# 399: Why I dumped drinking

In this personal edition of the podcast I give a detailed account of why I dumped alcohol on November 4th 2019. It wasn't because I think alcohol is wrong or evil in itself. As a Catholic, I don't believe that. The wedding miracle at Cana happened when Jesus changed six jars of water into wine, not grape juice (John 2.)

 

But for me it was the right decision. I didn't like how alcohol reacted to my body and vice versa. What delayed my quitting for a couple of years was my quiet anxiety that I would crave it if I quit it. The thought that I was an alcoholic was disturbing enough. The whole idea of no longer drinking made me nervous because I didn't know what my reaction would be. My dad (Jack, RIP +2018) was an alcoholic who found sobriety through AA; his father died from acute alcoholism.

 

I hope and pray this episode inspires you to give serious thought to dumping alcohol. I have never looked back, and actually rarely think of it.

 

Backstory to the reasons why I quit:

 

• Anecdotes about my father’s (and his father’s) alcoholism
• In what sense I buy the disease model of alcoholism
• I loved the natural high feeling when I did the Whole 30 Diet, and dropped 20 pounds without trying
• I met a Chaldean Christian at a party who told me he quit drinking as a spiritual sacrifice—a kind of fast—on behalf of souls who are away from Christ, and why it moved me
• I peed the bed through the night after drinking too much over not enough hours
• I had my first and only blackout during a backyard party that involved too many tequila shots
• My habit of weeping while watching romantic comedies bothered and embarrassed me
• My decision to change my mindset from “giving up” drinking to “getting rid” of drinking
• I fell in love with San Pellegrino sparkling water, crushed ice, and lemon slices

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

 

 To Slake a Thirst: The Matt Talbot Way of Sobriety https://amzn.to/4etPo6A by Philip Maynard 

 

Patrick Coffin:
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