As of now, it’s been a little over six months since I quit drinking. I thought it’d be a good time to check in and let you guys know how I’ve been doing.

For the most part, I’ve been successful, and it hasn’t been as hard as I was worried it would be! I’ve had a few slip-ups, but they’ve been spaced widely apart and the vast majority of the time I don’t even have the desire to drink.

The times when I’ve run into trouble, and the thing that I’ve been working most to avoid, are the days when I let myself get fixated on having a drink. “I’m having a shitty day/week/whatever, and if one more bad thing happens, fuck it I’m getting drunk.” This is bad because it gets you into the (at least temporary) mindset that it’s OKAY if you mess up this one time because you’ve somehow “earned” it. And if you’re at all obsessive-compulsive like I am, once that notion gets stuck in your head there’s not much you can do to make it go away. So if I find myself having those thoughts, I have to IMMEDIATELY banish them to the “stupid bullshit” folder in my head and not let them fester.

I’ve been fortunate that I went into this with realistic expectations- I’m not perfect, and I’m not a complete failure of a human being if I screw up. But it’s also important to keep in mind that this isn’t an excuse FOR messing up. Excuses are an evil and insidious thing, and you can’t give them any traction.

I hope that I’m not coming off as preachy or self-satisfied or attention-seeking about this whole thing. I just like to think that talking about this stuff will help me deal with it, and maybe help other folks who are struggling with the same thing, or thinking about giving up booze themselves. It’s totally doable you guys! And it feels really good in the long run.