The Clear Horizon

From oblivion of alcoholism into the light of sobriety

health

  • Am I Re-Nerd-Ing? – Why Reading, Gaming and Podcasts become relevant

    When have I returned to reading, listening to podcasts and gaming? It wasn’t in the same moment I stopped drinking. It started when I realized that replacing my drinking habits with hanging out on social media too much. I realized that falling for filter bubbles and fake news aggravated passive aggressiveness and depression. How did 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

  • 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

  • The Great New Year’s Cleanup

    Do I need new New year’s resolution or a renewal of good intentions? And (either way), how sincere are these intentions? I, for my part, have come to the conclusion this year that I do not need new resolutions, because to me it feels like restarting the same old sh*t all over again. It feels Read more

  • Gaming as craving Relief

    Be it Instagram, Facebook or other Social Media: They all have one thing in common with alcohol: They trigger our reward system with cues and cravings. The question is, how can you get by these cravings as a substitute for alcohol? I found out that uninstalling my social media accounts helped me a lot to Read more

  • Practicing: Hen or Egg?

    The urge to stop drinking had been implanted before. But as it is with bad habits or addictions, you promise yourself to stop drinking tomorrow, or dink less, or drink only on odd days, or whatever comes to your mind. What came across my mind recently was the question what caused what in the end. Read more

  • Alkohol happiness vs Real happiness

    Well. I would like to dive into something that has been on my mind ever since cutting back: Is the “happiness” that alcohol deals you, really happiness? And if not, what is, then? Well, cutting back or stopping to drink alcohol seems to be a double edged sword at first glance. At second glance, however, Read more

  • Rethinking

    At first, I didn’t even want to become completely sober. I just wanted to drink commonsensical, meaning I wanted to drink like anybody else. Thing is, I found out that on occasions of commonsensical drinking, it was an illusion all along. I drank way too much on these occasions, so all set boundaries ended up Read more

  • No Drugs – But why has all the Fun gone?

    After nearly choking off my life motivation and sinking headlong into a deep depression, I finally made it to get rid of smoking cigarettes and abolishing dope, I mustered the strength to get my life as straight as possible: I declined a possible apprenticeship as a programmer and inscribed as a student again. I moved. Read more

  • How it Began…

    I think it makes sense to work on three levels here: Firstly, there will be postings about my “drinking career” and secondly my “sobriety career” and then postings about aspects, situations, methods and thoughts that help me to get on in my sobriety career and to share worries, happy thoughts, daily snippets and stuff. Let’s Read more