The Final Drink

It all sounds very final doesn’t it? The ‘final drink’ suggests sacrifice, or it would do to 80 per cent of our population, but it won’t to you. Any fear that you may have at this moment is also mixed with adrenalin and excitement. As I have already explained, there is nothing to fear at all, as it was all false in the first place. Fear is the biggest part of the con trick as the very nature of alcohol makes people feel insecure without it and that’s exactly what keeps them hooked.

There is nothing final about that final drink; it simply spells a new beginning. You are achieving not only what you want to achieve but, in reality, what most drinkers would love and that is to be able to enjoy and cope with life without having to drink; to be physically and mentally free from drug addiction forever. Just imagine how it would feel to no longer be dependent.

We have been conditioned into thinking that being truly free from alcohol is impossible to achieve. We have been taught to believe in this mythical disease known as ‘alcoholism’ for which there is no known cure. We have been taught that, if you do stop drinking, you will only be able to expect a satisfactory way of life. This is simply because, to alcohol addicts, stopping drinking is like losing a close friend. This would be true if you thought that alcohol was always there when you needed it and always helped you cope with the stresses and strains of

life. All this recovery nonsense is nothing more than a broken heart and people say there is no cure for that, but of course there is.

When a close friend or relative dies we have to go through a mourning process. There is no physical pain but it is a real trauma and can take years to get over. Even then, there is a void that can last for the rest of our lives. This is what drinkers put themselves through when they stop. This is why they believe there is no cure and why they fear the prospect of that final drink. They feel they are parting with an old friend and, as far as they are concerned, it really does spell the end. They will experience a void for years after they have stopped and in some ways it is even worse for the poor drinker than for the person who really has lost a close friend. At least when a close friend dies, you can start the mourning process and, after time, your brain will accept that they are gone. The poor drinker thinks their old companion is still out there but they cannot be friends any more because they abused it. What’s worse is that everybody else can enjoy the benefits of this friend but they can’t. That is because we are taught that if you abuse alcohol you will pay the price.

Abuse alcohol? It was alcohol that inflicted the abuse. It was never the other way around. Alcohol addicts who give up will start with a feeling of doom and gloom and that feeling may stay with them forever. However, they are not losing a friend but getting rid of a disease that would have affected their quality of life forever. By stopping drinking you are breaking free and achieving

something that most drinkers would love. Have fun, rejoice in your freedom and enjoy letting that disease starve to death.

I once read a book called The Effective Way to Stop Drinking written by Beauchamp Colclough. It is a catalogue of doom and gloom. I am not directly criticising Colclough; in fact I feel sorry for him as he honestly believes he is a recovering alcoholic and, because he believes it, he is. In his book he states: ‘Alcoholism is a fatal disease if it’s not arrested. I use the word “arrested” because there is no cure. A lot of people seem to think that, if you don’t drink alcohol for a period of time, they will be able to continue drinking again. That is not the case. When a person with a drinking problem puts down the drink, the consequences surrounding the drinking problem cease; if that person picks up a drink again. Then he or she has got the problem back. It doesn’t go away.’

What does he mean it doesn’t go away? Of course the disease goes away. The chemical addiction to any drug is a disease that gets worse and worse. If you stop putting the cause of the disease into your body then you are cured. It is essential to understand that you have a disease in order to cure it but isn’t it just as important to know when you are cured? In reality, Beauchamp is not fully cured. He has no alcohol in his body but still believes that he is making a sacrifice as he is still fighting a desire to do something he doesn’t ever want to do again.

To the Colcloughs, Skinners or Bests of this world, the final drink spells the death of a friend and the beginning of a battle that has to be fought every day for the rest of their lives. Is it any wonder they feel so afraid to stop? Is it any surprise they feel so low when they do stop? When I stopped six years ago I knew it was going to be different before I had even consumed my last drink. I could see that moment for what it was; the ending of a disease and the beginning of my freedom. I looked forward to having my last drink, not for the drink but for knowledge that I was a 100 per cent certain it was my last. What a wonderful feeling it was; a feeling that has never gone away.

So when should you have your final drink? What is the best time? Should you have it alone, with friends, indoors, outdoors? The choice is now yours. You have your final drink wherever you choose to have it but make sure you have it. If you have already had your final drink and, as far as you are concerned, it’s already over, then congratulations, you are now free. However, please finish this book as everything in it is here for a reason. If you haven’t yet had your final drink, choose a time that suits you but don’t put it off. If you have understood what is in this book and can see it clearly, then you won’t want to put it off for a moment longer. If you are slightly apprehensive, which is normal, it is only the last remnant of the false fear that is keeping you trapped. This will be dispelled in no time at all as I explained in the period of adjustment chapter.

Whatever your views on alcohol were before you read this book, now is the time to dump them for good. Remember:

THE PAST DOES NOT EQUAL THE FUTURE.

It is what you do today that counts. So many people carry unwanted failures with them through life. They weigh them down with fear that they won’t succeed today because of what happened yesterday. It’s rubbish. You will succeed and it’s easy. I have made a list of all the instructions. Follow them and freedom will be yours for the taking. It doesn’t matter how long you have been drinking, what your intake or how many times you have tried to stop. Anyone can find it easy and enjoyable to stop drinking. All you have to do is:

UNDERSTAND THE TRAP AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO FREEDOM.

You must get it clear that knowledge is nothing without the final ingredient for your ultimate success which is action. So many people know what to do and how they can do it but fail to carry it out. It’s not what you know but what you do with your knowledge that counts. It is no good knowing what to do without acting on it. Why wouldn’t you want to? There is no downside to this decision, only an upside. What are the alternatives ? Did you believe when you had your very first drink all those years ago that you would have to spend an indefinite number of years drinking? Did you ever

think you would become dependent? When you had your first drink did you even consider that one day just the thought of stopping would put fear into you? Has it got better or worse? Unless you do stop this disease, what is there to stop you spending the rest of your life drinking?

I have already given you the instructions you need but, to simplify them, here are …