Spirituality Malaysia : Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic?

Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic?
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Shamala Tan on 22 November, 2008 10:03:00
 
When I tell people that I used to be an alcoholic, many people look at me in
disbelief. Even close friends may think I am exaggerating but the truth is that
what I did with friends is only a fraction of what I used to do on my own.
Some people who don't know me think that I will go back to my old ways because
it is a widespread belief that once you are an alcoholic, you will always be
one.
Well, my personal journey has proven to mw that this widespread belief does not
apply to me. Don't tell me I am in denial lol! The truth is that when I decided
to stop smoking and drinking, I did it for the right reasons.
My reason is simple: I don't wish to spend another day of my life wasting money
and wasting my time and energy that does not give me long term benefits. And I
rather focus my energies on living my life's purpose and being of better use to
society other than polluting the planet!
I have so successfully mastered my addictions that I can smell alcohol from a
distance and my physical body reacts telling me it is poison! And I am very
intolerant to cigarette smoke, choosing to stay away from smoky places (Thank
God Singapore is very intolerant of the smoking habit) and people with ash tray
breath. Yes my breath was like that too, and I now know how nasty and repulsive
it really is!
Anyway, I've been clean of alcohol for about 10 years now and I've stopped
smoking for close to 12 years. And I don't miss them one bit.
So why do I choose to talk about this now? Well, because more people are asking
me for help in how to master these bad habits and also I believe it is useful
for people to listen to real inspirational stories in order to help
themselves...
So stay tuned!
© Shamala Tan 2008