You don’t have to climb Mont Blanc because you’re sober for a month. Do something you actually like doing.
If you’re among the many people who have given up drink for January, you are on your way by now. But you might already be finding yourself starting to get lured into certain traps. Here are six that I know about through personal experience.
Trap one:
The first goes by the name of euphoric recall, in other words seeing things through rose-tinted spectacles. As you pass by a pub, your brain will tell you that all the people inside are extremely happy because they are drinking and wouldn’t you like to go and join them? In fact, as you well know, they are not extremely happy and the pub might even be one of those gloomy dens in which people have to drink to survive the decor. Keep walking.
Trap two:
Your brain will also tell you that you yourself are always in a good mood when you are drinking. If you’re feeling lousy right now you might think this is because you are denying yourself a drink. In fact, whether you are drinking a lot or not, your moods will vary between good and bad. If you wait, your bad mood will go without the help of alcohol.
To quote Jason Vale, whose book Kick the drink easily I like a lot: “In theory, every time you drink alcohol you should be laughing and enjoying yourself but you can’t say that happens every time you drink, can you?”.
Source: Padraig O'Morain, The Irish Times, 05/01/16
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