The Clear Horizon

From oblivion of alcoholism into the light of sobriety

alcohol

  • Am I boring or am I bored

    I guess in earlier periods in my life, I would have answered the question as follows: As long as I stick to expectations of my peers, family and co-workers, I am likely not to be boring, even though I might be bored. A classic situation would be going to a club or a disco, where Read more

  • Catastrophising – why depression and alcohol can lead into a Vicious Circle.

    Ok, it is no big news that alcohol is a depressant and leaves you in a depressive state after the dopamine has dropped into the void. Alcohol abuse can lead to depression, depression can lead to alcohol abuse. No big news either. Catastrophising is something that can cause a vicious circle, where alcohol and depression Read more

  • What is the Pink Cloud?

    When I initially stopped drinking, I was a bit confused by the fact how easy it seemed to quit in the first place. I felt high and euphorised. I really could not understand why I had this feeling. I deep dived into the matter: Reframe, blogs, books, videos. Not all of them take the pink Read more

  • Insights true today maybe obsolete tomorrow – how I accept new beliefs without the urge of justifying

    When I quit drinking, I had the conviction that I could go on with my habits like before, only by shifting from alcoholic beverages to non alcoholic beverages, but the amount and the habits stayed the same. I thought that this would keep me from becoming boring in the eyes of other people. Plus, there Read more

  • Social Media and alcohol

    Sometimes ideas or conclusions or insights strike like lightning or appear a long time afterwards. I want to share one I had today about my own relationship with social media and alcohol consumption. I don’t mean an abusive way of consuming social media after quitting drinking, in which I compensated for my alcohol consumption with Read more

  • Getting sober without Therapy? – What worked for me and what didn’t

    Sobriety can be like a bullet proof vest The thing that kept me (at least superficially wit the dubious help of the “bad advisor” (what I framed the voice in my head from my alcohol addiction after a tipp from a coach)) from working on sobriety was the common belief in my head “you can’t Read more

  • Job Identity and Drinking

    When you are so used to drinking after hours it can be hard getting into the workflow after vacation without booze. Let me explain. Daniel Schreiber, a German journalist and author, wrote that we pursue rather a “work – and – drinking” – balance instead of a “work – life” – balance. I don’t think Read more

  • When it can be helpful not giving a F*ck.

    This is a general issue, in this post I want to make a short notice on the way it affects your sobriety. Imagine an evening with a social situation, say, a family gathering or a party. You have been dry for a couple of weeks or months and try to maintain sobriety, but you are Read more

  • Normalising sobriety

    I am in good hope to having reached a new state of sobriety and in this state studying my feeling of getting resistent to alcohol temptations: By New Year’s Eve, I realised that something severely interesting had happened to the way I was watching alcohol. When I attended the Holiday Party of my company or Read more

  • Midlife Crisis or Catharsis?

    Do I sound melodramatic? Maybe. But that is how most of the time you’ll feel when in a remorseful state you can’t escape if you want to quit drinking but can’t muster the strength to escape the loop of triggers, cravings, giving in to cravings and then swearing to never drink again just to find Read more