Being Sober through Covid Pandemic
I decided to take on the task of being sober through the Covid Pandemic. Though very hard it is definitely possible and manageable. I will begin writing about what makes it hard and my struggles.
One of the biggest issues for me was going to the store and constantly seeing alcohol every where. It didn’t matter if I was at the grocery, or at the zoo. It seemed like alcohol was simply every where with tons of consumers.
How I got over the dilemma
I would create a list of what I’m buying at the store and of course I never had alcohol on the list. Having the list while shopping makes the buyer more responsible with their purchases. If I felt the urge to go over to the alcohol aisle I would tell myself the issues it has caused in my past, and 9 times out of 10 the experience wasn’t a good one. Doing this would draw me away from the alcohol.
Switching alcohol with tea.
Instead of drinking alcohol I began picking up the use of tea, some of my favorites were green tea and ginger and a tea I newly discovered made by Yogi called Sweet tangerine positive energy tea. The tea would in a way replace my drinking habit, not to mention the tea’s are absolutely delicious and a lot cheaper than a 12 pack of IPA beers. I always felt a lot better drinking tea over the alcohol as well, it made me feel renewed.
Boredom during quarantine
I noticed while things were shut down and being in quarantine, I would become extremely bored. I had hardly any human contact with anyone besides at work. The lack of human interaction is a recipe for disaster, I became disconnected from people, hopeless and ultimately alone. While feeling atrophy I would drown my sorrows with alcohol, this would keep my thoughts and boredom away. However little did I know it was destroying my life and ultimately myself. When I chose to become sober I decided to cure my boredom with various hobbies. One was a past time of mine and that’s card collecting. It was fun and a great way to pass time while making a little side cash. Another was playing board games with my family, some of my favorites were Stratego and Stratego Waterloo. Stratego is a strategy based two person game that takes wits and cunningness to defeat your opponent. The games aren’t crazy long either so you can play multiple games and have time for other activities if you are a busy person.
Coming to terms that leisure drinking was becoming a problem
I would drink casually maybe once or twice a week on the weekends, but with Covid and the pandemic this quickly became 3–5 times a week. The 3–4 beers became 8 and 12 beers and it quickly got out of control. I would call out sick from work because of the hangovers even. My life was spiraling out of control and I knew something had to change along with my horrible drinking habit. The biggest problem with ourselves is admitting that we have a problem. I noticed myself often trying to reason with myself that I could just have 1 beer and I will be okay. This was never the case, one beer would always become 6 and before long I’m drunk. This is what we call denial, denial is when we refuse to admit that we have a problem and make up ideals in our head that we can still have a beer or two. Another issue I came across was being compulsive behavior, I began drinking when things were going bad for me. When you are already in a poor mood it’s never a good idea to drink. I learned this the hard way.
In conclusion
I have now been sober 8 months and have been sticking to my plan and changing my horrible habits with positive and healthy habits. I feel 100 times better than when I was constantly drinking and trying to hide my problems. Life became a lot easier when I admitted my problems, faced them face to face in the mirror and conquered it. Sobriety doesn’t just stop at 6 months or a year. It’s a on going battle within the construct of our own minds. I treat each day as if I was in a battle with myself and the funny thing is we are our own masters and creators of our life. Our mind is a powerful tool and it can be our destroyer and creator. I choose for my mind to be my creator, and life is a lot more pleasant that way. One thing I’ve learned is it’s okay, to get help. It doesn’t mean you are weak, it just means you need an extra boost to create your own positive reality.
