How I Got Addicted to Alcohol | A True Story

I drank alcohol almost every day for over 25 years, yet it wasn't until I looked closer at my drinking behaviour that I released that I was addicted to alcohol.

In this video I share my story and explore how I became addicted to alcohol while looking at exactly what was at the root of my need to use daily drinking as a coping mechanism.

My hope is that this video will help you be able to look closer at your own relationship with drinking and get to the specific reasons around why you drink.

Simon Chapple
The Quit Alcohol Coach

#alcoholaddiction #addictionhelp #addictionrecovery

[trevorblanton]

I got drunk the first time at 12 on vodka and thought it was awesome. I grew up admiring rockstars and Hollywood movies that depict alcohol as a good thing. Through my adolescence I would drink to get as drunk as I could get. I would go to high school with hangovers and brag about how drunk I got the night before, I thought it made me look cool and edgy and like you said it made me feel like I could escape my inner feelings of feeling like a loser and a failure and all my insecurities and doubts. Fast forward to when I turned 18 I was given the availability to drink everyday and that’s what I did. Every night I would come home from a job I hated and drink until I felt satisfied which would typically be a lot. Also like you have said I thought it was a normal thing to do I thought “everyone probably drinks like this because life sucks”. I’m now 25 almost 26 and I feel so depressed and messed up inside and after a couple of drunken episodes and black outs that could have ended me. I’m trying to take a strong attempt at getting sober and I have been pondering it for a few years now. But I also have this feeling of leaving the party life behind and getting cravings to return to drinking. I’m almost a week sober and your channel is inspiring me to make this attempt at getting sober work. Thanks for the content keep it coming!

[jkkennedy]

Every thing you resonate with I had to have a drink going to football games, on the airplane, on the roller coaster anything etc. I wake up thinking about drinking knowing I don’t want to

[soberreference]

Your story is so inspiring and your passion to see people living a sober lifestyle is so amazing. Keep at it.

[jeffreyjohnmann]

I figured something needed to change when I found myself driving drunk.

[jdinn]

I suffer from the same exact bs. It's crazy. The only time I've ever felt 'normal' was on alcohol. It's so creepy how it 'fixes' my brain. I come from a father who still drinks to this day, and addiction runs deep in both sides of the family. I've been addicted to quite a few different substances. The hardest one to kick is alcohol.

[DIBBY]

Suffering anxiety I didn't realise the trap of alcohol. At college it was a right of passage. It worked short term, but the overall problem gets worse. My biggest barrier to giving up completely for me are the people around me: they hate it when you quit! It seems that all the dice are loaded to keeping you drinking. So the part of you that wants to quit gets virtually no support!

[karlpeterson]

Hi Simon, my story has some similarities to your own. My drinking started in high school. Growing up in small town N. Wisconsin here in the U.S., alcohol was the way to alter my introverted personality. I did not feel I fit in, or was comfortable without being drunk. My best friend's parents owned a bar so that provided a ready supply.

[kevinsmith]

Hi Simon. I love and appreciate the work you put into your podcasts. A subject i have not yet seen discussed is how to talk to your kids about alcohol. My son is 20 and so far so good as he displays little interest. My daughter, on the other hand, is about to turn 18 (the drinking age in my province) and i know she is curious orange about alcohol.
If you would be so kind address this topic that would be great. (I have considered giving them each copies of William Porter’s “Alcohol Explained.”)