Defeating Our Most Negative Addictions

Knowing what harms the body, our mind still allows it. Our body is like a spoiled child. If not controlled, it will go after all sorts of crazy kinds of stuff and eventually end up hurting itself. The five senses of our body, viz, touch, taste, vision, hearing, and smell, are the vehicles of our body run by the master driver, our mind.

No matter how often we learn a lesson, we still forget it and make mistakes. I will share my experience of how addiction took control over me and left me in a state of guilt, fear, and negativity. I used to be very sincere and was always against alcohol. But that was till my 3rd year of college.

One day when my friends insisted I try beer for the first time I almost vomited. I could not withstand the sharp fermented smell of grains. It was a big no for me. I thought how can someone like the taste of beer? But the irony is that the next day I developed a strong urge to drink beer again. I was surprised by my own decision. I managed to get a bottle of it and started taking it slowly. What was surprising was that not only I finished the entire bottle but I started to like the taste of it. And from there my addiction journey started. The guy who was anti-alcohol had changed sides and joined the alcohol lovers team! I could not stop myself from taking it. I knew it was harmful to my body but I somehow would come up with new excuses to drink it. I had multiple episodes of serious sickness and visited the doctor a few times. I use to promise that I will never take alcohol again but the very next day I would take it again! I thought it will be impossible for me to quit alcohol forever. But one day everything changed.

The first step towards freedom:

The government announced lockdown and I was stuck at home, not able to afford alcohol anymore. I was suffering from madness. I wanted it anyhow. I could not control myself. I used to mimic it by drinking fruit juices to comfort myself. One month passed just like that. Without my knowledge, I had overcome the bodily demand for alcohol. My body no longer acted weird, nor was it craving alcohol. One year passed just like that and the government lifted the lockdown. But I had to still overcome another hurdle.

The second step towards freedom:

I joined college again and things became normal. I was not taking alcohol, but seeing my friends taking it I was tempted by it. Thou my body was not demanding it, my mind was whispering to me from within to take it. For a few weeks, I controlled myself, but alas! I broke my no-alcohol streak for nearly an entire year and started taking it. It felt like Amrit (elixir)! The first few sips took me to a whole new level of experience. Oh, how badly I missed my bottle! I have indulged again in taking alcohol. I was almost close to saying goodbye to it but here I was singing the glory of Beer. All my year’s tapas had gone to waste. I realized that defeating bodily urges is easy but taming the mind is almost impossible.

The third step towards freedom:

I was the same old me with heavy addiction to alcohol. I was really frustrated about it. By now, my parents also came to know about my addiction. I felt really low. But I was still unable to quit. Only then, God’s helping hand reached me in the form of my
A-Woman, whom I love the most. She was against alcohol.

When I first approached her, she turned me down because I was an alcohol addict. I felt really helpless. I liked her, but I was unable to quit alcohol. I was in a grave situation. I was left with only two choices, either her or alcohol. Just when I thought I had lost her, God sent another help! A second lockdown had been imposed. We were again isolated at our homes. I could not take alcohol for another three months, and thanks to it, I was finally able to tame my mind. The mind was no longer craving alcohol. For a moment, I felt like Buddha who has attained detachment and enlightenment. I felt empowered and my confidence was boosted. I finally defeated the years-old alcohol addiction.

Freedom:

It’s been almost a year being sober. I feel proud of myself. I still do get the thought of taking alcohol, but now I am able to tell my mind to ignore it. Lockdown had been very difficult for all of us, especially the working-class people but It also helped me quit alcohol. At this point, I am not sure whether to be happy about the lockdown or not. My partner also helped me overcome alcohol with her continuous support. Divine God works in many ways. Trust me, there are no accidents! Everything happens for a reason and the reason lockdown came to me is maybe that’s the only way I could have quit alcohol. 

I just shared my journey from a teetotaler to an addict and back to a teetotaler again. You could also share about your addiction journey ( if any) and enlighten me on many other ways to defeat our addictions. Hope you enjoyed reading the post, critical feedback on writing improvements is always welcome. Pranam.