Most of us start drinking or using because of the pleasant physical and psychological effects of the drug. For me, I felt an almost instant “connection” the first time I drank as a teenager.

I felt at ease, my insecurity vanished (temporarily), my racing thoughts slowed down (for the moment), and I felt like I truly belonged for the first time in my life.

“Connected”. It’s the best word I can find to describe it. I believe I made a decision at that moment that I had discovered my key to happiness and freedom. And that alcohol would be the cornerstone of my life from there on out.

I had discovered a power that allowed me to feel the way I wanted to feel - permanently.

I chased that elusive feeling for more than 30 years in a comically vain attempt to recreate the power of that first high. I never achieved it.

I came close on a few occasions, and I certainly had some good experiences drinking. But they got fewer and farther in between as the years went by.

In the end, alcohol came to own me. I was physically addicted. My life and health were a wreck. Emotionally, I went from wild swings of euphoria to the depths of despair - frequently in the same day.

I lost job after job, a marriage, a house, two cars. And I effectively surrendered my role as a father to two young boys.

And yet despite the repeated and predictable bouts of self-destruction, I turned to alcohol time and time again with some insane expectation (or rationalization) that this particular time things would turn out differently!

Why, when I had been shown countless times this wouldn't be the case, would I keep trying to achieve a “high” or sense of satisfaction that alcohol could no longer provide?

For years, I couldn’t understand that I was caught in a cleverly-designed trap.

The decision to take a drink or drug is almost always rooted in some type of perceived fear, insecurity or threat.

Of course, fear is an essential self-defense mechanism designed by nature to protect us from real external threats.

But in most cases with the problem alcoholic or drug addict, the threats are mostly perceived. For example, many people, especially young people, feel inadequate or awkward in social situations in their formative years.

You know this feeling - we all do to some degree.

When we start drinking or using, we quickly find chemicals give us a buffer against awkward social situations and the feeling of inadequacy. They help “overcome” shyness and insecurity, allowing you to “connect” with friends and members of the opposite sex.

Of course, the chemicals don’t actually help you overcome fear or become a better dancer. All they do is mask your inhibitions and fear.

And over time, as your tolerance grows and you require more and more of the drug to achieve the same desired results, the chemicals themselves begin to become their own fear factories.

First, they create the apprehension or discomfort caused by the physical withdrawal from the alcohol or other chemical itself.

And second, they create the deep-seated fear that they are not working like they should. And so we begin using increasing amounts in the mistaken idea that more booze or drugs will get us to our desired euphoric state. A state of connection and belonging to the world

For me, drinking alcohol felt like running a race with no finish line. No matter how much I drank, the state of euphoria I sought seemed always just out of my grasp. But the more elusive it became, the harder I chased it.

And this creates the deadly “cycle of addiction.”

Here’s the tragedy of addiction.

Millions of people (237 million by World Health Organization estimates) around the world are caught in a cycle of using and addiction. And they don’t know how they got there and have no idea how to get out of the trap.

If you are one of them, you may know that alcohol and/or drugs are causing you major problems. Even killing you.

And on the other hand, you hold the contradictory idea that it’s the only solution you have to alleviate your problems, your fear.

Like me, you may have been caught up in the trap or the cycle of addiction/using.

The graphic below illustrates the cycle. (insert GRAPHIC)

It works like this:

If you can identify in any way with this cycle, then this community - and specifically this course - are for you.

You can be free. Forever free. Without the need to walk around like a modern Hester Prynne with the shameful scarlet “A” (Addict or Alcoholic) label attached to your shirt (or your psyche.)

It takes a little work to reprogram your beliefs about alcohol and drugs, but once you have, you’ll no longer view them as a “solution” to your problems at all. Once you can clearly see this, your desire to use them to avoid pain and fear will disappear naturally.

If you are serious about breaking the alcohol/drug use cycle, Sober Simplicity WILL give you the tools to do so. It will work, but only if you are willing to be honest and put in a little effort.

That said, here’s a general note about taking advice from non-addicts or alcoholics.

They can’t really understand your core issue - which is your need for an effective “power” to replace alcohol and drugs. Invariably, they’ll give you advice like, “Why don’t you just drink less?”, “Put the plug in the jug.” or “Only use on the weekends.”, “Practice moderation”, etc.

No doubt they are well-meaning folks. However, as non addicts, what they CANNOT understand is that alcohol and drugs are not your problem. They have been your one and only solution for dealing with fear and uncertainty.

The entire purpose of Sober Simplicity is to give you a workable and vastly more powerful solution for your problems.

To summarize, Sober Simplicity will teach you how to:

The second part of Sober Simplicity is Simple Spirit.

Once you’ve eliminated the need or desire to use the destructive solutions found in alcohol and drugs, many want to embark on a spiritual path.

Side note: Why do you think they call alcohol “spirits?” It’s because it was once thought to have magical, mystical properties.

In a way, we’ve made alcohol and drugs our “church” or our “connection to the spirit”. Why?

I believe that in the deepest part of ourselves, we’re all looking for a deeper connection with the unknowable, meaning, sense of direction, etc. Whatever you’d like to call it, we all have it inside us.

Sober Spirit will help you develop this aspect of your sobriety. Go here to read more.