My rude awakening… for Alcohol Awareness Week #AAW2017

Our Friends at Alcohol Concern – Alcohol Awareness Week (#AAW2017)

Our friends at Alcohol Concern are mid-way through their Alcohol Awareness Week campaign #AAW2017. They’ve done an absolutely sterling job so far, and we couldn’t let this week pass without sharing a message of support…

Over the last week you may have seen eye-opening, and sometimes heart-breaking, stories from the Alcohol Concern team — along with powerful statistics about the negative effects alcohol has on your body, your mind, and your relationships.

But here’s the truth:

Most of you already know this.

If you’ve found this blog, or if you’re in our Facebook groups, you are already aware of alcohol’s negative impact. You’re already on the road to redemption.

So instead of repeating the well-known dangers, I want to focus on the “awareness” part of Alcohol Awareness Week — the deeply personal journey of finally recognising that alcohol has an unhealthy grip on your life.

My Own Wake-Up Moment

For me, I first went AF during a stubborn, pig-headed attempt to prove to my wife that alcohol wasn’t a problem.

(Spoiler: it was. And she was right. Painfully right. Shockingly right. She’s almost never right… only joking.)

Three months into my sobriety challenge, I had my epiphany.

My mind cleared.

My vision sharpened.

Suddenly everything made sense.

I finally saw how destructive alcohol had been in my life. How much it was holding me back. Removing it helped me get:

• Fitter

• Happier

• Healthier

• And my marriage improved more in three months than in years of counselling

If you’re as stubborn as I was — take the challenge.

Find out for yourself.

You won’t regret it.

The Letter That Changed Everything

When I finally understood the truth, I wrote a letter to alcohol — the one you’ll find below. I vowed to stay sober for at least a year, not fully realising that this one decision would unlock an entire journey into better mental and physical health.

Since then, my life has transformed — and continues to get better, even today.

Many of you will have your own defining moment.

We’d love to hear them. Share in the comments or on our Facebook pages.

My Open Letter to Alcohol

(As written originally — unchanged.)

Dear Alcohol

Thank you for the fantastic years together; you have been a great friend for so long. You have brought endless fun, gotten me into many hilarious and disturbing situations, got me laid, hired, fired, sent to A&E and even to a little town called Manningtree, when I was supposed to be at the church. We’ve had so much fun together over the years. We’ve had some laughs, we’ve had some tears.

But things have changed for me now; there are so many things I want to achieve in this life and you are holding me back. I find it really painful to tell you this truth because you’ve been such a good friend, but I can’t be around you anymore. You are destructive, and you have started to ruin parts of my life. I didn’t realise you were doing this; you’ve been doing it all behind my back. I wake up each day hearing stories of what you have been doing to me.

The lies, the pain.

I’ve come to realise that I don’t need you anymore. All the time I thought you were helping, you were destroying.

It’s heart-breaking that I put so much trust, money and time into our relationship, and you have been so cunning and deceitful.

The destruction to my family and my body and my life plans. I can’t take any more of this. So I have to let you go. I don’t want you to call me. Don’t chase me; just leave me, as I have moved on.

Take care, my friend.