Nobody in their right mind stays awake at night praying and wishing they would become an alcoholic or a junkie the very next day. It doesn’t happen overnight just like that. Unfortunately, becoming a professional addict or alcoholic generally takes months or years of debauchery indulging and practice in ruining everything in your life and those that surround you. This is a career that is not to be taken lightly. Those of us who are familiar with this rotten path of chemical dependency know the frightening places this disease takes us.
Addiction is a demon that may sleep for a little bit, but never completely departs from our sides. As we scuffle through life smelling the roses here and there, often times addiction pulls it’s sneak attack and appears out of nowhere- most of us never really see it coming. We consistently justify our actions and thought processes and explain to ourselves that our usage is normal. We compare and ignore everything as it happens right in front of our eyes. Then it all comes crashing down.
One day we wake up and can’t help but wonder, what on earth went wrong. Our alcoholic tendencies have battened the hatches and prepared for war. The battle upstairs gets ever more intensive, and we sink lower and lower into this revolving door of powerlessness and unmanageability. We fear getting sober as much as we fear getting high.
Find Your Brain
As age takes ahold of us, fear starts to grow tremendously throughout the course of life and prevents certain matters from progressing. Now, this doesn’t mean that everybody is destined to watch the sky fall like Chicken Little- it means more so that everybody has their list of rational and irrational fears. For some, fear getting sober is what has built their alcoholism or addiction to such towering proportions, to begin with.
Fear of getting sober and afraid of dealing with life on life’s terms is what turns us toward the hot spoon or alcoholic beverage quickly becoming our friendly solution to everything. Yet, this solution doesn’t seem to be fixing anything in the blueprints for life but only making them worse as a matter of fact. After some trial and error and this is determined by the person in question, it is often too late and physical and mental dependency has taken a firm grasp folks. Obviously, it’s time to kick the chemicals and start fresh….but how?
Find Your Heart
One of the largest reasons we never move forward is the fear of leaving that crutch behind. When our friends abandoned us and nobody wanted to be in our presence- the bottle was always there. The crack pipe was the only one that wanted to listen when we were living in a world of obnoxious delusion. We fear losing a relationship with our substances. It’s become our bread and butter- the very lifeline that fills our veins. This torments us, but we fear getting sober and leaving it all behind. If we can overcome these thoughts, then the excuses begin for most of us:
- What if they look at me differently?
- What if nobody believes me?
- What if I can never get high/drunk again in peace?
- How will I relax now?
- What if being sober is more miserable than using?
We forget in the midst of our addictive single-minded routines that chemical dependency will gladly take us to our last breath. Some of us don’t even forget- we just stop caring entirely. Life or death, punishment or reward- we’ll take whatever is tossed our way. Same goes for family matters. In the depths of addiction, we alcoholic thinkers tend to be pretty selfish as we put ourselves first in most matters.
Once everything is brought to the table, we build our fear getting sober even more because the family “needs us.” Well, we haven’t really been there mentally as much as we think we have. 9 times out of 10, the family wants their respective member back and unleashed from the deranged mentality they’ve been hypnotized in. Most family members will advocate for the healthy option and suggest confronting our fear getting sober so that we can be there for the family down the road before unpredictable circumstances occur.
Find Your Courage
Along with the previously mentioned examples comes all forms of embarrassment and the opinions of others. We get so caught up on what all “the others” will think, but in hindsight, most of the people we surround ourselves with already know of the insanity being displayed. When were out ripping and running, we think we look so good and that we’re hiding our behaviors so well. Delusional! We’re usually so oblivious to our surroundings and there’s really no more hiding them anymore. The more embarrassing thing is trying to maintain a problem that is being denied as a problem. The Greek scale is tipping over on this one.
Then there is the “unknown.” We begin to fear getting sober because of change and the unpredictability that is life. Getting clean from the booze and dope will require new hobbies, new friends, and a new lifestyle entirely. This gigantic change can rattle even the most grounded of people, but one that is worth it through and through. The best part is that we are quick learning mammals that adapt to our situations with the speed of light. Don’t let fear getting sober be your ultimate obituary. Home was within us all along.
There’s No Place Like Home
There are plenty of things that are reasonably frightening out there such as rodeo clowns and the establishment of Mcdonalds itself, BUT creating this monster of a fear getting sober is silly. We build it up into this huge game of Jenga in our heads, but just pull the block out of place. Fear will only prevent progression if we allow it to swoon us in such ways. It’s time to jump. If you or a loved one has been struggling to make the next step, please call 866-433-1992 or visit www.anylength.net. We have trained specialists on standby ready to help you start sending your life in a direction that will have you come out on top feeling healthy and happy with the outcome of your future. The time to love yourself is now.
