How Do I Know If I Have Long Term Freedom From Alcohol?

I got asked this last week and it’s such a great question I wanted to share my answer with you all.

So many of us have several attempts to drink less or stop, only to slip up down the road and end up back at square one — only with more frustration and anger at ourselves for being “weak” or “stupid”.

And please know there is no judgement here because this was me for decades.

Why Traditional Advice Doesn’t Work

Most traditional methods recommended to control your alcohol intake — or cut it out completely — are based on the theory that if you drink too much you simply need to exercise more self-control.

You’re told to “take it one day at a time” and “never let your guard down”.

There is also the approach I followed for years, which I now think of as the cross-my-fingers-and-hope-for-the-best techniques. These included:

• Reading books about controlling alcohol

• Alan Carr and pretty much every alcohol-recovery book ever published

• Downloading apps to count units

• Signing up to Dry January

• Declaring I was “cutting back” (and really meaning it, at the time)

• Only drinking at the weekend

• Only ordering small measures at the bar

Some of these helped temporarily. Some made things worse — Dry January often led me to drink more. None of them created long-term alcohol freedom.

Books give you information, but very few people change their life simply by reading a book. There is a ton of information out there, but information alone doesn’t create transformation.

It’s like taking a painkiller for a toothache — temporary relief, but the underlying issue continues to worsen.

What Actually Creates Long-Term Freedom From Alcohol

The quickest, most effective route to genuine long-term change is to get expert support to work on your deep-rooted, subconscious beliefs about alcohol.

It requires honesty, self-awareness, and a willingness to be coachable and committed to the process — but this is what creates real, lasting transformation.

I can make the process as simple as possible, but that doesn’t mean it’s “easy.” So why bother?

Because staying stuck is also uncomfortable. Convincing yourself things “aren’t that bad”… until the next time. There is a cost either way.

Investing in yourself to become truly free from alcohol is one of the greatest things you can ever do for yourself.

Who You Become in the Process Is the Real Reward

Overdrinking is an emotional problem, and if you’re willing to work through those emotions with expert guidance, you don’t just gain freedom from alcohol —
you become happier in your own skin, sometimes for the first time ever.

When you finally deal with your emotional baggage — your life scars, your hurts, your old beliefs — that’s when the real change happens. You learn to face life, with all its ups and downs, without needing alcohol to numb it.

And when you reach that point, it marks the beginning of the most exciting chapter of your life.

Want Support to Get There?

If you’d like my help to achieve true alcohol freedom, please get in touch.
Your future self will thank you.

Start here: Work With Us
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