I suffered whenever I wanted to stop drinking, because my body was not craving but needed of alcohol. This alters your sleep habits and your life’s quality. It is like your mind and body says “it ain’t time to relax, let’s continue in survival mode”.

You have your sovereignty back. What alcohol does it that it precisely steals your autonomy as it makes you dependent to the substance. Once you have overcome this, you encounter yourself with a new version of you, free and empowered. You will have this feeling that you are no longer imprisoned to something that was stealing your peace.

Burnout. Mental and physical burnout are not precisely good, however, there is something positive from it. When you endure burnout, and you finally step away from it, you become much more self conscious of the places to go, the people to be with and the events to endure. Will this place that I am invited to will contribute something to my well being? Will this person who I just met meets my new life criteria? As you are literally exhausted, you avoid all of those scenarios that you know will drain your energy or take you back to the places you were before and dragged you to alcoholism. For example, sometimes I do have the cravings to go to a disco/bar. However, if I go I know I will be vulnerable to drink. Therefore, why should I go to a place where I am going to be in the spotlight and find myself having bad time with the cravings? Or, why should I go to a place to meet people that I no longer want in my life. Burnout makes you grow, it does takes pain in the meantime, but gives you a self conscious boost.

Something I would like to highlight. People says that sobriety sucks because usually boredom hits. Boredom is the way your body is resting from all of the adrenaline you previously had. As well, is throughout boredom that you will find the key to meet a new lifestyle.

Path ain’t easy. Your mind will always want to trick yourself assuming you are enduring pain or lack of joy. As a former binge drinker, it will be hard for you to find new activities and meet with your new self.

Embrace your sobriety, be courageous and patient. Allow yourself time to heal.