I got some time to catch up on my RSS feed today and came across an article by Leo Babauta that I thought was timely. His article, Mindfully Coping with Urges & Addictions talks about approaching our urges and addictions mindfully. I believe this is the place I'm in. He explains it much better than I did in my previous article. One new thought I took away from the article, is the idea that handling addictions and urges is an exercise.

You don't just jump right into exercise if you haven't done it for a while. I can relate to this via running. A few years ago I decided to get back into running. I was way overweight (another good blog topic) and only getting bigger. It seems metabolism is something that starts to fade in your early 30s. I had run cross country my senior year of high school. Running long distances wasn't foreign to me.

When I started running again I could barely complete a lap around my neighborhood. Fast-forward a year and I was running my neighborhood four times. It took time, patience, and persistence to get to that point. Dealing with addictions is similar. It will take time and that's something that I'm becoming more comfortable with.

Of all the blog posts I've written so far, the one that I've gotten the most responses on are my alcohol posts. Which I think is fantastic. Each conversation I've had with someone regarding their perceived struggle with alcohol has made me feel like I'm not alone. Some of these people are really smart and doing a lot of amazing things in their life. It's strangely comforting to know that they're struggling with demons similar to mine. Anyone reading this who has reached out, thank you.

I feel like I've reached a cusp with my consumption and enjoyment of alcohol. I've realized it's not a bad thing. I have buddies who I explore different types of beer with. We discuss taste and breweries we want to visit. Which ones are our favorite and which ones we haven't tried yet. It's also an opportunity to get away from the computer to discuss sports, video games, politics, and family. We consume it while playing trivia and board games. I'm looking forward to having some beers with the neighbors after I've built my fire pit (if it will ever stop raining). I've come to appreciate alcohol more, especially in social interactions.

I am working to be more mindful of my drinking. The problem for me comes in when I consume too much. I recognize a lot of that is habit at this point. Well, there are a couple habits at play. One of the habits is drinking on the weekends, which I've done on a fairly regular basis since my early 20s. This can sometimes carry over when I have one or two out to dinner with friends. I feel like I need to keep it going when I get home. If I don't have any at home I'll pick up a six pack on the way home. This habit will take time to change. I've recognized it and I'm working on it. I have little wins here and there where I recognize that I'm going for another drink and I start asking myself, "why?"

The other habit is that I tend to consume things rapidly. This includes food and drinks (not just alcohol). I'm usually the first one done with my food. I like to stay hydrated during the day (this comes from being a regular runner) so I consume a lot of water. I'm starting to watch where others are at drinking compared to me. This can backfire if I feel like I'm behind and need to catch up (I can be competitive sometimes). One thing I have incorporated successful is having a water for every drink that I have. This helps me slow down my alcohol consumption while helping me stay hydrated (next days aren't as painful). I've started getting a reputation for this, which I'm fine with. I explain to people that I'm working on my consumption rate.

Again, I want to thank everyone who reached out. I feel like I'm in a good place. I still have some things to work on. I'm making small strides, which is great.