This is Annie Grace and you're listening to this naked mind podcast where without judgment,

pain or rules, we explore the role of alcohol in our lives and culture.

Hi friends, it's Annie Grace and I am here answering questions. Today's question and I am the author of this naked mind,

that's who I am. And today's question is from Scott and Scott says, hi Annie, I remember a time when I didn't think about drinking,

I just drank. I remember being just part of it all and although there were aspects I didn't like like being hung over,

and I may have been hurting myself in some ways I just felt so carefree because I wasn't thinking about it,

it wasn't consuming my life. Now I feel like my life is consumed by quitting and not just the drinking part,

but the part where you get used to life without alcohol. Sometimes it feels harder than it's worth.

Sometimes it's all I think about, it's frustrating and sometimes it feels like alcohol now has more power over

me than when I used to drink so much of it. Will I ever break free from the work of it and is it worth it?

Wow Scott, that is, I mean that's the crux of the issue right? That's the question, is it worth making this change? Change is hard.

And I think, I mean I could tell you a million reasons, yes, yes, yes, yes, a million, yes, yes, it's worth it.

And you know all sorts of reasons why, but actually I think it's more beneficial today to kind of talk about

why it's so hard to change. And I think we often, more in the good old days, we didn't think about

every drink or not having every drink, we just did what we wanted to do and that felt a lot like freedom.

And I'll tell you also something, it always happens, it classically happens when you stop drinking for

three or four months. The euphoria of the change, the hope kind of wears off, and a few months into

not drinking, all the reasons you quit in the first place become less pronounced in your life. So

you're feeling better, you don't really remember what a hangover feels like, like if you're not physically ill,

if you're not puking, it's hard to remember what nausea feels like. And then when you do have the flu,

you're like, oh, it's hard to remember what not being nauseous feels like. That same thing happens with

hangovers. So you don't really remember the horrors of drinking, you've got, you know, you've probably lost

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