Quotes That Hit Home
"You drink because there is a chemical imbalance in your brain, but the catch 22 is that while alcohol gives you a short-term release from the imbalance by flooding the brain with more of the chemicals you crave. Withdrawal from alcohol also causes a chemical imbalance all of it's own. So now you have two problems; one created by the booze, and one that was there in the first place. The discomfort of the first imbalance makes you create the second imbalance and you get trapped in a never ending loop."
Craig Beck, Alcohol Lied To Me
"There is no situation where alcohol makes our experience better. These days no matter what life throws at me, from the joyful celebration of a party with friends or the pain and grief that comes with the loss of a loved one, I am grateful that I don't need or want alcohol to further complicate the situation. No matter how bad it gets, I know that alcohol can only make it worse, and that is a truly liberating feeling indeed."
Craig Beck, Alcohol Lied To Me
"When you catch yourself thinking about drinking, consider whether any part of the thought is coming from a memory of the past or a predication of the future and recognize at this point that it is only the ego in a panic about what you are doing. Pull yourself back into the moment that we call now."
Craig Beck, Alcohol Lied To Me
“It’s the difference between existing and actually living.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“This is the singular, hard truth I come up against every day: I am the only one responsible for my experience.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“If you truly want to live with peace in your heart and be free of the burdens of the past — you must be brave enough to be willing to look at yourself honestly, clearly, and without reservation. You must take responsibility for everything that’s ever happened to you. Not blame. Responsibility.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“My drinking — and whatever it is you do to feel better — was born of a natural impulse to soothe, to connect, to feel love. And although alcohol hadn’t actually delivered those things, it was absolutely yoked to them in my mind. In my heart and body, too. It was just what I knew.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“The process has been the gift.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“1. It is not your fault.
2. It is your responsibility.
3. It is unfair that this is your thing.
4. This is your thing.
5. This will never stop being your thing until you face it.
6. You cannot do it alone.
7. Only you can do it.
8. I love you.
9. I will never stop reminding you of these things.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“Things like approval seeking, people-pleasing, not voicing my opinions, and avoiding conflict at any cost — these were all dishonesty masked as something sweeter and more socially acceptable.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“I used to roll my eyes at looking back at the past. Digging into my childhood for answers about my present patterns, blaming my parents or others for how I turned out - it seemed like a convenient rationalization, a bunch of psychobabble meant to excuse me from responsibility. But I've learned it's not at all about blaming. It's being willing to look at it all with clear eyes - to have compassion for the reasons people fell short but also to admit that they did. This was the hardest part: to admit that parts of my childhood were not okay. To stop protecting people. It is hard to type this even now, because I can hear voices telling me to stop playing the victim, that it wasn't all that bad. But I know that acknowledging the truth is actually an act of maturity and autonomy - it is, ironically, how we relieve ourselves from the victim role. Because once we are operating in reality, we can begin to take responsibility for what's ours, and stop taking responsibility for what never was. Denying works for only so long; eventually that shit will come out, and it will be ugly.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi”
Annie Grace, This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol: Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
“You drink to get the feeling of peace that someone who is not dependent on alcohol always feels.”
Annie Grace, This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Craig Beck, Alcohol Lied To Me
"There is no situation where alcohol makes our experience better. These days no matter what life throws at me, from the joyful celebration of a party with friends or the pain and grief that comes with the loss of a loved one, I am grateful that I don't need or want alcohol to further complicate the situation. No matter how bad it gets, I know that alcohol can only make it worse, and that is a truly liberating feeling indeed."
Craig Beck, Alcohol Lied To Me
"When you catch yourself thinking about drinking, consider whether any part of the thought is coming from a memory of the past or a predication of the future and recognize at this point that it is only the ego in a panic about what you are doing. Pull yourself back into the moment that we call now."
Craig Beck, Alcohol Lied To Me
“It’s the difference between existing and actually living.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“This is the singular, hard truth I come up against every day: I am the only one responsible for my experience.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“If you truly want to live with peace in your heart and be free of the burdens of the past — you must be brave enough to be willing to look at yourself honestly, clearly, and without reservation. You must take responsibility for everything that’s ever happened to you. Not blame. Responsibility.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“My drinking — and whatever it is you do to feel better — was born of a natural impulse to soothe, to connect, to feel love. And although alcohol hadn’t actually delivered those things, it was absolutely yoked to them in my mind. In my heart and body, too. It was just what I knew.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“The process has been the gift.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“1. It is not your fault.
2. It is your responsibility.
3. It is unfair that this is your thing.
4. This is your thing.
5. This will never stop being your thing until you face it.
6. You cannot do it alone.
7. Only you can do it.
8. I love you.
9. I will never stop reminding you of these things.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“Things like approval seeking, people-pleasing, not voicing my opinions, and avoiding conflict at any cost — these were all dishonesty masked as something sweeter and more socially acceptable.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“I used to roll my eyes at looking back at the past. Digging into my childhood for answers about my present patterns, blaming my parents or others for how I turned out - it seemed like a convenient rationalization, a bunch of psychobabble meant to excuse me from responsibility. But I've learned it's not at all about blaming. It's being willing to look at it all with clear eyes - to have compassion for the reasons people fell short but also to admit that they did. This was the hardest part: to admit that parts of my childhood were not okay. To stop protecting people. It is hard to type this even now, because I can hear voices telling me to stop playing the victim, that it wasn't all that bad. But I know that acknowledging the truth is actually an act of maturity and autonomy - it is, ironically, how we relieve ourselves from the victim role. Because once we are operating in reality, we can begin to take responsibility for what's ours, and stop taking responsibility for what never was. Denying works for only so long; eventually that shit will come out, and it will be ugly.”
Laura McKowen, We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi”
Annie Grace, This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol: Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
“You drink to get the feeling of peace that someone who is not dependent on alcohol always feels.”
Annie Grace, This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life
“First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald