QUIT DRINKING MOTIVATION - The Most Eye Opening 20 Minutes Of Your Life
Summary
TLDRThe video script narrates a personal journey from alcohol addiction to sobriety, detailing the physical and emotional toll of alcohol abuse. It highlights the societal normalization of drinking and its damaging effects on health, relationships, and self-worth. The speaker shares their struggle with addiction, the realization of needing change, and the transformative power of sobriety. They also discuss the broader impact of alcohol on society and the importance of seeking help and finding purpose beyond substance abuse.
Takeaways
- 🍷 The speaker has been sober for years after struggling with alcohol addiction.
- 🚫 They initially tried moderate drinking but found it led to excessive consumption and harmful hangovers.
- 📚 Reading a book was a pivotal moment that led to their decision to quit drinking.
- 🧠 Alcohol consumption, even in small amounts, can cause damage to the entire body.
- 🔁 The narrative of addiction as a lifelong struggle was a belief the speaker once held.
- 🏥 Alcohol affects cellular health, causing damage that can lead to various health issues.
- 🌐 Alcohol is normalized in society, often seen as a social glue, but it can have severe consequences.
- 🚭 The speaker's family history includes alcoholism, which influenced their perspective on drinking.
- 💪 Quitting alcohol was a significant personal achievement, bringing a sense of pride.
- 📉 Abstinence from alcohol can lead to improved health, including longer life and reversal of certain conditions.
- 🌟 The speaker encourages finding purpose and adventure in life as a substitute for addiction.
Q & A
How long has the speaker been sober?
-The speaker has been sober for a couple of years.
What was the turning point for the speaker to quit drinking?
-The speaker decided to quit drinking due to the debilitating effects of hangovers that lasted for a whole day.
What was the speaker's initial experience with alcohol?
-The speaker's initial experience with alcohol was negative, as they became an 'awful human being' after consuming it.
How did the speaker's perception of alcohol change over time?
-Initially, the speaker viewed alcohol as something that could be consumed in moderation. However, they later realized the negative impacts on their health and life, leading to a complete change in perception.
What was the speaker's lifestyle like before quitting alcohol?
-Before quitting alcohol, the speaker's lifestyle involved excessive drinking, which led to health issues, loss of friendships, and a decline in aspirations.
What was the speaker's family's influence on their alcohol consumption?
-The speaker's family, particularly their mother, had a significant influence by warning against the dangers of alcohol and reinforcing the negative outcomes of addiction.
What health benefits did the speaker experience after quitting alcohol?
-After quitting alcohol, the speaker experienced improved health, including increased energy, weight loss, and reversal of arterial sclerosis.
What is the definition of an alcoholic according to the speaker?
-An alcoholic is defined as someone who can't stop once they start, often drinking until they pass out or become dysfunctional.
What is the impact of alcohol on cells and tissues in the body?
-Alcohol, specifically in the form of acetyl aldehyde, can damage and kill cells indiscriminately, affecting various organs and tissues.
How does the speaker describe the societal normalization of alcohol?
-The speaker describes alcohol as being normalized in society, often considered a social glue that is present in various celebrations and events.
What advice does the speaker give to those struggling with alcohol addiction?
-The speaker advises those struggling with alcohol addiction to seek treatment and to find activities and a lifestyle that provide a sense of purpose and happiness without the need for alcohol.
Outlines
🍺 Sobriety Journey and Alcohol's Impact
The speaker shares their personal journey of sobriety, highlighting the negative effects of alcohol on their life. They recount their struggle with hangovers and the realization that alcohol was controlling their life. After reading a book, they quit drinking and experienced significant improvements in their health and well-being. The narrative emphasizes the societal normalization of alcohol and the misconception that it's a social glue, contrasting it with the reality of addiction and its detrimental effects on physical and mental health. The speaker also discusses the broader implications of alcohol consumption, such as its role in various social events and the potential for it to lead to severe health issues, including cancer.
🌟 Change and Recovery
This paragraph delves into the speaker's decision to change, motivated by the pain of their current situation outweighing the fear of change. They describe their experience in a treatment center, acknowledging the importance of developing new skills and tools for living. The narrative includes the societal pressures on young people to drink and the speaker's advice to find alternative paths to happiness that don't involve alcohol. The paragraph also addresses the health benefits of reduced alcohol intake, such as increased longevity and the reversal of arterial sclerosis, and the speaker's personal transformation after a year and a half of sobriety.
🧬 The Science of Alcohol and Its Effects
The speaker explores the scientific aspects of alcohol metabolism, explaining how alcohol is converted into toxic substances within the body and the damage it causes at the cellular level. They discuss the process of alcohol breaking down into acetaldehyde, a poison, and then into acetate, which the body can use as fuel. The paragraph also covers the societal perception of alcohol as a harmful drug, its classification as a carcinogen, and the increased risks associated with even moderate alcohol consumption. The speaker emphasizes the need for awareness about alcohol's impact and the importance of seeking treatment for those struggling with addiction.
🤝 Support and the Desire for Change
In this paragraph, the speaker reflects on the importance of wanting to change as a prerequisite for overcoming addiction. They share a personal story of a friend who was struggling with alcohol and how a meaningful conversation led to a realization about the value of life and the desire for change. The narrative also touches on societal attitudes towards alcohol and other drugs, the fear and denial that surround addiction, and the need for open conversations about the issue. The speaker concludes with a personal account of their own dark period, the impact of alcohol on their life, and the journey towards self-discovery and redemption.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Sobriety
💡Addiction
💡Alcoholic
💡Hangovers
💡Treatment Center
💡Relapse
💡Alcoholism
💡Abstinence
💡Health Benefits
💡Social Norm
💡Rock Bottom
Highlights
The individual has been sober for a couple of years after initially struggling with alcohol.
They were able to maintain moderate drinking for about eight years before deciding to quit.
The decision to quit alcohol was due to the severity of hangovers and their negative impact on daily life.
Reading a book was a pivotal moment that led to the decision to become sober.
Alcohol consumption, even in low amounts, can cause harm to the entire body.
Addiction is described as compulsive behavior to feel better, leading to negative consequences.
The individual is proud of overcoming addiction, which was once seen as a sign of weakness.
Research indicates that quitting alcohol can lead to longer life and health improvements such as reversed arterial sclerosis.
Alcohol is often perceived as a social norm, but it can lead to a decline in life aspirations.
The individual drank excessively from the age of 15 to 24, which led to severe addiction and paranoia.
Alcohol affects people differently; some may not become addicted, while others face severe consequences.
Excessive drinking is defined as 13 or more drinks per week for men, with significant health risks.
Alcohol is a class one carcinogen, with no safe level of consumption.
The societal and personal costs of alcohol abuse are immense, often leading to accidents, cancers, and heart disease.
Only 10 percent of people with alcohol use disorders seek treatment, with even fewer achieving long-term success.
The desire to change is crucial for overcoming addiction, as highlighted by a personal story of recovery.
Alcohol's damaging effects on cells are due to its conversion into toxic molecules like acetyl aldehyde.
The liver plays a critical role in metabolizing alcohol, but it can be severely damaged in the process.
The feeling of being drunk is actually a disruption caused by a toxic molecule, acetyl aldehyde.
Alcohol's impact on the brain and body can lead to a wide range of disorders, from sleep issues to anxiety and depression.
The individual's life has significantly improved after addressing their alcohol addiction.
Alcohol is often used to numb out anxiety, pain, and discomfort, but it's essential to find healthier alternatives.
The transcript emphasizes the importance of seeking help and changing one's lifestyle to overcome addiction.
Transcripts
want to go drinking tonight
thanks but I'm actually sober now uh
okay no problem can I ask why
I'll show you
I'm sober for a couple of years and then
I thought you know I want to just drink
like a normal person and I want to have
wine at dinner and so on and I and you
know I was able to for about eight years
I'm embarrassed how many times
I quit and couldn't do it well I was at
a point in my life where it was like
this has gotta stop because my hangovers
were getting so ridiculous and
debilitating for a whole day so I'm not
doing this anymore and I read a book and
then I was done I had my first beer at
11. one of my cousins gave it to me it's
that awful thing that you hear every
alcoholic talk about and if they don't
talk about it they're lying like it's
you just become an awful human being
like you just um you're selfish alcohol
consumption even in the low amounts
causes harm to the entire body so many
years that like the narrative was for me
is this has a hold over you you will
never break this cycle you are a
prisoner of your own weakness addiction
is really anything we do or use
compulsively to make ourselves feel
better that has negative consequences I
for maybe the first time am proud of
myself that I didn't quit quitting
because it's demoralized like to truly
be powerless over something is [ __ ]
demoralizing and so rough if you stop
drinking for 30 days just cut back and
what they're finding is people are
living longer that's clearing out their
kidneys arterial sclerosis is being
reversed people are having all kinds of
lower energy they're losing weight to me
I know that alcohol is uh usually like
bad for you but I didn't know like how
bad it was I started to drink more and
more and more every day when I come home
from work and I start to drink and I
just sit there drink to pass out on the
couch from 15 to 24 I drank and used my
way through life and eventually ended up
in Boston at that point my addiction had
gotten so bad that I was paranoid and
afraid of everything to keep it simple
we use for one or two reasons so to
either start feeling something or to
stop
particularly the path that I'm on is uh
it's one that's it's it's one I wished I
could have been on a long time ago
you'll ruin your life somehow some way
it is ever
FS into all the cells and tissues of
your body it was a very Progressive
decline in my aspirations alcohol is
normalized in our society you want to
figure out something that you're doing
with your life that's worth not getting
drunk and screwing up I Drank In Search
Of Happiness and in search of a
lifestyle that I thought would bring me
to happiness it didn't and I woke up one
morning going wow I've drank a lot but
I'm still not happy what's that about I
recall in high school motivational
speakers will come to my school and say
don't do drugs but absent from those
talks with any reference to alcohol
alcohol got introduced to my life you
might say well why do people drink too
much it's like if you like alcohol
that's a stupid question it is ingrained
it's the social glue that sticks
everything together and my mom was
chiming in with it's way bad you don't
want to do it you don't want to end up
like that over three million people
worldwide will die this year to alcohol
related causes from baby showers
christenings freshers week weddings
parties funerals barbecues celebrations
and everything in between that so she's
in my ear making it sound really logical
to not do it and I'm watching people act
the fool are doing it we've been
brainwashed into thinking that there are
just two types of drinkers there are
those at Rock Bottom alcohol dependent
and there's everybody else happy social
drinkers who are just occasionally a bit
lightweight and can't hold their beer
you do stupid things when you're drunk
you hurt yourself you compromise your
health it's really hard on the people
around you tend to turn into a liar and
it screws up your life yeah it's like
yeah but it's pretty fun yeah well it is
but you need something better than that
uh and I burned every bridge that I had
virtually unemployable my options have
been eliminated my life was eviscerated
my family didn't want anything to do
with me I lost my friendships I had no
way forward in fact the reality is very
different it's a spectrum I would highly
recommend you get off the booze elevator
before it hits rock bottom
and I just continued to dig that hole
deeper and deeper and deeper until one
day I had that moment that you hear with
people who are in recovery that that
Moment of clarity where I realized I
just couldn't live this way any longer
my elevator had you know gone down to
the bottom floor
and uh and the and and I met my paint
threshold you know back to the the the
this thesis around pain like I had
um reached a point where I could no
longer tolerate the pain of my current
situation and the fear the pain
associated with the fear of change was
eclipsed by the pain that I was feeling
in that moment and that's what motivated
me to change I went to a treatment
center uh where I lived for a hundred
days which is pretty long time to be in
a rehab center and I did that because I
knew if I didn't get this right that my
life was done you know and so I took
that opportunity seriously I recognized
that despite the fact that I think I'm a
smart guy my best thinking had me
literally institutionalized and that if
I couldn't get a grasp on how to live
and develop some new skills and and a
new toolbox for how to approach my life
that
um that I was going to end up in jail or
I was going to kill somebody else or my
self
you know now we're about a year and a
half later and it's and my life has been
has turned around immeasurably it's a
wonderful thing and I I say to anybody
watching or you're listening to this
that you know it's um
that there is a lot of pressure on young
people not to drink necessarily but to
find happiness through going out and
getting mashed like like and and I'm
sure and that's fun and you have a good
time and good luck to you but if it
doesn't work for you and if you keep
waking up going hmm I don't seem to be
having nearly as good time as most of my
friends uh then you know then think
about it it doesn't have to be something
you do is what I all I say to people and
what's better isn't being straight and
and and and not making mistakes it's
like that's all Prohibition in some
sense what's better is no you need an
adventure man you need to get out there
and have something to do and and
something worth waking up for and you
need that's the substitute for the
addiction excessive drinking is is
considered 13 or more drinks a week if
you have three glasses of wine every
night which would be splitting a bottle
of wine with your friend your your
husband whatever uh you you following
that category an alcoholic is defined as
someone basically where they they they
can't stop once they start often they'll
drink until they pass out wow or they'll
drink to where they become dysfunctional
they become the kind of person everyone
goes my God you're slurring your words
you're not safe to drive they get DUIs
their boss has trouble like you need to
quit coming to work hungover but an
excessive Drinker is 13. if you drink
six drinks a week if you're a woman you
have a 40 higher incidence of breast
cancer if you drink up to 10 drinks it
goes up to 70 percent higher chance of
getting it's incredible cancer so just
the health benefits one of the things
that's coming out of of England is
research that if you stop drinking for
30 days just cut back and what they're
finding is people are living longer
that's clearing out their kidneys it's
arterial sclerosis is being reversed you
know people are having all kinds of um
more energy they're losing weight most
of the things that we do that are
addictions are to numb out our anxiety
to numb out our pain to numb out the
member memories of trauma to numb out
our discomfort around being people in a
social being with people in a social
situation the fear that I won't have fun
I won't be interesting I'm more relaxed
I'm more fun you know and that's the big
myth is I won't have a fun life there's
something about my mom she has a way of
like making it sound like a really bad
idea and my I had a lot of aunts and
uncles and second cousins and stuff that
were all alcoholics drug addicts and
watching them I thought that is not a
good look real like some real white
trashy stuff yeah and so I was just like
no and my mom was chiming in with it's
way bad you don't want to do it you
don't want to end up like that so she's
in my ear making it sound really logical
to not do it and I'm watching people act
a fool who are doing it so I just
thought yeah when I thought I was gonna
have kids I wanted to ask my mom like
you were so good like neither my sister
or I ever got into trouble we never did
drugs we never drank no trouble nothing
my sister to this day is like the most
straight narrow person so when you tried
it what was it like for you look at it
oh alcohol made me feel like I was
suppressing the urge to dance on the
table it is awesome and I love it the
most I just don't let myself do it
because it's not in it's not congruent
with wanting to live forever there's
just too many downsides but that [ __ ] is
fun so like I get how people get in
trouble I just don't have an addictive
personality so for me it was easy to be
like yeah this is fun but I can weigh it
against the disadvantages and there are
way too many
unlike a lot of substances and drugs
that actually attach to the surface of
cells to receptors alcohol actually has
its own Direct effects on cells because
it can really just pass into those cells
and the fact that it can pass into so
many organs and cells so easily is
really what explains its damaging
effects ethanol produces substantial
damage to cells because when you ingest
ethanol it has to be converted into
something else because it is toxic to
the body and if you thought ethanol was
bad acetyl aldehyde is particularly bad
acetyl aldehyde is poison it will kill
cells it damages and kills cells and is
indiscriminate as to which cells it
damages and kills that's a problem
obviously and the body deals with that
problem by using another component of
the NAD biochemical Pathway to convert
acetyl aldehyde into something called
acetate acetate is actually something
that your body can use as fuel and that
process of going from ethanol to acetyl
aldehyde to acetate
does involve the production of a toxic
molecule right again acetyl aldehyde is
really toxic if your body can't do this
conversion of ethanol to acetyl aldehyde
to acetate fast enough well acetyl
aldehyde will build up in your body and
cause more damage so it's important that
your body be able to do this conversion
very quickly and the place where it does
that is within the liver and cells
within the liver are very good at this
conversion process but they are cells
and they are exposed to the acetyl
aldehyde in the conversion process and
so cells within the liver really take a
beating in the alcohol metabolism events
it is the poison the acetylaldehyde
itself that leads to the effect of being
inebriated or drunk I think most people
don't realize that that being drunk is
actually a poison-induced disruption in
the way that your neural circuits work
no amount about all is safe drinking
alcoholic beverages can be harmful to
our health it's the most damaging drug
to society as a whole the danger goes up
with every additional drink alcohol is
actually considered a class one
carcinogen or cancer-causing agent so
that's the same category as Benzene and
tobacco smoke it is the poison the
acetylaldehyde itself that leads to the
effect of being inebriated or drunk
Canadian Health authorities had
previously said that a low risk amount
of alcohol was about 10 drinks per week
your risks start to increase at one
standard rate per week even just seven
glasses one across the week there is
going to be some degeneration of your
brain in response to that alcohol intake
I was wanting to be a certain person but
making all the wrong decisions citing
some of this research about alcohol's
impacts suggested lowering that to two
drinks per week in Western cultures
alcohol is the most harmful drug overall
because it's the most harmful drug to
society because it's the most why they
use drug a very small percentage of
individuals in the world can quit
anything on their own and really our
main message is that less is better you
know when it comes to health you know
less is more what do we know about
alcohol's impact on us alcohol is one of
the leading Behavior related causes of
health problems and deaths and also some
social problems and economic costs
ranging from things like injuries and
accidents to Cancers and actually heart
and cardiovascular disease shoveling
alcohol hiding away the problems has
been something we've been very become
very expert at but the really sad
statistic is that only 10 percent of
people
from an alcohol use disorder seek
treatment I hit rock bottom I got lost
in the sauce of drinking out of those 10
of the people only one will have any
form of long-term success this is why I
don't like alcohol and this is why I
don't like drugs because I don't you're
you're not in control a substance is
doing that and that means 90 of people
who are suffering right now aren't going
to seek treatment and you know why
they're not going to seek treatment it's
been told that all they can do is quit
and go to meetings for the rest of their
life
I remember having a conversation with
Patrick one night he picked me up in his
car and was sitting together
and it was awkward silence for a good
15-20 minutes So eventually one of my
friends who was going through it bad I
was at the prison to pick him up I'm
sitting outside till three o'clock in
the morning
finally he gets out gets in a car this
was like his fourth or 50 UI we didn't
say anything to each other and we're
driving home and I don't say anything to
him and he says uh hey Pat how come
you're not saying anything to me I said
I said you know just to be honest with
me I just see you being in pain finally
I said
I don't know why
I choose to do what I'm doing and he
says you always have a choice and he
says you always have a choice and we
started talking a little bit about we
started talking a little bit two words
about he said you know
perspective words change everything and
those two words change everything for me
but as we were having a conversation I
just want to see you get out of this
thing I don't know what you're going
through but you're in pain and I hope
you realize there's value to life I
don't know how to help you I don't have
a method the only thing I know is what
I've seen others go through whether it's
AAA and all these other programs he went
into asking me who I want to be what do
I want to do and we just went through a
whole conversation
and it was a human conversation it was a
people conversation it was no business
no numbers it was just relationship but
uh I hope you figure out a way to get
through this do you know that I love you
yes you think I care about you yes do
you think I want the best for you yes
do you want to be friends long term yes
are we family yes
do you want to change
and that's the one where I got stuck
you have to want to change if you're
struggling with some kind of addiction
like I was
[Music]
it's not easy to say that
but I wanted to change I just didn't
know how and eventually he figured out a
way to get through it and he's doing
great he's changed his life you know in
a completely different way yeah but what
you said to him people
aware of that
and it's visceral because people don't
want it to be true there were two things
I would say about this
the first is both a conscious and a
subconscious level people are fearful of
other drugs illegal drugs
because it helps deflect their attention
away from them the problems of alcohol
at a personal level but also at a
political level
politicians love to get hysterical about
a new drug because it means they can do
something about drugs and they don't
have to be held to account over their
failure to deal with the problems of
alcohol right so that's the first and
second thing
is that
I would say that there's almost
no family in Britain if you look at an
extended family three generations
which doesn't have someone
who's been damaged by alcohol
through addiction through violence
traffic accidents or being a victim
because of someone else who was drunk
environment almost every family in
Britain is affected but we don't own up
to it right we kind of push under the
carpet you know we we know there's a
problem but we don't talk about it
because
you don't know what to do about it we're
embarrassed and so that shoveling
alcohol you know hiding hiding away the
problems has been something we've been
very become very expert at we know the
pharmacology of alcohol in the brain and
how it does that it's we can we can
explain an enormous amount of what's
going on with alcohol right you know I
mean to me
I find that quite exciting because you
know it's a as a brain scientist that's
what I want to understand I want to
sound the brain and alcohol is a very
interesting probe of different brain
systems
the changes we see underpin the effects
of alcohol you know are irrelevant to
all sorts of disorders they're relevant
disorders like Sleep Disorders epilepsy
relevant to anxiety depression this drug
which you can just go and buy in the
shops can produce these enormous changes
in people's lives
[Music]
Sometimes some habits can turn into
Lifestyles and certain Lifestyles don't
lead to all the benefits and all the
amazing things that life has to offer
some Lifestyles lead to very dark paths
a depression anxiety stress and if not
controlled can also lead to some of the
worst case scenarios out there in life
one of them being never Reaching Your
Capacity never really having an identity
or a self-worth losing all Integrity all
dignity and losing yourself just a few
years ago I was in a very dark place in
my life
they say that depression comes from the
inability to construct the future in
your mind I can see the future I didn't
know who I was supposed to be I was
wanting to be a certain person but
making all the wrong decisions I made a
lot of mistakes when it comes to alcohol
itself which is something that I was
struggling with at the time it went
slowly from being a Work Hard Play Hard
have a drink to two drinks to three
drinks so then a habit to then a daily
Habit to then a 24 7 Habit to then a
every weekend habit getting lost in
myself habit sometimes if you don't
watch the kind of habits that you're
building they become Lifestyles before I
knew it I was digging myself a hole and
everywhere I looked it was so dark
and I lost myself I spiraled into a
sense of no self-worth and I struggled a
lot and nobody knew I hit rock bottom to
the point where I almost lost my job to
the point where
some people had to have very tough
conversations with me
some friends had to deal with my
drama
and they say hurting people hurt people
I was hurting inside and I was hurting
others and didn't even know it
[Music]
thank you
foreign
[Music]
浏览更多相关视频
Drinking and how it changed my life: Ann Dowsett-Johnston at TEDxHomeBushRdWomen
Matthew Perry shares his incredible story of survival and why fame wasn't the answer to his problems
Lessons a drug addict can teach you | Lauren Windle | TEDxSurreyUniversity
WHY YOU MUST QUIT ALCOHOL (Andrew Huberman, Jordan Peterson, Matthew Walker)
Heroin Withdrawal | First Week In
7 days sober
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)