The Clear Horizon

From oblivion of alcoholism into the light of sobriety

alcohol

  • Why sobriety engagement is meaningful

    My first thought was: Great, I have enough time to redirect my energy I used with drinking into something useful: Let’s find an engagement to fill the gap. Well, yes. Partly true, but only partly. In the time of the Pink Cloud, that felt pretty straightforward and it had the shine of something to dive… Read more

  • Diving deep into the Core – toxic friendship

    Yesterday it was about diving deeper into the rabbit hole and the things that are yet to be uncovered. I just found one major thing that I am not quite sure of yet, how much impact this had or still has. First of all, it has to do with puberty and my developmental state when… Read more

  • I never tried only “cutting back”, but why?

    In the beginning, when starting with the Reframe App, it sounded so good, drinking controlled with a habit tracker to tell you when you overstepped. I tried it out, but a couple of things stopped me from proceeding, and this is a general problem I see in temporary breaks from drinking as well: That was… Read more

  • 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