Learning Process, Thought Work & What’s Next? (LESSON 28)
Today’s lesson is not a recap of the Week 4 content, as you might have been expecting at the end of the week! Instead, it’s a shift in gears to start thinking about what’s next in your journey with your relationship with alcohol. The video features a short clip from Annie Grace, author of This Naked Mind, along with an explanation of the Thought / Behavior Loop. I review how making a one word shift in your inner dialogue can open up new lines of thinking, healthier behaviors, and better solutions!
Many times, people are “stuck” in drinking patterns because they haven’t addressed underlying areas of their life that make them inclined to picking up the drink in the first place. If you’ve given alcohol a “job” in your life to manage your stress, your difficult relationship with your spouse / boss / clients, or you’re using it as a tool to self-medicate, then alcohol could be exacerbating your stress and not helping you manage the underlying challenges. This can lead people down a slippery slope, that can look like the “Pitcher Plant.”
As Annie Grace explains here, which she attributes to Allen Carr (author of The Easy Way to Quit Drinking):
When a bug attempts to drink from a pitcher plant, the liquid draws them in and keeps them drinking even when their life is unknowingly in danger.
The plant is sloped down a bit, so the bug doesn’t realize that they are falling down slowly.
It continues to fall deeper and deeper into the plant until they hit the toxic pool of other dead bugs
The temptation of drinking the addictive liquid has now consumed them and made them a part of the tempting solution.
Alcohol and the effects it has on the brain can seal a similar fate for some people – but it is disguised by the euphoric feelings you get with your initial drink.
Though we, like the bugs, believe we can simply fly away at any point, it’s often easier said than done.
This is what the slide into alcohol is like — it’s slow and it feels good at first. You start to see warning signs but you think, “not me, I’m in control.”
Most people don’t intend to get stuck. And most people drink more — not less — over time.
As “sobriety rockstar” Janey Lee Grace describes it, “The booze elevator only has one direction — down. You can get off at any floor, the choice is up to you.”
Today’s video also gives you a preview of my 6-month Signature Coaching Program, “Reach New Heights” which you can learn more about here. I also recently put a page of special offers for coaching and programs to support people to stay “Sober Through the Spring.” Please help me spread the word if you know someone who would benefit from this course!
I also encourage you to take me up on the offer for a free Discovery Call to discuss next steps. No obligation, just a friendly conversation. Everyone’s journey is different and personal, and I understand that this can be a difficult topic to discuss. 100% confidential and judgment-free zone.
JOURNAL PROMPT: What are YOUR next steps? Feel free to share with the group in the comments below!
