boozemusingsandboom

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Wine o'clock - A Memoir

Last year, I was aware that alcohol was something I couldn’t have in my life. This year, I’m aware that it is something I don’t WANT in my life... join us for #alcoholawarenessmonth at www.BoomRethinktheDrink.com #Befree #alcoholfree #breakthestausquo

It’s easy to romanticize drinking, even if you have found that you love being sober. That elegant image of a beautiful woman relaxing with a glass of wine at the end of a long hard day is everywhere. A woman confidently slugging back an entire bottle of wine because she deserves it, is normalized by everything from XL wine glasses to all of those adorable products that you can hide a bottle of…

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#Alcohol-Awareness-month #parenting #Recovery #Sobriety #women&039;s-health

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10 THINGS SOBRIETY HAS TAUGHT ME

After years of trying to moderate my drinking I finally gave up. The one thing I had never tried was to just accept that I should drink no alcohol, because THAT I could control. #Alcoholawareness #Befree www.BoomRethingtheDrink,com #YesYouCan

I think it would be fair to say that the last few years have been a little tricky for humankind. The last few years have been full of pain and fear and disconnection. News and pictures of political tension, global warming, and war are hard to escape. I know, for myself, this can sometimes feel overwhelming. A feeling of powerlessness, of hopelessness and sadness, of how on Earth can I, little ‘ol…

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#Alcohol-Awareness-month #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #Healthy Lifestyle #healthy-lifestyle #How I Stopped Drinking #Self-help #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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Join Us In Discussing Drinking a Love Story by Caroline Knapp

What does it feel like to be addicted to alcohol? In Drinking a Love Story Caroline Knapp defines it like this “…somewhere inside I understood that if I kept this up, kept drinking and working and flailing around like this, I’d die, slowly, but literally kill myself. The truth gnaws at you. In periodic flashes like that I’d be painfully aware that I was living badly, just plain living wrong. But…

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#Addiction #alcohol-use-disorder #Book-club #books #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #Living Sober #Quit-lit #Recovery #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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How to Avoid Relapse in Sobriety - You Don't Have to Slip

I used to feel ashamed when I lapsed which is why I was afraid to ask for help, but it only made things worse.  A lapse can be prevented if caught early which is why reaching out is critical to this journey. Join us at www.BoomRethinktheDrink.com #BeFree

I’ve often heard people say that when you stop drinking it is all but impossible to avoid slipping at some point. The common assumption is that almost everyone will lapse or relapse in sobriety and that can be daunting because most of us work hard to stay alcohol-free. Did you know there are some warning signs before a slip? I believe that it is possible to avoid lapses and relapses if you are…

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#Addiction #alcohol-use-disorder #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #How I Stopped Drinking #Living Sober #Recovery #Sober Curious #Sobriety

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The 3 Phases of Addiction - MAGIC, MEDICINE and MISERY

I think I stopped drinking somewhere between medicine and misery, but I am clear that alcohol is a one-way street; if I pick it back up as medicine, there’s nowhere to go but misery. And God knows that the magic phase is pretty fleeting. #Alcoholawareness

I was listening to the Heart of the Matter, a podcast on addiction and recovery hosted by Elizabeth Vargas, and she said someone in recovery described alcohol to her as first magic, then medicine, then misery. Ouch. That hits close to home. Those were the 3 phases of my addiction. I think I stopped drinking somewhere between medicine and misery, but I am clear that alcohol is a one-way street;…

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#Addiction #alcohol-use-disorder #alcoholism #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #How I Stopped Drinking #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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It's Not Easy to Stop Drinking But It's Worth It

People who are trying to stop drinking often wonder how many "day ones" are too many. When is it time to stop trying, give up, sink into shame? Lasting Change is a Dance Not a Light Switch... join us at www.BoomRethinktheDrink #alcoholawareness #befree

April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the United States and that makes this month a great time to consider changing your relationship with alcohol. If you’ve decided to stop drinking try to think of stopping as a new beginning. A renewal. A rebirth. A time to walk away from the drama and the shame that too much alcohol can create and revel in the endless possibility of living life free! Most of us…

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#Addiction #alcohol -awareness-month #alcohol-use-disorder #How I Stopped Drinking #Recovery #Sober Curious #Stop drinking

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It's Not Easy to Stop Drinking But It's Worth It

April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the United States and that makes this month a great time to consider changing your relationship with alcohol. If you’ve decided to stop drinking try to think of stopping as a new beginning. A renewal. A rebirth. A time to walk away from the drama and the shame that too much alcohol can create and revel in the endless possibility of living life free! Most of us…

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Cognitive Dissonance

I’ve been reading about Cognitive Dissonance.  Simply put it’s when we say or believe one thing, but consciously do something opposite of that.   It leads to anxiety, regret, shame, anger, and low self-esteem. When I was a little girl, we were all in the living room watching the news.  Dad said something like “bloody hypocrites”.  I asked him, what does hypocrite mean. I’m not sure why but it…

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#Addiction #alcohol -awareness-month #alcohol-use-disorder #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #Living Sober #Recovery #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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Stopping Drinking and Staying Sober is a Dance Not a Light Switch

When I stopped drinking almost 5 years ago I hoped that staying sober would be like turning a light switch. One day I was a problem drinker living in the shadow of shame, and the next day, having accepted that I needed to stop drinking and deciding that it was time, I would simply walk into the light of comfortably living alcohol-free! But acceptance and deciding were just the first steps in the…

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#Addiction #alcohol -awareness-month #alcohol-use-disorder #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #How I Stopped Drinking #Living Sober #Recovery #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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Is Your Drinking Habit Dangerous ?

When I filled out that questionnaire and calculated my units based on the number of bottles I drank per week, I scored in the top percentile and won the Contact Your Doctor prize. So I went back and changed the numbers.... #Alcoholawarenessmonth #Befree

When I joined an online community hoping to stop drinking, back in 2015, they offered a questionnaire to help me figure out where I fell on the risk scale for my drinking behavior. The questionnaire was interesting because it showed me how much wine a unit of alcohol was and how many units of alcohol were actually in a bottle of wine. The recommended allowances for safe levels of drinking are…

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#How I Stopped Drinking

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Get A Refund on the Alcohol Tax

Giving up drinking has not made me perfect (so far). But I'm starting to LOVE myself, and realize I'm a kind, caring friend, a loving wife, fabulous mother and FUN grandma who likes to dance. Life is good … and I'm worth it. #AlcoholAwarenessMonth #BeFree

Tax day in America falls in the middle of Alcohol Awareness Month.This made me consider how alcohol was taxing me for decades.And I was not aware that alcohol was Taxing Me It starts out so innocently, at a party with really fruity punch (spiked with grain alcohol), then leads to fun happy hours with co-workers, parties with a few hundred close friends, and ladies’ nights on spring break. You…

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#Alcohol-Awareness-month #alcohol-evasion #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #ditch-the-drink #How I Stopped Drinking #Income-tax-humor #sober-curious #tax-time

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An Alcohol Awareness Month Public Service Announcement

Those of us who have struggled, or still are struggling through the first months of quitting alcohol, are strong, dedicated, amazing humans, who value the life given to us. Join us at www.BoomRethinktheDrink for #AlcoholAwarenessMonth #Befree

Alcohol is… Alcohol is not a wonderful magic potion. It’s just a drug. I would love to get the word out; to undo the misinformation and the manipulation by alcohol advertising which creates false expectations of how “good” alcohol will make you feel and how it’s “just what you need”, because “you worked hard for it”, because “you deserve it”. We only need to plant the seed; to get the word out…

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#Alcohol-Awareness-month #alcohol-use-disorder #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #How I Stopped Drinking #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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Let's Turn Alcohol Awareness Upside Down

April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the United States. Alcohol awareness is not something that I ever had a deficit of. What I wasn’t aware of was the possibility of loving living alcohol-free. How aware of alcohol are you? I don’t mean how aware are you of alcohol’s adverse health effects or the cost to society of heavy drinking. I mean, literally, how aware are you that you are in the same…

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#Alcohol-Awareness-month #alcohol-use-disorder #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #Living Sober #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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The Ultimate Inspiration and Resource Post for Staying Sober

Here are some thoughts on why taking a break from the booze may be the best gift you can give yourself with resources to help you break the binge drinking cycle. #befree #yesyoucan #lifeistooshorttowasteitbeingwasted #quitdrinkingapp #sobrietyresource

I have been happily alcohol-free for over 9 years, but I never imagined enjoying staying sober long-term, until I experienced it. Before I gave up alcohol I loved to drink and intended to enjoy drinking throughout my hopefully long life. But about 10 years ago I realized that my nightly wine o’clock routine was becoming a ball and chain. When I tried to stop drinking so self-destructively, I…

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#alcohol-use-disorder #alcoholism #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #Dry July #Health #healthy-lifestyle #Living Sober #Resources #Sober Curious #sober-toolbox #Sobriety

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Unplugging from the Alcohol Matrix Mindset

Addict, alcoholic, drunk…those damn labels are massive bricks in the wall that holds back what could back what could be a tidal wave of people who could truly benefit from RETHINKING THE DRINK. #alcoholfree #befree #lifeistooshorttowasteitbeingwasted

Lots of folks these days, seem fired up about ending the stigma and/or shame of being in recovery, but I still see the labels of “alcoholic” and “addict” tossed about and used by some of the leading voices, and on progressive platforms. I know some things die hard but I’m all for retiring pathological, negative, and hurtful labels. The sooner the better, preferably yesterday. It’s okay if an…

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#Alternatives-to-AA #AUD #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #How I Stopped Drinking #Living Sober #Sober Curious #Staying Sober #Stop drinking

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Join Us in Discussing - A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

A Million Little Pieces is written in a very different style from the previous book we discussed in our Boom Club, Dry by Augusten Burroughs. It’s not the kind of writing that easily lends itself to pulling inspiring quotes, but when I started reading A Million Little Pieces again, 9 years after my first reading, I immediately remembered how powerfully James Frey’s writing style had affected me…

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#Addiction #alcohol-use-disorder #Book-club #books #Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #How I Stopped Drinking #Living Sober #Quit-lit #Recovery #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking

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Don't Become a Statistic

Did you know that alcohol killed more under-65 Americans than COVID in 2020. In the United States and Canada alcohol was deemed an essential item during the COVID lockdowns and that appears to have been deadly effective! The rate of alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. rose 30% in the first year of COVID. We live in a culture where drinking is normal and non-drinkers are questioned why they do not…

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#Community-Support-to-Stop-Drinking #healthy-lifestyle #Living Sober #Sober Curious #Sobriety #Stop drinking #Toxic-culture